My wife and I are looking to buy a home in Halstead and are in fact using a Halstead conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Halstead lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Halstead solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Halstead last February but the buyer keeps calling me to moan that his conveyancer needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Following your sale your lawyer should deliver the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where appropriate, your solicitor must also confirm that the mortgage has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion steps peculiar conveyancing in Halstead.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Halstead. My lender is Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 17/7/2025, the requirements read as follows :
A friend advised me that if I am buying in Halstead I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Halstead conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Halstead around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Halstead Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Halstead Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Halstead.
How does conveyancing in Halstead differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Halstead contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because developers in Halstead tend to purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Halstead or who has acted in the same development.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £325,000 maisonette in Halstead in 10 days. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Halstead?
Halstead conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being levied by freeholders :
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Completing pre-exchange enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Halstead
Copies of the building insurance and schedule
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Halstead, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Halstead with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2088
With just 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.