My partner and I are planning to buy a flat in Haslington and have appointed a Haslington conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Haslington solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Haslington lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Me and my partner are about to exchange buying a house in Haslington but as a consequence of wreckage from some water damage at the property I have managed to agree recompense from the owner of six thousand pounds taking the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of amending the contract however Co-operative are not allowing this. Why were they approached?
The conveyancing practitioner that is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is required to advise Co-operative of any amendments to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancer to report the reduction to Co-operative then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Co-operative and you would have to appoint a new conveyancing practitioner for your conveyancing in Haslington.
Having sold my house in Haslington last May but our buyer keeps telephoning me complaining that their solicitor needs to hear from mysolicitor. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Following your disposal your lawyer is duty bound to deliver the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. Where relevant, your conveyancer must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Haslington.
I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Haslington. The estate agents assure me that it is usual for flats in Haslington to have less than 75 years remaining. I am obtaining a loan with Chelsea Building Society. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has 72 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 4/8/2025 the requirements read as follows :
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Haslington ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Haslington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
What tools are available to search for a Haslington law firm on the Santander conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the search on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Haslington conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Haslington conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to check if they are on the Santander panel