My wife and I are planning to buy a property in Horfield and have instructed a Horfield conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Horfield lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Horfield solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
When it comes to lenders such as RBS, do Horfield solicitors have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
It is unclear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Horfield bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Horfield conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the solicitor is on the bank approved list, she or he must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Horfield solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Horfield postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Horfield.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Horfield. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Horfield
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Please supply a car parking plan. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.
As co-executor for the will of my aunt I am selling a residence in Monmouth but reside in Horfield. My lawyer (who is 260 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Horfield to witness this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Horfield based
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Horfield. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as usual given that all rents and service invoices will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Horfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? Many Horfield leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.
I yesterday become aware that one of the directors of the conveyancing practice handling the purchase conveyancing in Horfield is related to the seller. Is this acceptable?
As long as no conflict arises this is permitted. Where you are requiring a home loan then the lender may have a say as many mortgage companies have specific requirements concerning this. For example for RBS - Direct Line as of 22/10/2026, the requirements read as follows :