My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Lancashire and have appointed a Lancashire conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Lancashire solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Lancashire solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I have 7378 less than 75 years left on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Lancashire. Conveyancing solicitors on the Chelsea Building Society panel can deal with such extensions correct?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing 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 4/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :
We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Kent Reliance as we wish to carry out renovations to our home in Lancashire. Are we obliged to appoint a local Lancashire solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Kent Reliance don't usually appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Kent Reliance list.
It is not clear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Lancashire bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Lancashire conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the lender approved list, they must follow the CML Handbook provisions for the bank. 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.
I have instructed a Lancashire lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Lancashire surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
What does a local search tell me about the house I am buying in Lancashire?
Lancashire conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Searchflow The local search is essential in every Lancashire conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search will reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.
I am looking for a conveyancing practitioner in Lancashire for my home move. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
Anyone can see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.
The property lawyers carrying out our conveyancing in Lancashire has forwarded papers to review that show the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all houses in Lancashire are registered?
It is unusual for property in Lancashire to be unregistered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Lancashire conveyancing practitioners will be able to handle such matters but if any uncertainty prevails the prevailing proposition nowadays is for the seller to address the registration formalities first and subsequently sell - this can though naturally cause a prolonged transaction.