Having been recommended your company we were about to use a conveyancing solicitor in Leigh recommended on your site but have come across some other quotes on the internet look less expensive – why is this?
You can find plenty of conveyancing organisations marketing what appear to be cut price. We would urge you to give due consideration as to how important this transaction is to you that you are willing to take 'cheap' risks with regard to the quality of the conveyancing. Many of them highlight a bargain fee to entice you but plant extra fees in the fine print..
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Leigh. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to find the title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Leigh involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I am buying a garden flat in Leigh. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Leigh you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Leigh.
We had instructed conveyancing lawyers locally in Leigh on the Kent Reliance solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate charge for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Kent Reliance?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer may levy a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Kent Reliance but by your Leigh conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Kent Reliance panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Leigh. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My offer was accepted on a property in Leigh on 5/1/2026, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Santander and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Are Santander entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
How does conveyancing in Leigh differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Leigh approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because developers in Leigh usually purchase the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 Leigh or who has acted in the same development.
The property lawyers undertaking our conveyancing in Leigh has forwarded documents to review that reveal that the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Why is the property not currently recorded at the Land Registry?
Whilst most properties in Leigh are now registered with HMLR there are still some that remain unregistered. Any property in Leigh that has been purchased since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the HM Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Leigh property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Leigh conveyancing practitioners will be familiar with this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty reigns the prevailing advice presently appears to be for the vendor’s solicitor to register the title first and then deal with the disposal - this will have a knock on effect to result in a significant delay.