My house in Openshaw is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Does the conveyancing practitioner need to be required to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.
Can you point me to a directory of Aldermore panel solicitors in Openshaw on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public over the internet. Where you are seeking to appoint a Openshaw solicitor on the Aldermore please make the most of our facility.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Openshaw. I have a mortgage agreed with Co-operative. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Openshaw on 18/3/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to RBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Openshaw and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Openshaw. We have lived in Openshaw for 5 years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Openshaw. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Openshaw
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Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.
My husband and I are new on the property ladder - agreed a price, yet the agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's chosen solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in Openshaw
It is improbable the vendors are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you are going to use your own,trusted Openshaw conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give the estate agent a referral fee or meet his conveyancing targets demanded by HQ.
My partner and I are acquiring a first floor flat in Openshaw. At the time of instructing our lawyer, they said that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. Our financial adviser emailed yesterday to advise that they don't seem to be on the Barclays approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Do we simply pick a new conveyancer that is on their approved list or should we pay for separate representation, with Barclays appointing their own preferred property lawyer.
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchaser’s lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the property lawyer has to meet. Some lenders now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should call Barclays and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on Barclays's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Openshaw 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.