Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Portishead is not on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his conveyancing?
It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Portishead conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
The property market in Portishead is hotting up. What can be done to quicken up the conveyancing process?
Where the seller is applying time constraints to complete it is highly recommended that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will have local contacts and know-how. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previoushouses in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Portishead conveyancing lawyer. Second, ensure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is believed that just under twenty per cent of Portishead conveyancing transactions are frustrated or jeopardised after finding out that a purchaser’s conveyancer was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the buying process being delayed by as much as three weeks. It is believed that this issue affects approximately 100,000 home moves annually. Most Portishead conveyancing firms can not represent certain banks so do check as early as possible.
Do I have to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Portishead so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
These days approved lawyers for lenders conduct all of the communications through the post, e-mail or over the phone. This means that they can undertake the conveyancing transaction regardless of where you live in England or Wales. That being said you can check if you have the option of going to the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Portishead. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Portishead. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. Soon after, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Portishead on 6/6/2025, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding 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.
Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Portishead. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and HSBC Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking HSBC Bank to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Portishead and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Portishead. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Portishead should include some of the following:
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The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring? Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future You should be sent a copy of the lease What remedies are open the freeholder should you breach a clause of your lease?
Portishead Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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This information is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure Be sure to enquire if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Portishead. If you like the flatin Portishead yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is often employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.