It has come to my attention via my lender that my Portsmouth lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?
You need to call your Portsmouth lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Portsmouth conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Portsmouth last December but the buyer keeps texting every few hours to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?
Following your house sale your solicitor is committed to forward the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. If applicable, your lawyer must also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Portsmouth.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Portsmouth. My lender is Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 26/5/2025, the requirements read as follows :
Should our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Portsmouth.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Portsmouth. There are those who purchase a house in Portsmouth, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be initiated by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Portsmouth. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect response. A purchaser’s solicitors will also commission an environmental report. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be initiated.
Just acquired a terraced house in Portsmouth , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record my proprietorship? My Portsmouth conveyancing solicitor has been very slow, so I want to be sure that my name is registered.
As far as conveyancing in Portsmouth registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry communicate with any interested parties. Currently approximately three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with within two weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Registration occurs after the buyer is living at the property thus registration formalities is not typically top priority yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I am buying a new build house in Portsmouth benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent advised me not inform my solicitor about the deal as it will impact my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.