My fiance and I are looking to buy a home in Preston and have appointed a Preston conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Preston conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Preston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Do lenders provide you with an approved list of Preston conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel?
Preston conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Barclays directly.
I have 71 years remaining on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Preston. 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 24/10/2025 the requirements read as follows :
I am being told by my lawyer that lack of right of way insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Preston conveyancing?
The appropriate level of lack of right of way indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.
The mortgage over my property is with Skipton for my property in Preston. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Skipton?
Your original mortgage agreement with Skipton will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Skipton’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Skipton directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Skipton conveyancing panel lawyer.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Preston. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Preston I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Preston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Are Preston conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to publish clear conveyancing costs?
Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are prescriptive rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, represent the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Preston or or elsewhere in the country.