We are buying a new build duplex in Prestwich and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and my preference is not to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Prestwich. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find the deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could stored with the lawyers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Prestwich involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Prestwich. My lender is The Mortgage Works
The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 10/11/2025, the requirements read as follows :
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Prestwich. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Prestwich?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be called to receive the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
Are all Prestwich Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Santander conveyancing list of approved firms?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
My offer was accepted on a house in Prestwich on 30/9/2025, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, 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 a mortgage 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.
Are there any apps to assist me to identify a Prestwich solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this page. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Prestwich conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Prestwich conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Aldermore member panel
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Prestwich. I I would like to check if they are listed on the bank's approved list of lawyers. Could you or the bank confirm if they are on the panel?
One option is to call the solicitor to enquire if they are on the lender's approved list. Alternatively please call us and we can investigate and revert. If they are not on the lender panel we can certainly arrange a specialist conveyancing solicitor in Prestwich on the panel for your mortgage company.