My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Rhuddlan with a mortgage. We like our Rhuddlan lawyer, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Rhuddlan lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to insist that the bank use our Rhuddlan conveyancer ?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Rhuddlan conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must vacate my let out flat in Rhuddlan by 11/8/2026. Conveyancing for my house purchase is progressing. Can I complete in six weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into short term accommodation?
Generally one should not serve notice for your lease unless you have exchanged. Assuming that you have not previously done so, update to your solicitor and request that they cajole the other solicitors, try to a target completion date that everyone will aim towards
I am buying a property in Rhuddlan. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Bank of Ireland have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Bank of Ireland your lawyer must check the formal instructions set out in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The CML Handbook contains minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease does not comply with these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Rhuddlan.
My offer was accepted on a property in Rhuddlan on 12/5/2026, valuation was booked 4 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Clydesdale and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Are Clydesdale entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Rhuddlan solicitor - who is on the Santander conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Rhuddlan surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Rhuddlan 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
As long as you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be evidenced by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, find your house and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Rhuddlan is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Rhuddlan are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Rhuddlan you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Rhuddlan may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
I am contemplating instructing an online property lawyer ahead of a Rhuddlan conveyancing firm. Am I making a mistake?
Advantages do exist in having the option attend a local Rhuddlan conveyancing solicitor for instance
- signing documents and and when necessary
- often being able to see someone face-to-face can make a significant difference, particularly for non-standard conveyancing
- the ability to raise concerns if matters need to addressed
When analysing fees, look carefully for hidden extras. The majority decent Rhuddlan high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Many online agents appear to offer discounted fees, but have burried 'extras' in the fine print.