I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Shoreditch and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Shoreditch ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Shoreditch what is your top tip you can impart for the ownership transfer in Shoreditch
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Shoreditch and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the house moving process. For example, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes the lender. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Shoreditch should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose role it is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest may attempt to sway you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the property agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do take action that is against your conveyancers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Shoreditch what would it be?
It would be unwise to be swayed by the lowest Shoreditch conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Shoreditch. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £225. A few days later, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Principality 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 Principality 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.
My offer was accepted on a property in Shoreditch on 30/9/2025, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Leeds Building Society and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Are Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am downsizing from our house in Shoreditch and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a web based conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Shoreditch. Having lived in Shoreditch for many years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian house in Shoreditch. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Shoreditch and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Shoreditch ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Shoreditch. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Shoreditch especially if they are familiar with such properties in Shoreditch.