Our Stepney conveyancer has spotted a difference when comparing the information in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My solicitor has advised that he is duty bound to ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s course or action correct?
Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
The Stepney conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my house acquisition in Stepney have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Lloyds conveyancing panel and my preferred Stepney lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Is it the case that all Stepney solicitor practices on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Stepney. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A few days later, the solicitor called me to say that they were not on the Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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 Stepney on 31/3/2026, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Bank of Ireland and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
The deeds to my property can not be found. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Stepney 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for twenty pounds.
We're new to the buying process - agreed a price, but the agent told us that the seller will only move forward if we instruct their recommended solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a high street conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Stepney
It is unlikely the owners are driving this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is going to damage their objectives. Contact the owners directly and make the point that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to instruct your preferred Stepney conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthe ones that will provide their estate agent a commission or hit his conveyancing figures demanded by senior management.
What are my options where I am not happy with the lawyer who did my conveyancing in Stepney?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and is is a fact of life that sometimes matters do not go as planned. That being said there is recourse where you were unhappy with your conveyancing in Stepney. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a lawyer to their regulator. If you remain dissatisfied you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.