I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Street and the estate agent has just text me to warn that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Street ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed 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 says 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 impact on this.
We were just about to exchange contracts for a property in Street. We have hit a snag. The mortgage offer with Barnsley Building Society expires on 10/7/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 14/7/2026. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?
The best person to deal with your question is your solicitors who should assess if he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage company, owner’s lawyers, property agents or possibly all three given the circumstances your house move to date.
About to place a bid on a leasehold apartment in Street. The estate agents tell me that it is usual for flats in Street to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am obtaining a loan with Accord Mortgages. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 70 years to go.
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. Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 10/5/2026 the requirements read as follows :
My wife and I are planning on selling our home in Street and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any high street Street lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Street. Having lived in Street for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with 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 illness)
I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Street. I now require my file but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Street of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I own a leasehold flat in Street. Conveyancing was completed in last year. I have been told that I mustn’t allow the the remaining lease term to get too short. Why is that a problem?
Street leasehold properties are for a fixed period - often 99 years when they commenced. However many appartments in Street were built or converted in the 70’s80’s and so such leases now have fewer than 80 years remaining. That may sound like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions on the whole require leases to have at least 75 years remaining to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching eighty years. To optimize the marketability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. You should note that there are strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.