Me and my partner are intending to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Swansea East with a mortgage. We have a Swansea East solicitor, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Swansea East conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Swansea East conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Swansea East but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Swansea East and has limited impact for conveyancing in Swansea East but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
Does a directory service exist listing Yorkshire BS panel solicitors in Swansea East on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available over the internet. If you are seeking to appoint a Swansea East conveyancing practitioner on the Yorkshire BS please make the most of our facility.
Intending to buy a house in Swansea East. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Swansea East property lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Swansea East on 26/6/2026, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Property lawyer retained, 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.
A relative advised me that where I am buying in Swansea East I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Swansea East conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Swansea East around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Swansea East Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Swansea East Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Swansea East.
I'm buying my first flat in Swansea East benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it would jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Should I be suspicious that 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Swansea East conveyancing company?
As is the case with many professional services, often recommendations from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are numerous people with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all recommend lawyers to appoint. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there exists a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to select your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that most mortgage providers have an approved list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.