We are a couple about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Tewkesbury. We encountered a stumbling block. The mortgage offer with Skipton Building Society runs out on 30/3/2026 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 1/4/2026. Can one prolong the loan expiry date?
The best person to address this issue is your conveyancer who is in a position to determine whether they should be discussing with the mortgage broker, owner’s solicitors, selling agents or indeed all parties taking into account what has happend in your conveyancing as of today.
My bank has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Tewkesbury but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Tewkesbury round the corner to me. Are you able to help?
It is by no means the case that all Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitors are listed all lender’s conveyancing panel. Use the above find an approved solicitor tool to identify a Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitor on the on the mortgage company panel.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Tewkesbury what would it be?
Do not opt for the lowest Tewkesbury conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying 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 time.
My offer was accepted on a property in Tewkesbury on 19/12/2025, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to RBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the RBS 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 RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Tewkesbury property lawyer having checked that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Tewkesbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Tewkesbury.
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Tewkesbury. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Skipton Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Tewkesbury and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Tewkesbury differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Tewkesbury contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in Tewkesbury usually buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Tewkesbury or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Tewkesbury is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Tewkesbury are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Tewkesbury you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Tewkesbury may determine 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.