I am 4 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Todwick and the EA has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Todwick ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.
Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
My nephew is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Todwick with a mortgage from Coventry BS. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Todwick. I I am struggling to find out whether they are accepted on the Britannia conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
You should call the conveyancer and enquire whether they can act for the bank. Alternatively please get in touch with Britannia who may be able to confirm.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Todwick. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Now that you are to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor soon as you will have a tight a drop dead date to complete the deal. Every auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding auction pack. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to the conveyancer instructed by you at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Todwick. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Not long after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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 Todwick on 25/7/2025, valuation was booked five days later, all came back fine. Conveyancer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Virgin Money and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am buying a new build apartment in Todwick. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Todwick
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The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Todwick where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Todwick conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I bought a basement flat in Todwick, conveyancing having been completed in 2002. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Todwick with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2091
With just 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.