We are about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in Truro. We encountered a snag. Our loan offer with Platform Home Loans Ltd runs out on 23/9/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 25/9/2026. Is it possible to extend the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to deal with your issue is your lawyer who will hopefully calculate whether they better off negotiating with the mortgage company, owner’s lawyers, selling agents or possibly all three given the circumstances your house move to date.
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Truro. My lender is Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 23/7/2026, the requirements read as follows :
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Truro. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 an apartment in Truro on 28/5/2026, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Conveyancer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to TSB and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for TSB to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the TSB conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Truro solicitor - who is on the UBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS 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 lawyer 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 Truro postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Truro.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Truro.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Truro. There are those who acquire a house in Truro, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be initiated by the buyer or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in Truro. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine if the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also order an environmental search. This will higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be conducted.
I'm buying my first flat in Truro benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with Halifax. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
We are 3 weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the high street agent to execute conveyancing in Truro. We are not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A solicitor would need to be really poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has the mortgage offer been issued? If so you must inform them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are re-issued. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating expenses and delays. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The find a solicitor tool will help you find a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Truro