My wife and I are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Tynemouth with a mortgage. We like our Tynemouth solicitor, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to select one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Tynemouth conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Tynemouth conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Our nephew is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Tynemouth with a home loan from Principality. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving 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 involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Principality 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 Principality conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I have 7378 less than 75 years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Tynemouth. Conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting 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 24/12/2025 the requirements read as follows :
This question may be naive but I am new to the process as a first time buyer of a ground floor flat in Tynemouth. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Tynemouth?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
A colleague advised me that in buying a property in Tynemouth there could be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Tynemouth which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Tynemouth should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it the case that all Tynemouth CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Barclays conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
How does conveyancing in Tynemouth differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Tynemouth come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because developers in Tynemouth tend to purchase the real estate, 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 conveyancers 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 Tynemouth or who has acted in the same development.
How much experience do your Tynemouth conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?
Tynemouth conveyancing lawyers help thousands of buyers move home every year and assisted plenty of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Tynemouth conveyancers have worked on recent similar cases.