My wife and I are hoping to purchase a property in Walworth and are in fact using a Walworth conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Walworth conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Walworth lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Please help. My Walworth conveyancer is assuring me that he has toconduct Walworth conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. Do I not have any options here?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a lender your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Walworth conveyancing searches.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Walworth. My lender is The Mortgage Works
The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 17/7/2025, the requirements read as follows :
Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Walworth?
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Walworth and Solicitor firms in Walworth who can assist with your conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.
Is it the case that all Walworth solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be overseen by the CLC.
I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Walworth bank branch on various occasions and was told it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Walworth conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the lawyer is on the mortgage company approved list, they must adhere to the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Walworth. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to assess 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Walworth and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I am four weeks into a leasehold purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Walworth. We are not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?
They would need to be really poor to suggest replacing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new lawyer and have the loan are re-sent. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the banks panel to avoid escalating costs and frustration. So that should be your starting point. The search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your home move in Walworth