We are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Waterbeach with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Waterbeach lawyer, but the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to select one of the mortgage company panel firms or continue with our Waterbeach solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not demand that the lender use our Waterbeach conveyancing practitioner ?
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 Waterbeach conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
We are buying our first house. Our property lawyer has contact usto see if we wish to order additional conveyancing searches. Frankly we in the dark as to what's appropriate for conveyancing in Waterbeach
The scope of Waterbeach conveyancing searches depends entirely on the premises, the location, the probability of any of these risks, your familiarity of the region and risks, your general attitude to risk. What matters is that you properly comprehend what information the searches could provide. You may then make a decision if you personally think you need that search. Should you be uncertain, ask your lawyer to explain.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Waterbeach. My lender is Platform
Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 13/5/2026, the requirements read as follows :
I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Waterbeach. Now, I need my documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Waterbeach of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Waterbeach in advance of retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders will not give a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Waterbeach. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Waterbeach to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
My husband and I have an offer in principle from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society who said we could borrow up to £117k. When do I need to instruct a solicitor for conveyancing? Waterbeach is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to appoint a conveyancing practitioner now and ask them to create a file on your behalf. This will enable: 1) the estate agent to send out the Sales Memo to the relevant parties 2) the seller’s solicitor to send out the draft contract. However, do not ask your conveyancer to start searches until you have your valuation report via Norwich and Peterborough Building Society and you are willing to proceed.