My wife and I are planning to buy a property in Winscombe and have appointed a Winscombe conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Winscombe solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 solicitor should contact your lender 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 lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Winscombe solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
We are a couple about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Winscombe. We encountered a problem. The loan offer with Bank of Ireland runs out on 4/8/2026 but the owners are insisting on a completion date of 6/8/2026. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage expiry date?
The best person to address this concern is your lawyer who will hopefully calculate whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage company, seller’s lawyers, property agents or conceivably all parties given what has gone on in your house move to date.
Having sold my house in Winscombe last December but my buyer keeps SMS messaging daily to moan that his solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities following completion?
Following your disposal your solicitor is obliged to send the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Winscombe.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. Winscombe conveyancing lawyers were chosen. How long does it take for Principality to forward the offer to the property lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Principality done the valuation? Have you advised Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Winscombe. I have a mortgage offer with Virgin Money. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on a house in Winscombe on 28/4/2026, valuation was booked 2 days later, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nationwide and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Are Nationwide entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nationwide to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
What tools are available to locate a Winscombe law firm on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 10kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Winscombe conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Winscombe conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to see if they are on the Skipton Building Society panel
The solicitors conducting our conveyancing in Winscombe has sent documents to review that state the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all property in Winscombe should be registered?
Whilst most properties in Winscombe are now registered with the Land Registry there are still a few that remain unregistered. Any property in Winscombe that has been purchased since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Winscombe property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Winscombe conveyancing solicitors should be able to handle this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty prevails the prevailing recommendation nowadays appears to be for the seller’s conveyancer to register the title first and subsequently deal with the transfer to the buyer - this will have a knock on effect to result in a significant delay.