I am 3 weeks into the sale of my maisonette in Blackpool and the EA has just text me to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Blackpool ?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Blackpool. The estate agents tell me that it is usual for flats in Blackpool to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am obtaining a loan with Chelsea Building Society. Is this going to be a problem if the lease has 70 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 16/5/2026 the requirements read as follows :
We are purchasing a apartment in Blackpool. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we will need to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am the only recipient of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Blackpool. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in April. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in April. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The CML handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be affected by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement primarily exists to identify subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Leeds Building Society as we want to conduct improvements to our home in Blackpool. Do we need to select a local Blackpool solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Leeds Building Society do not ordinarily appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society list.
We are purchasing a property and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property could be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has suggested insurance. Is this strictly required for conveyancing in Blackpool
Unless a prior acquisition of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Blackpool to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I am purchasing a new build house in Blackpool with a mortgage from Halifax. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. 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.
Fiveweeks into purchasing a residence in Blackpool. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Should this impact the marketability of the property?
Blackpool conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's essentially freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the marketability significantly.
At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, fifty five years it will have a adverse effect on the value, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the lender. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease to be supplied to your conveyancer.