We are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Lake District with a mortgage. We like our Lake District conveyancer, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Lake District conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the bank use our Lake District lawyer ?
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 lender’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. Another option that might be available is for your Lake District conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Lake District. My lender is Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 7/12/2025, the requirements read as follows :
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Coventry BS are being a right pain. The Lake District solicitor who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Coventry BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Coventry BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Coventry BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Coventry BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Lake District conveyancer having made sure that they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Lake District surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
At last I have had an offer on a flat in Lake District agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The owners have placed an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Lake District. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with UBS started?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Lake District conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must ensure that your solicitor is on the UBS approved list. As to the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many purchasers would apply for the mortgage with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancer to press on with the conveyancing in Lake District.
Have purchased a a terraced house in Lake District , how long should it take for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing the transfer to my name? My Lake District conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be sure that my ownership is registered.
As far as conveyancing in Lake District registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry have to notify any 3rd parties. Currently roughly 80% of submission are fully dealt with within 12 days but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Historically registration is effected after the new owner is living at the property so 'speed' is not always primary concern but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Hoping to buy a property located in Lake District and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Lake District. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Lake District area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Lake District. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
I work for a busy estate agent office in Lake District where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lake District conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I acquired a 1st floor flat in Lake District, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Lake District with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102
With only 77 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.