We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Leegomery with a mortgage. We like our Leegomery solicitor, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to appoint one of the bank panel firms or keep our Leegomery conveyancer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to demand that the mortgage company use our Leegomery property 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 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. Another option that might be available is for your Leegomery conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Leegomery so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, almost all lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Leegomery.
I am assisting my niece sell her flat in Leegomery. Does the solicitor arrange an energy assessment or it is for me to see to?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was maintained a required part of selling a house. An EPC must be to hand prior to the property being advertised. It is not something that law firms normally arrange. If you are using a Leegomery conveyancing practitioner they may be able to arrange EPC’s given their contacts with long established local energy assessors
We have agreed to purchase a house in Leegomery. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Lloyds have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Lloyds your lawyer must check the formal instructions outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Lloyds where a lease does not comply with these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Leegomery.
My offer was accepted on a house in Leegomery on 24/12/2025, valuation was booked 2 days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer appointed, 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 a mortgage 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.
I am buying a property and the conveyancer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the property could be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really required for conveyancing in Leegomery
Unless a prior purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in Leegomery to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Leegomery is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Leegomery are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Leegomery you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Leegomery may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I was recommended by a number of estate agents in Leegomery to find a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers over a competitor’s?
We refuse to make any referral fee for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.