My partner and I are planning to acquire a home in Purley and have appointed a Purley conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Purley solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Purley lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
About to place a bid on a leasehold property in Purley. The estate agents assure me that it is standard for flats in Purley to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am obtaining a mortgage with Virgin. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has 72 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 11/6/2025 the requirements read as follows :
If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Purley what would it be?
Do not opt for the cheapest Purley conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.
I'm at the point of looking at apartments in Purley and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner in place at this point? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Clydesdale.
You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Santander have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a property in Purley has been accepted, now what?
The property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Telephone Santander or your broker and finalise any outstanding forms. Santander will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to get a mortgage offer. Santander will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Purley.
My partner and I are planning on selling our property in Purley and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Purley lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an internet conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Purley. Having lived in Purley for six years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in Purley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Purley approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because new home sellers in Purley typically purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Purley or who has acted in the same development.
I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Purley. I have chance upon a web site which seems to have the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all the legals done via web that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?