I am in the process of selling my home in Rochdale and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Rochdale ?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Rochdale. My lender is Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 18/1/2026, the requirements read as follows :
My relative recommended that if I am buying in Rochdale I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Rochdale conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Rochdale around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Rochdale Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Rochdale Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Rochdale.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Rochdale. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Rochdale
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Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
How do I identify a Rochdale solicitor on the Lloyds TSB Bank conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 25miles to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this page. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Rochdale conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Rochdale conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to verify if they are on the Lloyds TSB Bank approved list
In my capacity as executor for the estate of my uncle I am disposing of a property in Swansea but I am based in Rochdale. My conveyancer (approximately 300 miles from meneeds me to sign a statutory declaration prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Rochdale who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are located in Rochdale