I am nearing exchange of contracts for my house in Slade Green and the EA has just called to warn that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Slade Green ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose 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. Some 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.
Can conveyancing in Slade Green to be finalised inside a month?
Where you are under a tight deadline for your conveyancing we would recommend that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will have local relationships and intelligence. It is possible that they could have conducted previoushouses in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Slade Green conveyancing firm. Second, check that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is claimed that 18% of Slade Green conveyancing transactions are delayed or jeopardised after discovering a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. In many cases this discovery resulted in the legal process being held up by as much as 21 days. It is said that this issue affects approximately 100,000 home moves annually. Most Slade Green conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.
A relative pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Slade Green there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to the property. Is this right?
There are anumerous of properties in Slade Green which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Slade Green should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have a mortgage with Bank of Ireland for my property in Slade Green. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Bank of Ireland?
Your original mortgage agreement with Bank of Ireland will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Ireland’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Bank of Ireland will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Bank of Ireland directly. You need not do this via a Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel firm.
I had an offer accepted on a house in Slade Green on 18/11/2025, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Clydesdale and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I require expedited conveyancing in Slade Green as I am faced with a deadline to exchange contracts within one month. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?
As you are are a mortgage free purchaser you are at liberty not to do searches although no conveyancer would advise that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Slade Green the following are examples of what can appear and adversely affect future mortgageability: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Outstanding Grants, Road Schemes,...
My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Slade Green. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Halifax. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Slade Green and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Slade Green in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Slade Green. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Slade Green to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.