My wife and I are looking to purchase a property in Towcester and have appointed a Towcester conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Royal Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Towcester solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Towcester solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can you help? My Towcester solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound toorder Towcester conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Virgin Moneyapproved lawyer panel. Do I not have any say here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a home loan with a mortgage company your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Towcester conveyancing searches.
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Towcester. My lender is Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 14/4/2026, the requirements read as follows :
About to purchase a new build flat in Towcester. 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 legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Towcester
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. 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.
I'm remortgaging my primary home to a BTL loan with Britannia and I will use the ballance of the raised equity towards another property. The area we are looking at is Towcester. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the two deals?
Make use of our search tool on this page to ensure that the solicitors are approved by both banks. Having checked that they are your solicitor will be able to connect the two deals but you should talk with you lawyer and communicate your desired outcome and needs.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Towcester with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Towcester can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Towcester state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled. A minority of Towcester leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Towcester - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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Who is in charge of the block? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.