I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Bishop Auckland and the EA has just text me to advise that the purchasers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Bishop Auckland ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
I have 7378 less than 75 years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Bishop Auckland. Conveyancing solicitors on the Chelsea Building Society panel can deal with such extensions correct?
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. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 7/1/2025 the requirements read as follows :
We are due to move home in March. Should my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the day of completion. As an aside, can you suggest a removal company in Bishop Auckland. Conveyancing lawyer was organised before I stumbled across your website.
On the day of completion you can pick up the house keys from your estate agent however this should only occur after the previous owners solicitors confirm to the agent that they acknowledge receipt of the completion payment and the keys can be given over. After that you can tell the removal men that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a specific removal company but can assist you in choosing a conveyancing in Bishop Auckland or a legal practice that specialises in conveyancing in Bishop Auckland.
Is it the case that all Bishop Auckland conveyancing solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Nottingham as we wish to carry out renovations to our house in Bishop Auckland. Do we need to choose a high street Bishop Auckland solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Nottingham do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham panel.
I'm remortgaging my current house to a buy to let mortgage with National Westminster Bank and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second property. The neighborhood we are talking about is Bishop Auckland. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of banks and link together the transactions?
Make use of our comparison tool on this page to be sure that the solicitors are on the appropriate lender panels. Having checked that they are the conveyancer will be able to tie up the two transactions but you should talk with you lawyer and communicate your desired outcome and needs.
At long last our conveyancing in Bishop Auckland is completing next Friday, but the owners I am buying off wants to move out the next day at at 2pm. Do I agree to such a idea?
You can't complete on a Saturday because the bank systems aren't operating.