My husband and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Hilsea with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Hilsea solicitor, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to use one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our Hilsea conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Hilsea conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
My home in Hilsea is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the property lawyer have to be on the RBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Hilsea 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
Nowadays there are copies made of almost everything, and your solicitor will know exactly where to look for all the relevant documentation so you can purchase or sell your house without any difficulty. If duplicates can’t be located, your conveyancer may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on the premises.
What does commercial conveyancing in Hilsea cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Hilsea covers a broad array of guidance, provided by regulated solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.
We recently discovered that one of the directors of the law firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in Hilsea is an uncle of the seller. Is this allowed?
On the basis that there is no conflict of interest this should be fine. If you are obtaining a home loan then the mortgage company may have a say as many banks have specific requirements concerning this. For example for RBS - Virgin One as of 19/8/2025, the requirements read as follows :