I can't travel far from New Barnet. Please spell out why all New Barnet property lawyers are not on all bank panels?
Banks point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The dismissal of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. It led to lenders removing a number of firms from their books of approved lawyers .
My husband and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in New Barnet with Nottingham. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Nottingham conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Nottingham. This is solely used to protect Nottingham if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Nottingham had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
My Conveyancer in New Barnet is not listed on the Santander Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor even though they are not on the Santander list of approved lawyers?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing New Barnet lawyers but Santander will need to instruct a solicitor on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing fees and result in delays.
- Choose an alternative lawyer to act in the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Santander approved.
- Try to convince your Santander based solicitor to attempt to join the Santander panel
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in New Barnet. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Given that you have now exchanged you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you will have a tight deadline in which to complete the property. All auction property will have an associated legal pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your solicitor will need. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You should hand this to the conveyancer working for you ASAP. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
I am planning to move home in April. Does my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the day of completion. Incidentally, can you suggest a removal company in New Barnet. Conveyancing firm was organised prior to coming across this website.
On the day of completion you will need to pick up the house keys from the selling agent but this should only be done after the previous owners conveyancers advise the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be released. After that you can inform the removal company that you are ready to move in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a particular removal company but can help you choose a residential property solicitor in New Barnet or a legal practice with expertise in conveyancing in New Barnet.
My offer was accepted on a property in New Barnet on 20/1/2026, valuation was booked 4 days later, all came back fine. Conveyancer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Principality and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Are Principality entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Is there a reason that New Barnet conveyancing fees differ for leasehold and freehold properties?
There is always increased work necessary for leasehold conveyancing. New Barnet has many leasehold properties. There is more time involved in the purchase: for example, the lease and leasehold information (including current service charge, ground rent and buildings insurance details) obtained from the freeholder or managing agents. There are strict criteria that the lease must meet in order to be acceptable to a mortgage company. If it does not meet these requirements, the lease must be amended, which can involve additional expense for the seller.