Is the fact that my conveyancer in Salford is not listed on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?

It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should simply call the Salford conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

My wife and I have a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Salford. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Salford and other locations in 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 lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Salford. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Salford

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

My husband and I are a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Salford. I am not happy. Can you help me find new lawyers?

A lawyer would have to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been generated? If so you need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the offer are re-issued. Your conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating charges and delays. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Salford

My partner and I recently become aware that one of the directors of the law firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in Salford is is the father of the vendor. Is this acceptable?

Provided no conflict arises this is allowable. Where you are obtaining a mortgage then the bank may have a say as many banks have specific requirements on this. For example for RBS - Direct Line One as of 9/10/2025, the requirements read as follows :