My partner and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Locks Heath and are in fact using a Locks Heath conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Locks Heath solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Locks Heath lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Would the conveyancing lawyers via your comparison service handle attended exchange conveyancing in Locks Heath?
There are a few conveyancing specialists carrying out attended exchanges. Please e-mail us to obtain a costs illustration and details as to dates.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Locks Heath. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with the lender or they may still be with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Locks Heath involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
My uncle pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Locks Heath there may be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Locks Heath which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Locks Heath should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I had an offer accepted on a house in Locks Heath on 5/8/2025, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Bank of Ireland and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Are Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Locks Heath conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Locks Heath postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Locks Heath.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Locks Heath before retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders tend not grant a mortgage on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Locks Heath. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Locks Heath especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Locks Heath.