I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Morpeth. My lender is Tesco Bank
Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 31/7/2025, the requirements read as follows :
We have agreed to purchase a house in Morpeth. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nottingham have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Nottingham your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nottingham. The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Nottingham where a lease fails to meet these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Morpeth.
I currently have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in Morpeth. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Coventry BS?
Coventry BS must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
Skipton have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a house in Morpeth has been accepted, now what?
Your property agent will need to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (make sure the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Skipton or your financial adviser and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Skipton will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to book a slot for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Skipton will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Morpeth.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a house in Morpeth?
Unless a prior purchase of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Morpeth to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Morpeth. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Morpeth of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I have been pointed in your direction by a few estate agents in Morpeth to select a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to market your site over another?
We refuse to give any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.