Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Oxshott is not on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?
That is most likely a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent 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. Should you be concerned you should contact the Oxshott conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.
The Oxshott conveyancing firm handling our Oxshott conveyancing has discovered a discrepancy between the information in the home valuation report and what is in the conveyancing documents. My solicitor informs me that he is duty bound to check that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my lawyer’s stance right?
Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My offer was accepted on a property in Oxshott on 18/12/2025, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nottingham and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Are Nottingham entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nottingham to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Oxshott solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Oxshott surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My sealed bid on a property in Oxshott has been accepted, the vendors do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The sellers have put an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats booked. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Oxshott. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with TSB?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Oxshott conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must ensure that your lawyer is on the TSB approved list. Regarding the next steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of purchasers would apply for the mortgage with TSB and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to move forward with the conveyancing in Oxshott.
My wife and I are selling our property in Oxshott and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any high street Oxshott conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a national conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Oxshott. Having lived in Oxshott for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Oxshott differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Oxshott contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because builders in Oxshott tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Oxshott or who has acted in the same development.