My husband and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Arundel with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Arundel solicitor, however the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Arundel conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to insist that the mortgage company use our Arundel lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Arundel conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I am selling my flat in Arundel. Does the conveyancing practitioner have to be on the TSB conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the TSB conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.

My wife and I purchasing a 3 bedroom semi in Arundel. The intention is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property involve investigations to ascertain if these works are prohibited?

Your solicitor will check the registered title as conveyancing in Arundel will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prohibit categories of works or necessitated the consent of another owner. Certain works call for local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be sensible to check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Arundel on 27/12/2024, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Clydesdale and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

My sealed bid on a semi in Arundel has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The owners have offered on a flat, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Arundel. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Kent Reliance?

It is understandable to have anxieties 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 valuation, Arundel conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your solicitor is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of purchasers would apply for a home loan with Kent Reliance and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Arundel.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Arundel ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to issue a mortgage on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Arundel. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Arundel especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Arundel.

Due to complete next month on a garden flat in Arundel. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Arundel should include some of the following:

You need to be informed what counts as a Nuisance as far as the lease is concerned The unexpired lease term. You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years specifics of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the tennant, superior lessor, landlord Who has the liability for repairing the window frames What options are open to you if a neighbour breaches a clause of their lease?

Arundel Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and could well dramatically impact the level of the service fees or result in a specific payment. Who are the managing agents? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?