My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in St Andrews with a mortgage. We wish to retain our St Andrews conveyancer, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or keep our St Andrews conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. 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. Another option that might be available is for your St Andrews conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
Can your site be used to find a Conveyancing solicitor in St Andrews even if I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for instance where I want to buy a shop in St Andrews with a loan from Leeds Building Society?
The service is mainly utilised to help choose residential conveyancing solicitors in St Andrews but we have set out towards the bottom of this page a few St Andrews commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the company directly to see if they can also act for Leeds Building Society
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in St Andrews. My lender is Platform
Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 29/11/2025, the requirements read as follows :
I am assisting my mother sell her house in St Andrews. Will the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy assessment or it is for the owner to coordinate?
After the abolition of HIPs, energy assessments was retained a mandatory component of moving property. An energy assessment must be commissioned before the property is marketed. This is not something that law firms ordinarily organise. If you are using a St Andrews conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established local providers
My wife and I are at the point of viewing apartments in St Andrews and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
About to purchase apartment in St Andrews. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St Andrews property lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may impact a commercial premises in St Andrews?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in St Andrews will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers invest in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in St Andrews. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in St Andrews.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in St Andrews it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately may cause delays to St Andrews commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in St Andrews.