I am one month into the sale of my flat in St Luke's and the estate agent has just text me to warn that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in St Luke's ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

We are about to exchange contracts for a semi detached house in St Luke's. We encountered a stumbling block. The loan offer with Clydesdale runs out on 14/11/2025 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 18/11/2025. Can one prolong the loan offer?

The person best placed to address this issue is your solicitors who should determine whether they should be discussing with the bank, vendor’s solicitors, selling agents or possibly all parties given the circumstances your house move as of today.

It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in St Luke's. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate the deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they could still be with the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in St Luke's relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in St Luke's I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St Luke's suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I acquired a house in St Luke's last 14/6/2024 and to date it is still not registered with the Land Registry. It is part of a new estate and my conveyancing practitioner told me that it can take 12 months to complete the registration formalities. I have contacted HMLR directly and they have informed me the original application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Do I need to be concerned?

It is your conveyancer that you should turn to here in order to satisfy any concerns which have been raised as part of the registration process for your St Luke's property. Normal St Luke's conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the seller's property lawyer that they will help resolve any requisition raised by HMLR so it may be a case of taking action to enforce that undertaking if necessary.