My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette in London Colney with Lloyds. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Lloyds. This is solely used to protect Lloyds if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Lloyds had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

Is there a list of Barclays panel conveyancers in London Colney on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings visible on the web. If you are looking for a London Colney conveyancing practitioner on the Barclays please make the most of our tool.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in London Colney. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.

My offer was accepted on an apartment in London Colney on 22/3/2024, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Are Barclays entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

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

Will my conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in London Colney.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in London Colney. There are those who acquire a property in London Colney, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be initiated by the buyer or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in London Colney. The conventional set of information supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the owner to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser could commence a compensation claim resulting from an incorrect answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an enviro search. This will reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in London Colney?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in London Colney. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Given that I am about to part with 450k on a garden flat in London Colney I wish to talk to a solicitor regarding thetransaction ahead of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we recommend - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer due to be carrying out your property ownership legalities in London Colney.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a case number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in London Colney should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.