I am expecting a mortgage offer from Santander. My intention is to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Aston Clinton. Does the Santander Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, represented by the CML or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

We were just about to sign contracts for a garden flat in Aston Clinton. We have hit a snag. The mortgage offer with runs out on but the sellers are putting forward a completion date of . Is it possible to extend the loan expiry date?

The person best placed to deal with your issue is your lawyer who will determine if they better off negotiating with the bank, owner’s representatives, estate agents or possibly all parties based on the history of your house move to date.

It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Aston Clinton. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by the mortgage company or they could be archived with the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Aston Clinton relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

Should our lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Aston Clinton.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Aston Clinton. There are those who purchase a property in Aston Clinton, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in Aston Clinton. The standard information supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the owner to find out if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading response. A buyer’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro search. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be initiated.

I need to consider estimates for conveyancing in Aston Clinton from three and appoint one. Am I right to ask them to sit tight until I I have an offer accepted on a flat.

We would recommend that you wait to ask your to start work and apply for searches after the sales confirmation has been issued by the selling agent especially as Aston Clinton conveyancing searches are a couple of hundred pounds.