My wife and I are looking to acquire a flat in St Albans and are in fact using a St Albans conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our St Albans conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred St Albans lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I need some quick conveyancing in St Albans as I am faced with a deadline to sign on the dotted line inside 3 weeks. Luckily I do not need a mortgage. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are not taking a home loan you are at liberty not to have searches carried out although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in St Albans the following are instances of what can arise and therefore affect market value: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...

I have justdiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in St Albans for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I establish that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to check if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of St Albans conveyancing specialists.

What is different about your site and other internet conveyancing solicitors when it comes to conveyancing in St Albans?

At this site obtain an accurate quote from a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that appreciates the issues of your conveyancing in St Albans. Unlike many estate agents and many comparison sites we do not operate commission arrangements with solicitors. Many agents and online brokers 'recommend' the firm paying the most commission, rather than the best value conveyancing in St Albans

My fiance and I may need to let out our St Albans garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a St Albans conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in St Albans do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in St Albans, conveyancing having been completed March 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in St Albans with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2093

With 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.