We are about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Stevenage. We have hit a snag. Our mortgage offer with Lloyds TSB Bank expires on 16/4/2026 but the vendors are suggesting a completion date of 20/4/2026. Is it possible to extend the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to address this issue is your conveyancer who will determine if he or she is should be discussing with the mortgage broker, vendor’s conveyancers, property agents or conceivably all three taking into account the history of your house move to date.

Is it the case that all Stevenage solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be overseen by the CLC.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Stevenage. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Shortly after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Bank of Ireland panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Our sealed bid on a property in Stevenage has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, however it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Stevenage. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Coventry BS started?

It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Stevenage conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market the majority of buyers will apply for a home loan with Coventry BS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their solicitor to move forward with the conveyancing in Stevenage.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Stevenage. I now require my papers however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Stevenage of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Stevenage for my home move. Can I check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

Members of the public may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training requirements.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Stevenage. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Stevenage.

Stevenage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

What is the length of the lease? If a Stevenage lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Stevenagelease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension.