We are a couple about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in St Annes. We have hit a snag. The loan offer with Godiva Mortgages Ltd runs out on 7/12/2026 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 9/12/2026. Is it possible to extend the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to address this issue is your conveyancer who will hopefully calculate whether they corresponding with the mortgage company, owner’s representatives, estate agents or indeed all parties based on the history of your conveyancing as of today.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Santander Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in St Annes?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of hinderance in St Annes conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in St Annes.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian property in St Annes. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Britannia. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Annes and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I am purchasing a new build house in St Annes with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it could impact my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
What tools are available to search for a St Annes solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this page. Please pick a bank and your location and you will see a number of St Annes conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some St Annes conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to check if they are on the Virgin Money approved list