My partner and I are refinancing our flat in St Albans with . We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your 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 . This is solely used to protect 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 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.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with . St Albans conveyancing solicitors are selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from ?

There is no definitive answer here. Have done the survey? Have you informed as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my St Albans bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My St Albans conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

As long as the is on the bank approved list, they must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

Planning on purchasing a maisonette in St Albans. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St Albans is on the conveyancing panel.

I got the keys to my house on 1 September and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in St Albans advises it should be registered in less than a month. Are transfers in St Albans uniquely lengthy to register?

As far as conveyancing in St Albans is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any third persons or bodies. Currently roughly 80% of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Registration occurs once the buyer has moved in to the premises so an expedited registration is not always top priority but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers can contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in St Albans. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St Albans

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

Should I be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a local St Albans conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often recommendations from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are numerous people with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may recommend lawyers to retain. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to select your own conveyancer. Don't forget that most mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.