We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel solicitor as I would much rather use a St John's Wood based conveyancing firm?
You should check but the the probability is that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers should you want the "fee-free" incentive. Call the mortgage company to see if they allow a monetary alternative. In the past a few mortgage companies offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor in St John's Wood.
Is it the case that all St John's Wood conveyancing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be governed by the CLC.
We previously instructed conveyancers with offices in St John's Wood on the Lloyds solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further fee for the legal aspects of the Lloyds mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Lloyds?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Lloyds but by your St John's Wood solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Lloyds panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in St John's Wood on 27/1/2026, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Co-operative and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Co-operative to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the primary cause of hinderance in St John's Wood conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of a review 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 John's Wood.
I purchased a renovated Georgian property in St John's Wood. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Skipton Building Society to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 John's Wood and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. St John's Wood is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in St John's Wood are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in St John's Wood you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St John's Wood may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
What are my options where I am not happy with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out our conveyancing in St John's Wood?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and unfortunately every so often things do go wrong. That being said there is recourse where you were dissatisfied with your conveyancing in St John's Wood. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a conveyancing practitioner to their regulator. If you remain aggrieved you may consider enlisting the help of the Legal Ombudsman.