I am thinking of mortgaging my apartment in Looe, does my lawyer need to be on the Santander Solicitor panel?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Santander will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is much more potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

How does conveyancing in Looe differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Looe approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because new home sellers in Looe typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Looe or who has acted in the same development.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Looe and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Looe. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Looe area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Looe. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

Is it best to go with a Looe conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal formalities however her office is approximately 350kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Looe conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Looe know how is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were content that must trump using an unknown Looe conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.

I am an executor of my recently deceased aunt’s Will, with a house in Looe which is to be sold. The house has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some buyers solicitors will insist that it is done before they'll proceed. What's the mechanism for this?

In the situation you refer to it seems prudent to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and certified copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.