My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Bourne End with Yorkshire BS. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Bourne End?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Bourne End. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am purchasing a new build house in Bourne End with a loan from Clydesdale. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my lawyer about this extras as it would impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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 CML website. CML 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.

My father-in-law has suggested that I use his conveyancers in Bourne End. Do I take his recommendation?

There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to get referrals from friends or relatives who have experience in using the solicitor you're are thinking of instructing.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Bourne End conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bourne End conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you talk with two or three firms including non Bourne End conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be useful:

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I invested in buying a split level flat in Bourne End, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Bourne End with over 90 years remaining are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2098

You have 73 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.