My husband and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Bramford with Coventry BS. We have a son approaching twenty 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?

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

I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Bramford. My lender is Virgin

Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 25/1/2025, the requirements read as follows :

How does conveyancing in Bramford differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Bramford approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Bramford typically acquire the site, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Bramford or who has acted in the same development.

I work for a long established estate agency in Bramford where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bramford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I bought a leasehold flat in Bramford, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Bramford with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2082

You have 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Should I stop my mortgage payments with Santander once a completion date for my sale in Bramford has been set?

No, you should continue paying any mortgage payments to Santander pending the mortgage being discharged on completion as part of your Bramford conveyancing.