My partner and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Highcliffe with Kent Reliance. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 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 Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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.

It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Highcliffe. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with the lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Highcliffe involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Highcliffe and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Highcliffe. Having lived in Highcliffe for three years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Highcliffe is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Highcliffe are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Highcliffe you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Highcliffe may ascertain 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 residence.

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Highcliffe. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Highcliffe - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Highcliffe Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

You should want to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other people what they think of their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending that money. It is important to be aware whether a new roof is being installed or some other major work is due shortly to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one time payment. Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants?