My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Southsea with Co-operative. 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 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 Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 considering applying for a HSBC mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Southsea with 65 per cent loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for HSBC ?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but HSBC 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.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Southsea 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?

Assuming the title is registered the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and order current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Southsea properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Southsea. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Southsea Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Does the lease include onerous restrictions?

Whilst your website is a good idea there are many lawyers listed near Southsea being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. It would be a lot more helpful if you could recommend a specific firm on the conveyancing panel for our mortgage company?

We do not recommend specific Southsea firms as the right Southsea conveyancing solicitor for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with Southsea knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. Before you appoint your lawyer we advise you to speak to two or three of the the firms listed to gain comfort as to which one is right for you..