My husband and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Thirsk with Clydesdale. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify 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 repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?

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

Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Thirsk even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example if I wish to buy a shop in Thirsk with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester ?

Our comparison service is mainly utilised to get a quote from residential conveyancing solicitors in Thirsk but we have set out at the end of this page a few Thirsk commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the solicitors directly to check if they are also authorised to represent Alliance & Leicester

I need some quick conveyancing in Thirsk as I am under a deadline to complete in less than one month. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

As you are not taking a mortgage you are at liberty not to do searches although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Thirsk the following are examples of what can be revealed and adversely affect market value: Enforcement Actions, Outstanding Charges, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Thirsk where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Thirsk conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 2 bed flat in Thirsk, conveyancing having been completed May 2000. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Thirsk with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086

With only 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Our conveyancing in Thirsk is completing next Friday, however the person I am purchasing from has asked to move out the next day at noon. Should I accept this?

You can't complete on a Saturday because the bank systems are not working.