My fiance and I are refinancing our penthouse in Wollaston with Virgin Money. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 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 repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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 have recentlybecome aware that Wolstenholmes have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Wollaston for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I establish that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Wollaston conveyancing specialists.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for remortgage conveyancing in Wollaston. I have chance upon a site which appears to be the perfect answer If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wollaston from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wollaston can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
Some Wollaston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Wollaston home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Wollaston levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wollaston.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Wollaston, conveyancing having been completed February 2000. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Wollaston with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2096

With just 72 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

I have today placed an offer on a leasehold flat in Wollaston and the broker that we are using recommended his conveyancing practitioner. He quoted a thousand pounds plus VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound expensive?

Don't just go on one quote. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Wollaston. Then choose one that you are comfortable with and crucially, is on the approved panel of the lender that you have applied for a mortgage from.