My wife and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Penrith with Skipton. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. 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 two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?

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

What does a local search tell me concerning the house my wife and I buying in Penrith?

Penrith conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example Searches UK The local search is essential in every Penrith conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.

I have recentlydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Penrith for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I establish that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Penrith conveyancing specialists.

We're new to the buying process - agreed a price, but the agent informed us that the vendor will only issue a contract if we appoint their recommended solicitors as they want a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Penrith

It is unlikely the owners are behind this. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Speak to the vendors direct and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to use your own,trusted Penrith conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing figures pre-set by HQ.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Penrith which have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Penrith is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Penrith conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I acquired a split level flat in Penrith, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Penrith with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095

With just 71 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to 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.