My husband and I are refinancing our apartment in Worthing with Barclays. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 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 flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 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 Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays 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 Barclays 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 told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Worthing. My lender is Tesco Bank

Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 27/4/2024, the requirements read as follows :

How does conveyancing in Worthing differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Worthing approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because developers in Worthing usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Worthing or who has acted in the same development.

How difficult is it to change conveyancer as I need to retain a firm on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing list. I had appointed a local conveyancing solicitor in Worthing five minutes from me but he is not approved by Skipton Building Society

It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Worthing on the Skipton Building Society panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are under regulation of the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Worthing. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Worthing.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Worthing conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Worthing conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Worthing conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:

What are the costs for lease extension work? How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Worthing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

What is the length of the lease? Who are the managing agents? The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to know about it