My partner and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Ashtead with Bank of Ireland. 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Ashtead is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Ashtead are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Ashtead you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Ashtead may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

Taking into account that I am about to part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a property in Ashtead I wish to have a conversation with the lawyer regarding thehome move prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Ashtead.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a case number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Ashtead should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent told us that the owners will only move forward if we use their recommended conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Ashtead

It is improbable the vendors are behind this. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is counter productive. Speak to the owners direct and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to use your preferred Ashtead conveyancing firm - rather thanthose that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or meet his conveyancing thresholds set by head office.

We expect to complete our sale of a £425,000 flat in Ashtead in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ashtead?

Ashtead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates administration charges raised by management companies :

Answering pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Ashtead Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ashtead leasehold property is £350. For Ashtead conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Ashtead conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Ashtead conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ashtead flat is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.