My fiance and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Burwell with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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 justdiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Burwell for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to see if the property 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 Burwell conveyancing specialists.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Burwell I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Burwell suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I have been sourcing a conveyancing practitioner in Burwell for my home move. Is there any facility to check a firm’s complaints history with the legal regulator?

Members of the public may see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training reasons.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Burwell from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Burwell can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Burwell leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand. Many landlords or managing agents in Burwell charge for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Burwell. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Burwell home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Burwell, conveyancing was carried out April 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Burwell with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

With only 59 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.