My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in Dronfield with Nationwide. We have a son 19 who lives at home. 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 apartment is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Nationwide conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?

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

Do I find a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Dronfield?

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Dronfield and Solicitor firms in Dronfield offering conveyancing We would stress that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

I am helping my sister sell her property in Dronfield. Will the conveyancer commission an EPC or it is for the seller to coordinate?

Following the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates was kept a compulsory component of selling a property. An energy performance certificate needs to be commissioned before the property is marketed. It is not a task that law firms ordinarily organise. Where you are instructing a Dronfield conveyancing practitioner they might be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established local assessors

UBS have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a apartment in Dronfield has been agreed to, what happens next?

Your property agent will need to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (be sure the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Call up UBS or the financial adviser and finalise any relevant paperwork. UBS will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to receive the mortgage offer. UBS will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Dronfield.

How does conveyancing in Dronfield differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Dronfield contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because new home sellers in Dronfield tend to purchase the site, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Dronfield or who has acted in the same development.

I wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Dronfield. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A small minority of properties in Dronfield do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Dronfield, conveyancing was carried out in 2000. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Dronfield with a long lease are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2074

You have 52 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

22 days into buying a property in Dronfield. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Should this impact our Halifax valuation?

Dronfield conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The crucial consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the value too much.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, Sixty years it will have a significant effect on the value, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the mortgage company. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be set out in the lease to be supplied to your property lawyer.