My fiance and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Epsom and Ewell with Kent Reliance. 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 apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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 just acquired a flat at auction in Epsom and Ewell. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?

Having exchanged you should hire the services of a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are facing a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the purchase. An auction property should have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the paperwork that your lawyer will need. In the case of leasehold property the auction papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork specific to leasehold premises. You should hand this to the conveyancer instructed by you ASAP. You also need to ensure that you have funds in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.

Are all Epsom and Ewell Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the TSB conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

It is true that some lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.

is it true that all Epsom and Ewell solicitor practices on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

A colleague suggested that if I am buying in Epsom and Ewell I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Epsom and Ewell conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Epsom and Ewell around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Epsom and Ewell Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Epsom and Ewell.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Epsom and Ewell I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Epsom and Ewell for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Epsom and Ewell. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Epsom and Ewell who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Epsom and Ewell conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Having spent years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Epsom and Ewell. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Epsom and Ewell conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Epsom and Ewell 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.