My partner and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Lancaster with Clydesdale. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.

Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Leeds Building Society Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Lancaster?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

I am assisting my mother sell her flat in Lancaster. Will the conveyancer arrange an EPC or do I organise this?

Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was maintained a mandatory component of selling a house. An EPC must be to hand in advance of the property being advertised. This is not something that conveyancers ordinarily arrange. Where you are instructing a Lancaster conveyancing lawyer they may help arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established Lancaster providers

My fiancee and I are in the throws of viewing houses in Lancaster and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a property lawyer in place at this stage? I will be getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Lloyds are being problematic. The Lancaster solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Lloyds are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I am buying my first flat in Lancaster benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it could affect my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I own a leasehold house in Lancaster. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Lancaster who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Lancaster conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I bought a split level flat in Lancaster, conveyancing was carried out in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Lancaster with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

With just 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.