My husband and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Martock with UBS. We have a son 18 who lives with us. 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the UBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 5 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 UBS 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 UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS 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 UBS 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.

It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in Martock. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could still be with the conveyancers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Martock relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Martock 10 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?

Nowadays there are copies made of almost everything, and your lawyer will know precisely where to look for all the appropriate documentation so you can buy or sell your property without a hitch. If copies are not available, your lawyer can arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on your premises.

About to purchase a new build flat in Martock. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Martock

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Martock is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Martock are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Martock you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Martock may determine 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.