My fiance and I intend to remortgage our flat in Mayfield with Skipton. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. 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 a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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.

My apartment in Mayfield is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does my conveyancer need to be required to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.

About to purchase a new build flat in Mayfield. Conveyancing is daunting 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 are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Mayfield

Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Mayfield. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Mayfield.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Mayfield, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Mayfield with a long lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

With only 57 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

What happens where there is a problem with one of the searches for our conveyancing in Mayfield?

Normally, the majority of adverse entries arising from Mayfield conveyancing search responses can be dealt with ahead of completion or title insurance may be obtained. You should remember that even though you are buying the premises and might be content to live with the search results, your lender may not, and when all said and done they have the word say.