My fiance and I are refinancing our apartment in Midsomer Norton with Bank of Ireland. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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 am purchasing a terraced house in Midsomer Norton. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Midsomer Norton you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Midsomer Norton.

In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business property in Midsomer Norton and how can your lawyers assist?

The 1954 Act gives protection to commercial leaseholders, giving them the dueness to apply to court for a new tenancy and remain in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Midsomer Norton is one of our numerous locations in which the firms we work with are based

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Midsomer Norton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Midsomer Norton can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives.
A minority of Midsomer Norton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Midsomer Norton home move. If a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Midsomer Norton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Midsomer Norton.

I inherited a studio flat in Midsomer Norton, conveyancing formalities finalised December 2007. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Midsomer Norton with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2077

With 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

At what stage do I incur the Stamp Duty Land Tax chargeable for my Midsomer Norton property purchase?

Your conveyancer should fill out a stamp duty return for you during your Midsomer Norton conveyancing transaction for signature. After completion your solicitor will submit the Land Transaction Return Form to the Tax Authorities and - as long as they have the funds - settle any tax bill due on your behalf.