My partner and I are refinancing our apartment in Morecambe with Nottingham. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Nottingham conveyancing panel as he did not need 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?

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 Nottingham. This is solely used to protect Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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 wife and I buying a terrace house in Morecambe. Our aim is to convert the garage to an office at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve enquiries to see if these alterations are permitted?

Your property lawyer should review the deeds as conveyancing in Morecambe can sometimes reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain works or require the consent of a 3rd party. Many works need local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Morecambe. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

Coventry BS have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a flat in Morecambe has been agreed to, what happens next?

The estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Contact Coventry BS or the broker and finalise any outstanding paperwork. Coventry BS will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to schedule an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to get a mortgage offer. Coventry BS will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Morecambe.

I am buying a new build apartment in Morecambe. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Morecambe

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. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? 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. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one close by in Morecambe I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Morecambe suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold house in Morecambe. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Morecambe who previously acted has now retired. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Morecambe conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Morecambe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment. On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Morecambe obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works.