My wife and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Moseley with Aldermore. 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. 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 Aldermore conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Aldermore 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 Aldermore. This is solely used to protect Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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 a dozen years since I purchased my home in Moseley. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I can't locate the deeds. Is this a problem?

You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Moseley relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

I am purchasing my first flat in Moseley with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Moseley is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

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

Are there common problems that you encounter in leases for Moseley properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Moseley. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Moseley, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2009. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Moseley with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

With only 65 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.