My wife and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Newbridge with Principality. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Principality conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Principality 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 Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality 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 Principality 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.

Me and my brother own a semi-detached Victorian house in Newbridge. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Newbridge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

Given that I am about to part with £400,000 on a property in Newbridge I would like to have a conversation with the conveyancer about myhome move in advance of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Newbridge.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a file reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Newbridge should be the figure that you end up paying.

I am looking at a two flats in Newbridge both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Newbridge is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Newbridge conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Newbridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

Please inform me if there are any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the service charges? It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific invoice.

I am considering using an online solicitor ahead of a Newbridge conveyancing practice. Should I ‘stay local’?

Advantages do exist in being able to visit a local Newbridge conveyancing solicitor for example

• signing papers on short notice
• sometimes being able to see someone face-to-face can make a huge difference, particularly for non-standard transactions
• the ability to raise concerns if things go pear-shaped

When comparing estimates, look carefully for hidden extras. Most decent Newbridge high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Often online companies seem to offer discounted fees, yet have hidden 'extras' in the fine print.