My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Osterley Park with Co-operative. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights 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 Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 bought my home in Osterley Park. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down my title deeds. Is this a major issue?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Osterley Park relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.

My lender has recommended solicitors on their panel based in Osterley Park but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Osterley Park or nearer to where I live. Can you help?

Not all Osterley Park conveyancing practitioners are on all banks conveyancing panel. Use the above search tool to identify a Osterley Park conveyancing conveyancer on the on the bank panel.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Osterley Park in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a loan on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Osterley Park. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Osterley Park especially if they are familiar with such properties in Osterley Park.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Osterley Park conveyancing firm to assist?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Osterley Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Osterley Park flat is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Osterley Park properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Osterley Park. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.