My wife and I are refinancing our apartment in Saltney with Principality. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose 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 apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Principality conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 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.

My wife and I are buying a house in Saltney. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We are planning to move house in September. Should my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you put forward a removal company in Saltney. Conveyancing solicitor was found before I stumbled across your website.

On the day of completion you can collect the keys from your property agent but this can only take place after the vendors lawyers advise the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be handed over. You can inform the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not recommend a specific removal company but can assist you in finding a conveyancing in Saltney or a lawyer that specialises in conveyancing in Saltney.

It is not clear whether my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Saltney building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Saltney conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they would not lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?

The conveyancing practitioner must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 specifications for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are a common cause of obstruction in Saltney conveyancing transactions. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Saltney.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Saltney for my remortgage. Is it possible to see a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

One may search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded telephone calls for training requirements.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Saltney. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I invested in buying a studio flat in Saltney, conveyancing formalities finalised January 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Saltney with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

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

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.