My fiance and I are refinancing our penthouse in Shrewsbury with Yorkshire BS. 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 apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 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 Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.

I am purchasing a terrace house in Shrewsbury. We would like to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to determine if these alterations are prohibited?

Your property lawyer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Shrewsbury can sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain works or need the permission of a 3rd party. Certain works require local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Shrewsbury. I have a mortgage agreed with Bank of Ireland. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Shrewsbury solicitor - who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Clydesdale will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Clydesdale will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Shrewsbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Shrewsbury.

Do commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that could impact a commercial land in Shrewsbury?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Shrewsbury will execute a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Shrewsbury. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Shrewsbury.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Shrewsbury it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can result in delays to Shrewsbury commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Shrewsbury.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Shrewsbury is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Shrewsbury are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Shrewsbury you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Shrewsbury may ascertain 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 residence.

We are a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in Shrewsbury. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

They would have to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has your mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new contact details and have the offer are re-issued. The solicitor ideally should be on the banks panel to avoid added charges and delays. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool will assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Shrewsbury