Is the fact that my solicitor in St Annes is not on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of his work?

That is most likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the St Annes conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.

My partner and I are refinancing our flat in St Annes with . We have a son 19 who lives at home. 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, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement 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 . This is solely used to protect 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 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 purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in St Annes. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 St Annes and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

I'm buying a new build house in St Annes benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it could 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 purchased a basement flat in St Annes, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in St Annes with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 50

With only 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.