My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Tilehurst with Barclays. 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays 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 Barclays 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.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Tilehurst? Is this really warranted?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the potential client they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing business. The Terms of Engagement that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. If you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your lawyer can not take you on as a client.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Tilehurst

There are two types of lawyers who can execute conveyancing in Tilehurst namely CLC regulated conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals handle conveyancing services that required to complete the disposal or acquisition of property. They are both required to perform Tilehurst conveyancing on similar standards and guidelines so you may be sure that your conveyancing will be properly administered and that all requisite steps should be correctly adhered to.

I have been advised by my solicitor that missing deeds insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Tilehurst conveyancing?

The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Co-operative. I assume I don't need a Tilehurst solicitor on the Co-operative panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Co-operative mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Co-operative mortgage from the register. Co-operative, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Co-operative has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Co-operative has instructed the Land Registry to do so

My husband and I are 17 days into a freehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in Tilehurst. I am am extremely dissatisfied with the level of service. Could you help me find new conveyancers?

A lawyer would need to be very bad in order to consider changing them. Has the loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating costs and complications. So that should be your starting point. The search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Tilehurst

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Tilehurst both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Tilehurst is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 Tilehurst conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Tilehurst, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Tilehurst with a long lease are worth £196,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2089

With 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.