My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our flat in Trefriw with Virgin Money. 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 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel conveyancer as I would prefer to instruct a Trefriw based conveyancing firm?

Do check but the chances are that give you one of their panel conveyancers where you accept the "fee-free" incentive. Contact the lender and determine if they allow a cash alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Trefriw.

A friend pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Trefriw there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Trefriw which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Trefriw should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Trefriw. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I have finally had an offer on a flat in Trefriw agreed to, the owners do however have a connected purchase. The owners have offered on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Trefriw. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Coventry BS?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Trefriw conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your conveyancer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. As to the next phase this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some home buyers would apply for a home loan with Coventry BS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their property lawyer to press on with searches.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Trefriw ahead of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a loan on such a home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Trefriw. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Trefriw especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Trefriw.

Why am I unable to complete my conveyancing in Trefriw on Easter Monday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the funds needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the buyer and owner’s solicitor and currently this can only occur on a working day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.