My wife and I are refinancing our apartment in West Derby with . We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your 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 . 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 own a freehold house in West Derby but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in West Derby and has limited impact for conveyancing in West Derby but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

I have a decision in principle. The bank mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel solicitor as I would much rather instruct a West Derby based conveyancing firm?

You should check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel solicitors should you want the "fee-free" deal. Call the bank to check if they offer you a monetary alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in West Derby.

I have todaydiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in West Derby for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of West Derby conveyancing specialists.

I am purchasing a new build house in West Derby with a mortgage from . The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. 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.