My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in West Hampstead with RBS. We have a son 18 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 RBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up 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 RBS. This is solely used to protect RBS 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 RBS 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.

Me and my brother purchased a renovated Victorian house in West Hampstead. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in West Hampstead and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.

About to purchase a new build flat in West Hampstead. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Hampstead

The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply a car parking plan. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

I am using a search engine for the phrase cheap conveyancing in West Hampstead it brings up many solicitorsin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancing solicitor for purchase transaction?

The preferential way of seeking a suitable conveyancer is through a personal testimonial, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have purchased a property in West Hampstead or the local estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in West Hampstead differ, so it's advisable to request at least three estimates from varying types of law firms. Dont forget to clarify that the charges are assured not to escalate.

Why is it not possible to complete my conveyancing in West Hampstead on Easter Monday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the money needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the buyer and seller's solicitor and currently this can only happen on a business day. It is not possible to complete on a weekend either.