My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Messingham with . We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form 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 rights 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.

Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Messingham costs more?

The conveyancing costs on a leasehold premises in Messingham is often greater than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is due to the additional time necessary in corresponding with the landlord and management company to collate the information about whether the rent and service fee have been cleared and whether there are any large sums expected to be spent in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the building.

I am considering applying for a mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Messingham with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for ?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Messingham I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Messingham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

We are thinking of using a web based ahead of a Messingham conveyancing practice. Am I making a mistake?

Various benefits exist in having the option pop in to a local Messingham conveyancing solicitor such as

• signing documents and and when necessary
• often being able to see someone face-to-face can make a huge difference, particularly for more complex transactions
• the ability to raise concerns if things go pear-shaped

When analysing fees, look carefully for hidden extras. The majority decent Messingham high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Often online companies appear to offer cheap prices, but have hidden 'extras' in the small print.