My wife and I are refinancing our maisonette in Beaminster with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 expect to receive a AIP from Principality this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Principality recommend any Beaminster solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Beaminster solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Principality conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Principality through the process.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Beaminster. I have a mortgage agreed with Aldermore. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.

I have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Beaminster. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nationwide?

You must advise Nationwide prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel firm.

Will my conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Beaminster.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Beaminster. There are those who buy a property in Beaminster, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Beaminster. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate response. The purchaser’s lawyers should also carry out an enviro report. This should higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.

I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in Beaminster. Now, I need the documents however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Beaminster of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Beaminster in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Beaminster. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Beaminster to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.