My fiance and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette in Bedford Park with . We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise 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.

How does conveyancing in Bedford Park differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Bedford Park come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Bedford Park tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bedford Park or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Bedford Park I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bedford Park suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Bedford Park. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bedford Park.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Bedford Park, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Bedford Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 50

With 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

My husband and I are hoping to buy a three bedroom flatin Bedford Park with a loan from a bank. We have a solicitor in Bedford Park yet our bank advise she’s not on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose from the our lender panel firms or keep our Bedford Park solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent our mortgage company. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage company mortgage offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Bedford Park : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.