My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Bounds Green with . We have a son approaching twenty 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 property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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.

We are hoping to buy a newly converted flat in Bounds Green with a loan from .We have a Bounds Green conveyancing practitioner but advised that he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a panel firm or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for a panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage issued to you contains various provisions, a common one being that solicitors needs to be on the approved list. in the past, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for

I have a terraced Edwardian house in Bounds Green. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking to clarify?

You should assess 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 Bounds Green and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.

Do I need to be suspicious about 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Bounds Green conveyancing company?

As with many service providers, often input from connections can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may recommend solicitors to retain. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there might be a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to appoint your preferred conveyancer. Don't forget that some lenders specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bounds Green which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Bounds Green is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bounds Green conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Bounds Green, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Bounds Green with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 50

You have 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.