My husband and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Llandudno with Clydesdale. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document 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 document specific to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.

Do conveyancers ask for money up-front for conveyancing in Llandudno?

If you are buying a property in Llandudno your solicitor will ask you place them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the sale price then this will be asked for immediately prior to exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a few days ahead of the completion date.

My friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Llandudno I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Llandudno conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Llandudno around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Llandudno Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Llandudno.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Llandudno I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Llandudno in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Llandudno. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your last Llandudno conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Llandudno, conveyancing was carried out June 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Llandudno with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2092

You have 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 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 cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.