My fiance and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Ravenglass with Principality. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Principality conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Principality 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 Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality 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 Principality 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.

I have Fifty Six years unexpired on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Ravenglass. Conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland panel can deal with such extensions right?

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 9/9/2025 the requirements read as follows :

Me and my partner are buying a house in Ravenglass. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to send money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nottingham. Ravenglass conveyancing solicitors were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Nottingham?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Nottingham completed the valuation? Have you advised Nottingham as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

It is not clear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Ravenglass bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Ravenglass conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

Provided that the property lawyer is on the lender approved list, she or he must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Ravenglass with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about the deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Ravenglass I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Ravenglass suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.