My husband and I intend to remortgage our flat in Sandgate with Principality. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 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 forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Principality conveyancing panel as he did not need 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.

Is it correct that all Sandgate CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing panel?

Some major lenders now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

The mortgage over my property is with UBS for my property in Sandgate. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform UBS?

UBS must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’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 UBS directly. You need not do this via a UBS conveyancing panel firm.

My offer was accepted on a property in Sandgate on 31/12/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nottingham and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Are Nottingham entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nottingham to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Sandgate I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Sandgate in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business premises in Sandgate and how can you help?

The 1954 Act gives a safeguard to business leaseholders, giving them the dueness to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Sandgate is one of our numerous areas of the UK in which our lawyers are located

Are there any distinct advantages to instructing a high street conveyancing practitioner in Sandgate

Lots of house movers in Sandgate opt for a nearby high street property lawyer so that they can pop into the firm’s offices in the event that they have problems, and to collect documents rather than depending on the Royal Mail.

There is a marginal benefit in using a solicitor nearby to the house you are purchasing, due to the knowledge of the region and possible local concerns - yet this is moot. Most conveyancers undertaking their communications by way of email and could be almost anywhere.