My fiance and I are refinancing our flat in West Byfleet with Coventry BS. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement 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 Coventry BS. This is solely used to protect Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.

My colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in West Byfleet I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your West Byfleet conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about West Byfleet around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning West Byfleet.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. West Byfleet is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?

Flying freeholds in West Byfleet are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside West Byfleet you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in West Byfleet may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

What does commercial conveyancing in West Byfleet cover?

Commercial conveyancing in West Byfleet incorporates a broad range of services, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in West Byfleet. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in West Byfleet who acted for me is not around. Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a West Byfleet conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

West Byfleet Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most West Byfleetlease extensions you would need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. Who manages the building?