My grandfather passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Aberystwyth. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to , pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you plan to re-mortgage then will require that you use a conveyancer on the conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I am helping my aunt sell her flat in Aberystwyth. Will the conveyancer arrange an EPC or should I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a required part of moving house. An energy performance certificate should be commissioned prior to the property being placed on the market. This is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms normally organise. Where you are instructing a Aberystwyth conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established Aberystwyth energy assessors

We were going to get a OIP from this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do recommend any Aberystwyth solicitors on the conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Aberystwyth solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and through the process.

Planning on purchasing a apartment in Aberystwyth. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Aberystwyth is on the conveyancing panel.

My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Aberystwyth I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Aberystwyth conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Aberystwyth around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Aberystwyth Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type 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 Aberystwyth.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house can not be found. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Aberystwyth 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?

As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be evidenced by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and obtain up to date copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Aberystwyth. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Aberystwyth ?

The majority of houses in Aberystwyth are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Aberystwyth in which case you should be looking for a Aberystwyth conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Aberystwyth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Most Aberystwyth leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders?