My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Heywood. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Kent Reliance, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

If you intend to re-mortgage then Kent Reliance will require that you use a conveyancer on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

is it true that all Heywood solicitor firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be overseen by the CLC.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Heywood. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the property lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

My offer on a detached house in Heywood has been accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on a flat, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Heywood. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Virgin Money going?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Heywood conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your solicitor is on the Virgin Money approved list. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to press on with searches.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Heywood 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?

You no longer need to have the physical original deeds to establish that you own the land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Heywood is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Heywood are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Heywood you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Heywood 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 residence.

I only have Fifty years left on my lease in Heywood. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Heywood.

Heywood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? It would be sensible to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Heywood. If you like the propertyin Heywood yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced difficult decision. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds.