My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Kings Norton. The house had a relatively small loan 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?

Given you intend 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.

Should my lawyer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Kings Norton.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Kings Norton. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Kings Norton, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Kings Norton. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the vendor to determine if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses resulting from an misleading reply. The purchaser’s lawyers will also commission an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be conducted.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Kings Norton?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Kings Norton. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm purchasing my first flat in Kings Norton benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with . Should I keep quiet?.

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.

My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. After the offer was accepted on flat we called the lender to progress the mortgage application. I was shocked to discover that mortgage companies do not accept all , they must be on their panel, is this correct?

Lenders normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Kings Norton on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.