My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Bitterne. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you plan to refinance then Santander will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Santander 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 Santander 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 Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I'm buying my first flat in Bitterne benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about the extras as it could affect my mortgage with Birmingham Midshires. Is this normal?.

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.

Taking into account that I will soon part with £400,000 on a property in Bitterne I wish to talk to a lawyer regarding thetransaction in advance of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Bitterne.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important individual, not a case reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Bitterne should be the figure that you end up paying.

We're novice buyers - agreed a price, but the selling agent informed us that the seller will only issue a contract if we appoint the agent's preferred conveyancers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Bitterne

It is highly unlikely the sellers are behind this. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine purchaser is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and make sure they understand (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to instruct your own,trusted Bitterne conveyancing firm - rather thanthe ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing figures demanded by corporate headquarters.

I own a leasehold flat in Bitterne. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Bitterne who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Bitterne conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Bitterne, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Bitterne with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2087

You have 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.