My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Catton. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

If you intend to refinance then Santander will require that you use 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.

When it comes to lenders such as UBS, do Catton property lawyers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We had appointed conveyancing lawyers based in Catton on the Santander solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a further sum for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Santander?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Santander but by your Catton conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Santander panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Catton. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £225. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.

The deeds to our home are lost. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Catton 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will be aware exactly where to look for all the relevant paperwork so you can purchase or sell your house without any difficulty. Where duplicates are not available, your conveyancer may be able to arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities against possible claims on the property.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Catton is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Catton are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Catton you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Catton 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 am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Catton. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Catton - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I purchased a garden flat in Catton, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Catton with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2105

You have 80 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.