My grandmother passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in East Grinstead. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

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

I have todaybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in East Grinstead for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of East Grinstead conveyancing specialists.

Should I be wary that estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an internet conveyancing firm rather than a High Street East Grinstead conveyancing company?

As with many service providers, often recommendations from connections can be most helpful. But there are many players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all suggest conveyancers to use. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in East Grinstead. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have recently received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the invoice as you normally would given that all rents and maintenance charges will be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in East Grinstead, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in East Grinstead with a long lease are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

With 71 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

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

Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the lender conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in East Grinstead so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.

As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in East Grinstead.