My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Holbeach. 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 Barclays, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

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

four months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Holbeach took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Holbeach. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Holbeach

Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.

Am I best advised to use a Holbeach conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities but they are based 400miles drive away.

The benefit of a high street Holbeach conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Holbeach know how is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were impressed that must outweigh using an unknown Holbeach conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Holbeach. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Holbeach, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Holbeach with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With only 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.