My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Hotwells. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Given you plan 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.

I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Hotwells. Now, I need the documents but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Hotwells of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm remortgaging my primary home to a BTL mortgage with HSBC Bank and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on another property. The area we are interested in is Hotwells. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two banks and link together the conveyances?

Make use of our search tool on this page to be sure that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are the conveyancer will be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should have a chat with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and requirements.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hotwells where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hotwells conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hotwells - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Please note if it is fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details What is the name of the managing agents?

There are plenty of properties in Hotwells on unadopted roads. We are buying one such house. What are the pros and cons of buying a residence on a privately owned road?

Hotwells conveyancing practices are used to conveyancing propertieson private. Your conveyancing practitioner will review the Land Registry data to find any rights or responsibilities. In many cases there is a residents association that owners make annual contributions to maintain the road. If there is one, the road will likely be maintained and look nicer than publicly owned.