My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in South Woodham Ferrers. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Where you intend to refinance then UBS will require that you use 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 am currently in the process of buying my council flat in South Woodham Ferrers. I have a mortgage agreed with Lloyds. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.

I have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in South Woodham Ferrers. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?

Nationwide must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. You need not do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel lawyer.

Santander have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in South Woodham Ferrers has been accepted, what happens next?

The estate agent will need to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (make sure the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Call up Santander or the financial adviser and complete any appropriate documentation. Santander will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Santander will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in South Woodham Ferrers.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in South Woodham Ferrers I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in South Woodham Ferrers for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

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I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in South Woodham Ferrers where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local South Woodham Ferrers conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

South Woodham Ferrers Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees enjoy control and although a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. What is the name of the managing agents?