My uncle passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in The Park. 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 , pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

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

Will our solicitor be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in The Park.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in The Park. There are those who acquire a house in The Park, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be carried out by the buyer or by their lawyers which should give them a better understanding of the risks in The Park. The conventional set of information sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the seller to determine if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect response. The buyer’s lawyers may also order an environmental report. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be conducted.

I'm buying my first flat in The Park benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent told me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our The Park basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a The Park conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in The Park do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

The Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Are there any major works anticipated that will increase the service fees? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Plenty The Park leasehold flats will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the management company. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This may vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.

I have just placed an offer on an apartment in The Park and the estate agent that we are using suggested his . She quoted £800 plus VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound expensive?

You should not rely on a single quote. You should obtain like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in The Park. Then choose one that you trust and crucially, is on the approved panel of the mortgage company that you are sourcing your mortgage from.