My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Downham. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nottingham, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

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

When it comes to mortgage companies such as HSBC, do Downham solicitors face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called my Downham building society branch on various occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Downham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

Provided that the property lawyer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Downham lawyer having checked that they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Downham surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

My wife and I are intent on selling our property in Downham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any high street Downham lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a nationwide conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Downham. Having lived in Downham for three years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Downham?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Downham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm buying my first flat in Downham with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.