My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Heathfield. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

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

Will our conveyancer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Heathfield.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Heathfield. There are those who buy a house in Heathfield, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Heathfield. The standard information sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not notified by the owner, then a buyer may issue a compensation claim resulting from an incorrect response. The purchaser’s solicitors should also conduct an environmental report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be made.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Heathfield?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Heathfield. 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 have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Heathfield I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Heathfield for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Heathfield. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Heathfield who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Heathfield conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Heathfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

It would be prudent to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. How is the lease structured?