buying out partner & transfer of Deeds

[DeeTee]

This is all a bit of a minefield to me, so any advice would be really appreciated. Myself & my late partner purchased our home at auction, and paid in full with no mortgage. He unfortunately died 18 months later, and the house did not automatically pass to me as it was purchased as 'tenants in common'. I have therefore negotiated with the administrators of the Estate to purchase his half, but need to raise a mortgage to do so. I have got a good mortgage offer and was told by the advisor that there would be no problem based on salary etc. However, their solicitors have now stated that they will not release the funds unless the title deeds are solely in my name. I have tried to explain that this is the whole idea, and that's why I need the funds, but the man I was speaking to was very offhand, and just kept saying that the deeds need to be in my name. There's no way the administrators are going to transfer the deeds unless the money is on the table, and I don't see why this can't all be done together. When I asked him how it works with separated parties when one is buying out the other, he just told me to go to my own solicitor to sort it. Thing is, the mortgage advisor pushed me down this route as they offer a free conveyancing service, whereas I'd have to pay my own solicitor. Am I naive, but surely there must be a solution to this? There's no way I'd agree to transfer the Deeds without the money being assured if the boot was on the other foot, so where do I go from here? This is the family home we'd dreamed of, I've worked so hard to make sure I can afford to do this, and we all love it here. Any thoughts welcome.
Thank you

[JustinN]

You are quite right: the transfer of title into your sole name would be simultaneous with the paying of the purchase price and therefore with completion of the mortgage loan

The offer of "free conveyancing" was inappropriate - and it's not "free" anyway! It was made (I imagine) on the basis that you were simply re-mortgaging a property you already owned (outright), ignoring the fact that you do not own it outright.

I'm afraid there is no real alternative to you instructing a conveyancer of your own to deal with the transfer of title and the mortgage simultaneously for you

I hope this helps