I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Bewdley yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Bewdley and has limited impact for conveyancing in Bewdley but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.
Does a directory service exist listing Yorkshire BS panel solicitors in Bewdley on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings open the public online. If you are looking for a Bewdley conveyancing practitioner on the Yorkshire BS please use our tool.
My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at flats in Bewdley and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a property lawyer in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Kent Reliance.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Kent Reliance, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Bewdley off the council. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.
A friend advised me that where I am buying in Bewdley I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Bewdley conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Bewdley around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Bewdley.
I'm buying my first flat in Bewdley benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my conveyancer about the side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
I have been recommended by a few estate agents in Bewdley to choose a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t give any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
We have AIP from Accord Mortgages Ltd who indicated we could borrow up to £300k. At what point do we need to appoint a solicitor for conveyancing? Bewdley is where we are purchasing.
You can appoint a lawyer now so that the conveyancer can open the file so they can do the ID checks etc. If and when you wish them to start work they will seek a deposit usually about £225. That would normally be once you have the loan offer from your bank and survey report, but if you want to expedite the process you can start the ball rolling sooner even though you may be risking some expense.