I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Billingham but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Billingham and has limited impact for conveyancing in Billingham 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 date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be extinguished.
Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Billingham so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary ten years ago, most banks no longer require their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to supply ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to instructing a locally based solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Billingham.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Billingham. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I have instructed a Billingham property lawyer having checked that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore 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 Billingham 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.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Billingham agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on on an apartment, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Billingham. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Co-operative?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Billingham conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must ensure that your solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market many buyers would apply for the mortgage with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancing practitioner to press on with searches.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of stalling in Billingham house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Billingham.
3 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Billingham concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been advised by numerous estate agents to expect six to eight weeks for Billingham conveyancing to complete.This was a month ago. The paperwork was only sent to my conveyancer yesterday so does the clock start running now?
You need to be realistic concerning timing. Property transactions in Billingham usually takes about two months. This time period is not because conveyancer are slow and deliberately delay matters. The level of money involved in purchasing any residence is so high, the purchaser's solicitor needing to carry out a whole range of enquiries, searches and further checks to protect the buyer and their lender (if there is to be a home loan) from expensive, avoidable problems. These checks involves obtaining information from various third parties, including other solicitor, local councils, private companies, building societies and banks. Some of these are efficient. Plenty are not. It is worth noting that, no matter how quickly your solicitor do their work, if the people you are purchasing from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can go ahead until they are.