I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Caldicot but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Caldicot and has limited impact for conveyancing in Caldicot 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 creation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old 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.
A friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Caldicot I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Caldicot conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Caldicot around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Caldicot Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Caldicot.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Caldicot?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Caldicot. 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 opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Caldicot before instructing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Caldicot. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Caldicot especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Caldicot.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Caldicot. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Caldicot are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Caldicot in which case you should be looking for a Caldicot conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.
I acquired a garden flat in Caldicot, conveyancing was carried out in 2001. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Caldicot with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084
With only 59 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
A conveyancing firm handled my conveyancing in Caldicot four years past and was holding my deeds but has now closed – how do I retreive these?
Title deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for the majority of homes in Caldicot are recorded digitally at Land Registry. If you need to establish ownership or are selling or refinancing your conveyancing practitioner can obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.
If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.