I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Common Edge yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Common Edge and has limited impact for conveyancing in Common Edge 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.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
My lawyer in Common Edge is not on the Halifax Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to use my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the Halifax panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Common Edge lawyers but Halifax will need to instruct a solicitor on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges and result in delays.
- Find an alternative solicitor to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Halifax panel
My relative recommended that where I am purchasing in Common Edge I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Common Edge conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Common Edge around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Common Edge Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Common Edge Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Common Edge.
Me and my brother own a renovated Georgian house in Common Edge. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Birmingham Midshires to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Common Edge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Common Edge is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Common Edge are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Common Edge you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Common Edge may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I was recommended by a number of estate agents in Common Edge to select a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site rather than a competitor’s?
We refuse to make any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.