I own a freehold house in Penge yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Penge and has limited impact for conveyancing in Penge 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 hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be extinguished.
We are selling our house in Penge. Will my lawyer need to be required to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
I am helping my niece sell her house in Penge. Does the solicitor commission an energy assessment or it is for me to see to?
After the abolition of HIPs, EPC’s was left as a mandatory part of selling a house. An energy performance certificate must be to hand prior to the property being advertised. It is not a task that lawyers ordinarily arrange. Where you are using a Penge conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with long established Penge accredited person
is it true that all Penge conveyancing solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Penge conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that could affect a commercial property in Penge?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Penge will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in sourcing accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Penge. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Penge.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Penge it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could result in delays to Penge commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Penge.
I own a renovated Victorian house in Penge. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Bank of Ireland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Penge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
I am about to exchange on the purchase a house in Penge but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated compensation from the seller of £2k in the form of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process however the mortgage company will not agree to this. Should they have been involved?
Your conveyancer listed on the mortgage company approved list is duty bound to inform the mortgage company of any changes to the sale price. If you did not allow your conveyancing practitioner to report the reduction to your lender then they would have to refrain from acting for you and the bank.