I purchased a freehold premises in Soho yet invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Soho and has limited impact for conveyancing in Soho 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 fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be extinguished.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Soho. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A few days later, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Principality conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Principality panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My offer was accepted on a house in Soho on 4/8/2025, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Are Barclays entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Soho conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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 Soho 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.
I require fast conveyancing in Soho as I have an ultimatum to sign on the dotted line inside 2 weeks. Fortunately I do not require a mortgage. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?
As you are not getting a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no lawyer would advise that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Soho the following are examples of what can show up and adversely affect the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
I have justfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Soho for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Soho conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Soho differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Soho contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Soho typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Soho or who has acted in the same development.
My company is intending to take over a lease of an office on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering fixed costs for commercial conveyancing in Soho for less than £2000?
We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Soho, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply premises. Whether you are looking to purchase or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a complete business we can put you in touch with the right solicitor. As for the costs this will depend on the structure and heads of terms of the proposed transaction. Please provide us with your contact information or call so as to enable us to provide you with a fixed commercial conveyancing calculation.