I own a freehold residence in Wrington but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Wrington and has limited impact for conveyancing in Wrington 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 post 2037 is to be extinguished.
I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Wrington for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our bank Santander won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
A decade ago most mortgage companies had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Wrington conveyancing firms would have been on many mortgage company panels. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 carried out a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum amount of transactions. Many Wrington conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Wrington is amongst the many areas where the solicitors we recommend are are approved Santander.
A colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Wrington I should ask my conveyancer to 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 quoted for as part of the standard Wrington conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Wrington around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Wrington.
My wife and I have a terraced Georgian house in Wrington. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Wrington and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I am buying my first flat in Wrington benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
My step-son is embarking on her first house purchase, he had his mortgage in principle. When the offer was accepted on flat we telephoned the building society to progress the mortgage application. I was disappointed to hear that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancer, they must be on their panel, is this right?
Lenders ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Wrington lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.