I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Hermitage yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Hermitage and has limited impact for conveyancing in Hermitage 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 generation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
What is the optimum way to check that the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Hermitage is on the mortgage lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for The Royal Bank of Scotland thus spending £175.00 in additional conveyancing invoice.
You should make the most of the search tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type ‘Hermitage’ or your preferred area and you will be presented with numerous solicitors based in Hermitage or nearest you.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Hermitage and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Hermitage conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers used an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Hermitage. Having lived in Hermitage for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
I am purchasing a new build house in Hermitage with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this extras as it may adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
I was recommended by a number of property agents in Hermitage to choose a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers over and above another?
We don’t offer any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission 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.
Last August I purchased a leasehold flat in Hermitage. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Hermitage Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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What is the name of the managing agents? Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific invoice.