I own a freehold premises in London Colney but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in London Colney and has limited impact for conveyancing in London Colney 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 new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
We had appointed solicitors based in London Colney on the Santander solicitor panel. They have just billed me a separate sum for the legal aspects of the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer can levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Santander but by your London Colney conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Santander panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. London Colney conveyancing solicitors have been selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Leeds Building Society?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Leeds Building Society done the survey? Have you advised Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
Coventry BS have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in London Colney has been accepted, what are the next steps?
The property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Coventry BS or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Coventry BS will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or owners to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to get a mortgage offer. Coventry BS will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in London Colney.
I am buying a new build house in London Colney with a loan from TSB. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it may affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
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.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in London Colney I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in London Colney in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in London Colney from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in London Colney can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a London Colney conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in London Colney state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
Leasehold Conveyancing in London Colney - Sample of Queries before buying
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Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Most London Colney leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. What restrictions exist in the London Colney Lease?
My husband is purchasing a leasehold apartment in London Colney. Conveyancing quotes are averaging around £1650. Does that seem right?
The average fee in 2014 for conveyancing in London Colney was £1,395 excluding Stamp Duty and HM Land Registry charges.