I am the registered owner of a freehold premises in Salford but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Salford and has limited impact for conveyancing in Salford 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 creation 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 post 2037 is to be extinguished.
When it comes to lenders such as TSB, do Salford property lawyers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Salford. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Your original mortgage agreement with Virgin Money will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel firm.
I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Salford solicitor - who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Salford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Salford.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Salford. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Britannia. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same 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 Salford 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 question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Salford I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Salford in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Salford. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).
I acquired a basement flat in Salford, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Salford with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2087
You have 62 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
Are the Salford conveyancing lawyers identified as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by the lender?
Salford law firm practices and firms carrying out conveyancing in Salford themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.