I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Southampton yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Southampton and has limited impact for conveyancing in Southampton 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 establishment 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 in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Southampton what would it be?
It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Southampton conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Southampton. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Southampton?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Lloyds as we wish to conduct alterations to our property in Southampton. Do we need to choose a bricks and mortar Southampton solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Lloyds do not ordinarily instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds panel.
The deeds to my house can not be found. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Southampton 5 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be held by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your property and obtain current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Southampton in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Southampton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Am I better off to use a Southampton conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can perform the legal formalities but they are based a couple of hundredmiles away.
The benefit of a high street Southampton conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were content that should surpass using an unfamiliar Southampton conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Southampton. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Southampton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Southampton - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Make sure you discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Southampton leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Southampton. If you like the apartmentin Southampton however your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision. How much is the ground rent and service charge?