I purchased a freehold house in St Annes but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in St Annes and has limited impact for conveyancing in St Annes 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 post 1977.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
My colleague advised me that if I am buying in St Annes I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard St Annes conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about St Annes 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 Property Price, Crime statistics, St Annes Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding St Annes.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in St Annes I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in St Annes suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I have been recommended by numerous property agents in St Annes to select a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to recommend your services over alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to make any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in St Annes. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering St Annes.
I purchased a studio flat in St Annes, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in St Annes with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085
With 59 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.
Should local authority consent be needed to convert a single dwelling into multiple appartments in St Annes? This has been done to a house next door to a friend in St Annes and was unaware of it happening until after the works were finished.
Planning consent is needed for splitting a single dwelling in St Annes into apartments but possibly not for reverting back to single dwelling-house so, simply put, yes.