I own a freehold premises in Windmill Hill yet invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Windmill Hill and has limited impact for conveyancing in Windmill Hill 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 generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

We hope to to purchase with Darlington Building Society. We have called around locally yet am unable to find a Windmill Hill conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society panel. Please you help?

Feel free to make use of the search tool on this page. Pick the mortgage company and type Windmill Hill or your location and you will see a number of lawyer offices in Windmill Hill or near you.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Windmill Hill. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Windmill Hill

Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Windmill Hill where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Windmill Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Windmill Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge? Is there a share of the freehold?

The conveyancers handling our conveyancing in Windmill Hill has sent documents to review that show the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Is it not the case that all houses in Windmill Hill are registered?

Although most properties in Windmill Hill are now registered with HM Land Registry there are still a few that remain unregistered. Any property in Windmill Hill that has been remortgaged since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Windmill Hill property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Plenty of Windmill Hill conveyancing practitioners will be capable of dealing with such matters but in the event that uncertainty prevails the prevailing proposition these days appears to be for the current owners to register it first and subsequently deal with the disposal - this this chain of events will result in a significant delay.