I purchased a freehold property in Amesbury but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Amesbury and has limited impact for conveyancing in Amesbury 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 have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges post 1977.

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

We previously selected conveyancing lawyers locally in Amesbury on the solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional charge for handling the mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by ?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by but by your Amesbury . Plenty of firms on the panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

My fiancee and I are spending time viewing apartments in Amesbury and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have my on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with .

It would be wise to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with , ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I have a mortgage with for my property in Amesbury. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform ?

must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel solicitor.

A friend advised me that if I am purchasing in Amesbury I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Amesbury conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Amesbury around the property and the people living there. It includes 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, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Amesbury.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Amesbury I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Amesbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. 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 then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

We're new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent has warned us that the owners will only proceed if we instruct the agent's chosen solicitors as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Amesbury

We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make sure they understand (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to instruct your preferred Amesbury conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a commission or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by HQ.