I purchased a freehold premises in Balsall Common but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Balsall Common and has limited impact for conveyancing in Balsall Common 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 generation of new rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.

My wife and I own a terraced Victorian property in Balsall Common. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Balsall Common and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Balsall Common with a loan from Coventry Building Society. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Balsall Common in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Balsall Common. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Balsall Common to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I bought a property in Balsall Common last 28/2/2022 and to date it is still not recorded with HMLR. It is part of a development site and my lawyer told me that it may take twelve months to register. I have called HM Land Registry directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. What can I do?

It is your property lawyer that you must turn to here in order to satisfy any concerns which have been raised as part of the registration process for your Balsall Common property. Normal Balsall Common conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the seller's conveyancer that they will help resolve any registration raised by HMLR so it may be a case of seeking to enforce that undertaking in some way.