Our Kelvedon lawyer has discovered a discrepancy between the information in the valuation report and what is in the title deeds. My lawyer says that he is obliged to check that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s approach legitimate?

Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.

I am the registered owner of a freehold premises in Kelvedon but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Kelvedon and has limited impact for conveyancing in Kelvedon 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 new 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 extinguished.

I have a terraced Georgian house in Kelvedon. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and TSB. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to assess 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 Kelvedon and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Kelvedon I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kelvedon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I have been Googling for Kelvedon online conveyancing estimates. Can I be sure that all the Kelvedon law firms that are identified on your site are on the lender conveyancing panel?

The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the lender panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the bank panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific Kelvedon firm being on the bank conveyancing panel is incorrect.