I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Martock but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Martock and has limited impact for conveyancing in Martock 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 hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation 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 after 2037 is to be extinguished.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from as we wish to carry out improvements to our home in Martock. Are we obliged to appoint a nearby Martock solicitor on the conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

don't usually appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the conveyancing panel.

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in Martock. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish 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 ?

You must advise before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let 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. You need not do this via a conveyancing panel firm.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Martock. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their . I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Martock. Now, I need my files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Martock of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Martock with a loan from . The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

Martock Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. How many years are left on the lease? Does the lease include onerous restrictions?