I purchased a freehold residence in New Addington but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in New Addington and has limited impact for conveyancing in New Addington 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 establishment of new rentcharges post 1977.

Old 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 dispensed with completely.

My flat in New Addington is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the conveyancer have to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a ground floor flat in New Addington. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in New Addington?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to receive the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

My husband and I have arranged the release of further monies on our home loan from Lloyds as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our house in New Addington. Are we obliged to choose a nearby New Addington solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Lloyds do not ordinarily instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds panel.

I currently have a mortgage with RBS for my property in New Addington. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform RBS?

RBS must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’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 RBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a RBS conveyancing panel lawyer.

I'm purchasing my first flat in New Addington with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The developers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not inform my lawyer about the side-deal as it will affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in New Addington in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks may not issue a loan on such a premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in New Addington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.