I am hoping to receive a offer of a home loan from Santander. My intention is to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in North Yorkshire. Does the Santander Conveyancing panel include Licensed Conveyancers?

The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, represented by the CML or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

I purchased a freehold house in North Yorkshire but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in North Yorkshire and has limited impact for conveyancing in North Yorkshire 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 generation of new rentcharges post 1977.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

I am purchasing a terrace house in North Yorkshire. The intention is to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will the conveyancing process include checks to determine if these alterations are allowed?

Your property lawyer will check the deeds as conveyancing in North Yorkshire will sometimes identify restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain alterations or require the permission of a 3rd party. Certain additions require local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. It would be wise to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with . North Yorkshire conveyancing practitioners are instructed. How long does it take for to send the offer to the ?

There is no definitive answer here. Have conducted the survey? Have you advised as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

The mortgage over my property is with for my property in North Yorkshire. Conveyancing was finalised 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 BTL mortgage or inform ?

Your original mortgage agreement with will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. It may be that 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 lawyer.

My colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in North Yorkshire I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard North Yorkshire conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about North Yorkshire around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the North Yorkshire Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about North Yorkshire.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in North Yorkshire. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in North Yorkshire

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.