I purchased a freehold premises in Raynes Park yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Raynes Park and has limited impact for conveyancing in Raynes Park 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 creation of new rentcharges post 1977.

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

My flat in Raynes Park is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will the property lawyer have to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Clydesdale 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 requirements fairly frequently in recent years.

Me and my partner are buying a house in Raynes Park. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I happen to be the sole recipient of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Raynes Park. The Raynes Park property was put into my name in December. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in December. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this requirement principally exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of properties.

I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Raynes Park solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Raynes Park surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Is it necessary to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a property in Raynes Park?

Unless a prior purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you could take it that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Raynes Park to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Raynes Park. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Raynes Park should include some of the following:

You should have a good understanding of the insurance obligations Repair and maintenance of the flat Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? The landlord’s rights to access the premises. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. What remedies are open the freeholder should you have contravened the provisions of the lease?

I am the leaseholder of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Raynes Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Raynes Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Raynes Park flat is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.43 years.