I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in St Johns but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in St Johns and has limited impact for conveyancing in St Johns 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 hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be extinguished.
A colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in St Johns I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard St Johns conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about St Johns around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning St Johns.
It has been 3 months since my purchase conveyancing in St Johns took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in St Johns I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St Johns for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Do online conveyancing organisations do everything a local St Johns solicitor does or must I retain a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in St Johns?
If you instruct an online conveyancer they will undertake all the things your St Johns conveyancer would cover.