I own a freehold property in Washwood Heath but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Washwood Heath and has limited impact for conveyancing in Washwood Heath 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 fresh 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 in 2037 will be extinguished.

We hope to to buy with Earl Shilton BS. I called into a couple of high street practices yet am unable to find a Washwood Heath conveyancing firm on the Earl Shilton BS panel. Please you assist?

Feel free to take advantage of the search tool on this page. Pick the mortgage company and type Washwood Heath or your location and you will see a number of lawyer based in Washwood Heath or nearest you.

Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Washwood Heath. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

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.

My fiancee and I are in the process of looking at apartments in Washwood Heath and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner in place at this point? I intend to finance via a home loan with Lloyds.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Lloyds, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Leeds Building Society are being a right pain. The Washwood Heath solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

The deeds to our property are lost. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Washwood Heath 5 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?

Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be documented by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your property and obtain current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.

I was advised by numerous estate agents in Washwood Heath to choose a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to market your lawyers over a competitor’s?

We refuse to make any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.