I own a freehold house in Wetherby but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Wetherby and has limited impact for conveyancing in Wetherby 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 establishment of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

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 dispensed with completely.

We are purchasing a flat in Wetherby. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

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.

We had instructed conveyancing lawyers located in Wetherby on the Skipton solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental charge for handling the Skipton mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Skipton?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Skipton but by your Wetherby conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Skipton panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I'm in the process of viewing apartments in Wetherby and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Lloyds.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Lloyds, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Wetherby 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?

Gone are the days when you need to hold title deeds to prove you own the land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Wetherby is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Wetherby are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Wetherby you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wetherby may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

My 20yr old son is just in the process of moving house, he had his mortgage in principle. One the offer was accepted on flat we contacted the building society to progress the mortgage application. We were very surprised to discover that mortgage companies do not accept all lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Banks normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Wetherby conveyancer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.