I purchased a freehold residence in Ickenham but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Ickenham and has limited impact for conveyancing in Ickenham 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 many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges post 1977.

Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be extinguished.

This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Ickenham. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Ickenham?

On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Ickenham. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

I have a mortgage with Santander for my property in Ickenham. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Santander?

You must advise Santander prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Santander directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Santander conveyancing panel firm.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Aldermore are being difficult. The Ickenham solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Aldermore are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore 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.

What does a local search reveal concerning the property I am purchasing in Ickenham?

Ickenham conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for example Searches UK The local search is essential in every Ickenham conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Ickenham with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my solicitor about this extras as it may impact my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Ickenham I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Ickenham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.