I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Thetford yet charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Thetford and has limited impact for conveyancing in Thetford 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 generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Thetford with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Thetford I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Thetford for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Thetford to get a quote from a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your services over and above another?

We refuse to make any commission for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

We are considering choosing a web based conveyancing practitioner as opposed to a Thetford conveyancing practice. Am I making a mistake?

There are advantages of having the option pop in to a local Thetford conveyancing solicitor for example

• signing documents and and when necessary
• sometimes being able to see someone face-to-face can make a significant difference, particularly for non-standard conveyancing
• the ability to raise concerns if matters need to addressed

When analysing fees, look out for hidden extras. The majority decent Thetford high street solicitors give an all-inclusive figure. Many online companies appear to offer cheap fees, yet have hidden 'extras' in the in the terms and conditions.