Our son-in-law is buying a house that has just been built in Kings Heath with a mortgage from Co-operative. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I purchased a freehold house in Kings Heath but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Kings Heath and has limited impact for conveyancing in Kings 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 date back 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 one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be extinguished.

Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Edwardian property in Kings Heath. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kings Heath and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Kings Heath and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Kings Heath. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Kings Heath area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Kings Heath. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I am a fortnight into a residential purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in Kings Heath. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

They would have to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage offer been generated? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new solicitor and ensure the offer are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid supplemental costs and delays. So that should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Kings Heath