Conveyancing Solicitor Glossary - R

The phrase used to confirm that the Land Registry has changed their ownership records so that the buyer is now shown as the formal owner of the property. In straightforward matters this takes around 6-8 weeks from the Completion date, but for completion matters can often take around 6-8 months. The Land Registry charge a registration fee for this process which is determined depending on the amount of the purchase price.

The process of refinancing a property which you already own, using new mortgage funds to redeem or repay all existing lenders. This may be beneficially if when remortgaging a property you can access a more favourable rate of interest than your current mortgage product provides.

Some freehold properties are subject to a rent charge payable to the rent charge owner. These are often historical in return for the granting of a benefit to the property, used to ensure income for the original land owner without the existence of a lease or used to ensure that estate covenants can be enforced more easily.

The process of when a mortgage or loan is in default due to not payment from the owner the lender can repossess the property and sell it so they can repay the debt owed.

A covenant which imposes a restriction on the use of land.

This can have 2 meanings depending on the situation:

1. In relation to a mortgage it is often an administration fee charge by some lenders to cover costs of reserving a mortgagor’s entitled to a loan on specific terms.
2. In relation to a new build property it is often a fee paid to the builder to reserve the purchase of a particular new property; with any fee previously paid often deducted from balance paid upon completion.

This can have 2 meanings depending on the situation:

1. In relation to a mortgage advance this is when part of the Advance amount is held back by the lender until identified repair works to the property are completed to a satisfactory standard.
2. In relation to completion funds this is when part of the Completion money is held back, as agreed between the buyer and seller, until an agreement has been fulfilled or if no further expenses are incurred within a specific amount of time it can be released.

A right of an occupier within a council owned property to purchase the property at a reduced purchase price. Such transactions can often take a long time to complete due to substantial delays experienced by the local authorities in processing the required documents and replying to enquiries.

Right of owners of land located next to a river bank.