I live near my local church. Does that mean I’m liable for chancel repairs?

If you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would probably have told you not to worry. Recently, however, a widely-publicised test case has seen a Warwickshire couple forced to auction their home to meet a chancel repair bill of almost £190,000.

So, what’s all the fuss about? Basically, chancel repair liability is a hangover from medieval times, and relates to the fact that the ownership of certain lands in certain parishes still carries with it a legal obligation to pay for repairs to the local church.

Until recently, this remained something of an historical curiosity, and cases were a rarity. Now, however, chancel repair liability looks set to become quite a hot topic. Why? Well, firstly because the Land Registration Act of 2002 gave the church authorities a deadline of 2013 to formally register all such interests, or lose them altogether. Secondly, the test case I mentioned earlier has clearly demonstrated just how much those interests could be worth to a cash-strapped Church of England facing a backlog of repairs totalling almost £1billion.

Not surprisingly, therefore, parochial church councils up and down the land are busily dusting off their records…

Actually, you may not be liable for chancel repairs at all. Not all parishes are “at risk,” and in any case, closeness to the actual church is not necessarily the deciding factor. If, on the other hand, you are liable, then I’m afraid you’re stuck with it – although insurance cover may be available, at a price.

The problem is finding out. There has never been a central register of such historic obligations, and title deeds rarely mention them. Solicitors and conveyancing professionals can access an automated service which will identify at-risk parishes – in which case, it may be advisable to take out specialist chancel repair insurance, just in case. However, to establish for certain whether your particular property is liable will require a full chancel repair search.

Meanwhile, it goes without saying that the last thing you or your solicitor should do is contact the church directly about your concerns. Much better to let sleeping dogs lie!

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to buy a property ?

Here are 6 simple steps to follow

1) Find out how much you can afford.
Visit an independent mortgage advisor and confirm how much mortgage you can afford ?
Work out how much deposit you can raise and what the costs will be including solicitor fees and stamp duty.
Remember that there will be utility bills to pay so build those into your calculations.

2) Make contact with an estate agent.
There is only so much you can do on the internet and a good agent can help you sort "The wood from the trees" and help you find you your perfect home a lot quicker.
Let them have all the information you can. What price bracket you are looking in,how much deposit you have and just as importantly what type of property you are looking for.
Make a list of how many rooms you want, the preferred areas, local amenities and anything else that is important to you.
The more you tell the agent the easier it will be for them to find the best property for you.

3) Arrange to view.
Make appointments to view your chosen properties and keep them, if you cannot make an appointment let the agent know.
Take a list of questions with you, such as, what is the area like, how is the property heated ? How much is the Council tax and what are the neighbours like ?
It is important to find out as much as possible so you can make the right decisions.
Make notes after viewing and review them later.

4) Keep in touch.
Let the agent know if your requirements change, you may decide after seeing some properties that you need an extra bedroom or a bigger kitchen.
Your agent may have a more suitable property but not shown you it yet, as they think it is not what you want.

5) Sell your property first.
The best way to cut out disappointment is to place your property on the market and get interest before you find the home of your dreams.

6) Make an offer.
When you have found the property you want make a formal offer through the agent.
Let them know how much deposit you have and the details of your mortgage.
Before you offer make sure you have carefully considered everything, does it meet all your criteria ?
Is it large enough for you now and in the future, is it in the right location ?
If you want to be considered as a serious buyer, the last thing you want to be doing, is making offers and then withdrawing them because you have changed your mind.
When the offer is excepted you will need to chose and instruct a solicitor to deal with the transaction.

Is this a good time to consider a buy to let purchase ?

According to the Retail price index ,there would have been a 2.4% return on any property investment over last 12 months,taking into account rental income and a slight drop in house prices over that period.
The last time residential property achieved such a return was in the period from July 2007 to July 2008.
Returns have improved significantly since the low in February 2008 when losses were estimated at over 11%.
April 2009 was the best time for buy to let investors with an expected return of 7.4%already and a projected annual return by April 2010 of 15%.
There was also news from the CML recently of an increase in buy to let lending in the third quarter which is the first increase in more than two years.
So now might be the right time to consider entering the rental market, so as not to miss the boat.

Is stamp duty changing again ?

The key issue at the moment is that the so-called Stamp Duty Holiday - which the Government brought in just over a year ago as a temporary measure to help boost activity levels in the property market – is due to come to an end on December 31st. Precisely what impact this will have on the market as a whole is, of course, something only time will tell. Nevertheless, for first-time buyers and investors, it could be very significant indeed.

Back in the autumn of 2008, the Government temporarily raised the base level for Stamp Duty from £125,000 to £175,000. By taking around half of all transactions out of the net altogether, this measure was designed to breathe some much-needed life into the crucially important bottom end of the market. Originally, it was due to lapse last Spring, but in April the Government extended it to the end of the year.

What does this measure actually mean to you and me? Well, if you’re looking to buy a property for, say, £150,000, it means that you won’t pay a penny in Stamp Duty – as long as you actually complete before December 31st. Any later, and you’ll be liable to pay the Government a whopping £1,500.

Of course, it’s always possible that the Government will relent, and decide to extend this concession still further. After all, with things just starting to look up again in the housing market, many would consider it foolhardy in the extreme to risk jeopardizing that recovery. On the other hand, it has been calculated that the Stamp Duty Holiday has already cost the Government some £200million in lost revenues - and considering how cash-strapped they are, I wouldn’t bank on any last-minute reprieve.

Longer term, of course, what is really needed is a complete overhaul of the entire Stamp Duty regime. But since it has been a nice little earner for Governments of every hue down the years, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one either – whatever happens at the next election!

When will the housing market recover ?

It depends what you mean by recover.Many would take that to mean strongly rising house prices, which may be a little way off still.
However there are strong indications that first time buyers and buy to let sales are growing.
First-time buyers increased their share in the mortgage market in October, compared with the previous month.
In October first-time buyer activity rose to 15.3 per cent as a proportion of total purchases last month, compared with just 10.4 per cent in September.
Research released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders earlier this month demonstrated that first-time buyers were rushing to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.
Almost one-third (32 per cent) of all loans issued to first-time buyers in September were for properties valued at between £125,000 and £175,000.
The number of buy-to-let mortgage packages available on the market is slowly rising as well.
Statistics released last week by the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that the buy-to-let market had grown for the first time in two years during the third quarter of 2009.
For any market to recover it needs a firm starting point and the above activity shows, that the property market is heading in the right direction.