J Scollan & Co for outstanding service and value for money
Not all conveyancers are the same, choose a company that can give you a first class service and excellent value for money. All matters are dealt with by a fully qualifed conveyancer and all our clients can contact the person handling their matter directly on the telephone, by email or post. We are committed to providing the best and most efficient conveyancing service to our clients.
If you have a property to sell then please let us know as soon as you have decided to sell in order that we can arrange for all the required documents to be prepared and forms to be completed by you and we will then be ready to submit documents as soon as a purchaser is introduced.
First time buyers
We know that buying your first home can sometimes be a stressful time and we are able to help you through the maze of things to be done. We have a wealth of experience and have helped many first time buyers to purchase their first home. Believe it or not with the right help it can be stress free and we have clients testimonies to prove it
Even before you have found a property to purchase you can discuss with us your requirements and we are happy to guide you through the procedures from the initial stages of looking for a suitable property right up to collecting your keys on completion.
In addition we can advise you on other things that may be connected to purchasing a property for the first time such as whether you need to make a Will and if you are purchasing jointly with someone else whether you may need a document setting out your individual rights and obligations in respect of the property.
Sales
We are aware of the additional difficulties when you have to sell a property as well as purchase a new property and we can help you to ensure that both transactions proceed as smoothly as possible and to enable you to move out and move in to your new home on the same day.
The earlier you are able to contact us in connection with your sale the better organised we will be once a purchaser is found. As the requirement for a Home Information Pack has now been suspended we will need to collate all the documents that will be required in connection with the sale so that a contract and supporting documents can be sent out to the buyer's solicitors as soon as we hear from your Estate Agent.
We provide an indemnity against abortive legal costs on a no sale no fee basis for an initial payment of £40 plus VAT at 20% (£48.00)
We can help you with the requirement to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which is required to be available for sending to the buyer's solicitors with the other documents at a fixed cost of £80.00.
We are always happy to discuss with you your particular requirements and to offer you information and advice before as well as during your transaction.
Co Habitation
When purchasing with someone else you may wish to agree on seperate shares depending on your respective contributions to the purchase price and may wish to set out what will happen if one of you wishes to sell the property and the other person does not.
We can help you with information on the various methods of jointly owning a property and if required can provide a legally binding document, which will set out your respective rights and obligations in respect of the property.
It is important to know that the law does not recognise common law husband/wife so your partner will not automatically inherit the property in the event of your death.
Despite recent decisions in the House of Lords the Law Society commented that many cases could still end with what most people would consider an unfair outcome. The confused state of the law continues to cause stress, litigation and legal costs – and hence ultimately is damaging for families and children.
It is therefore crucial that couples who are thinking of buying a property and living together take legal advice from a solicitor to reduce the likelihood of potential problems later. Solicitors are highly experienced in dealing with house purchases and helping people properly set up their financial arrangements. A solicitor will help to avoid unforeseen problems, about legal rights in a relationship generally, and can discuss how rights might change as a relationship develops, such as children or marriage.'
Joint tenants
When you are going to own a property with someone else you need to choose under what legal terms you want to hold the property.
Joint Tenants - Ownership in the property is held equally by all the owners and if one dies the surviving owners automatically inherit that share. This applies no matter what the relationship between the parties and cannot be changed by the terms of someone’s Will.
Tenants in Common - Ownership of the property can be held in equal or unequal shares and upon the death of one of the owners their share will form part of their estate and will be inherited in accordance with the terms of their Will or the Intestacy Rules if a Will has not been made.
Leaseholds
EXTENDING YOUR LEASE
Extending a lease can increase the value of your flat. Many purchasers will be reluctant to buy a property with less than 80 years left on the Lease. Mortgage lenders will equally be unlikely to lend on a purchase of a property which has less than 75 years to run on its lease.
As long as you have owned, but not necessarily lived in your property, for the last two years, you will have acquired the right to extend your lease for an additional 90 years at a zero ground rent.
You cannot, however, extend your lease if your lease was originally granted for a term of less than 21 years or the freeholder is a charitable housing trust.
Once you have verified your eligibility for a lease extension you should immediately instruct a solicitor who will commence the process by serving notice on your freeholder who will set out the terms upon which you are requiring an extension. It is also at this point that a surveyor must be instructed to put a value on the lease extension. The freeholder will have two months from receipt of the notice in which to respond with a counter offer. If, following a period of negotiation, you and your freeholder are unable to agree a price, then you can refer the matter to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal for independent adjudication.
You can if you wish just write to the Freeholder in the first instance to ascertain whether they are willing to voluntarily sell to you a lease extension and if so whether they have a price in mind.
Extending your lease can be a straightforward process but if you do not receive professional advice from the outset there are many pitfalls to beware of in terms of timing, procedure and price.
BUYING YOUR FREEHOLD
Being a freeholder has some advantages although it also carries responsibility as the flat owners will have to organise their own affairs such as maintenance and repairs and enforcement of the Lease provisions against other flat owners.
• As a freeholder you have a greater degree of control over the management of your home and you can dictate such matters as the level of ground rent and service charge that you will pay and how these sums are applied.
• You will benefit from owning a share in a capital asset and you will also have the ability to extend the lease term without a premium being paid.
• Not all flat owners have the right to buy a share of the freehold. Your lease must have originally been granted for a term of at least 21 years. It is no longer necessary to have lived in the property for a specific amount of time.
• The number of participating leaseholders must represent at least half of the total flats in the building; if there are only two flats in the building, then both leaseholders must participate.
• Your building will qualify for collective enfranchisement if at least two thirds of the flats are owned by leaseholders and no more than 25 per cent of the building is used for business purposes.
• In order to serve Notice on the Freehold you must first appoint a valuer and a solicitor to determine the cost of the freehold.
• Once you have established how many leaseholders are required to proceed it is advisable to organise the group to serve notice on the freeholder of your intention to buy.
• The freeholder will usually come back with a counter notice and if the parties cannot agree a price then you will have to apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to settle any such dispute.