8-May-2018 The Times recently reported on the story of Zara Pawley who was left £40,000 short after her solicitors were tricked into sending the balance from a house sale to fraudsters. According to Zara, although she had previously provided her bank details in person to the solicitor, the firm was later fooled by a message […]
Help With Inheritance Tax
7-May-2018 The complexities of Inheritance tax: and where to get help Last week the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) launched a review of inheritance tax, asking both professionals and taxpayers themselves to submit views by June 8th. The Scoping Document can be found here. A record £5.2 billion of inheritance tax was paid to the […]
Choose The Right Lawyer and Avoid The Cost of Delays
1-May-2018 With a myriad of conveyancing services to choose from, it can be confusing to know which to choose and whether there is really much difference between them all. With cheap deals and incentives to lure them in, too many people are tempted by bargain basement prices rather than choosing an experienced, trusted advisor for […]
Buy To Let Funding For Older Investors
24-April-2018 From last week, The Mortgage Works, Nationwide’s specialist buy-to-let lender, removed its age limit for loans to experienced landlords. In the past, the lender applied a maximum application age of 70 for all buy-to-let loans – but since 18th April, there has been no maximum age for those landlords who have owned or let […]
Breens Secures Top Accolade From Law Society
20-April-2018 Breens Solicitors Ltd in Southport, and Waterloo has secured the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for practice management and client care, Lexcel, for the 20th consecutive year. The Law Society developed the Lexcel standard to award those firms which demonstrate high client care and business management standards an additional accreditation. To gain and […]
Landlords Face Fines For Substandard Properties
11-April-2018 From 1st April, Landlords renting energy inefficient properties have been liable for large fines, thanks to new legislation. In addition, they may have to pay thousands towards the cost of implementing energy saving measures. Rented property that cannot meet a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or higher will need to be […]
Are You Due a Stamp Duty Refund?
9-April-2018 Author: Carol Bragg HMRC’s inaccurate Stamp Duty calculator may have resulted in up to £2 billion in stamp duty being overpaid: because the tool did not take into account discounts due on certain transactions. Tax advisors report dealing with a 400% increase in refund claims because even solicitors were relying on the tool to […]
Incentives for New-Build Buyers
2-April-2018 Author: Carol Bragg If you’re looking for your first home and have your sights set on a new build, there’s good news: lenders are targeting the new-build market and the number of deals available is rapidly increasing. With the low interest rates, banks and building societies have had to improve their offers in order […]
Temporary Change to Opening Hours
2-March-2018 We are having work done in our Southport Office. As a result, the Southport Office will be open between 10am and 4pm only on the following days. Tuesday 6th March Wednesday 7th March. We will be back to our normal opening hours of 9am to 5pm from Thursday 8th March. Thank you for your […]
Make a Will Month 2018
27-February-2018 Breens Solicitors is once again supporting the Queenscourt Hospice Make a Will month. For the month of April, Breens Solicitors will write your Will in exchange for a donation to Queenscourt Hospice. Simple Single Will donation of £90 Simple Mirror Wills donation of £135 You may also want to leave a legacy to Queenscourt […]
An Extra £1100 For First Time Buyers
14-February-2018 If you’re under 39 and you’ve got a Help to Buy ISA, you could claim up to £1,100 extra in Government bonuses towards your house deposit, thanks to a quirk in the LISA rules. The rules allow you to transfer your Help to Buy ISA savings to a LISA this 2017-2018 tax year, without […]
Are You Due a Refund on Your Power of Attorney?
14-February-2018 If you made a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) application in the last five years, you may be due a partial refund. Why am I due a refund? The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) charged £110 for making a LPA. The Ministry of Justice – which […]
ITV Special Focuses on How to Safeguard the elderly
1-December-2017 ITV’s Tonight special ‘Elderly Theft: Robbing the Relatives’ (first broadcast 30 November 2017) highlighted how Powers of Attorney can be abused and how legal professionals can help prevent abuse. Unfourtunately, the link is no longer available to watch. Powers of Attorney are a useful tool to help those who for reasons of mental or […]
Inheritance Tax Could Be Set To Change
29-November-2017 This year’s budget speech saw no mention of any changes to inheritance tax which surprised some. But in amongst the budget papers, a 32-page document reveals that proposals to raise IHT could be on the horizon. Both agricultural and business property relief could be the target of future cuts. Currently, farm houses, farmland, buildings […]
Fight No Flight
24-November-2017 Airlines are refusing to pay passengers the flight compensation that they are entitled to for delayed flights. EU rules dictate that passengers whose flight has been delayed by more than three hours should receive between €250 and €600 regardless of the price paid for the plane ticket. However, when a recent long-haul flight from […]
Stamp Duty For First Time Buyers Scrapped
22-November-2017 The Chancellor, Philip Hammond has abolished Stamp duty for first-time buyers in today’s budget. First-time buyers purchasing a property up to £300k will no Stamp Duty. Those buying properties worth up to £500k will only pay duty on the amount above £300k. It is a move estimated to take 80% of first-time buyers out […]
Northwest Best For Property
13-November-2017 Estate Agent, Savills, predicts the Northwest property market will outperform the rest of the country over the next five years. While prices have risen by 20%, property in the northwest is still affordable allowing first time buyers onto the ladder and keeping the property market moving. The cost of moving is cheaper than other […]
Could a Text Message Be a Valid Will
18-October-2017 Currently UK law requires that for a Will to be valid, it must be in writing, signed by the person making the Will and witnessed by two people. Until 2006 the law in Queensland, Australia mirrored these requirements – but at that point a change was made, allowing less formal types of documents to […]
Home For Christmas
18-October-2017 If you are thinking of moving home and want to be in before Christmas the time to list your property for sale is now. A study has found that prospective home sellers need to have their homes on the market before 17 October if they are to stand a chance of being in their […]
Greener Homes Could Get Stamp Duty Break
17-October-2017 The Government is considering whether people could pay less stamp duty on purchases of energy efficient homes, as part of its ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ published last week. When questioned, Claire Perry, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, made a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday 12th in which she […]
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