Are you thinking of selling your home in the New Year? There is good reason to! Potential buyers tend to have a renewed enthusiasm following the Christmas break, making it a profitable time of year to put your property on the market. But before you start welcoming people into your home, you need to prepare […]
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Can a Local Authority remove the free parking outside my house?
One of the benefits that may influence your decision to purchase a property is the fact that it has free parking on the street outside. If the property has no driveway, it would be extremely inconvenient not to be able to park outside, and lack of such amenities would make the property less desirable from […]
How do I help my child buy a home with their partner and keep my money safe?
With property prices soaring, it’s no wonder that the bank of Mum and Dad is frequently called upon to subsidise the first step onto the housing ladder. But where their grown-up child is buying jointly with their partner and a substantial sum is involved, naturally there are questions over what happens if the couple should […]
Health and Mental Capacity and Lasting Power of Attorney
You can create a Lasting Power of Attorney at any point in your life, so long as you have mental capacity. Lasting Powers of Attorney A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which gives someone, or a group of people, the authority to act and make decisions on your behalf. The people […]
Using Your Inheritance Gift Allowance at Christmas
Giving gifts to your loved ones can be an excellent way of reducing the size of your estate, and therefore your Inheritance Tax liabilities. But what about Christmas gifts? Are these tax exempt, or should you tread carefully when it comes to treating your loved ones this holiday season? Tax exempt gifts Unfortunately, there is […]
Appointing Guardians for Your Children
When you make a Will, you have the opportunity to appoint legal guardians for your children. It is highly recommended that you put such plans in place, or it could result in the wrong people caring for your children, should you die before their eighteenth birthday. Planning for the future Planning for the future is […]
Could your estate go to the Crown?
The idea that the Crown might inherit everything you have worked so hard for during your lifetime might seem far-fetched – but with the Government’s unclaimed estates list now at 8,910 entries, this really can and does happen. Perhaps surprisingly, the list isn’t solely comprised of elderly people who have simply lost much of their family […]
Stamp duty, CGT and IHT: what we might see in the budget
The Chancellor’s budget will be announced on Monday October 29th – and with healthy tax receipts over the past five years from Stamp Duty, CGT and IHT, commentators are expecting to see further hikes in tax rates. The three taxes combined brought revenues of £25.4 billion to the Treasury this year, according to The Times […]
Purchasing a Commercial Property
Buying a commercial property can be extremely rewarding. However, there are risks involved, so you need to proceed with caution and get right legal advice from the outset. Otherwise the consequences could be costly. Legal help when buying a commercial property As soon as you find a commercial property that suits your needs, you should […]
Selling a Commercial Property
When selling a commercial property, there is a lot of legal and administrative work to carry out. To ensure the process runs as smoothly and as efficiently as possible, it is best to ask an experienced commercial property lawyer to act on your behalf.
What Does An Executor Of A Will Need To Know?
4 Jun 2018 Author: Stephen Breen If you’ve been named as an Executor in someone’s Will, you might wonder what your duties include. It is the Executor’s responsibility to administer the estate of a deceased person. If the deceased did not make a Will or they made a Will but their choice of Executor is […]
How To Ask Long-Term Tenants To Leave
7 May 2018 Author: Stephen Breen You have been lucky enough to find good tenants, they pay their rent on time, they keep the house in good repair, but what if you decide to sell the property. How do you ask good tenants to leave? Residential Leases The most common types of rental agreement are […]
Ten Tips To Buying A Property
3 May 2018 Author: Stephen Breen If you’re buying a home it’s hard to look beyond its kerb-side appeal and its original features. But looks aren’t everything. You need to consider how you live and whether the property will cause you problems down the line. Broadband and Mobile Connection Could you live without broadband or […]
Take Advantage Of Inheritance Tax Breaks
3 May 2018 Author: Stephen Breen A report by insurer NFU Mutual suggests that thousands are missing out on a valuable inheritance tax break introduced last April. The Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) was introduced last April, giving homeowners an additional £100,000 allowance to pass on to ‘direct descendants’ where the estate includes a family […]
Buyer Beware: Avoiding New Build Disasters
1 May 2018 Author: Stephen Breen There are plenty of great reasons to buy a new build: from the 10 year NHBC guarantee to the ability to design every little detail yourself. But new builds can also suffer from a host of problems, from construction faults and poorly fitted pipes to vibrating floorboards and even […]
The Inheritance Tax Perks You May Miss
24 Apr 2018 Author: Stephen Breen Many people are missing out on substantial inheritance tax perks because they are writing their own Wills or using cheap DIY services, rather than consulting a solicitor, according to industry experts. Yet more are missing out by doing probate work themselves, believing they can save money and completely unaware […]
Is Buy-to-Let Still A Good Investment?
16 Apr 2018 Author: Stephen Breen Despite a wave of measures that have hit buy-to-let investors, there’s still money to be made in the market. A recent study conducted by Savills and UK Finance has revealed that contrary to the negative headlines foreseeing the end of the buy-to-let era, the predicted mass exodus away from […]
Extend Your Lease Early Or Face A Premium
11 Apr 2018 Author: Stephen Breen A recent case has highlighted the importance for owners of leasehold property to extend their lease early, in order to avoid paying hefty premiums. In Mundy v The Sloane Stanley Estate, the Court of Appeal considered the extension on a lease for a small flat in Chelsea with just […]
Go Green For A Better Mortgage Deal
10 Apr 2018 Author: Stephen Breen ‘Going green’ could soon secure you a better mortgage deal, with incentives available for the most energy efficient borrowers. The Government Green Finance Taskforce published a report on 28th March that urges lenders in the UK to take green factors into account when making lending decisions: and a high […]
12 Steps To Buying Your First Home
2 Apr 2018 Author: Stephen Breen You’ve been eagerly saving up for years to put a deposit on your first home – so now you’ve got the money, what happens next? Follow our top tips to ensure your first purchase is as hassle-free as it can be. 1 Check your credit files There are three […]
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