If you require a specific timescale for completion of your purchase ensure that you have advised all parties, including estate agents and solicitors, at the outset of the transaction.
The valuation report prepared on behalf of a mortgage lender will be very basic - if you have any doubts as to the condition of the property instruct your own surveyor to carry out a Homebuyers Report.
Ensure that you have budgeted for all maintenance and repairs to the property including obtaining specialist reports and estimates for any works required to the property.
The basic searches made by your solicitor will always be personal to the property - if you require any further details regarding the surrounding area or neighbourhood you should advise your solicitor at an early stage.
Stamp Duty Land Tax becomes payable from £125,001.00. For houses between £125,001.00 and £250,00.00 the tax is 1% of the full purchase price, for houses between £250,001.00 and £500,000.00 the tax is 3% of the full purchase price and for houses over £500,001.00 the tax is 4%.
If you are purchasing for £150,000.00 or under, check with your solicitor whether the property falls within an area designated by the Inland Revenue as being exempt from Stamp Duty Land Tax.
There are two key dates in the transaction; exchange of Contracts when you make a legally binding commitment to purchase the property and; completion - the date on which the property belongs to you and you can move in. A completion date is fixed when contracts are exchanged.
A deposit will be paid across by a buyer (via their solicitors) on exchange of Contracts - the maximum deposit paid will be 10% of the purchase price - lesser amounts must be agreed with a seller via the solicitors.
If you are in rented accommodation we always advise that you do not serve notice to vacate until contracts are exchanged. Until this point, you have no binding timescale to move or agreement to purchase the property.
If you are buying jointly, consider instructing the solicitor to prepare a Declaration of Trust - particularly where one or both of you are investing sums of money into the property. This document will define how the property is held between you.
Where property is owned by more than one person, the law recognises two forms of joint ownership. The first is called a joint tenancy and the second is called a tenancy in common. There are specific and important differences between each type of joint ownership, which are important to know. They may have a much wider-ranging impact than you might first have thought.
This is usually only suitable between spouses. It is not usually advisable where each party may have independent means or property. It means that the joint owners each own the entirety of the property and it is presumed that their shares are equal.
This means that the joint owners each own a specific share in the property
The most significant difference between the two forms of joint ownership is the right of survivorship.
This right exists only for joint tenants. It means that, on the death of one joint tenant, the property automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant(s). This has both advantages and disadvantages:
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
If property is owned or contributed to in unequal shares, a tenancy in common must be used. If it is not, the presumption that the shares are equal under a joint tenancy will apply and may disadvantage one of the owners. If the specific percentages of ownership change, this needs to be kept up to date.
If joint owners divorce or their relationship breaks down, they should review their ownership of land in the light of the assumptions that are made about the equal ownership under a joint tenancy and the right of survivorship.
There are many complicating issues in relation to inheritance tax and estate planning matters. The Probate Department at Crosse + Crosse are expert in dealing with these. The earlier that you can start planning your estate, the more effective this planning can be. The administration of your affairs together with an effective Will could save your estate large sums of money which would otherwise be paid for inheritance tax.
Searches on property matters
We are often asked about the searches required or advisable when purchasing or leasing a property. When we refer to a "buyer" we also mean a proposed buyer or proposed tenant.
The important factor is that there are lists and records kept in central registers which confirm whether a number of matters affect the property. When you buy or lease the property, you will be bound by them whether you are aware of them or not.
It is entirely at the buyer's risk to proceed without obtaining searches. We always advise obtaining the following searches:
This is essentially a standard list of enquiries of the appropriate local authorities. It contains enquiries about (amongst other things) Planning and Building Regulation matters, Roads, Conservation Areas, Parks and Countryside issues, Pipelines and Noise Abatement.
This is a standard enquiry of the relevant water authority to confirm whether the property is connected to the mains drainage and mains sewer. The search result includes plans showing the location of the nearby mains so that it can be checked that these do not run through any buildings and that the property has the right to use them.
If the property has had a historic industrial use, or there was one close by, there is the possibility that the land could contain contaminants. If these contaminants spread into surrounding land and cause damage, the owner of the property is strictly liable for the costs of such damage - whether or not they were aware of the contamination and whether or not they caused the contamination in the first place or the subsequent leak.
Accordingly it is advisable to obtain this search which not only covers the historic use of the immediate area but also considers local flood plains, nearby licences to discharge and any hazardous uses in the immediate area. This search costs around £40 for a domestic property.
Will reveal any planning applications made within a 250-metre radius of the property. This search costs around £30.
It is possible that there may be other searches which you should obtain. We will advise you if they are likely to be required. These other searches include Mining Searches, Chancel Repair Searches and Gas pipeline Searches.
Planning permission is needed for carrying out any development of land. Development is defined by the Town and Planning Act as being of two kinds:-
First, the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, over or under land.
Secondly, the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land.
Certain kinds of specific development are automatically given deemed permission under the General Permitted Development Order. Two examples are the erection of fences (subject to height restrictions) and small extensions to existing dwelling houses. Such works do not normally require planning permission though exceptionally the original planning permission for the construction of the property may provide that the General Permitted Development Order is not to apply.
Is there a time limit after which one is safe if one has carried out development without planning permission or in breach of the detailed conditions?
The usual enforcement periods for breaches of the Planning Regulations are four years for building operations etc., and ten years for changes in use. In the latter case, if after the ten year period has elapsed you need documentary proof that the existing use is legal you can apply to the local planning authority for an established use certificate.
Great care must be taken before purchasing or altering a listed building, particularly as there is no time limit for enforcement. Any historic breaches of the listed building regulations can be enforced at any time against the current owner of the property.
Certain areas are designated as conservation areas by the local planning authority. This has the effect of requiring planning permission to be obtained for certain works which otherwise might be permitted under the General Permitted Development Order. Moreover, works on trees are regulated and may require specific consent.
The Building Regulations regulate the standards of construction and compliance with them is necessary whenever building works or alterations to drains are to be undertaken. The need for this is separate from the other consents mentioned above.
Crosse + Crosse Solicitors incorp Charles Hope & Co, 14 Southernhay West, Exeter, EX1 1PL Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority - SRA number 45764 Tel: +44 (0)1392 258451 - Fax: +44 (0)1392 278938 - DX: 8313 EXETER - Email: mail@crosse.co.uk