16 Wade House Road, Shelf, Halifax, HX3 7PB
Tel: 01274 608353 Fax: 01274 608007 email: mail@onlegal-solicitors.com
16 Wade House Road, Shelf, Halifax, HX3 7PBTel: 01274 608353 Fax: 01274 608007 email: mail@onlegal-solicitors.com
|
|
Services
|
Conveyancing is the process of transferring, or conveying, property – basically buying, selling and re-mortgaging freehold and leasehold property as well as creating leases. We divide conveyancing into residential and commercial.
Residential conveyancing The purchase, sale and re-mortgage of houses and flats is dealt with by Michelle Pearson who is a licensed conveyancer. Most houses are freehold and most flats or apartments are leasehold, although there are exceptions either way. Residential leases, apart from short term “shorthold” tenancies, tend to be for long periods at a nominal rent but with a full “premium” (generally a figure equivalent to the market price as if the property were freehold) payable up front. Buyers should watch out for service charges for things like grounds/gardens, common parts such as entrances and staircases and management of the building. These charges often work out at around £1,000 a year and can vary from one year to the next. The new commonhold concept designed for flats is still very rare – and will remain so until the majority of lenders accept them and will give mortgages on them.
Because leaseholds generally are more complex and generate large amounts of paperwork, our fees tend to be approximately 50% higher when dealing with them compared with freeholds.
Like most firms, we give fixed price quotations. Give us a call on 01274 608353.
Commercial conveyancing The purchase, sale, mortgage, re-mortgage and letting of offices, shops, warehouses, factories and development land is handled by Ian Holdsworth who is a solicitor and the principal of On Legal. Most commercial leases are of shorter duration with no, or only a small, “premium” up front but full market rent usually reviewed on a regular basis in leases running for more than about 3 years.
Joint ownership : joint tenants-v-tenants in common If you are buying property in joint names you need to decide whether to hold it as joint tenants or tenants in common. Don’t be confused by the word “tenant” – in this context it has nothing to do with leases and renting property. Joint tenancies and tenancies in common are the two ways of owning property in joint names. If property is owned by 2 or more people as joint tenants and one of them dies their share passes to the other(s) automatically. It does not form part of their estate so it cannot be given away by Will. In contrast, if property is owned by 2 or more people as tenants in common their shares do not pass to the others automatically. Instead, their share forms part of their estate and can be given away by Will. Traditionally, business partners owned property as tenants in common so that they could give their share to their family rather than it going automatically on their death to their business partner(s). Couples or families, on the other hand, traditionally owned as joint tenants. Recent rises in property prices, however, mean that many people own homes that are worth more than the current inheritance tax “nil rate band” of £285,000 and are potentially liable for inheritance tax on death. One perfectly legitimate way of avoiding or minimising inheritance tax is to own property as tenants in common which allows a couple to equalise their estates, to include jointly owned property in their will and to use up their £285,000 nil rate band. Remember, each person, not each couple, has a £285,000 allowance.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Stamp Duty Land Tax (“SDLT”) is payable on any residential property bought for more than £125,000 (unless it is in a “disadvantaged area” in which case the threshold is £150,000) and any commercial property bought for more than £150,000. The rate of SDLT is 1% up to £250,000; 3% from £250,001 to £500,000; and 4% from £500,001 upwards. |
