News
The property industry has come together working as the Home Buying and Selling Group (made up of property lawyers, solicitors, removals, surveyors and estate agents) to publish The Home Buying and Selling Pledge. This sets out ways the industry can work with buyers and sellers to ensure that moves progress as quickly and smoothly as possible in challenging times.
Julie West Solicitors is a member of ALEP (Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners) and has the expertise to assist with leasehold work.
Formed in 2007 and now with 249+ member organisations, ALEP is a not-for-profit association that brings together barristers, managing agents, project managers, solicitors and surveyors working in the residential leasehold sector.
ALEP promotes best practice by vetting organisations and individual practitioners to ensure they have significant expertise in leasehold enfranchisement.
Membership of ALEP acts as a badge of assurance so that flat owners and freeholders can be confident that they are employing professionals with the right level of experience in handling potentially complex transactions.
Extending the term and/or reducing or removing ground rent paid for your leasehold property will increase value and saleability. There are two routes to lease extension - statutory or voluntary - but which one is better? We’re expert solicitors and we can help you with your lease extension, even during lockdown!
Homebuyers everywhere will be bitterly disappointed to learn the government is advising people to delay moving to a new house where possible during the stay-at-home period. Specialist property solicitor Julie West explains which transactions may go ahead during the COVID-19 crisis as well as what can be done to progress matters in the meantime.
The proposed probate fee increase has been withdrawn to the relief of many.
The Law Society has vowed to campaign against future increases it considers disproportionate. Watch this space.
Links with more information about:
Team Julie West Solicitors strapped on their walking boots to raise money for the London Legal Support Trust for access to justice in Surrey and London.
Julie, Susan, Lyn and her husband Jamie, Martin and Richard took on the Surrey hills in the Guildford 10km walk which raised over £15,000 for free legal advice in Surrey. Martin and Richard went on to walk a marathon through London (with atmospheric rain!) which raised over £19,000 for access to justice in London.
We beat our own fundraising target by 246% so thank you to all of our supporters and WELL DONE Team Julie West Solicitors!
We go through rigorous and continual testing and inspections in order to be awarded Lexcel accreditation. This testing ensures that we have the highest standards in:
Protecting client confidentiality;
Communicating with clients clearly, honestly and regularly about their case and legal costs;
Dealing with complaints appropriately; and
File and data management.
Only 16% of law firms have achieved Lexcel. The Lexcel accreditation is a promise to you, from the Law Society, that when instructing us you are in the hands of a trusted professional practice of the highest possible standard. We were one of the first firms in the country to be accredited with the most recent version of the standard.
We are part of the AFLA scheme, a nationwide network of UK law firms committed to assisting the Armed Forces community. We offer a 15% discount to regular and reserve personnel and qualifying families. For more information or to claim the discount click here.
The Equity Release Council was formed to create a united voice for the industry and build on the legacy of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) as the trade body for equity release product providers. Its membership now includes advisers, solicitors, surveyors and product providers.
As a member, we adhere to the council’s high standards of conduct and practice, providing independent legal advice to ensure you understand your rights, obligations and benefits under the terms of your equity release plan.
At a face to face meeting with you, we will discuss the terms and conditions of your contract and ensure you are aware of the risks and rewards of proceeding before signing.
Consumers are at risk from online and/or unregulated providers who are unqualified, untrained and uninsured. The Law Society set up the Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQs) to provide a clear point of differentiation between expert firms of solicitors and other providers.
We are proud to have achieved the high standard of practice and integrity required to become accredited with WIQs. In order to maintain our accreditation our solicitors undergo annual mandatory training and reassessment procedure.
We have proved that when it comes to handling residential conveyancing and mortgage work, we are not only capable, but that we are experts.
Accreditation is awarded based on the training and integrity of our staff, as well as our adherence to efficient and prudent practice management standards and conveyancing procedures.
We were proud to be one of the first practices in the UK to achieve this status (number 90!). When you instruct us you can be assured of our high level of knowledge, skills, experience and management.
Buying a property on a private estate should give you control over shared spaces, limits on building/noise/use, plus shared services and maintenance. However, these schemes are complex and title defects with individual properties damagethe value of the whole.
Terms were agreed and all seemed straightforward. But we discovered that the original transfer deed omitted to grant a right of way over the private road. Then we found that all the original transfers for the estate were defective. Our solicitors had to contact the original developer to organise a deed of variation. The seller imposed an impossible deadline and this could only be achieved if we took the initiative and drafted the documents.
Managing agents employed by the estate supplied inaccurate and misleading information, and imposed requirements for documentation that our deeper investigation showed to be wholly unnecessary.
What’s more, a restriction on the title required third party consent before we could register change of ownership at Land Registry. That third party was a company intended to manage the estate and a SUDS - sustainable urban drainage system. This company was unresponsive for weeks.
Our solicitors has to make a case to Land Registry for the restriction to be disapplied due to inactivity on the part of the company.
Julie West
Founder, 30+ years qualified property solicitor
Our clients were able to meet the deadline and secure the property because our solicitors cracked on with tackling every legal issue.
We also cured a serious title defect that would otherwise have caused major problems with a future sale or mortgage.
“We are in and very happy! I just wanted to thank you for making a potentially stressful process really as painless as it can be!”
SDLT is a tax you pay on completion of your purchase of a property (whether freehold, leasehold or transfer of part).
SDLT is calculated in percentage bands on the value of the property above the threshold of £125,000 for residential properties.
Standard rates for those who have bought a home before or who will not qualify for first time buyer rates are as follows:
Tax on value up to £125,000 = zero
Tax on value £125,001 to £250,000 = 2%
Tax on value £250,001 to £925,000 = 5%
Tax on value £925,001 to £1.5 million = 10%
Tax on remaining amount above £1.5 million = 12%
What are the new rates for first time buyers?
You will qualify for SDLT relief if you are buying your first home, you complete your purchase on or after 22 November 2017 and the value of the property you are buying is less than £500,000.
Tax on value of property up to £300,000 = zero
Tax on value of property £300,001 to £500,000 = 5%
This means first time buyers that complete their purchase from today will qualify for an SDLT saving of up to £5,000.
Emma West - solicitor, operations and strategy
“As a solicitor acting for many first time buyers, as well as having experienced being a first time buyer myself, this is great news. First time buyers are under immense pressure to find cash to cover their deposit, legal fees and moving costs. When you have spent time budgeting, saving and counting each penny - every little helps!
This initiative from the government, as well as others such as lenders favouring cash back over “free legals”, will free up cash for first time buyers to invest in quality legal advice that will ease the process of buying and protect their investment for the future.”
Use the HM Revenue and Customs calculator to calculate your SDLT saving: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
