The Blog - Archive

March 2010



25/03/10 Spread the good word!

The weekly Law Gazette (the trade magazine for solicitors) reports that one in five consumers surfs the internet to find a solicitor to draft their Will or deal with the sale or purchase of their house or flat, the second most popular method after personal recommendation. It seems the internet has finally replaced the good old Yellow Pages and print advertising for consumers who don't mind who deals with their legal affairs.

At D'Angibau we are proud to report that well over 70% of our work arrives on our desks because an existing client wants to continue using us or because they have told someone else about us. If you feel safe in the knowledge that D'Angibau are helping you deal with the important things in life, tell someone and help them understand what it is to be a client of a long-established firm providing quality legal services.

by Daniel Stanton

 

24/03/10 BREAKING NEWS - Budget 2010 and Stamp Duty Land Tax

The Treasury has announced a new stamp duty relief for 'first-time buyers', reducing the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) payable to nil where the 'chargeable consideration' does not exceed £250,000. It takes effect from midnight tonight.

Our initial investigations and enquiries to HM Revenue & Customs have
revealed that:
  1. The relief does not apply where the taxpayer has owned an interest in land, however minor, previously.
  2. The relief does not apply if you have previously had an interest in a lease of residential property originally granted for 7 years or more
  3. The relief does not apply if the property is not used as the main residence.
  4. The relief will cease to be allowable after two years.

Our residential conveyancing team is concerned that this SDLT relief may not be the giveaway that it first appears and that buyers should be very careful to examine any past transactions, including those involving close family, to ensure that the SDLT relief can be claimed. We are preparing an additional questionnaire to assist our clients to disclose the relevant information to assist us.

The uncertainty over the complex legislation will mean that as an interim measure, 'first-time buyers' with a mortgage will need to deposit the SDLT with us prior to completion, until HM Revenue and customs publish definitive guidelines for us to follow. This is because as a condition of lending the money to you, your mortgage lender will require our undertaking to pay any stamp duty due . We need to be absolutely sure of the new rules and we hope that you appreciate that this is the most sensible way in which to proceed and protect our client's and their lender's best interests, which is after all what we are here to do.

Commercial tenants taking leases in their own names may wish to consider establishing a company to take the lease and trade from the premises even if they are to guarantee the obligations of that company to preserve their "first-time buyer" status.

Wills may also need to be looked at urgently to establish whether it is prudent to make a gift of cash rather than an interest in property if the beneficiary would otherwise be a first-time buyer.

Please note that this is an early assessment and further issues may come to light. Do not rely on these initial assessments without consulting us first and giving us all the relevant information relating to the transaction.

by Daniel Stanton

 

15/03/10 Dictation Blunders

A puzzling reference to a Russian Owl was found in the transcript of a judge's summing up, which should have read "rationale".

One solicitor was surprised to find a character called Farmer Sutical in a business lease, while a letter from a surveyor claimed one particular set of plans was a 'pigment of the imagination'.

A districtrict judge tells of a secretary with a particular problem with acts of parliament, leading to the Watery Sauces Act 1963 (water resources) and the Small Swellings Act 1923 (small dwellings).

Other bloopers include an officious bystander test becoming a vicious bystander test, peaceable re-entry typed as peaceful rear entry, and some bullock-proof fencing - doubtless erected by Farmer Sutical!

by Sue Benoke

 


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