Friday 10 August 2012

Is October 2012 the right time to introduce new building regulations?

Though there is little written on the subject it seems that by October of this year we will all be paying more for home extensions and improvements.   

It is expected that those undertaking home extensions, loft conversions or integral garage conversions will be required, and not given any choice, to undertake ‘consequential’ energy efficiency improvements in other parts of their property.

Upon implementation this may mean having to find the money to implement measures such as fitting a new boiler or solid wall insulation, up to a limit of, or even beyond, a value of 10% of the cost of the extension or conversion works.

If you are thinking of only replacing a boiler or (some or all) windows this likely to trigger  a mandatory  requirement to install one, some or all of loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, hot water cylinder insulation and draught proofing.

The impact of these requirements could be significant when you consider with information supplied by the DCGL that every year there are around 200,000 domestic extensions, loft conversions and integral garage conversions, one million homes have windows replaced and 1.4 million boilers are replaced.

If you are thinking of making changes now is to the time or you could find making and paying for changes beyond the scope of their planned building works.

The aim is admirable - implementing cost effective changes will help reduce carbon emissions and save on energy bills.  However at a time when the economy is running on empty is the timing of this right?   Are we ready for more red tape, extra costs and will not in fact put off people from carrying out home extensions and how will this impact on the building and other related industries.  Time will only tell.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Tuesday 17 July 2012

What is the Green Deal?

What is the Green Deal?

This is scheduled for introduction in autumn of this year, and will enable accredited retailers such as Tesco and B&Q to supply, without no upfront cost, quality assured services to homeowners and businesses looking to improve the energy efficiency of their property.

The full cost of the measures will be recovered through instalments on the energy bill over several years, and because the Green Deal is not a personal loan or an advance payment scheme, there is no obligation to continue paying the instalments when the owner moves home.

Qualification for the scheme depends on a simple calculation, known as the “golden rule”– whereby the predicted savings from the energy efficiency improvements to the property must equal or exceed the cost of installation.


How will it work?

Those wishing to participate in the Green Deal will require a full property assessment carried out by an independent and fully accredited advisor.  This initial consultation will provide householders and business owners with an opportunity to learn about the current energy performance of their properties and the specific measures which they would have access to under the Green Deal to improve this performance.

If it assessed that the homeowner or business owner qualifies (see above) then a comprehensive quote, clearly breaking down the total cost of energy efficiency installations for your property, the size of repayment instalments attached to utility bills, and the estimated length of the repayment period will be issued. 

This will be supervised by the accredited advisor who carried out the survey and the work will only be financed if it is carried out by approved Green Deal installers.

How will it be financed?

The finance will be through an instalment plan attached to the utility bill and which will be attached to the property rather than the individual.

Although a Green Deal finance plan requested by a homeowner or small business is not a personal loan, it is likely to be considered a fixed term credit arrangement and customers will therefore be protected under the Consumer Credit Act.


How will installation work?

Once a Green Deal finance plan has been approved, installation will be arranged and carried out by certified Green Deal providers. 

Will the Green Deal help to save money in the long term?

Only time and a track record will tell!

The current language used by the Government suggests they are also not sure of the probable outcome of the measures.   Upon being pushed by a commentator on this subject the Department of Energy and Climate Change stated: "[People] should still save money compared to what it would have cost to heat their home in that way without a Green Deal."

How will the Homeowner and Business Owner be able to monitor and track progress once the initial application of interest is registered?

We are currently working on a tracking system which can be used by the home owner and business owner to record and track key stages within the process and to create at the end of the procedure a property log book for transferring the records and information to the next owner.

For further information on the Green Deal feel free to email me

David Pett

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Monday 2 July 2012

Sewage pipes - The importance of ownership

The Water Act 2003 which came into effect in October 2010 has left certain home owners worse off and continues to pass under the radar of may lawyers who act for those buying homes.

Up until the introduction of this new law, financial responsibility for the maintenance and repair of   the drainage pipes which connects your home to the mains sewer rested squarely with you.  If anything went wrong with the drains you and the others who share the use of the pipes would be required to meet the costs of repair.   Often this meant having to find several thousand of pounds.

The good news is that since October this responsibility has not passed to the local water authority meaning that if your house does not connect directly to the mains sewer but is part of a network connecting more than one house then there is longer any liability resting with you.   If any thing goes wrong the water authority must sort it.

Beware however as any stretch of pipe through which sewage from only your property flows will remain your sole responsibility.  You need to ask your solicitor to check this and to make sure you have a right to make use of the pipe and that if it passes through adjoining land that you have a right to access that land to carry our repairs etc.  Certain water and sewage authorities offer insurance to address and issues and this can cost as little as £5 per annum.

The downside of this is that we will all be paying more for our sewerage charges even if our drains are not automatically adopted because we connect direct to the mains.    There may also be problems if we are looking to build over a drain, for example the building of a conservatory or an extension.  If we have lost ownership then we will need to obtain the consent of the water authority.   If there is already a building situated over a pipe which is now owned by the water authority and the water authority has to gain access to carry our repairs you will if you can show that the pipe was owned by you before October claim compensation for the damage caused.

So the message is ask your solicitor if the property is connected through a network of pipes or connects direct to the mains sewer. If  it connects direct you will be responsible for the cost of repair and maintenance and you need to make sure  you find out the route of the drain and that you have a legal right of access to it.  

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Saturday 16 June 2012

How do I speed up the process of selling my home?

What can you do to sell your home fast once you have received an offer?

Dealing with the legal formalities involved in selling a house should be straightforward and relatively cheap.  The problem is that not many homeowners prepare for the sale sufficiently and unfortunately there are not too many agents around who are willing to help.

Here are my tips and ones guaranteed to speed up the process:

  • Get together for production all of the guarantees and warranties relating to work undertaken to the property.
  • If you have altered or extended the  property find the planning consents and building regulation documents.  This extends to boiler installation and electrical work. 
  • Remember the buyer will also be interested in seeing consents, approvals, completion certificates, guarantees in connection with work carried our before you became owners.   The solicitors who acted for you when you purchased the property may still be holding these. Check with them.
  • If you are not sure whether alteration and other works required planning consent and or building regulation approval check out this site  : www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/
  • If you know planning consent and or building regulation approval was required but you are unable to find the paperwork contact the council and ask for copies to be sent to you.
  • Complete fully and quickly the property information and fitting and content forms handed to you by your solicitors.    You don’t have to wait to instruct a solicitor to fill these forms in.   You can find a specimen of the property information form here: www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/.../ta6_formspecimen.pdf
  • The buyer will through your solicitors ask you questions about the property  - make sure that when your receive these questions you answer them quickly.
  •  If there is a mortgage and or loans secured on the property make sure you find out how much is outstanding by seeking up-to-date statements and pass these onto you solicitor.

Unless you are looking to tie in your sale with a purchase the sale should take only around 3 weeks to complete depending of course on whether the person buying your property is not selling and or arranging a mortgage!  Unfortunately in conveyancing you can only go as fast as the slowest person in the chain.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Saturday 2 June 2012

Don't buy leasehold property without reading this...

Buying a leasehold property is not as straightforward as you might think.    Nor is it cheap.   You need to make sure the selling agent specializes in this type of property, and you are given all relevant information so you can make an informed decision.  

Look out for the hidden costs. 

Most leasehold properties include common and or shared areas and responsibility along with the cost of maintaining these parts is shared between the tenants.   The expense is called a service charge and this can often be high and burdensome.   

Often responsibility for collecting the service charge rests with a commercial agent or Management Company.  Upon completion of your purchase the agent or Management Company will expect you to pay a fee for lodging notice of your new ownership as well as your mortgage.   They may also require you to enter into an agreement with them direct to make sure you take over responsibility for payment of the service charge.   They may require you to pay an additional fee for lodging this agreement.  You may also be required to acquire a shareholding in the management company for which a further fee might be payable.

The landlord may also be planning to undertake major works such as replacing the roof or external painting.   Sometimes there is money set aside for these extra works.  Often there is not.  If there is no reserve then you could find yourself having to make a contribution towards the cost of these works and this could mean having to pay out thousands of pounds.

Your solicitors will also be looking to charge you more for the work.   This is because there is far more work involved when checking the lease and other legal aspects.

Check the length of the lease and how much of the term of the lease is left to run.   If the remaining term is under or close to 80 years then you should consider carefully with the agent or your solicitor how much is will cost to extend the lease.   It becomes more expensive to extend a lease that is under 80 years.  Keep in mind your lender may not be prepared to lend to you if the remaining part of the lease is under a certain limit.

Beware of rent review clauses.  Plenty of leases contain oppressive review clauses that can result in substantial increases in the level of future rent.

In short make sure you seek expert advice from a solicitor who has experience in this area.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Thursday 17 May 2012

Three good reasons for not instructing a solicitor recommended by an estate agent

You might not know it, but you could be paying more for legal services when moving home because of the recommendation received form your estate agent.   The reason for this is that many estate agents have ‘arrangements’ with solicitors under which they receive what is known as a ‘referral fee’  or as it is often described, a ‘kick back’.

Many of the solicitors who operate in this way do not absorb the referral fee in their fee but add the fee on to the fee they quote you.  This means that you could very well be paying as much as £200 more for the service than you would have otherwise paid had you shopped around and gone to a conveyancing solicitor direct.

Is this legal?  Well at present yes providing the estate agent and solicitor tell you about the arrangement before you make the decision to instruct the solicitor.  The question is how many of those involved actually disclose the referral fee.  Sadly I do not believe it is many.

It also raises the question whether instructing a solicitor recommended by a ‘tied’ estate agent will ensure you receive the best service available.  My experience is that where such arrangements exist the solicitors instructed are normally part of some ‘factory’ operation and in the main the service levels of those firms is very poor.  This could mean you will find yourself having to constantly chase and inevitably the move will take longer.

Instructing an agent with a ‘pet’ solicitor may also impair the solicitor’s ability to offer independent advice. The agent will have a vested interest in the sale completing. Once an agent has agreed a sale, they will want it completed so they will put pressure on the connected solicitor to complete without regard to your best interests. If your solicitor discovers a problem and considers he should advise you to withdraw, will he be prepared to do so if the agents on whom he relies for work tell him not to?

My advice is not to rely on your agent’s recommendation.  Shop around, visit websites, read the reviews on the service offered and do not be tempted by deals offered by some agents to ‘wrap’ your legal fees in with the agent’s fee.  Perhaps even choose your solicitor before you put your house on the market because many solicitors like us know which are the 'good' and 'not so good' agents.    And before you ask, no we do not get a ‘kick back’ for recommending an agent!

Featured post

If it's not broken don't fix it