PCS Legal Podcast

In this short podcast we discuss restrictive covenants on a property (UK), how long do they last and what happens in the event they are breached.

Many types of property both residential and commercial often come with various rules about how the property can and cannot be used, these rules are known as "restrictive covenants".

Restrictive covenants are written into the title deed of the property by the seller. Typical examples of covenants are:
* Preventing alterations to be made on the property
* Preventing land from being used for any business purposes
* Restrictions relating to access over land
* Leasehold flats can often have covenants designed to maintain structure (e.g. pets and regulation on noise)

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In this short podcast we discuss what are the Land Registry ID1 forms (UK).

There are certain circumstances when a lawyer will not act for you, yet you will be party to a property transaction. In these situations you will need to complete what is called an ID1 form.

This involves visiting our offices in person with the said form, together with your original passport and driving license. We will then complete the form on your behalf.

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So in this podcast we discuss the following topics:
"What is Stamp Duty?" (UK)
"Why do we have to pay it?"
"How can buyers reduce stamp duty or possibly avoid paying it?"

Stamp Duty is a conditional tax paid, when you buy land or a residential property, generally over the value of £125,000, second home buyers pay an extra 4& on properties more than £40,000.
Stamp duty applies to both freehold and leasehold whether you're buying a property with your own money or using a mortgage.

Stamp Duty covers the legal cost for the transaction process involved in purchasing the property. You have to pay Stamp Duty on completion and your lawyer will discharge this liability at the inland revenue within 14 days of the completion date. If it's not paid in time the revenue might charge you interest and a penalty.

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A Shared ownership mortgage provides an affordable way to buy a home. You purchase a share in a home and pay a subsidised rent on the part that you don't own. In the future if you wish you can usually buy further shares until you own your own home.

Reasons for purchasing a shared ownership property:

* You own part of your home rather than paying rent with no return.
* You will only need to secure a mortgage for the percentage of the price
* You will also need a much smaller deposit than you would against buying a property outright

The percentage typically ranges from 25% to 75% of the full purchase price and is tailored to your circumstances.

When you buy a home with shared ownership, you are the homeowner and take on all the responsibilities and gain all the benefits that go with owning a home.

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This short podcast explains the swearing of documents and statutory declaration by a commissioner of oath.

Some documents need to be sworn on oath, i.e. swearing on the bible. These documents are called Affidavit or statutory declarations. By swearing you do so by the bible that the content of the document are true and accurate as far as you are aware.

You then need to sign to confirm this is the case. The solicitor of commissioner of oath will then also sign to say they saw you swear and sign the document in front of them. If you require a document to be sworn, the same can be done by:

* Commissioner of oaths
* Solicitor
* A court official (when authorised)

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This short podcast explains what you should look out for when purchasing a property with a short term lease. Should you avoid buying a property with a short term lease?

When leases are granted they're normally given a term of 125 years. When buying a new leasehold property, this does not create a problem. Older properties can prove more problematic and should be approached with caution.

A lease with less than 65 years to run will significantly decline in value, which will mean fewer people will want to purchase it and also banks and mortgage providers will be less likely to lend on them.

If you're looking to buy a property where the lease is approaching 80-75 years left to run, you should consider whether the short term lease can be extended. You should always enquire as to whether the owner has had contact with the landlord to explore the potential of extending the lease.

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Most clients are aware that we can provide a pre auction report, not many people know that we're also able to provide a report on any property you're looking to purchase. We are able to produce a pre legal property report that may help even before or after you've viewed the property and when your looking to make an offer.

We can provide information on:

# The registered owners name
# The price they paid for the property
# Rights of way noted on the title
# Restrictions - there could be covenants which are restrictive
# Council tax band
# The proximity of public transport
# The proximity of local schools

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In this short podcast we discuss what a processing agent does and how we can help you.

Being a processing agent we are able to act for you as your client in the capacity of a processing agent, where you may live abroad or your mortgage company requires an additional party for service of any notice, proceedings or any other correspondence for that matter.

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In this short podcast, we discuss what commonhold is and how we can help you.

Commonhold in essence is where a multi occupancy building is divided into a number of freehold units, this means that each individual flat will own it's own freehold.

The common parts such as the staircasing and hallways are owned and managed by a company that the freeholders also own. There are no head landlords or freeholders as simply the owners of the flat manage the common and external parts jointly.

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In this short podcast we discuss building insurance and how it works.

When you're buying a property you'll need to investigate both contents and structural building insurance. Contents insurance doesn't really form part of the conveyancing process, it merely ensures you have cover for your belongings and furniture.

Within the conveyancing process, structural building insurance will play a significant role. Firstly, you need to place it on risk when exchange of contract takes place and not completion. Once you exchange you are legally bound to buy and therefore even if the seller has insurance on risk, you could not be certain that the payments are up to date or something hadn't been done to invalidate.

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