On the anniversary of the full scale implementation of Home Information Packs, Hart Reade are delighted to announce a reduction in the cost of our HIPs.

Hart Reade HIPs now start from just £195 plus VAT in the Wealden area and £250 plus VAT in the Eastbourne area.  The Pack includes Official Searches which will be of value to your buyer together with the all important Energy Performance Certificate, produced by a local Domestic Energy Assessor.

Unlike some HIP providers, we will provide you with a HIP with no obligation for you then to instruct us in the conveyancing.  However, if you do choose to instruct us, you will receive a Loyalty Reward Voucher redeemable against our fees on completion.

For more details, please contact one of our Property Lawyers Jan Hollands or Andrew Rannie.

At Hart Reade we feel it important to draw people's attention to the pitfalls and potential disasters of using an online Will service.  Making a Will is an important step and needs to be carried out with an expert who can understand your circumstances and what you want to accomplish from your Will and can guide you through the law so that this can be achieved.

Solicitors are governed by the Solicitors Act and regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority, and will have undergone many years of training to qualify.  They will want to see a client face to face to ensure that the client understands what they want to do and that they have the mental capacity to sign a Will.  An identity check is carried out to ensure that the person is whom they claim to be.  The solicitor will provide advice ranging from tax considerations to preserving assets from care fees to ensure that what is proposed is the best way of achieving the client's desired outcome.

Solicitors are being asked to check many online Wills free of charge, but are unable to do so if they have never met the client.  Also it is understood that many online systems do not ask financial details so they are unable to check the Inheritance Tax and other legal implications.  Whilst a free of cheap Will may seem attractive, it is fraught with danger and the worst thing is that some problems will not manifest themselves until after the death of the person making the Will.

Married couples and civil partners whose spouse or civil partner dies without leaving a Will are to benefit from an increase in the statutory legacy under proposals due to take place on 1 February 2009.

Concerns had been expressed that the levels of the statutory legacy were too low, currently £125,000 where there are children and £200,000 where there are not.  The levels will now go up to £250,000 and £450,000 respectively.

Head of Probate and Trusts Department, John Benson commented:"The increase will give extra protection to married couples and civil partners whose spouse or civil partner dies without making a Will.  But it also highlights how important it is for both men and women to make arrangements through a carefully drafted Will for their loved ones in the event of their deaths."

"Married couples and civil partners should not assume that when their spouse or civil partner dies, they will automatically be entitled to everything.  Individuals should make sure that their wishes are respected by making a Will."

14 December 2007 - Start Date

Not the most important date in December with Christmas on our minds but from 14 December 2007 all homes marketed for sale in England and Wales will need a Home Information Pack (HIP).  The Government has now set out it's criteria for phasing in the implementation of HIPs including Energy Performance Certificates (EPC's).  Important information is as follows:

Continued first day marketing

Agents are still able to market properties as soon as a HIP has been commissioned.  This concession is extended to 31 May 2008 and therefore as soon as you have instructed us to commission your HIP you can advise your agent and the property can go on the market.

Leasehold

As it now covers all properties Leasehold properties will require a HIP.  Although additional information will be required to produce a HIP for Leasehold properties in future, at present only the Lease itself needs to be incorporated in the HIP.  Other information is likely to be required from 31 August 2008.

Properties marketed before the commencement date

Provided the properties are genuinely on the market before the appropriate commencement date i.e. before 14 December for 1 and 2 bedroom properties, 10 September for 3 bedroom properties and 1 August for 4 bedroom plus properties then a Pack will not be required.  This exemption will continue for as long as the marketing continues but the Government has advised that it may appoint a date in the future when all properties will be subject to the HIP duties regardless of when it was first marketed.  It is unlikely this will be before 31 May 2008.

New Builds

Newly constructed properties which have been built subject to part L of the Building Regulations 2006 will not require an EPC until April 2008.

Commercial Properties

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) will be required during the next year for commercial buildings:

6 April 2008 - those over 10,000 square meters;

1 July 2008 - those over 2,500 square meters;

1 October 2008 - All commercial buildings.

All other residential buildings will also require an EPC from 1 October 2008.

We are here to help

We have a link of local dedicated Domestic Energy Assessors (those who prepare EPCs) and can offer HIPs for as little as £250 (subject to VAT and additional costs where the Local Authority in which the property is based charges are higher than others).

What is the advantage of instructing us to prepare your HIP?

1. We can provide you with all the necessary paperwork

    to progress your sale early.

2. We know our Domestic Energy Assessors.

3. We do not put personal searches in our HIPs.  Most

    solicitors acting for buyers and some mortgage

    companies are not prepared to accept personal 

    searches.

If you wish to discuss HIPs further with any of our Conveyancing Department please feel free to contact:

Andrew Pluck (Eastbourne) - apluck@hartreade.co.uk or 01323 727321

Jan Hollands (Eastbourne) - jhollands@hartreade.co.uk or 01323 727321

Andrew Rannie (Hailsham) - arannie@hartreade.co.uk or 01323 841481

A recently reported decision of the Special Tax Commissioners has highlighted the importance of obtaining good advice on Nil Rate Band Trust schemes.  Hart Reade have been aware of the potential difficulty that this case highlights for some time.  The problem centres around section 103 of The Finance Act 1986, which in essence disallows a deduction of a debt where the subject matter of the debt is property received from the deceased.  It is important for clients to give full details of gifts between spouses when preparing or reviewing their Wills and on implementation following the first death.

If clients are concerned that the circumstances may apply to them, they should be advised to contact their usual adviser as steps taken in their Wills can remove any potential problem.

The new Solicitors Code of Conduct comes into force on 1 July 2007 and enshrines core duties of solicitors which are:

Fours days are to be added to the minimum four weeks paid holiday from 1 October 2007 under draft regulations published by the Government with a further four days proposed from 1 April 2009.  However, employers may opt for these additional days to include statutory bank holidays.

The Regulations affect enclosed workplaces and work vehicles.  It becomes an offence to fail to prevent smoking in these places.  Cigarette "breaks" for those wishing to stand in the open outside are not likely to be caught by the legislation, but employers may not have to agree to them particularly in the absence of express contractural rights to such breaks.

The Government laid the Regulations for Lasting Powers of Attorney before Parliament on 17 April and these are expected to be passed in June.  This should mean that the implementation is on track for the current proposed start date of 1 October.  The Regulations are 104 pages long with the new document itself being 25 pages.

Many Clients are updating their arrangements for Enduring Powers of Attorney before the 1 October deadline as existing Enduring Powers of Attorney will continue to be valid.

You may have seen in the press, or if you have not so far you will shortly, that Home Information Packs will be compulsory for residential property sellers from 1 June 2007 and we try below to answer a number of your queries:

1.   Will I need a HIP to sell a property?

Properties already on the market before 1 June 2007 will not need a HIP unless they remain on the market after 31 December 2007. There are a number of exemptions and these are briefly as follows:

a)   Non-residential or mixed used properties

b)   Properties which are not placed on the open

      market ie sold to relatives or friends

c)   Tenanted property

2.   Why are HIPs being bought in?

The Government reviewed the buying and selling process for properties and sought ways to remove wasted time, money and failed sales across the country.  They thought the best way was to highlight the key concerns and information at an early stage and give potential buyers information before they made an offer.

There has been and still is considerable opposition to the scheme as it is seen as a potential burden on sellers and delay in bringing properties to the market. The information that is required in a HIP has been somewhat watered down.

3.   What will a HIP comprise of?

A legal pack must contain:

a)   Index

b)   Energy Efficiency Certificate prepared by

      an accredited inspector

c)   Statement of the main terms of sale (confirming

      whether the property is freehold and

      vacant possession)

d)   Evidence of the title (the normal documentation

      that solicitors prepare to review your title deeds)

e)   Basic property searches (or in certain areas

      confirmation they have been applied for)

There are a number of other documents which are authorised to go into the pack but not a requirement. There are also extra requirements for Leasehold properties and different rules for developers.

4.   Will Hart Reade be able to provide us with a HIP?

We are currently working with the Law Society nationally and the Eastbourne Law Society locally so that when selling your house you should see no real difference in the speed at which the property goes on the market and the information that we require from you to progress matters.  It may well be that information we would have asked you for only when a sale had been agreed is now required beforehand.

We are working with local estate agents to ensure a seamless instruction system using the most up-to-date technology.

5.   How much will they cost?

No one is quite sure at this stage.  We are confident that as the most expensive aspect of a HIP, the Home Condition Report, is no longer a requirement, the costs should be manageable.  Further details of costs will be on our website when more information is available.

There will be a lot of speculation and scare stories in the Press about HIPs. Do not worry we are HIP ready!

If you have any concerns, queries or comments on Home Information Packs please do not hesitate to email apluck@hartreade.co.uk.

• HIPS (Home Information Packs).  We have been preparing for many months for the introduction of HIPS on residential property sales on 1 June 2007 and want to reassure our clients that we have the systems in place to produce a HIP for them when they wish to sell their property.  We use on-line services to obtain information which helps speed up the process.

• Employment.  We have contracts and procedures which help avoid the real risks of contravening recently introduced statutory procedures and rules against discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sex and race.

No Smoking.  From 1 July 2007 all employers, employees, customers and visitors will not be able to smoke in the enclosed area of the workplace.  Smoking rooms will no longer be allowed and smoking in work vehicles will not be permitted.

 

Maternity Leave.  New entitlements for working parents from 1 April:

• All employed women are entitled to additional maternity leave.

• The payment period for Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance has been extended to 39 weeks.

• Some notice periods have changed.

• Employed fathers have a new right to up to 26 weeks additional Paternity Leave.

• Enduring Powers of Attorney.  The government has delayed implementation of the new Lasting Powers of Attorney until 1 October 2007.   Enduring Powers of Attorney created before this date will continue to be valid.   Many of Hart Reade’s clients are updating their existing arrangements now because the relative simplicity of the existing form contrasts with the twelve page form of the new document together with a further one hundred and twenty-six pages of guidance.