First Time Buyers In Race To Beat Stamp Duty Deadline

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Jeannette Kemp

House sale rose in January 2012 as first-time buyers rush to get a foot on the property ladder and take advantage of the government’s temporary stamp duty exemption. This stamp duty holiday is due to expire on 24 March 2012, and the deadline is creating an upturn in interest at this normally quiet time of the year.

Recent data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows an increase in the proportion of properties worth up to £250,000 bought by first time buyers, who are no doubt looking to complete their property purchase before 24 March. This deadline also helped to lift the number of new mortgage loans granted between November 2011 and December 2011 by 7%. Compared with December 2010 new loan numbers rose by 14%.

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
Winsford 01606 592159
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Land Registry’s latest move against Property Fraud

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Jeannette Kemp

HM Land Registry is encouraging property owners to register a special restriction against the properties they own which then requires a Solicitor to certify their identity as the home owner before it can be sold.

From this month (February 2012) this restriction – which is registered on Form LL – will be free for absent property owners (there is otherwise a fee of £50.00). Empty properties – where the owner is abroad or in a care home for example – are amongst the most vulnerable to fraud.

H M Land Registry guarantees the title to land and property, and will pay compensation to genuine owners when a registered title has been fraudulently sold. In 2010 (when the last full annual data is available) there were 23 out of 71 claims settled because of forgery and fraud involving properties with an absent owner. It costs Land Registry hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, and they are looking to do all they can to reduce this. They also actively seek to identify and stop fraudulent applications, and since September 2009 Land Registry has prevented frauds in over 100 applications, involving properties valued at more than £47 million.

If you would like to find out more about the special restriction, please speak to a member of the mosshaselhurst property team. As always, we’ll be happy to help on 01606 74301.

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‘Big conversation’ needed on social networking

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Emma Roberts

A US judge denied a lawyer continuance of trial after the latter’s Facebook entry revealed he was absent from Court because he was out partying and had not suffered a bereavement as claimed, an International Bar Association (IBA) report on social networking recounts.

Elsewhere, the Supreme Court of South Korea refused to reappoint judges after they posted controversial remarks on a social networking site, while in the UK a juror was jailed for online activity during a trial.

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
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What is a brine search?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Jeannette Kemp

It is a search of the Cheshire Brine Compensation Board’s records to see whether the property might have been adversely affected by brine mining. If so, there may be a chance that it could suffer from mining subsidence.

Mining Subsidence occurs when there is ground surface movement caused by the collapse or failure of underground mine workings which can damage homes and property over time. This type of damage can vary from cosmetic problems only the physical appearance of a house may be affected to ‘functional damage’ where the structure’s use has been impacted and even to extensive structural damage.

Brine pumping activity is concentrated in the Cheshire area, although a small part of the Greater Manchester Area is also affected. A Brine Search is required if the property is within any area which might be affected by brine mining.

Any prudent Purchaser (and certainly any Lender) will want to identify the environmental and stability risk arising from possible past and current underground mining that could affect the property.

The Brine Search Service is operated by the Coal Authority and the Search results will indicate:-
• If the property is situated within the Compensation District;
• Whether the property is within a Consultation Area prescribed by the Cheshire Brine Board under the provisions of section 38(1) of the 1952 Act;
• Whether a Notice of Damage has been filed in respect of the property and, if so, whether the claim was accepted and, if so, how the claim was settled;
• Whether claims in respect of the property have been commuted by a once and for all payment of compensation; and
• Whether the compensation provisions of the 1952 and 1964 Acts would apply should the property be affected at some future date by subsidence due to brine pumping.

Depending upon where you intend to buy, a Brine Search is one of several pre-contract Searches that might be recommended by your Conveyancer.

The Property Team at mosshaselhurst will be happy to help you with any questions you may have and provide you with any further information you require.
Northwich 01606 74301
Winsford 01606 592159
Wilmslow 01625 538816

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PM sidelines Legal Profession

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Emma Roberts

Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of sidelining the legal profession in talks about dealing with whiplash cases. Cameron met with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and leading insurance firms on Tuesday for a much-publicised ‘summit’ over the rising cost of car insurance. The PM made it clear that a ‘damaging compensation culture’ has been responsible for pushing up premiums and said he wanted to reduce the 1,500 daily whiplash claims.

Despite a letter from the Law Society in January calling for engagement with the profession, only insurers and government ministers attended the summit.

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
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Banks distanced from small businesses

Posted on February 15, 2012 by lyndsay titterington

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Santander took part in the government-support Project Merlin which aimed to increase bank lending to businesses.

Figures released by the British Bankers’ Association found that the five banks lent £74.9bn to small and medium-sized businesses – just missing the target of £76bn.

In total, the banks lent £214.9bn which exceeded the £190bn target.

It has been speculated that not enough money is getting through to those who need it the most resulting in the most valued form of funding for small businesses being loans and overdrafts.

If you feel that you need advice regarding your family business do not hesitate to contact Gaynor Owen or Richard Miller now on 01606 74301 at mosshaselhurst solicitors.

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Winsford – a Town worth it’s Salt (and more!)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Emma Roberts

The recent icy spell meant that the salt mine in Winsford was open round-the-clock to fulfil the demand from Local Authority orders. Winsford has a long and proud history in mining salt – and even before Roman times salt was produced locally by boiling water from natural springs. Winsford is the home of Britain’s oldest working mine!

When it was first opened the mine was known as Meadow Bank Mine and had just two shafts. These shafts were 4 feet square and were lined with timber and puddle clay. Today, the mines lie almost 200m underneath the Cheshire countryside, and have over 135 miles of underground tunnels and workings hence the need for a Cheshire ‘Brine Search’ when buying property in this area.

The towns around Winsford such as Northwich, Middlewich and Nantwich, all take their names from salt production, as ‘Wych’ often meant ‘Brine Town’?

By law, Local Authorities have to keep Britain’s roads clear of snow and ice to help minimise the chance of traffic accidents and delays, and they are the mine’s biggest customer. The recent icy spell meant that miners worked round the clock to help meet the peak in demand and keep the country moving.

The constant temperature of the mine also provides perfect conditions for document and data storage with secure and sustainable storage conditions for business data, high-value assets, and all types of archives on behalf of pharmaceutical clients, the legal industry and also the Police.

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
Winsford 01606 592159
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Mesothelioma ruling opens way to higher payouts for elderly

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Emma Roberts

Elderly victims of mesothelioma could be entitled to substantial compensation, following a landmark ruling on damages for pain and suffering. In the High Court last week Mrs Justice Swift awarded 92-year-old Dennis Ball £50,000 compensation for pain and suffering after he developed asbestos-related cancer following his work for the National Coal Board and British Coal Corporation. The award is higher than the £35,000 figure recommended in the Judicial Studies Board (JSB) guidelines.

The ruling makes it clear that regardless of the amount of time the victim lives following their diagnosis, they should be appropriately compensated for the pain and suffering they endure, and paves the way for other elderly sufferers to receive settlements which reflect the pain and distress the disease causes, regardless of their age.

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
Winsford 01606 592159
Wilmslow 01625 538816

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Referral proposals ‘wont work’

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Emma Roberts

The government must abandon its current proposals to ban referral fees in personal injury cases and start again from scratch, Chancery Lane has urged. Law Society policy chief Mark Stobbs has stated that the relevant amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) will have ‘unintended consequences’ and should be ditched.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
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Judicial watchdog probes Winehouse coroner case

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Emma Roberts

The Office for Judicial Complaints is investigating the case of an assistant deputy coroner who was appointed by her senior coroner husband despite not having the minimum required experience.

Solicitor Suzanne Greenaway was appointed an assistant deputy coroner in 2009 on the recommendation of her husband, Dr Andrew Scott Reid, coroner for inner north London. In October 2011, Greenaway conducted the inquest into the death of the singer Amy Winehouse. She resigned the following month when it emerged that she had not satisfied the minimum requirement of five years’ post-qualification experience as a practitioner in England and Wales. At the time of the Winehouse inquest, Greenaway, who had previously practised in Australia, had been qualified in England for only two years.

Reid has written to families affected by 12 inquests and offered to have their cases reheard. He said: ‘I appointed my wife as an assistant deputy coroner as I believed at the time that her experience as a solicitor and barrister in Australia satisfied the requirements of the post. In November 2011 it became apparent that I had made an error and I accepted her resignation.’

mosshaselhurst Solicitors
Northwich 01606 74301
Winsford 01606 592159
Wilmslow 01625 538816

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