Your guide to leasehold
property, lease extension
and enfranchisement
Contents
Introduction: What is
Leasehold Property?
1
Extending the Lease or
Buying the Freehold
6
Buying Leasehold Property
2
7
The Differences between Leasehold
Houses and Flats
3
Goldsmith Williams:
Our Services
Testimonials
8
Rights of the Leaseholder
4
Premier Client Club
9
General Terms and Conditions
Acceptance of Instructions to Act
Conveyancing Terms and Conditions
10
Your Mortgage
Regulation
Cancellation Fee
Copyright
A Serious Warning
Law and Jurisdiction
Confirming the Details
Electronic ID
Conflict of Interest
Your File
11
Ending the Relationship
Call Recording
Referral
Copies of Calls
Your Best Interests
Using your Information
Legal and Admin Fee
Confidentiality
Unsecured Loans
Money Laundering
12
15
16
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Outsourcing
Exceptional Expenses
Interest
Telegraphic Transfer Fee
Electronic Communication
Payment of Costs
Rights
Financial Services Insurance
Distance Selling
Marketing
Your Right to Complain
Conveyancing Quality Scheme
Banking Crisis
14
17
13
Client Balances
Assessment
Fact and figures
There are approximately
1.43 million leasehold
properties
Leasehold properties
are predominately flats
(817,000)
10% of all UK property is
leasehold
But there are still many
leasehold houses (612,000)
23% of property in London
and the North West is
leasehold
Introduction: What is Leasehold
Property?
1
Property typically
falls into one of two
categories – freehold
and leasehold.
While freehold property is relatively straightforward,
leasehold property however tends to be more complicated.
When you purchase a leasehold property you are in fact buying the right to live
there for a set number of years rather than owning the property itself and the land
on which it stands. In other words a leasehold property is a long term rental.
As a result the leaseholder (or tenant as they are commonly referred) is required to pay a ground
rent to the freeholder, or landlord. The details of this are specified in the lease agreement.
There is no limit to the length of a lease, however flat leases are commonly either 99 or 125 years while
leasehold houses tend to have much longer terms up to 999 years. Leasehold property come in all
shapes and sizes from purpose built blocks to converted houses and even above shops and offices.
Goldsmith Williams turns 30!
Prize Draws
2014 is a year of celebration at Goldsmith
Williams as we hit our 30 year milestone, and
you’re invited to the party!
Our Story
Goldsmith Williams Solicitors was founded
in July 1984 by Edward Goldsmith and
Christopher Williams - we wonder how they
came up with the name?!
Every month for the 2014 calendar year we
will be randomly selecting one client from
across the firm’s services to win a £50 gift
voucher. You will be automatically entered
into the prize draw in the month your case
completes.
In September 1986 senior partner Simon
Cottrell joined the firm allowing it to branch
out into personal injury litigation with a
dedicated department created in 1990.
For more information on our 30th
birthday and for full prize draw terms and
conditions please visit our website at
www.goldsmithwilliams.co.uk/30
The firm has continued to go from strength
to strength and employs over 150 staff,
offering expert legal advice in conveyancing,
remortgaging, personal injury, wills and estate
planning, equity release, financial claims and
care home fees.
2
Buying Leasehold Property
It often takes longer to
deal with the purchase of
a leasehold property. This
is because there are many
added complications and
conditions involved in this
type of transaction.
As your conveyancer we
need to carefully read
through the lease and bring
any particularly onerous
conditions to your attention.
Leases often require the
leaseholder to:
Pay all outgoings such as
council tax and energy bills
Keep the property in good
repair and decoration
Not to carry out alterations
without consent
Observe any rules on the
use and enjoyment of the
flat (e.g. no loud music after
11pm)
Not to keep pets
Not to let the flat or part
with the possession without
consent.
We also need to ensure all
paperwork surrounding
your financial liabilities are
received and understood.
This can include how much
ground rent and/or service
charge is payable as well
as any additional financial
requirements you may have
(e.g. building repairs etc.)
This information can
be very difficult to
locate but is essential
for all transactions to
ensure the leaseholder
does not encounter
any nasty shocks
downstream.
3
The Differences between
Leasehold Houses and Flats
House
Flat
Term
Usually long i.e. 999
years
Usually between 99
and 125 years
Rent (per annum)
Nominal (e.g. £10)
£100 plus. Tend to
increase every 25
years
Alienation
Merely need to give
Notice of Transfer/
Charge
As well as giving
notice may require
Licence to Assign
Repairs
Lessee responsible for
all repairs
Landlord repairs
exterior and common
parts. The tenant internal repairs
Service Charges
Not normally
Yes
Insurance
Lessee insures
Landlord insures
Rights of the Leaseholder
4
While there are many things a
leaseholder must do, they also
have a number of rights.
Information
The landlord must provide their name and
a contact address within the UK which
must be stated on every demand for the
service charges. Leaseholders can demand
summaries of the service charges, details
of the insurance cover and have the right to
inspect accounts and other documents.
Challenge service charges
Leaseholders can apply to the First Tier
Tribunal (Property Chamber) to seek a
determination of the reasonableness of the
charges.
Consultation on major works
The landlord cannot carry out major works
on the building without first consulting the
leaseholders in the proper fashion. If they fail
to do this, they may not be able to recover all
the costs.
Appointing a manager
If the landlord’s management is deficient
then leaseholders can apply to the First
Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for the
appointment of a new manager.
Rights of the Leaseholder Continued
5
First refusal
Extending the lease
Where the landlord proposes to sell their
interest in the building they must offer it to the
leaseholders first. If they do not they could be
prosecuted.
An individual leaseholder can demand a new
lease from the landlord, by adding 90 years to
the existing lease, with the price to be agreed
between the parties or, if this is not possible, set
by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) .
Vary a lease
Buying the freehold
A lease can be varied at any time where it does
not make proper provision for such things
as the repair or maintenance of the building,
its insurance etc. A lease can be varied with
the agreement of all interested parties or by
application to the First Tier Tribunal (Property
Chamber).
The leaseholder (if the property is a house) or
a group of leaseholders (if flats) can enforce the
purchase of the freehold again with the price
to be agreed between the parties or set by the
First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
Extending the Lease or
Buying the Freehold
6
A leaseholder has
the right to extend
their lease or
buy the freehold
at any point.
This is known as
enfranchisement.
Enfranchisement is often an
essential part of leasehold
property ownership as the
length left on the lease can
have a direct impact on a
property’s value.
When it comes to leasehold
property, it is preferable that
there is at least 80 years left
on the lease. Anything below
this can lead to problems in
remortgaging and/or the sale
of the property.
It is difficult to find lenders
willing to grant a residential
mortgage on a leasehold
property with less than 80
years on the term. As a result
the property will start to
significantly diminish in value,
trapping the owner. It could
even cause them to fall into
negative equity.
If you own a leasehold house,
you can individually buy
the freehold. However if the
leasehold property is a flat,
you will need to purchase the
freehold collectively with the
other flat owners.
It is important to bear in mind
that by buying the freehold
all flat owners become liable
for insurances, repairs and all
other costs previously covered
by the landlord.
You can however extend the
lease on a flat on an individual
basis. This will add 90 years to
the existing lease.
Enfranchisement is a
highly complex area of law,
one which requires the
assistance of a qualified
specialist such as Goldsmith
Williams. Anyone looking
for an ‘enfranchisement’
professional should check
to see if they are a member
of the Association of
Leasehold Enfranchisement
Practitioners (ALEP).
Goldsmith Williams - Our Services
7
With over 25 years’ experience,
conveyancing remains the
foundation of our business. This
includes the highly specialist areas
of enfranchisement and leasehold
extension.
We are a member of ALEP – the Association of Leasehold
Enfranchisement Practitioners – and can provide legal expertise
on:
Lease extensions
Individual and collective enfranchisement
First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) cases.
With a proven track
record advising
landlords, property
managers, LPA
Receivers, lenders
and tenants, we can
make this potentially
complex legal process
conclude as smoothly
as possible.
Testimonials
8
We are committed to
providing excellent service
and are continually looking
for ways to improve.
We monitor our service
using client satisfaction
questionnaires and feel
that the amount of positive
feedback we receive
from our clients reflects
our high standards.
“Hugely impressed with the
“This was my first mortgage
excellent service we received – application and your excellent
swift, efficient and friendly.”
customer service made it
less stressful than expected!
Goldsmith Williams definitely
Mr Pickard, Kent
gets a gold star!”
Ms Latham, Liverpool
“It’s really hard to see where
improvements could be made!
A fantastic service throughout
10 out of 10!”
Mr Pollard, Wallasey
Premier Client Club
9
At Goldsmith Williams, we
value loyalty. Premier Client
Club was created to honour
this and we would like to
offer you the opportunity to
become a member.
As a member, you’ll
benefit from all this:
Standard fees for any future
conveyancing or remortgage
work*
Plus
Fees for any Wills and
Power of Attorney services
We will also extend all these discounts to your
family and friends!
Please visit www.goldsmithwilliams.co.uk/gwpremier for more information
* not including VAT/Disbursements
10
Terms and Conditions of Service
General Terms
and Conditions
Acceptance of
Instructions to Act
We can decide whether or not
to accept instructions from a
client. If we receive a referral/
nomination from an Introducer,
this does not mean that we
have to accept the instruction
to act for the client(s) referred.
If we refuse instructions we
do not have to give a reason,
though we will never refuse
instructions for unlawful or
discriminatory reasons.
Goldsmith Williams is
committed to promoting
equality and diversity in all
of its dealings with clients,
third parties and employees.
Please contact us if you would
like a copy of our Equality
and Diversity Policy.
Regulation
Goldsmith Williams is
authorised and regulated
by The Solicitors’ Regulation
Authority under number 48089.
We are not authorised by the
Financial Conduct Authority, so
we cannot give you investment
advice nor can we advise you
about mortgage products.
Using your information we will
process any data that we have
about you in accordance with
the Data Protection Act 1998.
Copyright
We retain copyright in
documents that we provide
to you or a third party on
your behalf. You can use
the documents solely for
the matter that you have
asked us to deal with and
not for any other purpose.
Law and Jurisdiction
Our agreement with you to
provide legal services and
these terms of business are
governed by and construed in
accordance with English law.
Electronic ID
You may see a charge for
carrying out an electronic ID
search mentioned in your
Terms of Business letter. We
may do this because we have
to be sure that you are who
you say you are and by using
the technology available we
can search a number of online
registers to satisfy ourselves
of your identity. You should
know that we make a profit
on these searches which cost
us currently 80p per name.
You will appreciate however
that we have a fair degree of
administration to do to submit
a search, receive the result
and consider the result (quite
often we need to resubmit
some outstanding information
or make a judgement if the
result is not as clear as it could
be). The fees that we charge
as outlined in your Terms
of Business letter therefore
covers all the administrative
cost to us of making sure that
we deal with the question
of your ID as smoothly and
efficiently as possible.
11
time after your matter has
completed please let us know.
Such requests must be in
Your file is confidential and we
will not let anyone see it without writing. Please be aware we
are entitled to make a charge
your permission. However,
that is fair and reasonable
your file may be requested
taking into consideration the
in some circumstances.
time and effort involved in
complying with your request.
Where applicable, your lender
We can, of course, provide
has the right to see documents
you with a breakdown of
relating to your loan. Many
our charges for doing.
lenders will ask you to sign a
waiver which allows them to
We keep our files for six years
see the whole file, including
in electronic format only
letters you have sent us
(except Wills & Probate or
and notes we have taken at
files relating to minors which
meetings and during phone
are kept in paper format
calls. However we will always
indefinitely) and will destroy
check to ensure you do give
them thereafter unless you
your consent for us to do so.
ask us not to. If you do not go
ahead with your case, we may
We are proud to be registered
destroy your file at any time.
as an ISO 9001:2008 quality
assured company and as part
of this, it may be necessary for
Call Recording
us to allow inspectors to view
your files. The inspectors will
simply check that we gave your All inward and outward
telephone calls are recorded.
case the appropriate attention.
This is for two reasons:
They will not disclose any
confidential information to
1. It helps us to have a record
anyone else. You may write to
of your instructions to us
us at any point to say that you
do not wish your file to be made and any information that we
give to you over the telephone.
available for assessment. This
will not affect the service you
2.We can also use this to
receive from us in any way.
monitor the level of service
External firms or organisations being provided to clients,
which assists us in developing
may conduct audit and
our service to clients
quality checks on our practice.
by providing staff training
These external firms or
where necessary.
organisations are required
to maintain confidentiality
in relation to your files.
Your File
If you wish us to send a copy
of your file to you at any
Copies of Calls
If you want a copy of a recording
please ask the person dealing
with your matter. It is not always
possible to provide a recording
as there can be technical
problems which lead to calls
not being recorded or where
we are unable to trace the call.
Using your Information
We will use all information
you provide primarily for the
provision of legal services.
However we may also use it
for related purposes including
updating and enhancing our
records, analysis to assist
in managing our practice,
statutory returns, legal and
regulatory compliance.
Confidentiality
We have a duty to keep
information about you
confidential. However, we may
be required to allow outside
organisations access to our
files, such as our Regulator,
bankers providing funding for
your case, the assessors for our
ISO 9001:2008 accreditation,
any ‘After the Event’ insurers
and/or your Introducer.
12
Money Laundering
Interest
Distance Selling
We comply with the Money
Laundering Regulations Act
2007 and associated legislation
(Terrorism Act 2000 and
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002).
In a situation where you are
sending us funds, we reserve
the right not to proceed with a
transaction should we receive
such funds from a source that
is different from one already
notified, until we can make
the necessary investigations
about where the funds have
come from and who has sent
them to us. Therefore, if you
fail to tell us that money will
be paid to us by a third party,
this will cause a delay in
proceeding with your matter.
If you fail to satisfy us about
the source of the money, we
reserve the right to stop acting.
In accordance with the
requirements of the Solicitors’
Accounts Rules 2011, any money
received on your behalf will
be held in a client account. We
will pay a sum in lieu of interest
on monies held in line with the
terms of our payment of interest
policy. It is important to note that
interest will not be payable in all
cases and that the rate received
will be lower than that available
to you had the monies been
invested privately. The written
policy is available on request.
We may not have met with you,
in which case the Consumer
Contracts (Information,
Cancellation and Additional
Charges) Regulations 2013 apply.
This means you have a right to
cancel your instructions to us
within fourteen working days of
our receipt of your instruction.
Your Right to Complain
As part of our commitment
to customer satisfaction,
Goldsmith Williams has a
Limitation of Liability
rigorous complaints procedure
that you can access at any
We have compulsory indemnity time. Please let us know
cover of £3m for each and every as soon as possible if you
claim and for most claims this
have any problems or you
amount is sufficient, therefore,
would like a copy of our
we limit our liability to this
Complaints Procedure.
amount, unless there is any
fraud or reckless disregard of
If a third party, who is not our
If you have a complaint about
professional obligations. For
client, is sending us money
the service you receive from us,
matters where the value of
on your behalf, then we must
the transaction is more than
at any time, you should raise
have identification from
£3m these will be dealt with by
this with the person responsible
that person(s) and we also
way of a separate agreement.
for your case. If they cannot
need to know the source of
resolve the matter then you
the funds being sent to us, a
Electronic Communication should speak to the manager
copy of the bank statement
of the team. If, after that, you
or passbook will be needed.
We are happy to use email as
are dissatisfied with how your
a
way
to
communicate
with
complaint has been dealt
Outsourcing
you, but you should be aware
with, you should contact our
that
confidentiality
cannot
be
Customer Services Manager,
We may require external third
ensured nor is delivery of such Barbara Hillen on 0845 373
party companies to undertake
mail. If you prefer us not to use
3737, by email bhillen@
work in connection to assist in
email, please tell us in writing.
goldsmithwilliams.co.uk or by
the smooth running of your
writing to us. Your complaint
matter, such as instructing
Rights
will then be dealt with in
witness statement takers. We
accordance with our complaints
will have an Agreement in
procedure, a copy of which is
place with any such outsourced Any advice that we give is
for
your
benefit,
as
our
client.
available on request. Please do
provider to ensure that we
Third parties may not use
not store up any complaints,
are confident of their ability
or
rely
on
our
advice.
please raise them straight away.
to work to a certain standard,
have the necessary expertise,
If still unresolved at this stage,
data security processes and
you may take your complaint
resources to carry it out.
to the Legal Ombudsman.
13
Normally, you will have to bring
your complaint to the Legal
Ombudsman within six months
of receiving a final response
from us about your complaint
and six years from the date of
the act or omission giving rise to
the complaint or alternatively
three years from the date you
should reasonably have known
there are grounds for complaint
(if the act/omission took place
before 6th October 2010 or was
more than six years ago).
Banking Crisis
Please note that we will not
accept liability to repay monies
lost through any banking
failure as all monies are placed
by us in accordance with the
Solicitors Accounts Rules.
All client monies are deposited
with either Barclays or Yorkshire
Banks. The Financial Services
Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”)
limit of £85,000 will apply for an
individual’s total monies. Please
also note that some deposit
institutions have several brands
which can be checked with
your bank or the FCA (www.fca.
org.uk). We would also advise
that in the event of a banking
failure we may need to disclose
clients’ details to the FSCS.
Client Balances
We have a duty under our
Code of Conduct to return
any monies to you following
completion of your matter. If
for any reason we are unable
to make contact with you, we
will therefore need to engage
the services of a “tracing agent”
who will be able to do this on
our behalf. The costs incurred
in carrying out this additional
work will be deducted from
any monies due to you.
Assessment
Cancellation Fee
If you decide not to go ahead
before your mortgage offer,
we will charge you £250 (plus
VAT) for the work we have
already done. If you decide
not to go ahead after your
mortgage offer, we will charge
you the full fee, plus any fees
we have to pay to other people.
Under sections 70, 71 and 72 of
the Solicitors Act 1974 you are
entitled to have our bill of costs
assessed by a court. Goldsmith
Williams is entitled to charge
interest on any outstanding
amount of the bill in accordance A serious warning
with article 5 of the Solicitors’
(Non-contentious Business)
When you sign your deeds
Remuneration Order 2009.
with us, you are agreeing to
make set repayments on your
Conveyancing
mortgage, which is secured
Department Additional
against your property. If you do
Terms and Conditions
not keep up these repayments,
your lender can take action
Your Mortgage
against you which could mean
that you lose your home.
It is important to remember
that Goldsmith Williams is
Furthermore, even if the lender
not in a position to advise
does take possession and
you on the suitability of your
sells the property, they still
mortgage offer, or whether
have the right to take further
it represents a good deal for
action to recover any shortfall
you. This is a matter for you
between the proceeds of the
and your Introducer. Nor are
sale and the amount you owe
we in a position to advise
them. Some lenders cover this
you on the level of mortgage
risk by asking you to take out
payment protection or life
a mortgage indemnity policy.
insurance you need – although However, while this will pay
we highly recommend
out to cover any shortfall to
that you take appropriate
the lender, the policy provider
advice on this matter. We
still has the right to take action
will act on instructions from
against you to recover their loss.
your Introducer as if they
had come from you, unless
It is vital therefore, that if you
you notify us otherwise.
are experiencing any difficulties
whatsoever in making your
mortgage repayments, you
let your lender know as soon
as possible. They can only
help you if you let them know,
so you must act quickly and
not ignore the situation.
14
Confirming the Details
arises we may be obliged to
cease acting. We will notify you
When we receive your
in writing if a conflict arises and
mortgage offer, we will send you advise you of your options.
the details and conditions of
your mortgage. It is important
Ending the Relationship
that you read these in detail
and ask your Introducer if
You can tell us to stop acting
you are unsure about any of
for you at any time. We can
these conditions. It is not our
only stop acting for you if we
responsibility to advise you on
have a good reason and can
these conditions, it is simply our give you reasonable notice.
job to ensure that the terms and Examples of when we may
conditions are met so that your stop acting are where:
lender can release your funds.
(i) there is a conflict of interests
If you have an existing
mortgage, we will assume that
(ii) the relationship between
any redemption figures we
us breaks down
receive from your lender are
correct. We do not have the
(iii) we cannot obtain
facilities to check these figures, instructions from you or
or to know whether any penalty your instructions
or added interest is justified. If
constantly change
you are in any doubt, you must
ask the lender directly to check (iv) you fail to provide
their figures before completion. the necessary identification; or
In any case, you should never
cancel any Standing Order
(v) you fail to satisfy us about
or Direct Debit to your lender
the source of any money
until we advise you that the
that you are sending to us
loan has been cleared and
any charges have been paid in
This list is not exhaustive and it
full. If you have any questions
merely gives examples. If either
about your mortgage or any
of us ends the relationship, you
stage of the process, please
remain liable for our costs and
do not hesitate to contact us.
disbursements we have paid on
your behalf plus any costs and
Conflict of Interest
disbursements for the transfer
of your file to your new advisers.
We do not act for both the buyer
and seller in a conveyancing
transaction even where the
Referral
conduct rules allow us to. In the
unlikely event that we are also
It is likely that you will have
acting for your Introducer in
been referred to us by your
the same matter and a conflict
Introducer. If so, then this
introduction is regulated by a
Code of Conduct. This is called
the SRA Code of Conduct – you
can ask us for a copy or you
can view it at www.sra.org.uk .
It’s our duty to inform you
that we have a financial
arrangement with your
Introducer. Your Introducer
should do so as well. Please
see our Terms of Business
letter for a breakdown.
Despite any financial
arrangement, any advice that
we give you is independent
and you are free to raise
questions on any aspect of
the transaction and of course
you are free to choose another
solicitor to act on your behalf.
Your Best Interests
If you are charged a fee by your
Introducer for arranging your
mortgage we will include this
on your completion statement
and, provided we have your
signed authority to do so, will
deduct this from you and
pay it to your Introducer.
We have had over 30 years’
experience and can say that
the majority of our clients
have preferred to have a third
party Introducer assisting on
their behalf through a case.
Introducers know us, the
procedures involved, the legal
language used, what our service
levels are and can question us
if they don’t believe things are
progressing as they should.
It is entirely your decision
as to whether instructing an
15
Introducer is right for you
and that their service is of
sufficient value to you in terms
of spending the time and effort
in seeing your case through.
Introducers can remove the
hassle and worry that some
legal cases can sometimes
create, leaving you to get on
with what you need to do.
to choose another solicitor.
Legal and Admin Fee
The “Legal and Administration
Fee” comprises our basic fee for
the core conveyancing work,
without any complicating
factors which may lead
to unexpected and time
consuming additional work,
All our clients are asked at
or to further fixed add-on
the end of a transaction to
fees relating to specific
complete a “Client Satisfaction
issues. It also includes (if you
Questionnaire” for feedback on have an Introducer who has
how well they rate the over all
recommended you to us) the
experience.
fee the Introducer is charging
you for the additional steps they
Our Code also prohibits us
are taking in working together
from acting for any clients
with us. Where applicable,
who have been acquired as a
the amount paid to us and the
result of marketing or publicity amount paid to the Introducer
or other activities which, if
are clearly distinguished. The
done by a person regulated
Introducer’s fee may be in
by the SRA, would be in
addition to any fee you have
breach of any of these rules.
separately negotiated or been
charged by your Introducer. If
This means we cannot act
you are in any doubt you should
where you have been referred
check this with the Introducer
to us by an Introducer:
direct. If we do not hear from
you, this is the fee that we will
• using misleading or
be paying the Introducer on
inaccurate publicity;
your behalf, and including in
our bill to you. If you require
• making unsolicited visits or
further information about this
telephone calls (“Cold Calling”); arrangement please let us know.
If you feel that either of these
points relate to you please let us
know as soon as possible as we
will be unable to act for you.
Our policy on our fee charging
is to be as transparent as
possible whilst complying at
all times with the SRA Code of
Conduct. We are committed to
We confirm that the information ensuring that you are aware
disclosed by you to us will not
of what our charges are and
be disclosed to your Introducer when we use a separate but
without your consent.
connected company why we
do so and what that means to
Whether you are recommended your pocket. Where we work
to us or not you are always free with Introducers who refer
cases to us we are committed
to ensure that they comply
with their obligations under the
Code of Conduct and for these
reasons if you are unhappy
in any respect with either the
method of our charges or you
consider that any other aspect
of our business dealing with you
or your Introducer is less than
transparent we wish to hear
from you and upon hearing we
will act on any such concerns.
Unsecured Loans
If we accept instructions to
pay off any loans on your
behalf, then we will make a
charge additional to those
set out in our initial letter.
We cannot tell you what
that amount will be until
we know how many loans
there are and how much
work this will involve.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
We will advise you if any SDLT
is payable and it will depend
on the current rate. If it is
payable, then we must receive
the amount needed before we
complete the transaction. If you
fail to pay prior to completion
then we can refuse to complete
the transaction. If SDLT is
payable it will be deducted
from the advance monies on
completion. We must also
have a signed SDLT form. If
you delay in returning the
SDLT form to us and penalties
are incurred because of this,
then you will be responsible
for payment of the penalty.
16
Exceptional Expenses
Telegraphic Transfer Fee (TT) Financial Services Insurance
Outside of our fixed fees
included in the legal and
administration there are
inevitably some extra charges
that you need to be aware of.
These will often be what we
term as exceptional expenses
that are non standard such as
having to indemnify you against
a lack of right of way over the
property you are purchasing. It
is not always possible to identify
these at the start of the case
but as soon as we do realise
they have to be paid we will of
course let you know how much.
On completion of your purchase
we have to send your monies
by Telegraphic Transfer to the
sellers’ solicitors. Where we
are dealing with redeeming a
mortgage for you then quite
often the lender will require
the funds due to them to be
sent by TT through our bank.
The fee is a profit charge for
carrying out this important
work on your behalf. It is not
the fee charged by the bank.
We always act in your best
interest and for that reason we
are happy to explain to you
why we place our business
with Isis for indemnity
policies, as follows:
• This firm specialise
in dealing with property related indemnity policies.
• They are competitive in the
market place
• They have in-depth knowledge of the market
• They undertake proper
meaningful comparisons
• They review the market and
competitors’ regularly;
Your new lender may also
transfer your money to us
electronically and charge
you for this. If so, you may see
two sets of transfer fees on
your account. Please note that
these are separate charges
for separate transfers. If you
would like us to send any
balance to you on completion
by money transfer, then we
will be happy to do so, saving
you normal bank clearing time.
There is a charge for this.
Payment of Costs
All costs and disbursements
must be paid to us before
completion; otherwise we
have the right to refuse to
complete the transaction.
If you wish to pay our costs
or any disbursements by
credit card, then for sums
• They provide comprehensive of over £1,000, there is an
cover on a par with other
additional fee of 5% to cover
policies in the market place
administration costs.
If we carry out a service for
you where we, for example,
arrange an insurance policy
such as for defective title
insurance or unoccupied
property indemnity then the
following notice applies:
Goldsmith Williams is not
authorised by the Financial
Conduct Authority. However,
we are included on the register
under reference LS 48089
maintained by the Financial
Conduct Authority so that
we can carry on insurance
mediation activity, which
is broadly the advising on,
selling and administration
of insurance contracts. This
part of our business, including
arrangements for complaints
or redress if something goes
wrong, is regulated by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The register can be accessed via
the Financial Conduct Authority
website at: www.fca.org.uk.
The Law Society in England
and Wales is a designated
professional body for the
purposes of the Financial
Services and Markets Act
2000. The Solicitors Regulation
Authority is the independent
regulatory complaints-handling
arm of the Law Society.
We do not conduct an analysis
of the market each time we
recommend an insurance
product to you and we are not
contractually obliged to do
so. You can request details of
the insurance undertakings
that we conduct business
with and we will provide you
with the relevant details.
17
Marketing
We may from time to time
use your data to market our
other products and services or
pass your details to reputable
third parties to do so. If you do
not wish this to happen you
may opt-out by ticking the
appropriate box in the Client
Property Questionnaire.
Conveyancing
Quality Scheme
As a member we now have
some professional obligations
to follow which will apply
to your transaction. If you
require further information
this can be accessed by visiting
the Law Society website
www.lawsociety.org.
uk/practicesupport/
conveyancing.page
If our dedicated team of experts
can offer any assistance we’d be
delighted to hear from you
0845 373 3737
or alternatively, visit
www.goldsmithwilliams.co.uk
This brochure is available
in larger print at your request.
If you’d prefer to receive information from us by email in
future, please send your full name and email address
to marketingadmin@goldsmithwilliams.co.uk We’d be
happy to add you to our database, it also helps towards
reducing our carbon footprint!
Scan this code with your
smartphone and you’ll be
automatically directed to
our website.
http://www.facebook.com
/Goldsmith.Williams
@GWSolicitors
(A pre-downloaded QR reader is required)
If you do not wish to receive any further literature
from us please email marketing@goldsmithwilliams.co.uk
The information contained in this brochure is subject to change but is correct at the time of print.
REMORTGAGE
|
CONVEYANCING
|
PERSONAL
INJURY
|
WILLS
&
PROBATE
|
EQUITY
RELEASE
Goldsmith Williams Solicitors / Mersey Chambers / 5 Old Churchyard / Liverpool / L2 8GW
DX address 14186 Liverpool. Goldsmith Williams is authorised and regulated by
the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority under number 48089 © Goldsmith Williams Solicitors. http://www.sra.org.uk
0280/006/100914
|
BUY-TO-LET