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Home Information Packs

Buyers Guide

Stamp Duty & Land Tax

Apportionment of fixtures and fittings

Home Information Pack (HIP)

From 14 December 2007 all homes put on the market must have a Home Information Pack which is a pack of useful information for prospective purchasers including Local Authority and drainage searches together with property information forms.

We are able to provide a HIP for all clients who instruct us to do their conveyancing at no extra cost. The advantages of Unsworth Rose preparing your Home Information Pack are as follows:

1. Our team are able to produce the HIP extremely quickly as we have a great deal of experience in obtaining all of the information required for the conveyancing transaction. This will mean that there is minimum delay in placing the property on the market.
2. We can produce the information required for the HIP which will be in a form acceptable to solicitors acting for any prospective buyer. This is important as it will be counterproductive if the information provided is not a correct set of information acceptable to a purchaser’s solicitor, as the time taken to correct this would be extensive. We appreciate exactly what is needed.
3. We recommend a full postal search to be undertaken with the relevant local authority. This will result in a slightly higher cost than the usual personal search, but will ensure the information contained within the HIP is useful to your purchase.

For further information regarding the developing legislation, please visit www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk

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Buyers Guide

Buying a property in England can be a complicated and confusing business. It is hoped that this information will assist you in understanding the "conveyancing process".

Once you have decided on the place you wish to buy, ensure any offer which is made is clearly stated as "subject to contract". At this stage and until "contracts are exchanged" neither you nor the present owner of the property are committed. EITHER party can change their mind.

SURVEY

LOCAL AUTHORITY SEARCH

We shall arrange for a search of the Local Authority in which the house or property is situated. This may disclose a number of matters affecting the property, such as road proposals involving the acquisition of land near the property, whether there has been an infringement of building regulations or if there is a compulsory purchase order. It also shows whether any previous owner has had the benefit of a housing/improvement grant and whether the property is a listed building.

A Personal Local Authority Search is a search of the Local Authority carried out by an individual or commercial search provider and there is no guarantee that the information provided is correct as it has not been officially issued by the Local Authority. There is therefore no claim to compensation under legislation for the inaccuracy of the results.

THE SELLER'S TITLE

Investigation of the title will involve inspecting the seller's title deeds. These will disclose the legal owner, whether the property is mortgaged and any restrictions and adverse matters affecting the property.

ENQUIRIES BEFORE CONTRACT

We will raise enquiries about the property (for example, whether there have been any disputes, whether there are any guarantees for woodworm and rising damp, whether the property has main services in drainage, what is being left and included in the purchase price.

If the property is leasehold, certain additional enquiries will have to be asked, particularly relating to service charges and insurance.

MORTGAGE AND GENERAL FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS

Before contracts are exchanged, you should ensure that all financial arrangements are in order. Normally 10% of the purchase price should be available for use as a deposit on exchange of contracts, although it is increasingly becoming possible for us to negotiate a lesser sum of say 5% of the purchase price. N.B. It is not possible to use mortgage funds for the deposit required on exchange.

If you are purchasing with the aid of a mortgage, then you should wait until you have received, approved and accepted the mortgage offer, before proceeding to exchange.

AGREEING THE COMPLETION DATE

The completion date is usually 28 days after exchange although if both parties agree, an earlier or later date can be arranged.

EXCHANGING OF CONTRACTS

Once the above points have been checked and both you and the seller are ready to proceed, the next and important step is to proceed to exchange of contracts.

This means that the seller's solicitors and ourselves exchange our respective parts of the contract and the deposit is paid to the seller's solicitors.

As soon as contracts have been exchanged, there is a legally binding contract and neither the seller nor yourself can renegotiate the price or any other terms.

INSURANCE

It is most important that the property is insured from the date of exchange of contracts and you should discuss with us any necessary arrangements.

If the property is leasehold, insurance is usually arranged by the landlord.
N.B. This would not include the insurance of your contents or third party liability.

AFTER EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS

We will be attending to a number of matters, one being to apply to the bank or building society for the advance cheque in time for completion.

On the day of completion, the balance of the purchase price is paid to the seller's solicitors and you are then able to collect the keys (usually from the estate agents) to your new home.

PAYMENT OF DEPOSIT/MONIES FOR COMPLETION

If a personal cheque is being given then please remember that sufficient time will need to be allowed before exchange of contracts can take place.

In the event that exchange of contracts does not happen the deposit will be returned to you in full.

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Stamp Duty Land Tax

The thresholds for Stamp Duty Land Tax for residential property are:

The thresholds for Stamp Duty Land Tax for residential property in disadvantaged areas are:

The thresholds for Stamp Duty Land Tax for freehold commercial property are:

For Stamp Duty Land Tax calculations on leasehold commercial property please visit sdcalculator.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/SDProperty

For further information in relation to Stamp Duty Land Tax please visit
www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/rates/index.htm

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Apportionment of fixtures and fittings

When purchasing a property you may also wish to purchase other items at the property and the price for these will not attract Stamp Duty Land Tax. For further information of the types of items which will not attract Stamp Duty Land Tax please visit
www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/camanual/CA12100.htm

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