Fidlers blogs

For the last 3 years we’ve been using a program called Constant Contact to do all our emailshots to clients and we’ve been really happy with it. We find it pretty easy to use and it helps us to stay in touch with clients. So we were delighted to learn that we have been recognised for ”achieving exemplary marketing results”  and that for the second year running we’ve also received the 2011 All Star Award from Constant Contact. It may sound a bit odd to be receiving an award from the people we are paying for the program, but they have thousands of customers all trying to do similar things so it’s nice to know that the stuff we are doing is working and our results ranked among the top 10% of Constant Contact’s customer base.

We are pleased to have been recognised as their tools help us to better manage client relationships and engagement.  By using email marketing on a regular basis we find it’s a fantastic platform to keep in touch and remind clients that we are here to help with their legal needs whether it’s personal or business by giving news and information on latest changes in residential property, employment law, commercial property, family law issues and much more.

“There is nothing we like more than to see our customers finding success. It’s the reason Constant Contact was founded and it’s a thrill to see the fantastic results that our All Stars are achieving,” said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. “This firm is really leading the charge when it comes to delivering relevant, engaging content that drives real business results. We salute this year’s All Stars for their success, and are honoured to have played a part in their achievements.”

Regards

Melissa

An inceasing number of homeowners are opting to reduce their energy bills by installing solar panels, but this can carry significant risks if undertaken through a ‘rent-a-roof’ scheme. Such schemes, where homeowners lease roof space in return for the free use of the electricity generated from solar or photovoltaic (PV) panels on their roofs, are becoming increasingly popular. 

In a nutshell, the scheme offered by PV installers works by allowing the property owner to use all the power that the PV system generates for their household. This thereby reduces their need to draw power from the grid, lowering their annual utility bill. The installer is paid for both the total power that the system generates (whether it is used or not) and any surplus power fed back into the grid. They do this by retaining the right for the feed-in tariff (FIT), under the scheme introduced on 1 April 2010 by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, via the Energy Act 2008. The main aim of the scheme was to incentivise small-scale low carbon technologies, which included PV panels.

The PV installer’s investment is protected by the homeowner granting a lease over the property’s roof space, typically for a period of 25 years.

In theory, this is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both the homeowner and the installer. However, some property owners have encountered problems with either their existing lender or where they have tried to remortgage or sell their property. This may be because the homeowner never obtained the lender’s consent for the installation, and failed to register the lease against the property, or because the lease itself was not drafted in a way acceptable to the majority of lenders.

There are no exact figures for how many installations of PV panels have taken place since the FIT scheme was introduced, but it is likely that as more and more residential home owners seek to sell or remortgage their properties then a greater number of these problems will emerge.

If you are looking to remortgage or sell your property that has PV panels fitted and  subject to a rent-a-roof scheme and would like some advice in relation to it please contact William James on 01623448317, drop me an email at wjames@fidler.co.uk or visit our website and we can discuss what options are available to you.

The Independent today has reported that Rightmove have published figures showing that confidence in the housing market is booming along with an increase in demand for mortgages.

In April 2012 the average asking price rose to a record £243,737, prior to that the highest recorded average asking price was in May 2008 of £242,410.

It stated however that house prices in London were increasing the average figures and that there appeared to be a growing north-south divide.

It was also reported that mortgage applications increased in March 2012  by 5% in comparision to the same time last year.

If you are thinking of buying a property please click here on the link for a fixed price conveyancing quote.

Christie Limb

Today the Chancellor has launched the National Loan Guarantee Scheme (NLGS). This will be providing up to £20 billion of government guarantees on unsecured borrowing by banks to smaller businesses across the UK (with an annual turnover of up to £50 million). As the government are not guaranteeing the individual loans the banks retain the credit risk and therefore the usual credit assessments will apply.

A number of banks have signed up for the scheme and the businesses who take out a NLGS loan will receive a discount of 1 percentage point compared to the interest rate that they would otherwise have received outside of the NLGS.

Christie Limb

It is reported that business confidence is on the rise.

The BDO which pulls together the results of the main business surveys reports that business optimism his improving and at February 2012 they have recorded that the business optimism index is now at 98 from 94.1 in January this is the second month of substantial improvement. The movement reverses the previous downward trend and the optimum index is now at its highest level since May 2011.

The good sign is that the index is over the 95 point mark which indicates positive growth.

Further the federation of small business has also reported that its members were now more positive and in fact this was the first time they had been positive in the last 12 months. More small business are saying that they would want now look to increase their investment rather than cut spending.

If you are a small business and are looking at investing and growing and would like assistance with property matters such as taking a mortgage over commercial premises or you are planning to take on new commercial property, go to our online commercial quote system for a fixed price quote for the legal work.

Christie Limb

The BBC has reported that the number of high streets shops left empty last year was one in seven.

So what can the landlord do to try and attract tenants?  The best option is to be flexible with the lease terms for example allow rolling break clauses, longer rent free periods or offer short term lets. Lots of people starting up in business are cautious about entering into a long lease with high rents, the landlords need to work with the tenants and make their properties attractive to a new business. The benefit is that the landlord then has an occupied property, with a tenant paying the rents and carrying out repairs.

Most tenants and landlords do not instruct solicitors until the terms of the lease have been agreed I would always be happy to work with the landlord or the tenant in the lease negotiations.

If you are thinking about offering a property for lease or taking on a lease on a commercial property please feel free to email me climb@fidler.co.uk or to call 01623 448302 I would be happy to provide some guidance on the best way forward.

Christie Limb

The Telegraph has reported that mortgage approvals have increased by almost a third in just one year. Mortgage approvals have increased sharply driven by first time buyers and low deposit borrowers. There has been a sharp rise in loans on properties valued at under £125,000.

It would appear that the backlog of first time buyers and now coming to the market.

It has also been reported by that house prices are increasing with Rightmove stating that the month on month increase of 4.1% was the highest recorded since 2002.

Rightmove have also recorded an increase in search activity on their website in January which they have stated could be pent up buyer demand.

If you are planning to buy a property please contact us for a competitive fixed price conveyancing quote.

Christie Limb

At last it seems that first time buyers are starting to emerge . I previously blogged about ‘First Time Buyers return to the market‘ and at that time we were waiting to see if the Council of Mortgage Lenders statistics would show an about turn and actually start top rise. Well this did happen (the article from the CML is here)  and on top of that I’ve read in the Estate Agent Today online magazine that first time buyer applications are going through the roof for Haart estate agents.

Some of this may be Haart trying to big things up, and some of it is exacertbated by the fact that the current Stamp Duty Holiday is due to end at the end of March (provided you complete your purchase by then) Whatever the reason, first time buyers returning to the housing market is good news for all – they tend to have a ripple effect creating far more housign transactions overall – which in turn is a nice helper to the economy

If you need a Conveyancing Quote then just click on the link

Cheers

Mark

It has been reported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders that for the fifth month in a row the mortgage lending year on year has gone up.

It has also been reported that the average house price has increased,  Halifax have reported that UK house prices increased by 0.6% in January 2012. Halifax state that the average house price last month was £160,907.

What a good start to the year. Roll on 2012.

If you do decide that buy or sell your please contact us for a fixed price conveyancing quote.

Christie Limb

Partner

Commercial lease – Short lease versus long lease

When negotiating a lease one of the most difficult questions to resolve is what length of term should the lease be for?

In the past when it was a landlord’s market, the landlord would be looking for long leases to ensure that the premises were let for a long period of time. In today’s markets more and more business are taking up short terms leases.

Short lease

The benefit of a short lease is that it provides you with more flexibility, if you are just setting up a business you might want to avoid being tied to a long lease on the property which could prevent you from moving /expanding.

You also have to consider stamp duty, generally, the longer the lease and the higher the rent the more stamp duty payable.

Long lease

If you are investing a lot of money into the property when you take occupation you might want a long lease to ensure security over the property.

Summary

Both short and long leases can have agreed terms that work to your needs, for example if you are a tenant under a short lease provided the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 has not been excluded, (except in certain circumstances) the tenant will be able to request that a further lease is granted on the expiry of the current lease. The new lease terms will need to be agreed between the tenant and the landlord or if required an expert or the courts.

A tenant looking at a longer lease could consider having a break clause, the more flexible the better i.e. a rolling break clause after so many years that allows termination on notice. Likewise if the lease allows you to assign (pass the lease) to a new tenant then this may provide you with any flexibility you require during the lease term i.e. the ability to leave these premises and move to bigger premises.

If you need any assistance in negotiating the terms of a new lease or you have already agreed terms and require a solicitor to advise on the draft lease please contact Christie Limb (climb@fidler.co.uk)  she would be happy to provide you with a fixed fee quote for the work.