Urquharts

Time running out for First-Time Buyers to avoid Stamp Duty Land Tax

richard — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:51:13 +0000

In the March 2010 Budget, the Chancellor scrapped Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on homes costing up to £250,000. This was an endeavour by the Treasury to give first-time buyers a helping hand on to the property ladder. Given the rate is otherwise 1% on properties priced between £125,000 and £250,000 this is a saving of up to £2500. At a time when first-time buyers are finding it difficult to obtain a mortgage unless they have a large deposit saved, this has been a welcome saving.

This was however a temporary measure by the Treasury and, after24 March 2012, the Stamp Duty rate will revert to 1%. So if you are a first-time buyer and not sure whether to take that first step, there is still time to take advantage of this saving.

Should you wish any further information please get in touch with us, as we will be happy to advise and help.

Stamp Duty Rates

Purchase Price	Standard Rate	Ist Time Buyers Rate	Standard Rate after24/03/2012
Up to £125,000	Nil	Nil	Nil
£125-250,000	1%	Nil	1%
£250-500,000	3%	3%	3%
£500,000-1m	4%	4%	4%
£1million+	5%	5%	5%

Fees for handling Executries

roddy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:41:17 +0000

One of the great glories to have come out of the consumer society is “Which”, the Consumers Association campaigning magazine.

In a report last year, they called for fairer fees for winding up someone’s estate after their death and suggested that Banks’ charges appear disproportionate to the work carried out.

Banks typically charge a percentage of the value of the estate, this can be as much as 4%. We have always believed that it is right to only charge for work carried out, with due recognition given to the complexity and size of the estate. A wealthy person can leave their assets well organised and quick to deal with and this can involve far less work, than that for someone owning half as much, whose estate is disorganised and complex, yet on the Banks’ basis of charging, the fee would be double for far less work.

Our strong advice is if you are appointed as an Executor you should ensure you are clear as to how the solicitors you appoint are going to charge for their legal services.

We are happy to offer advice and guidance.

Harnessing the Power of the Internet

richard — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:43:24 +0000

A large part of Urquharts’ business is the purchase and sale of residential property, principally but not exclusively, in east central Scotland. We have always been strong supporters of the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre – ESPC, which handles 90% of property sales in the region (not including new build sales).

So as well as being solicitors, we also act as estate agents, and have done so for very many years, and have built up an expertise and good track record.

All our residential property sales are marketed through ESPC.

The use of the internet, its unstoppable power and the key part it plays in selling property, is firmly brought firmly home when you consider the number of hits the espc.com website achieves on a monthly basis, not just from the UK but from around the world:

For the month of September 2011:

183,257 individuals visited the website.
Between them they made 424,357 separate visits.
They viewed 5,654,565 pages.

The number of viewers viewing the website from their mobile phone is unsurprisingly increasing:

16,464 visitors viewed the website from their phone,
They made 42,997 visits and
viewed 592,221 pages.

Go a step further, and look back over the last 12 months:

Over 5 million visits from the UK

Over 120,000 visits from the rest of Europe
87,783 from the Americas
37,572 from Australia and New Zealand
52,996 from Asia and
27,343 from the rest of the world…

For those who are not “internet dependent”, the ESPC centre will typically attract 10,000 visits a month on foot into its show room at 85 George Street,Edinburgh, and 30,000 copies of the free ESPC paper are distributed to 8,000 outlets.

The importance of ESPC and its brand and the sheer reach and influence that it has, cannot be underestimated.