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Monthly Archives: October 2011

Many tenants feel trapped in the rental system

By Residential Department | Published: Oct 31,2011

A report has revealed that more than a quarter of home-renters who feel “trapped” in the rental system are aged 40 and above, and may become “OAP mortgagees” when they do finally purchase a home.

“Trapped” renters refers to tenants who would like to seek a conveyancing lawyer in London or elsewhere in the country to help them buy a home, but cannot afford to. The term accounts for about 55% of the total rented market in the UK according to a study conducted by property website Rightmove.

The survey gathered information from 4,430 people and the results revealed that 27% of those who claimed that they felt trapped are aged over 40 . Rightmove has stated that if people in this group choose to buy a home, they would either need to pay off their mortgage within a shorter amount of time or have to become an “OAP mortgagee” in later life.

Martin Shipside, Rightmove director, said, “Over half of those in rented accommodation would like to buy but can’t make the sums add up, and as a result are trapped. The global economic woes that have left first-time buyer numbers at record lows will shatter the goals and aspirations of many as they face the reality of renting for far longer than they originally planned.”

The survey also revealed that more than half of tenants are expecting their rent to increase over the next twelve months due to the shortage of homes to rent. Two-fifths of those who admitted to feeling trapped claimed they expected they would still be renting in three years time.

Rightmove’s research shows that fewer people this year expect to start the residential conveyancing process in the next three years than last year, when 32% of renters felt the same way.

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Former international cricketer instructs professional negligence lawyers

By Professional Negligence Department | Published: Oct 31,2011

Professional negligence lawyers may be best known for representing litigation involving the alleged negligence of architects, accountants, estate agents or surveyors, but they are certainly not known for turning down work from any genuine claimant.

So, if you’re a professional negligence lawyer and a former international cricketer turns up at your offices saying, “Look, mate, I believe the authorities ruined my chances of having a full career as one of the world’s leading seam bowlers,” chances are you’re going to listen.

And this is precisely what’s happened in Australia, where former seamer Nathan Bracken has commenced a professional negligence claim against Cricket Australia for what he claims is their failure to protect him from developing a long-term knee injury.

It is anticipated that Cricket Australia will attempt to defend the claim and will counter by arguing that if Bracken’s knee really were so bad, he wouldn’t have been able to participate in the last series of Dancing with the Stars, Australia’s answer to Strictly Come Dancing.

But the case hasn’t got off to a great start. Bracken’s professional negligence lawyer has already had to ask for the claim to be delayed because of Cricket Australia’s failure to provide vital medical records in time – an oversight which looks particularly bad in a professional negligence case, as outcomes can so often hinge on matters such as whether documents were lodged punctiliously.

Comparison of professional negligence solicitors

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Judge rules against widow’s house sale for £1.6m to a named buyer

By Residential Department | Published: Oct 31,2011

A 101-year-old widow of a Second World War diplomat will not be able to seek a property solicitor and sell her home for £1.6 million after losing a house sale bid in the High Court.

The woman claimed that she was struggling financially and sought to sell her Jacobean country home in East Sussex against the wishes of her 70-year-old son. The widow stated that she knew a buyer who wanted to begin the residential conveyancing process and had offered £1.6 million for the house.

However, the woman’s son objected to the bid and said that the money offered was a “substantial” under-valuation.

A lawyer said that the situation was “fractious” and the judge decided the home should be marketed “by a reputable” firm of agents in order to secure the best possible price.

The judge stated that not enough attempts had been made to generate interest amongst potential buyers and that marketing and advertising should go ahead rather than making the sale to the named buyer.

It has been reported that the house is owned by group of trustees, including the widow’s son, but she was perhaps hoping her son would quickly seek a property solicitor and order that the sale be made to the named buyer.

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Divorce law decision on lottery win financial claim

By Family Department | Published: Oct 28,2011

Question – When does one spouse’s lottery prize become matrimonial property?

Answer – When it turns into a family home.

No, this is not a strange divorce lawyer joke, but instead it is the latest High Court ruling on a divorce financial settlement issue relating to funds won as a result of entering a lottery draw.

The woman at the centre of the dispute was part of a two-person syndicate which won £1 million on 31st December 1999. She paid for lottery tickets with her own earned income, having done so without the knowledge of her then-husband.

Mr Justice Mostyn ruled that her £500,000 share of the prize money was her sole property. However, when she used these proceeds to buy a family home for £275,000 (current net value £480,150), that portion of the funds became matrimonial property.

She moved into the home with her husband and two children, living there together for a relatively short time before separating, yet, when the High Court was asked to decide how much of the lottery win the husband was entitled to, there was little to refer to in terms of previous decisions.

Mostyn J said in his ruling, “In this case I [had] to consider the treatment to be awarded to a lottery prize of £500,000 in financial remedy proceedings following divorce.”

Adding that while there had been at least five reported decisions in Australia on the subject of lottery wins, he had no knowledge of a previous ruling made under English and Welsh family law.

Interestingly, divorce lawyers suggest that if the husband had known his wife was buying lottery tickets or if they had been funded with proceeds from a joint account, it may have been that the husband could have been considered to be part of the syndicate and the ruling would have been very different.

The husband, a hotel porter, was awarded £85,000 as a clean break settlement, representing a 15-20% share of the lottery win asset.

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Families may be finding private rent unaffordable

By Residential Department | Published: Oct 26,2011

Those unable to afford to buy their own house may be struggling to pay their rent according to a report carried out by Shelter, a housing charity.

The Shelter Rent Watch revealed that for the majority of ordinary working families local authority rents are unaffordable. Further, private landlords are typically charging more than a third of median take-home pay, which is considered widely as a measure of affordability.

The research has also shown that 38% of families with children, who are renting privately, have had to reduce their food budget in the recent economic climate so they can pay their rent.

People renting a property in London boroughs have been revealed to be spending the most on rent – a two bedroom home typically costs £1,360 per month. Outside of London, Oxford is the most expensive local authority area where typical rent costs 55% of average earnings.

A shortage of local authority and housing association properties is thought to have pushed families into renting from the private sector and consequently paying for increasing rent prices.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter has stated that rising property prices have made renting a home the only option for many people.

Mr Robb said that the government “must urgently consider how private renting can become a stable, affordable option for families, and not a heavy financial burden that makes parents choose between buying food for and paying the rent”.

Rising rent costs may mean many families will find it difficult to contemplate getting onto the housing ladder by starting the residential conveyancing process, which could mean less work for property solicitors in Brighton, London and throughout the UK.

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BP avoids professional negligence claim and accepts $4.1 billion settlement

By Professional Negligence Department | Published: Oct 21,2011

Professional negligence claims are rarely as high value and as complex those following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Since then there have been enough complex and interlinked claims and counter claims to make even the most seasoned professional negligence solicitor dizzy.

This does not even account for the many different courts and jurisdictions from which the professional negligence claims have been emanating.

Just this week it was announced that BP had reached an out-of-court settlement with one of its minority partners, Anadarko, which will pay the UK oil giant $4 billion.

Although this sum is substantially less than BP might have received had it taken its claim to court, Anadarko has in return agreed to its drop professional negligence claim against the oil giant.

Another upshot for BP is that it is now able to inject the settlement directly into its $20 billion compensation fund in order to help settle claims from those affected by the spill.

BP’s legal team has clearly taken the view that, although as a 25% stakeholder in the Macondo Well, and therefore technically liable for 25% of the estimated $41 billion clean-up costs, Anadarko could have done far more damage had it decided to dig its heels in and continued with its claim for negligence – which, had it been a success, would have seen the US petroleum company avoid all liability for the spill.

BP shares have responded positively to the settlement. Let’s just hope that it’s also good news for the 130 or so class action claimants, which include fishermen, hotel operators, landowners, rental companies, restaurants and seafood processors – the people who are really deserving of settlement right now.

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Baseball team up for grabs in financial settlement on divorce

By Family Department | Published: Oct 18,2011

For most couples negotiating the terms of a financial settlement on divorce their arguing will probably be along these lines: “If you’re having the fish tank, I want the lawnmower!”

However, if you’re Frank and Jamie McCourt from California, you will be arguing over who’s going to get the major league baseball team and this is exactly what has happened, and in spectacular style.

The couple’s 30-year marriage ended in 2009 and, from that moment on, the spouses, together with their business partners and family law teams have been embroiled in a bitter and extremely costly legal battle to determine who gets what in the financial claim.

Papers filed in the California family court reveal that the couple spent $20 million dollars on their divorce in July alone this year, but when you consider the couple’s marital assets are valued at $1.2 billion, which includes the LA Dodgers baseball team, valued at $800 million, and six homes, it becomes apparent that the couple can probably afford the legal fees.

In 2010, a very public battle was fought regarding the validity of a post-nuptial agreement signed by the couple in 2004 which gave Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Dodgers should the couple divorce. His wife argued that she had been misled when agreeing to the document’s terms.

In December 2010, a judge finally ruled that the post-nup was indeed invalid, and amidst bankruptcy filings and accusations that the team were being ruined by Frank McCourt and his newly appointed CEO, the case went back to court.

Now, sources close to the case have told the Los Angeles Times that Jamie is on the verge of accepting a divorce financial settlement deal worth around $130 million which will allow Frank McCourt to retain ownership of the baseball team by selling television rights in the US Bankruptcy court.

Strange as it may seem, this is the second time in recent years that a US baseball team has become embroiled in a bitter divorce financial settlement battle – the 2008 divorce of John and Becky Moores saw the sale of a large chunk of Mr Moore’s ownership of the San Diego Padres to fund the settlement. Tellingly, on the day the McCourts announced their split, Mr McCourt’s divorce lawyer said, “This is not going to be another San Diego-like debacle.”

Oh, how wrong he was!

 

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Countryside properties cost more than city homes

By Residential Department | Published: Oct 17,2011

A report has suggested that those wishing to live in the country may have to pay much more than those with homes in the city. People seeking a residential conveyancing solicitor to help them purchase a home in a rural area have to spend an average of £27,000 more on their home than those who have bought homes in urban areas.

According to mortgage lender Halifax, the prices of rural homes have been increasing more than urban homes over the past decade, causing many rural areas to become unaffordable for first-time buyers and those on average incomes.

A study by County Homesearch showed that residents of the countryside who are paying for soaring train fares for the commute to work could save money by living in the city. Fare increases set to take effect next year mean that the price of two annual season tickets could cost more than mortgage repayments on a semi-detached house in some towns in the UK.

Halifax has revealed that over the last ten years rural property prices have increased by an average of £69,170, from £127,146 in 2001 to £196,316 in 2011. Cities and towns had an average increase of £62,223, from £107,130 to £169,353.

However, although countryside property prices have actually fallen by 22% since 2007, and urban properties by 23%, the overall property boom of the past decade has prevented many of those on average incomes from buying a home and therefore needing to contact a residential conveyancing solicitors to aid them with house purchases.

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Professional negligence claims could ruin foolhardy start-ups

By Professional Negligence Department | Published: Oct 11,2011

A professional negligence claim can ruin a new business before it has even begun to realise its potential, but this can occur only if it has failed to ensure that it has the correct insurance cover in case to cover the cost of compensation.

Architects, solicitors, engineers, builders, accountants – all have, if not a legal obligation then certainly a professional and moral obligation to purchase professional indemnity insurance.

Yet far too many new businesses leave themselves at risk of financial collapse in the event of a professional negligence claim. According to a recent survey by insurance broker PolicyBee most new businesses wait a full six months before buying indemnity cover.

Shockingly, 20% will actually wait two years, which, sadly, if they face a professional negligence claim during that period, could be far too late.

A spokesperson with the company comments, “It is particularly striking that one in five respondents had been in business for two years or more before purchasing professional indemnity insurance, during which time they’d have been exposed to a considerable risk.”

“It is clear that there is a stark difference between industries, with those in more regulated sectors such as accountancy and consultancy likely to purchase professional indemnity insurance from the outset.”

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A prenuptial agreement “Can’t Buy Me Love”

By Family Department | Published: Oct 10,2011

Headline news – as one celebrity gets married another one consults a divorce lawyer. And I have to say in the case of Demi Moore (Hollywood actress) and Ashton Kutcher I am probably not the only person to have secretly wondered, “How long will it last?”

So, as Sir Paul McCartney weds again, I cannot help but pose the same internal question, and with the thoughts of his last relationship with Heather Mills, and the subsequent messy and public divorce, still fresh in collective consciousness, it is not unfair for the tabloid-buying public to make the assumption that the latest relationship may, indeed, need a little more than “love, love, love”.

Prior to the wedding, rumours abounded in the press that the new Mrs-McCartney-to-be, Nancy Shevall, was independently wealthy and that Sir Paul was eschewing the unromantic nature of pre-nuptial agreement negotiations.

However, divorce experts have voiced their concerns that it is not the wisest of financial moves to leave large assets vulnerable to a divorce settlement ruling, especially if the couple takes up residence abroad and then falls out, leaving any ancillary relief proceedings to be undertaken in a foreign jurisdiction.

In the case of Ms Moore v Mr Kuchter, if a divorce is imminent, it has been said that the couple could be fighting over a combined fortune of around $290 million (approximately £185 million) and, once again, reportage suggests that no prenuptial agreement was signed.

Of course, the decision to seek a prenuptial agreement is a very personal one, but, in this day and age, when celebrity relationships, like every other relationship, are rarely for life, it is prudent to realise, Mr McCartney, that it might not always make the best financial sense to “Let it Be” because you can’t “Get Back” your fortune once you’ve gone down the “Long and Winding Road” which may well lead you to the door of a divorce lawyer.

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