PROPERTY LAW
SAFE PARKING
I want to sell a garage that I own, which is quite separate from my house. The man who is interested in buying it says there’s no need to use a solicitor to carry out the transaction and that it will save money. Obviously mistakes in conveyancing will probably be more costly for a buyer than for a seller, but considering the pitfalls and the small amount of money involved it’s hardly worth the risk. I’d advise seeing a solicitor especially where the land isn’t registered with the Land Registry or is leasehold. Also it’s unwise to do one’s own conveyancing where the other person is acting for himself; if at least one solicitor is involved the conveyance is unlikely to be a total mess!
COSTS UNPAID
Some years ago I received legal aid to conduct my divorce. I was awarded the house and my ex-husband was supposed to be paying off the legal costs, but when I checked with the Legal Aid Agency he’d paid nothing. They say it’s my responsibility to get the money from him. It’s not very common for one party in a divorce to be ordered to pay all the other’s costs (although it can happen) so the first thing is to check with your solicitors exactly what orders were made by the court. If you are correct you may have to sue your ex-husband for the costs in the County Court, but obviously this will only be worth doing if he has some money. I recommend you take action sooner rather than later. Although the enforcement of the charge on the house may be postponed while it remains your family home, interest is accumulating on the debt.
FIXING A HOLE
Six years ago while we were having a kitchen extension built a prop shifted, cracking the back of our house. We spent thousands of pounds trying to get the builder to rectify the damage, and eventually won a court case two years ago. However we haven’t been able to get a penny: at an oral examination the builder falsely claimed he was ill and wasn’t working, and it appears he has transferred everything into his wife’s name. What can we do? The next step may be to start bankruptcy proceedings. If the builder has transferred everything into his wife’s name, then, on bankruptcy, a gift of a house or other assets could be set aside in certain circumstances. You should first check with the Land Registry to see if the builder has transferred his house into his wife’s sole name. If it is in joint names you can apply for a charging order and then ask for it to be sold to pay your debt. How far you are prepared to go will depend on the amount you are owed.
UP IN SMOKE
We put down a £300 deposit on a £1,600 antique fireplace. But we’ve had a crisis and can’t afford the money. I rang the shop and they offered to refund half my deposit, but I told them that wasn’t good enough. Now I’ve had a letter saying I can’t have any money back and I’m lucky they’re not suing me for the other £1,300. Is this right? If you entered into an on-premises contract to buy the fireplace, which did not include any cooling-off period, you should probably have accepted the firm’s initial offer to refund half of your deposit. A deposit is normally considered nonrefundable except where there is an indication to the contrary. But to sue you successfully the firm would have to be able to show losses as a result of the deal falling through.
»»Call SAS Daniels LLP Solicitors on 0161 475 7676 or 01625 442 100. Visitwww.sasdaniels.co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Weekly Law and You, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@lawQs. co.uk