Chan Neill Solicitors LLP is delighted to be shortlisted in the British Legal Awards 2020
Chan Neill Solicitors LLP is delighted to be shortlisted in the prestigious British Legal Awards 2020- Boutique Law Firm of the year.
Gazumping- What is that , is it legal and how to avoid it?
How to avoid being gazumped – an essential guide to the first time buyers
In simple terms, Gazumping is when a vendor has accepted an offer from a potential buyer but later sells to another buyer.
Although it may seem like a very ‘illegal’ thing to do, Gazumping is very much legal. The conveyancing process is a two stage legal process: exchange and completion and until contracts are exchanged, the transaction is not binding.
This means that either party can walk away from the transaction before contracts are exchanged with no legal implication.
Unfortunately, this also means that if you have been gazumped at a pre-exchange stage then you will be left to pay a legal bill for all pre-exchange work conducted by your solicitors.
There are many reasons that a vendor may sell his/her property to another party although your offer had been accepted, but we find the most common reasons to be:
1. The seller has accepted a higher offer for the property
2. The vendors solicitors are experiencing delays with your solicitors
3. You do not have your finances in hand
How to prevent being gazumped
In order to prevent being Gazumped, we suggest the following top tips to bear in mind:
1. Speak to the estate agent to get an idea of how popular the property is
If you have had viewed the property and are quite keen to purchase the property then estate agents will be able to advise you on how popular the property is and whether the buyer is likely to receive offers under or over the asking price. If the property is struggling on the market then there is a good chance that the vendor will accept an offer under the asking price and will be keen to sell this to you. If however, the property is gaining a lot of interest, then it is worth you making a competitive offer to ensure that you are not gazumped for a higher offer at a later stage.
2. Be transparent from the outset about your finances and timescales by which you intend to complete the purchase
We find that vendors become frustrated during the conveyancing process when prospective purchasers avoid confirming their finances from the outset i.e. cash purchase, mortgage or chain transaction. It is therefore very important that you let your solicitors know how you are funding the purchase from the outset so that all parties can aim for a realistic completion date.
If you are having trouble with finances for any reason, then it is best that you disclose this as soon as possible. In some cases, if the delay is only by a few weeks then the vendor may empathise and may be willing to extend the completion target date. If however, you do not disclose your financial hiccups and the vendor feels that you are time wasting, then it is very likely he will sell the property to another party.
3. Secure a mortgage offer in principal
If you are keen on purchasing a new property then it is worth contacting a mortgage lender to provide you with a mortgage offer in principle before property hunting, to ensure that you can book a survey in as soon as your offer to purchase has been accepted. This will show the vendor that you are serious about the purchase and it will make a good impression.
4. Ask for the property to be taken off the market
You could ask the vendor to take the property off the market as part of acceptance of your offer.
5. Ask your solicitors to draft a lock-in-agreement / exclusivity agreement
If the property you have viewed is one that you cannot bear to lose then you could ask your solicitors to draft an agreement to prevent the vendor from entertaining other offers for a fixed period of time i.e. 4 weeks. Of course, you would incur additional legal fees as this is not a standard conveyancing document, but at least this would provide you with peace of mind to have a survey booked or to secure your finances without the threat of being gazumped.
6. Obtain insurance
Some specialist insurance providers will offer insurance to cover legal, survey and mortgage lending costs should a purchase fall through. It will not prevent you from being gazumped, but it will at least help you to minimise your losses in the event unfortunate event that you are.
If you would like to instruct our conveyancing team for a residential or commercial sale/purchase, please do not hesitate to call our offices or email us at conveyancing@cnsolicitors.com.
Global Talent visa – summary of upcoming changes
The Global Talent visa caters to leaders or prospective leaders in the fields of science, engineering, humanities, medicine, digital technology or arts and culture.
With the introduction of more restrictive Innovator visa, the Global Talent route has gained popularity as it offers not only freedom of employment in the United Kingdom but also possibility to operate your own business. The other benefits of the Global Talent visa include possibility to settle in the United Kingdom after 3 years of being endorsed as an Exceptional Talent, permission to enter/remain in the UK for up to 5 years on a single application, absence of the requirement to have a confirmed job offer, and fast-track scheme which provides a quicker endorsement. In addition, there is no English or maintenance requirement and there is no cap on the number of eligible individuals who can use this visa route.
When applying for the Global Talent visa, there is a two-part process. The first part includes an application for endorsement, whilst the second part is the visa application itself, subject that the endorsement application being successful.
In the past years there have been a few changes made to this visa route. The latest changes were announced by the Home Office on 22 October 2020. Important to note that applications submitted on or before 30 November 2020 will be assessed according to the current Immigration Rules. Whereas applications submitted on or after 1 December 2020 will be assessed under the new Rules. The new changes, which concern part one of the process, are made to the criteria for consideration of senior appointments and the definition of the types of academic and research roles that qualify under this visa route.
The most noticeable changes concern Digital Technology applicants who wish to be endorsed by Tech Nation. As such, the Key and Qualifying criteria are being restructured whereas a simpler set of mandatory and optional criteria will be introduced.
At present, the prospective Digital Technology applicants are required to provide at least 10 documents showing compliance with minimum one Key and two Qualifying criteria. As of 1 December 2020, leading talent and potential leader applicants will be required to demonstrate compliance with at least 2 out of 4 optional criteria. Most importantly, the criteria regarding Continuous Learning is being removed.
For many years our Immigration Team has successfully assisted applicants with their applications under the Global Talent and its predecessor Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa routes. Please do not hesitate to contact our Immigration Team for assistance and advice in relation to entry clearance or permission to stay in the UK and settlement visa applications under the Global Talent route.
Please note that requirements may vary from case to case based on the nuances of your situation, and the information on this page is not intended to replace legal advice.
Chan Neill Solicitors- We are working.
All our staff are still working and available to answer any queries through the second English lockdown. For any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at reception@cnsolicitors.com