Buying a home, whether it be your 1st or 21st, is an exciting, if not exhausting time!

It’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the opportunities to buy there are the Island, however your friends at Quinn Legal have pulled together some top tips to make sure you find the best property for your personal circumstances.

 

Your Budget

The biggie!

Your budget has to be the starting point when considering buying a home.

The best strategy is to have your deposit ready to go. The amount of deposit you need will depend on your mortgage lender. Some lenders will ask for a higher deposit than others, but usually the minimum needed is 5-10% of the property price.

Obtaining a mortgage decision in principle before you make an offer on a property puts you in a strong position as it indicates to the seller that you are ready to proceed without delay and that you are a serious buyer. The mortgage application process can take some time, so it is worth dealing with this as soon as you decide you are ready to start looking for a home.

Remember there are numerous other costs involved in buying a property including search fees and the Land Registry’s charge for registering your ownership.

As well as arranging a mortgage decision in principle, you should also line up a solicitor to act on your behalf in the purchase. If you find someone in advance of making an offer, then as soon as your offer is accepted you will be able to give the estate agent the lawyer’s details so that the seller can send the contract documentation and property information to them as soon as it is available.

Once you have an idea of how much you can borrow and how much the related costs are going to be, you’ll be on great footing to decide your budget!

 

Location

You’ve heard it before; “Location, Location, Location!”

It’s arguably the most important thing to look for when you’re on the hunt for a new home. The definition of a great location is unique to everyone; do you want a bustling environment with shops, bars and restaurants? Or do you want tranquility, a place to get away from it all?

There’s no right or wrong answers, but make sure to consider all the practicalities of any potential location.

Other things to think about

• Is the local school well rated?
• Can I walk to the shops if I need some groceries?
• Are there good transport links?
• How long is the commute to work?
• What are the people like in the local area?
• Are there green spaces nearby?

 

Size

How much room do you and your family (or future family!) need to live in comfortably?

The answer to this will depend entirely on your circumstances; maybe you’re a busy single-professional who needs somewhere cosy and low maintenance, a newly married couple looking for a home to build a family in, or you’re retiring and want to downsize.

Ideally the home you choose should be flexible to your ever-changing needs, but always consider the potential resale value should your needs outgrow your house.

 

Quality

Everything about a home, from the building materials to the fixtures and fittings, determine how nice a home will be to live in.

Practicality and functionality are the main things to consider if you want to avoid having to do serious levels of work prior to moving in. Try and minimise the effect taste has on your final decision, positively or negatively. Remember that paint and wallpaper is easy to change, bricks and mortar are not!

 

In summary

By preparing for the purchase of a house or flat before you start searching you are giving yourself the best possible chance of buying your dream home once you find it. You can also make sure that any hitches are sorted out beforehand, for example, by providing all the documentation a mortgage lender requires.

In a sought-after area such as the Isle of Man, advance preparation is essential to put you in the running in a competitive marketplace.

 

At Quinn Legal we help our clients from day one

If you are buying or selling a property and would like to speak to one of our expert property team, please feel free to ring us on 01624 665522 or email us: hello@quinnlegal.im.

Alternatively, you can Make An Online Enquiry and one of our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

If you are buying or selling a property, you may encounter delays at various points in your conveyancing transaction. We take a look at some of the most common causes and what you can do to try and avoid them.

 

Obtaining a mortgage

Obtaining a mortgage approval and having a mortgage offer issued can take time, particularly in a busy market. It is always recommended that you apply for a mortgage in principle as soon as possible once you have decided that you are intending to buy a property.

This is a mortgage offer made by the lender before you have found a property to purchase. The lender will be able to go through your application, check all of the information as necessary and ask you for any extra information they may need. Once you have had an offer accepted, you simply let them have the details and it will take them far less time to issue their offer because they already have most of the information they need.

 

Instructing an advocate

Whether you are buying or selling, it is a good idea to find yourself an advocate early on. This will give them the opportunity to open a file for you and start carrying out the identity checks that are required by law. If you are selling, they will be able to let you have the property information and fixtures and fittings forms for completion so that the contract papers can be issued to your potential buyer as soon as you accept an offer.

 

Issues with the property revealed during the survey

Ideally, you should ask for your survey to be done as early as possible in the process, as surveyors may not be able to fit you in straightaway. Your survey results may reveal work that needs to be carried out to the property. If you are buying, you should ask builders to provide you with a quote for the work so that you can use this as a basis for renegotiating the purchase price, where necessary. All of this takes time, so it is important to try and move it along as quickly as you can.

 

Legal problems or missing paperwork

Your advocate may find issues relating to the legal title to the property or that some of the paperwork is missing. An experienced advocate will know how to deal with this and will move to resolve issues without delay so that the problems do not hold up your move. If difficulties do arise,

you will benefit greatly from having a genuine expert in residential property acting for you who is likely to have encountered the same problem before and who will know how to deal with it quickly and efficiently.

 

A slow-moving chain

The longer the chain, the bigger the likelihood that your transaction might move slowly. Your advocate will be able to keep in touch with your buyer’s and seller’s advocates to keep the pressure on and check whether there are any potential delays that need dealing with. Your estate agent should also be able to ring up and down the chain to check on progress.

The key to avoiding hold-ups is communication, so that any issues can be tackled as soon as possible and not allowed to drag on.

 

Contact our Isle of Man Isle of Man residential property lawyers

At Quinn Legal, our residential conveyancing team are highly experienced and we always do all we can to ensure transactions proceed quickly and efficiently.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a property and you would like us to represent you, please give us a call. To speak to one of our expert Isle of Man residential property advocates, ring us on 01624 665522 or email us: hello@quinnlegal.im.

 

About Eleesha

Eleesha handles all of our property enquiries.

She’s the first friendly voice you’ll hear at Quinn Legal.

Click her photo below to find out more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re buying a property with someone else, you will need to decide which type of joint ownership is right for you. When you own a property jointly, you can either own it as joint tenants or as tenants in common.

Which option will be best for you will depend on your circumstances. The different options give you the chance to protect your interests and ensure that your share of your property will be used in the way that you wish.

 

Joint tenants

If you choose to own the property as joint tenants, then you both own the whole property together. Neither of you will own a specific share. This means that when you sell, you are each entitled to half of the proceeds. Should one of you die, the other automatically owns the whole property.

Ownership as a joint tenant means that you cannot leave your share of the property to someone else in your Will. Problems may arise with this type of ownership in later life. For example, you can’t leave your share of your home to your children.

While the other owner may intend to leave the whole property to your children when the time comes, there is no guarantee that this will happen. They might remarry, with the property going to their new spouse. They could also lose the value of the property in an unsound investment or be required to use it to pay care home fees.

Tenants in common

When property is owned as tenants in common, each party owns a specified share outright. This could be 50%, but it can also be any other division that you agree upon. For example, if one party paid the deposit from their own funds then you could agree that their share will be 75%.

On the sale of the property, the net sale proceeds will be divided according to the agreed split, which is generally set out in a Deed of Trust or Declaration of Trust at the time the property is bought.

If you own a property as tenants in common, you can leave your share in your Will to your choice of beneficiary.

How to choose between joint tenants and tenants in common

If you are happy for your share of the property to ultimately pass to your co-owner, then a joint tenancy might be the right choice.

However, if you are making unequal contributions towards the purchase price, a tenancy in common could protect your interest. It also gives you the opportunity to ensure that your share of the property is passed on to your loved ones after you die.

You can leave it in your Will, but also give your co-owner a life interest in your share, meaning they will be able to stay in the home for as long as they wish. Once they no longer need the property and it is sold, your interest would be passed on in accordance with the terms of your Will.

It is always advisable to have a Will in place to let your loved ones know how you wish your estate to be shared after your death. However, if you will be owning a property as tenants in common, it is particularly important to make a Will.

Our experienced property and Wills advocates can discuss your situation with you and advise you on the best method of property ownership. We can answer any questions you may have and ensure that the right documentation is in place to protect your assets for future generations.

 

Contact our Isle of Man conveyancing team

If you are thinking of buying a property on the Isle of Man and you would like one of our experienced Isle of Man conveyancing advocates to represent you, we will be happy to hear from you. To speak to one of our expert Isle of Man property advocates, ring us on 01624 665522 or email us: hello@quinnlegal.im.

 

About Kathryn

Kathryn is the Head of Property at Quinn Legal

Click her photo below to find out more!

 

 

 

 

 

For those entering into a lease for commercial premises, paying turnover rent may be an option. Turnover rent is calculated, wholly or in part, based on the turnover of the business that is leasing the property.

It is commonly used by retailers and can be useful for start-up businesses who are unable to afford full commercial rent.

 

How does turnover rent work?

The details of a turnover rent agreement will be negotiated in each individual case. It is advisable to work with a commercial property expert to ensure that your interests are properly represented and that the lease is in your best interests.

The agreement will often require the tenant to pay a base rent. Where this is the case, a cap can also usually be agreed upon so that even if turnover exceeds a set limit, there will not be any further increase in the rent. Alternatively, the whole rent can be based on turnover.

The actual rent paid each month or each quarter can be a fixed amount, with an annual reconciliation where any extra rent due under the turnover agreement will be settled.

This type of commercial lease can give tenants some flexibility during difficult market conditions and help prevent them from defaulting on a lease. This can be advantageous to a landlord as well, who might find it hard to find a new tenant.

 

Negotiating turnover rent

A lease including turnover rent can be complex and there are several key points to negotiate. These include how the rent will be calculated, whether the rent will be capped and how the tenant’s financial information will be verified.

The landlord may want to include online sales in the figures, while the tenant will want to exclude these. A compromise might be to only include online sales that are dealt with at the premises. The landlord will generally have the right to ask for the tenant’s books to be audited. This could be a considerable expense.

The fixed part of the rent will often account for around 75-80%. The percentage of the turnover paid might range from 5-12%.

The smaller the fixed rent, the higher percentage of turnover the landlord will want.

Where the goods being sold have a low profit margin but are sold in a large quantity, the tenant will only want to pay a low percentage of their turnover. Conversely, where goods have a large profit margin but a lower volume of sales, the landlord will want a higher percentage of the turnover paid.

It is always advisable to use an expert in commercial property to deal with the negotiations and the drafting of the agreement to ensure that the deal that is agreed is favourable and fair.

 

Implications of turnover rent

The tenant will need to keep their books very accurately and ensure that figures are up to date. The calculations can be complex when issues such as VAT, bad debts and returns are factored in.

The agreement should deal with confidentiality issues, as the landlord will be privy to sensitive information about the business.

Turnover rent can help a business cope with a downturn in sales and give a landlord the potential to benefit in the event of an increase in profits in return. But the agreement will work best when the relationship between the parties is good.

 

Contact our Isle of Man commercial property team

Thinking of leasing a commercial property on the Isle of Man?  Speak to one of our expert commercial property advocates, ring us on 01624 665522 or email us: hello@quinnlegal.im. We will be happy to hear from you.

 

About Kathryn

Kathryn is the Head of Property at Quinn Legal

Click her photo below to find out more!