Buying or selling a home is often the most significant financial transaction of our lives—and historically, one of the most stressful. Thankfully, a wave of reform is sweeping across the real estate industry, aiming to make the process faster, fairer, and more transparent. Here is the roadmap for how the read more...

My name is Sarah Vaux and I am thrilled to share a milestone that has been over a decade in the making. Since joining the team at Allan Janes in 2012, my professional life has undergone a remarkable transformation – evolving from a Personal Assistant (PA) to a Licensed Conveyancer. read more...

Technology has been increasingly helping us in our day-to-day life  and the  internet gives us all information in an efficient and readily available manner. With the use of Chat GPT becoming more convenient and accessible, it is easy to question whether there is any need to use a specialist and read more...

Allan Janes are very pleased to once again be sponsoring the Haddenham Winterfest Beer Festival on the 14th December 2024 at Banks Park, Haddenham, and hope to see you there. Having raised over £450,000 for various local charities and good causes within Buckinghamshire over the years, we are proud to read more...

Stamp Duty (SDLT) is a tax that is charged when you purchase property or land in England and Northern Ireland, the current thresholds which will remain in place until 31 March 2025 are as follows: £250,000 for residential properties  £425,000 for first-time buyers buying a residential property worth £625,000 or read more...

The recent attempt at a vote of no confidence in the Law Society by activist conveyancers has brought to light several issues that could affect residential property buyers. Whilst the vote of no condifence over material information rules failed, concerns remain and the arguments for the motion are explained below. read more...

As of 1st October 2024, HM Land Registry has announced that applications for first registration by conveyancers can no longer include certified copies of deeds and documents. Instead, the original deeds are to be provided and once scanned, will be returned. It is hoped that the change will improve the read more...

When purchasing leasehold property, you are purchasing an “interest” from the freeholder of a specific part of the building or land they own, for a set period of time. This provides you with the right to occupy the property for a number of years, and the length of leases can read more...

Searches form a standard part of the conveyancing process and identify any potential problems with the property you intend to buy.  They can also be required should you be refinancing your current property, but this varies from one mortgage lender to another.  Searches are not surveys so they do not read more...

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT, also known simply as ‘stamp duty’) is a tax you might have to pay when buying a residential or commercial property in the UK. The rates of SDLT can be changed by the government of the day, for example when the government releases the budget read more...

Conveyancing is a combination of administrative and legal work to transfer property ownership from one party to another. Attempting to navigate the conveyancing process yourself to cut down on costs may seem tempting and whilst on some transactions it may be possible, it is certainly not recommended. There is the read more...

Conveyancing is the legal process for transferring the ownership of property in England and Wales.  Whilst this may sound simple, there are a number of matters and risks associated with the transfer of property, and no two pieces of land are the same.  Buying a property is one of the read more...

There are two forms of written agreement you need to be aware of, namely simple contracts and deeds. This article explores executing documents in real estate. Difference between a contract and a deed Most commonly documents will be executed as simple contracts. A simple contract does not usually need to read more...

Jonathan Downing, a furniture designer bought his three-bedroom house in South London for £700,000 in August 2018 from Jeremy Henderson. However, his dream home soon became a nightmare when he discovered Japanese knotweed canes behind the shed. The invasive plant is notorious for its propensity to spread and damage the read more...

What is stamp duty? Stamp Duty Land Tax is a levy on home and land purchases. It is a cost that buyers must pay if the transaction value exceeds a certain amount. This tax applies to both freehold and leasehold properties – whether you’re buying outright or with a mortgage. read more...

Buying or selling property can be a very stressful experience, and it can be difficult to understand why the process seems to take a long time when you don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. Conveyancing is the process of transferring legal title of a property from one read more...