Buying a first home is probably the first time most people have to engage a solicitor. Basic conveyancing has become a very competitive legal service, whether through qualified solicitors or “licenced conveyancers”.

For many first time buyers the cheapest deal may seem the best. At Pitmans we believe in quality of advice and service, and find we work best with clients who want the best. We like to add value to the basic service for clients buying (or selling) property – whether for the first time, moving up the ladder, or buying for investment and so on.

As you accumulate wealth, and develop a family, owning property in a tax-efficient manner, and making a Will in case of sudden death, becomes increasingly important.

If your parents put a holiday home “into the childrens’ names” have you heard about the new Pre-Owned Asset Tax (POAT)? Have you considered owning investment property after April 2006 through one of the new style Pension Funds?

On the other side of the picture, separation, divorce, and death, particularly in the case of unmarried partners, can have disastrous practical and tax consequences for joint owners of property if you have not taken specialist advice, and made Wills, because of the Intestacy Rules.

Buying property abroad is even more fraught with tax and succession problems, because of the forced heirship rules which apply in most European countries, including Scotland. For example, did you know that if a couple own a holiday home in France and one spouse dies leaving a child by a previous marriage, the child will inherit 75% of the property, and the surviving spouse only 25% - regardless of what your Will says. Also, tax rates in Europe are high, and exemption levels very low, compared with the UK. Assets passing between spouses are not exempt from tax as they are in the UK.

Please ask for a free copy of our guides on – Tax & Succession Planning for Housebuyers; Making Wills; Managing Inheritance Tax, and POAT. Married couples paying over £500,000 for a new house may be interested in our Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Management Service – we may be able to save you the price of a new kitchen!

For further information contact Marian Lynch.