Moving House

Welcome to the section of our website especially for people requiring legal services for their own personal needs.

For a more detailed discussion of your requirements, free of charge and without any obligation, please contact

Stuart Walters on 01623 460444

or by e-mail SWalters@alcocks-solicitors.co.uk.

We provide both residential and commercial conveyancing or general legal advice to help you buy, sell or lease your property.

Our highly trained, professional staff have a wealth of experience in these fields and will ensure that the legal process is as smooth and stress-free as possible for you.

Our fees are very competitive and we guarantee that our service will meet and exceed expectations.

For Private sale and/or purchase, re-mortgages and title transfer click here

Moving House

Moving House can be a very stressful time. Buying your new house is so exciting (especially if it is the first one you have bought) that any problem you have seems doubly difficult. It could be the biggest financial transaction in your life! So you want to deal with solicitors who can explain what needs to be done, when it needs doing, and to take you through the small print so you feel you are in control.

We provide a personal, face to face service in which we encourage you to come and see us to discuss your sale or purchase.

At Alcocks, Stuart Walters at the Mansfield office has many years of experience.

We, as properly qualified solicitors, will deal with you personally all the way through your move (with the help of our assistants) and we encourage you to come in and see us.

If you would like to talk to someone about moving house, please contact Stuart at our Mansfield office on 01623 460444

Selling your house and land: tax tips

Most people buy and sell the property they live in without any thoughts about tax (other than, perhaps, Stamp Duty Land Tax). However, there are some circumstances in which selling the property you live in can cause tax problems.

Some of the main ones are:

Where you own more than .5 of a hectare of land. If you have a large amount of land, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) may apply to land in excess of .5 of a hectare (about one acre). Large areas of land will be exempt if they are "necessary to the enjoyment" of the property as a whole;

Where the property has been let for a long period. The current law exempts private residences from CGT on a "time" basis, so if the property has been let for ten years and lived in for ten years, the gain is apportioned. However, the last three years are treated as exempt, so in the above example, only 7/20 of the gain would be subject to CGT. There are other circumstances in which periods of non-occupation can be exempt (for example, when working abroad);

Where the property is used wholly or in part for business purposes. In this case, the chargeable gain is normally calculated by reference to the proportion of the property used for business and the period of time over which it is used. Where the business use is furnished holiday lettings, CGT rollover relief may be available. In some circumstances taper relief on the business proportion of the gain may also be available;

Where there are two or more disposals. If the house and land are being sold separately, CGT may bite (hard!) on the land sale; and Where the house has been used for 'hobby farming', the gain which is exempted by the application of Agricultural Property Relief may be restricted.