“Is it safe ?”

We’re not trying to draw parallels between Laurence Oliver’s character torturing Dustin Hoffman in the 70’s classic film Marathon Man, and the behaviour of mortgage lenders, but we are seeing an increasing level of caution from them at the moment which is resulting in transactions being delayed. We have examples of financing being withdrawn after the offer was confirmed in writing, because an asbestos survey has been carried out, (even though it came out negative) and finally, because of concerns about development of the cross-London line, CrossRail, even though the property was in a block of flats that had previously obtained financing from them without question. This combined with continued reduction of panel numbers means that getting deals through is taking rather more work on our part, but our completion levels continue to grow month on month and we are looking forward to a strong end of the year.

For sale signs banned
Following Brighton’s lead, two areas of London have now been designated as “board free” in what could spell the beginning of the end of the “for sale” sign. Although opinions are mixed over the effectiveness of these signs with some agents suggesting that they should be scrapped altogether, the new restrictions come into force today in large parts of west London. In Kensington & Chelsea, there is a ban that covers nearly half the borough, with other councils keeping a close eye on the impact of the change.

New Partnership wills service launched
Given that it is estimated that over half of the population has not made a will, it is not surprising that a large number of our clients have asked us for help in this area. In response to this, we have recently launched our will advisory service, utilising the skills and experience of Guy Crowther, who was formerly the head of the family department at a leading Surrey law firm, and has years of experience in the delivery of wills for the most complex estates. As with all our services, we focus on efficiency with a 24 hour turnaround once the discussions and investigations are complete. Contact us on wills@thepartnershiplimited.com for more information, and there are more details on our website, www.thepartnershiplimited.com/html/wills.html

Extension of discounts for referrers
We are extending our discounting service that we offer referrers that choose us for their legal services. We have always offered significant discounts on Home Information Packs and Energy Performance Certificates for agents and assessors who refer work to us, and we are now extending this to our conveyancing and wills services. The discounts can be obtained by anyone that has referred work to us at any time in the past and translates to significant savings. Please contact us on 01483 579 978 or referrers@thepartnershiplimited.com for more information about the referrer discount programme.

Wills are now included in our service offering

We're delighted to announce that we are now able to offer wills to our private clients who are looking for the same personal service that we've been providing for all these years.

We understand that for many people, the idea of drafting a will is not exactly the most pleasant matter that they want to deal with, but most are unaware of the pitfalls of not having a will in place. Indeed, most assume that their dependants will benefit automatically, but this is not the case, and our solicitors here are on hand to help people through the process.

Visit www.thepartnershiplimited.com/html/wills.html for more information

Is Autumn starting early?

The good news is that we're starting to see signs of life returning to the property market after what seems like an interminable August. Without wishing time away, like many of the agents that we speak with, we're delighted that September is finally with us and buyer interest is definitely on the increase.

One trend that we've spotted is "seller resentment" as we have coined the phrase. This is where a buyer has negotiated a lower price for a property and the seller feels (inevitably) rather hard-done by, and is therefore far less likely to be amenable to giving in on any demands during the conveyancing process.

Completely understandable, but it does make life rather difficult for all involved in the process - let's hope that with an increase in activity, that this issue will start to become history.