The closest and most accessible train station to our Saffron Walden branch is Audley End Station. This station has daily train services from both Cambridge and Stansted.

As it is a two mile walk from Audley End station, we recommended that you take either the 59, 60 or 301 bus into Saffron Walden High Street. Or there is taxi service outside the station.

Wheelchair users can access the building via a ramp at the rear of the building. We can offer you a home visit as an alternative. Please phone us on 01799 52799 to book one.

By producing a set of heads of terms, it helps to identify the needs of all parties to a property transaction. They highlights any issues that will determine how to structure the transaction before legal costs are incurred. If all the deal-making decisions have already been decided, they can often help to speed up the drafting process of legal documentation. Heads of terms are usually stated to be ‘subject to contract’. They are not legally binding and are only used as a way to set out the fundamental conditions of the transaction.  

If you are selling land or renting it out as a landlord you may be asked to provide replies to commercial property standard enquiries before exchange of contracts. These enquiries include questions on a range of aspects including:

• The physical condition of the property

• How the property can be accessed

• Any maintenance agreements for any boundaries to the property

• Insurance policy documentation

• Asbestos survey reports

• Fire risk assessments

• Planning permissions and/or building regulation completion certificates

• Energy performance certificates

• Electrical installation certificates

• Information on the VAT position and capital allowances.  

To speed up ths process, it is advisable to have this information and/or documentation to hand. The replies given are relied upon by the proposed purchaser or tenant. It is therefore very important that the replies are as accurate as possible.  They must not be in any way misleading and must be kept up-to-date until exchange of contracts or completion of the lease, otherwise you may find yourself liable for a claim. 

There are very limited circumstances when the same firm of solicitors can act for both the buyer and the seller, or the landlord and the tenant. The Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct 2011 (SRACC 2011) sets out a number of strict rules in connection with the proper handling of conflicts of interests between clients. A firm must never act where there is a potential conflict or a significant risk of conflict. This is to ensure that the solicitor only acts in your best interest. Tees has a dedicated compliance team who regularly assess the potential conflict of interest in matters on which we are instructed. 

The Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct 2011 (SRACC 2011) suggests that a firm should only act for both the lender and the borrower in the following circumstances:

·         if the mortgage is on standard terms

·         it is able to act in the client’s best interests

·         the certificate of title required by the lender is in the form approved by the Law Society and UK Finance.

It is essential that there are no potential conflicts of interest. 

If your property has been registered at the Land Registry, a record of ownership is filed digitally online and this can be downloaded. If they are available, it is always helpful to have the deeds as they may contain useful information that may not have been registered. However, if the property is unregistered a solicitor will always need to see the physical title deeds to establish proof of ownership.

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is very important in commercial business tenancies. In certain specified circumstances and subject to some exceptions, it gives commercial tenants the right to a lease renewal at the end of the contractual term and the ability to remain in occupation at the property. It therefore provides the tenant with security of tenure and secures business continuity. It is possible however, for a lease to be “contracted outside” the 1954 Act, meaning that the tenant will not have the right to remain in occupation or renew the lease at the end of the contractual term. Regardless of whether the lease is agreed to be granted inside or outside the 1954 Act, it is crucial for both the landlord and the tenant to seek specialist advice.

If you’ve been contacted by a developer or a land promoter regarding a potential development to your property, you may wish to consider granting an option agreement or a promotion agreement. An option agreement is made between the landowner and the developer, where it is intended that the developer will apply for planning permission and requires an option to buy the property. A land promotion agreement is used where a developer agrees to apply for planning permission and will market the property for sale on the open market once planning permission has been obtained. This is usually in return for a proportion of the net sale proceeds. The law on this is very complex and you will need specialist advice.