Emyr Pierce

Professional Legal Services | Cardiff

Cardiff: 029 2061 6002

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We are recruiting: Audio Typist

  • Part time
  • Start date – immediate
  • Location – Rhiwbina, Cardiff

Summary

Emyr Pierce Solicitors are looking for an enthusiastic and conscientious temporary Audio Typist/Administrative Assistant to support a busy Conveyancing team.

The ideal candidate will have 1+ years or more experience of audio typing and office administration duties.

Duties and responsibilities

  • Audio typing
  • Liaising with clients
  • Handling client documents
  • Use of Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and Outlook
  • Reception and administration duties
  • Diary management
  • Answering incoming telephone calls and dealing with emails
  • Opening mail and franking outgoing mail
  • Ad-hoc administration duties

To be considered for this role, please email a copy of your CV and covering letter to law@emyrpierce.co.uk

We are recruiting: Receptionist

  • Part time
  • Start date – immediate
  • Location – Rhiwbina, Cardiff

Summary

Emyr Pierce Solicitors are looking for a part time Receptionist to provide professional and efficient ‘Front of House’ support to the business, its clients and visitors.

The role covers a wide variety of tasks, but generally supports all day-to-day administrative activities including answering telephone enquiries, diary management, liaising with clients and visitors, maintaining databases, and the wide use of IT systems including email, Excel and Word.

Duties and responsibilities

  • Answering telephone enquiries efficiently and professionally.
  • Dealing with clients and potential clients visiting the premises and directing their enquiries appropriately.
  • Copying/scanning paperwork from clients in reception and passing to the relevant department.
  • Maintaining ‘housekeeping’ standards for all front of house areas such as the Reception desk and business entrance, ensuring that these areas are kept clean and tidy.
  • To present an organised and professional experience for the client/visitor at all times

To be considered for this role, please email a copy of your CV and covering letter to law@emyrpierce.co.uk

Welsh Government introduces tax holiday for Welsh homebuyers

New measures set out by the Welsh Government regarding land transaction tax in Wales will come into effect on July 27.

The Land Transaction Tax replaced stamp duty in Wales in 2018 and is usually applied to homes valued at £180,000 or above. Under the new measures announced by the Welsh Government, the starting threshold for the tax will increase from £180,000 to £250,000, meaning around 80% of homebuyers will not pay any tax.

The tax holiday, a temporary measure which lasts until March 31 next year, primarily benefits first-time buyers and home owners buying a new property as their main residence and does not apply to landlords who buy-to-let or home owners looking to purchase a second home.

Combined with the partial reopening of the housing market in Wales, the measures are likely to encourage buyers to move forward with their purchases. Potential buyers can currently view and move into vacant residential properties, and valuations of occupied properties can be valued and inspected in line with social distancing guidelines, ahead of completing the sale.

For those in the process of buying a house, it is worth speaking with a conveyancer about exchanging contracts or completing purchases after July 27 to benefit from the tax holiday, though considerations should be made about arrangements that may be impacted upon including removals and property chains. Unfortunately, purchases completed before this date will not be eligible for the tax reduction.

The announcement from the Welsh Government follows the Chancellor’s Economic Statement on July 7 which set out changes in Stamp Duty for properties in England and Northern Ireland. Effective from July 8, residential purchasers buying property under £500,000 in these countries will not have to pay stamp duty until the end of March.

Meanwhile in Scotland, in a similar move to Wales, the starting threshold for land and buildings transaction tax has also increased to £250,000. However, the changes in Scotland are being implemented earlier, with homebuyers able to benefit from the tax reduction from July 15.

The Residential Property team at Emyr Pierce Solicitors have expert knowledge and experience of all aspects of the residential market. From queries about land transaction tax to navigating through the complexities of a property transaction, Emyr Pierce Solicitors can advise and guide you through a variety of residential property and conveyancing issues.

Contact us by telephone on 02920 616002 or email law@emyrpierce.co.uk

Supporting our clients through COVID-19

We wish to reassure our clients, professional colleagues and suppliers, that we aim to remain fully operational during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

It would be of great assistance if all correspondence and documentation, other than original documents, are sent to us electronically by e-mail to assist our fee earners who may have to progress cases by working remotely, if necessary.

Original documents should still be sent to us by first class post.

We regret that we are currently unable to offer any new, or satisfy any pre-arranged, personal appointments in accordance with Government guidelines, in order to protect the welfare of our clients and staff, but remain available to you by telephone or email.

We thank you for your understanding and would appreciate your patience when awaiting a response to your enquiries due to the possibility of our lawyers working remotely from the office.

If you need to contact us, please do not hesitate to do so by telephone on 02920 616002 or Email: law@emyrpierce.co.uk

Should you have any concerns with regard to how your transaction is being handled, please contact our Practice Manager, Laura Pierceat laurap@emyrpierce.co.uk

We are recruiting: Legal Assistant

Legal Assistant

  • Full time
  • Salary – negotiable
  • Hours – 9-5.30pm
  • Start date – immediate
  • Location – Rhiwbina, Cardiff

Summary

Legal Assistant to a Probate department required for busy law firm in Rhiwbina, Cardiff.

Working as a Legal Assistant, you will become integrated within a hardworking and professional team, with the aim of providing exceptional support and assistance within a busy office environment.

Duties and Responsibilities 

  • Day to day call handling.
  • Prepare correspondence and documents using word processing.
  • Organising and scheduling documentation.
  • Assisting with drafting and preparing Lasting Power of Attorney documentation.
  • Administer filing systems which will include daily filing and the opening, closing, storage and retrieval of client files in accordance with the detailed procedures contained in the office manual.
  • Prepare mail and enclosures for despatch.
  • Correspondence allocation.
  • To make appointments, arrange meetings and maintain an up-to-date diary.
  • To attend clients both in person and on the telephone.
  • Relief reception cover.
  • General Support to Fee Earners and colleagues in all departments.

Essential criteria 

  • Effective time management and ability to maintain accurate records
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Excellent IT skills, including Excel, Word and other common applications
  • Self-motivated, highly organised, able to demonstrate problem solving skills and a good team player
  • Flexibility and able to take on additional roles as and when required
  • Positive, can do attitude, problem solver
  • Willing to learn and use new software platforms
  • Willingness to work as part of a local office Team
  • Ability to act on own initiative and action clear instructions
  • High Customer Service principles to reflect the high service standards of the Firm.
  • A full, clean UK driving license

To be considered for this role, please email a copy of your CV and covering letter to: emyrp@emyrpierce.co.uk

Budget reaction

Responding to Philip Hammond’s budget, Emyr Pierce, Managing Director of Emyr Pierce Solicitors, said: “The scrapping of Stamp Duty for first time buyers will clearly help all those getting on the property ladder for the first time but there will be major savings in London and South East where average prices will provide a £5000 saving on properties of £300,000 and above.

 

In Wales, subject to further deliberations from Welsh Government, this will currently only be available until 1st April 2018.

 

In Wales, if you base the savings on the average first time buyers’ purchases (between £150K and £200K) the saving will be £500 – £1500 respectively.

 

This will certainly provide a cash “bonus” (rather than a “windfall”) on purchasing for all first time buyers buying homes over £125K (of which there is a lower percentage in Wales than in the UK as a whole) particularly for those in the process of buying who have set aside the stamp duty which will now no longer be payable.

 

It is also worth noting that the Independent Office for Budget Responsibility claims that the main effect of the stamp duty announcement will be to raise house prices by 0.3%!!!

 

Savings

Price                                      Saving

 

£150K                                    £500

 

£180K                                    £1200

 

£200K                                    £1500

 

£250K                                    £2500

 

£300K                                    £5000

Cut in Interest Rates

Interest rates cut after brexit

The Bank of England has cut the benchmark base rate from 0.5% to 0.25% after more than seven years of no change. This is clearly a direct attempt to boost the UK economy in the wake of the ‘Brexit’ vote on 24 June.

There is no question that the immediate effect of the referendum vote has had a dramatic impact on the financial markets and the Bank of England is clearly stepping in now, rather than next month as was originally anticipated, to make this cut.

This is usually an indication that the value of the British Pound, share prices and decision making on the part of potential house purchasers have all taken a substantial hit over the past few weeks.

We have found that particularly in the South East of England buyers have withdrawn from on-going transactions concerned that the fall in the value of the Pound and the adverse impact on financial markets could result in a fall in house prices. With house prices raging ever upwards in London and the South East in particular any drop in prices will have a substantial impact in those areas.

Arguably in Wales, the impact should be somewhat smaller but this does not detract from a general nervousness on the part of purchasers who clearly do not want to pay over the odds for properties which in 12 months’ time could be worth substantially less.

Information coming through indicates that the construction industry have identified a sharp slowdown in production recording its worst month in seven years for June 2016.

What effect of the Brexit vote have we seen locally?

The reality is very little, but the signs are that the nervousness and the inevitable impact by way of falling house prices, will make mortgage companies more cautious, valuers will be cautious when valuing properties for mortgage purposes and potential buyers will be extra cautious in their pursuit of new properties.

One major effect of a reduction in price of property will be the hit to investors who have increasingly been investing in the property market rather than savings due to low interest rates. This further reduction in interest rates will put greater pressure on investors to look elsewhere for a reasonable return on their money resulting in purchasers being available in the market place but unwilling to offer the prices currently being asked, leading sadly to the inevitable fall in house prices which has now been forecast for the coming 12 months.
On the other hand, the news is not all bad as the cost of mortgages will fall for the time being.

Whilst a number of first time buyers have fixed rate products and therefore will not benefit from a further reduction in interest rates, those who have tracker mortgages will gain as the interest rate on their product follow the movements in the Bank Base Rate. Those borrowers looking for new mortgages may find that the fixed rate products offered by the financial institutions will also become more competitive as lower fixed rates may be offered, but again this will depend entirely on the confidence that the banks and building societies may have with regard to future interest rates.

The uncertainty following the ‘Brexit’ vote may well result in the banks and building societies electing to err on the cautious as ever and not pass on the reduction in the Bank Base Rate to new borrowers as they fear that such a short-term incentive on the part of the Bank of England may not prove successful in the long term with interest rates having to rise should the country face greater financial hardship as a result of the vote.

Have a question? Contact the Cardiff conveyancing team >

Can I claim against survey oversight?

I have just discovered that the house I bought three years ago has subsidence. We had a full survey carried out before we bought and this was not spotted. I am insured but will have to pay a hefty excess for the repairs. Can I make a claim against anyone for this oversight?

YOU need to obtain an independent report from a Building Surveyor or Structural Engineer to establish whether or not the problem existed at the time you bought. A building surveyor will advise as to whether or not your surveyor should have identified any tell-tale signs that should have been picked up in an ordinary homebuyers or structural survey. If the Report is favourable, then you may have a claim against your surveyor for professional negligence. You should seek the advice of a solicitor specialising in professional negligence. You should also investigate the possibility of the problem being covered by your building’s insurance policy as this may be an easier and more direct way of recovering the cost of the remedial works. In the event of a successful insurance claim, you may still have the right to claim any uninsured losses direct from your surveyor, such as any excess, should you be able to prove negligence. As with all such litigation the cost of pursuing it must be weighed up against the overall cost of the works.

Can I be forced to paint the outside of my house?

MY neighbour is having the outside of his house painted to put on the market and mine is looking very tatty next to it. He says the state of my property is now affecting the value of his and has asked me to get mine repainted. He is threatening me with his solicitors. Can he do this?

NO he cannot. If your property is very dilapidated due to lack of maintenance then the only remedies available to your neighbour would be a local authority enforcement notice declaring the property to be in a dangerous state which would require you to carry out urgent repair works for health and safety reasons, or action by an estate owner who may have the benefit of a restrictive covenant for repair should you live on a development where all properties are subject to various covenants including an obligation to keep the property in a good state of repair, and to decorate the exterior of the property, say, every five years.

Do I need Planning Permission for my boat?

I am considering buying a boat, but the only place I can keep it during the winter months is in the front garden in full view of the neighbours.  Will I need Planning Permission for this?

The first thing you need to establish is whether your property is subject to any restrictive covenant preventing you from placing or storing a boat on your property.  Many properties are subject to covenants or restrictions preventing the storing of anything other than domestic vehicles on their properties.

Planning Permission is not mandatory in such circumstances, but you will be well advised to check with the local authority planning department first in order to ensure there is no objection. If you can fence around the area where the boat will be stored then this very often helps in appeasing the neighbours, who can see that you are making efforts to consider them by screening what many may regard as an eyesore.

As with all potential planning related issues it would be courteous to discuss this with your neighbours to establish that they have no objection to your storing the boat on your property. Even if there was a restriction on the title preventing you from doing so, it is less likely to be enforced if you have the support and backing of your neighbours.  After all, breaches of covenant are often raised directly as a result of objections received from neighbours who are often subject to similar restrictions.