As you probably know by now, Collas Crill is unique. One of very many reasons is that we are the only offshore law firm that provides both Channel Islands and UK property law advice…
…which means our clients need only one law firm and one set of lawyers when moving between the UK and the islands.
Jason Green and Michael Morris, who head the Guernsey and UK property teams respectively, have vast experience of doing just that and are often asked to link their practices to enable our clients a seamless support in getting you on or off the islands.
Recently, we were instructed to advise on a client's relocation to the UK from Guernsey which involved the sale of their substantial open market home in Guernsey and the purchase of a large residence located in a gated community in rural Surrey.
Guernsey paralegal, Harry Round, acted for the seller on the Guernsey side of the deal working alongside senior associate Anna Douglass who advised on the UK aspects.
Buying and selling your home is often time pressured, almost always stressful and often throws up legal and practical issues. As outlined in our recent factsheet (https://www.collascrill.com/documents/factsheets/the-differences-between-buying-in-guernsey-and-england/), there are marked differences between the sale and purchase process in Guernsey and the UK. For instance, in the UK you can buy or sell your home at any time of the day with the monies being transferred between the lawyers by electronic payment. In Guernsey, properties are sold in contracts court on a Tuesday or Thursday morning and, for the time being at least, the purchase price is paid by way of cheque.
There are often transaction specific issues too that don’t help with the stress factors and, in this case, we discovered that the management company that was supposed to be running the community where the property was based had been dissolved. We worked with the seller’s solicitors to ensure that the dissolution of the management company did not have an impact on the property going forward. We also had to address some historic planning enforcement notices and ensure that the access roads could be properly maintained. It made for a slightly bumpy ride, but we were able to clean up the English title within our client’s timeframe, all from our home base in Guernsey.
Anna Douglass said: “Our client’s relocation gave us an excellent opportunity to showcase what we do best. Despite all manner of difficulties our excellent team worked together and got the job done smoothly and on deadline."
Our client commented that "having the Collas Crill team on my side sorting it all out was a great comfort and support to us both."
So, when you need an experienced and friendly team to manage your relocation and take a weight off your shoulders, get in touch with one of the team and let's discuss that new (smooth) move.
