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How to make the most of solar farm prospects

Matthew Hayward
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Advances in technology mean that rural Yorkshire is these days a viable location for large scale solar farms – so yet another string is added to the diversification bow. However, the scale and longevity of such schemes means that greater care needs to...

Legal 500 - Fantastic results for Harrowells

Peter Mills
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Each year Legal 500 publish a report focused on the quality of advice and nature of work undertaken by leading law firms in the UK, including our own. Legal 500 base their assessment, to a significant extent, on feedback given directly to Legal 500 by our...

Great results for Harrowells in the Legal 500 2023 report

Peter Mills
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Legal 500 have just published their latest report (‘the 2023 edition’) and the firm has, once again, achieved a strong showing. We have received formal recognition of our excellent service delivery and high technical standards across nine...

Care fees planning and stamp duty on second homes

Rebecca Laffan
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My parents’ Wills set up a trust for the family home to help with care fees planning. Will I have to pay second home stamp duty rates on the purchase of my own property as I am a beneficiary of a property under my parents Will? This is a question we...

Update on commercial tenancies during the Pandemic

Richard Hugill
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Unsurprisingly, the restrictions on forfeiture of business tenancies for non-payment of rent are to continue in England until 30 June 2021 - but what is likely to happen after that? Central government are likely to want to avoid an abrupt cliff-edge...

Harrowells now has an office in Malton

Peter Mills
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Our Agricultural, Commercial and Private Client Teams have been successful in winning new instructions in the Ryedale area in recent months. As a result, we have opened a base in Malton so that we can more easily look after our clients and contacts in the...

The four things you need to know about Lasting Powers of Attorney

Ed Ryder
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Hopefully the vaccine rollmout means the threat of Covid-19 will recede as we move further into 2021. However, media stories over the past year, and possibly personal experiences, will have underlined the important and beneficial role of having your affairs...

Independent recognition of our high quality service

Peter Mills
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Legal 500 undertake an independent assessment of the reputation and quality of service of leading UK law firms. Their latest report, published in September 2020, recognises the quality of our service across seven practice areas, as defined by their research...

The benefits of a proper Partnership Agreement for farmers

Matt Rowley
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The British farming industry has proven its clout during the Covid-19 pandemic, not only as a producer of quality food, but also as a resilient, forward thinking sector which contributes significantly to the British economy.  As farmers, in these...

How can landowners protect their property from the wandering public?

Katie Daniel
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Across the country, landowners have seen public rights of way used more than ever in the last couple of months due to the country’s population exercising from home and exploring their local areas because of the lockdown restrictions. Whilst some...

All our offices are open for pre-arranged appointments

Peter Mills
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All our offices are open for pre-arranged appointments as well as for telephone or video meetings. Contact us as normal by phone or email and we will happily arrange a scheduled meeting to discuss your matter. Please bear in mind that, with...

Requesting or dealing with requests for temporary variations in commercial rents

Matthew Hayward
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There has been a lot of coverage in the business media about commercial tenants seeking to change the payment of rents under leases and of commercial landlords trying to ensure they are protecting anticipated income as much as possible. Obviously it tends to...

Jenni Bartram joins Harrowells Solicitors

Peter Mills
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One of Yorkshire’s best-known agricultural solicitors has joined Harrowells Solicitors. Jenni Bartram, a long-standing member of the Agricultural Law Association and former president of the Yorkshire Law Society, joined Harrowells in February...

Conveyancing - cutting corners can backfire

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Budgets can be tight when buying or selling residential property , so it can tempting to go for the cheapest quote when selecting your conveyancing service. However, as with so much in life, cutting corners can result in unexpected expense and hassle. In...

York Fashion Week: making the city an attractive destination for locals and visitors

Peter Mills
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We are long term supporters of Fashion City York, an initiative to co-ordinate the promotion of York’s fashion retailers to locals and visitors alike. The centrepiece of that promotion is York Fashion Week with a series of workshops, runway shows and...

Preparing to sell your leasehold property

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Selling your leasehold property may seem like a daunting task. You will have been aware of the issues involved when you first purchased your leasehold property. Being adequately prepared prior to instructing a solicitor will help ease any added stress...

New Year. New home.

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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The Christmas and New Year break often gives a chance to pause and reflect. For some, it means thinking about moving to their ‘perfect place’, perhaps a type of property or a particular location they have always had in their sights. The extended...

Property backed finance and second order effects

Stephen Proctor
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Think you would not be affected by a ‘No deal’ Brexit because your business is not directly reliant on exports or imports or heavily dependent on staff from other EU countries? If you are in this situation, be careful to think about what are...

Legal 500 recognition

Peter Mills
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Every year Legal 500 assess the reputation and quality of client service of the top 10% of UK law firms using a mix of primary research and feedback from a sample of law firms’ clients. The latest report has just been published and I am pleased to...

Brexit - Making your business resilient

Matt Rowley
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We are all aware that the process of ‘Brexit’ is likely to involve considerable change whatever the short term and longer term outcomes. The challenge for business owners and senior managers is deciding how to prioritise and plan. Trying to...

National Conveyancing Firm of the Year

Peter Mills
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We won 'Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year - Gold Award' at the Law Firm Services National Conveyancing Awards at The Vox Conference Centre, NEC Birmingham on Wednesday 19th September. This follows on from winning the silver category at last...

Buying a purpose built home for your retirement

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Earlier this year property agents Knight Frank published a report on ‘retirement housing’, covering everything from age-restricted over-55 housing to ‘housing with care’. Their key finding was that homes purpose built for retirement...

Landlords terminating a commercial property tenancy

Richard Hugill
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If you are the landlord of commercial premises, there are situations where you will want to terminate a current tenancy at or following the end of a contractual term, even if your tenant is reliable and is not defaulting on rent or other obligations. For...

Buying property in the 'best place to live'

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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York was acclaimed Britain’s ‘best place to live’ in a Sunday Times league table earlier this year because of its ‘perfect mix of heritage and hi-tech’. Inevitably this has further boosted the city’s popularity with...

Shortlisted for Yorkshire Legal Awards

Peter Mills
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We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for this year's Yorkshire Legal Awards in two categories: Private Client and Residential Property . Organised by Barker Brooks Communications, publishers of Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer ...

Buying a leasehold shop

Matthew Hayward
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Buying an existing retail business can be a sound commercial move as it often means you have immediate access to customers familiar with the shop’s brand and location. However, in these situations you will often be taking over a leasehold premise and...

The proactive conveyancer

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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In our experience, the single biggest threat to a property transaction completing successfully is the sudden revelation of a ‘last minute’ problem elsewhere in the property ‘chain’. These can revolve around mortgage finance, other...

What to do if a will is challenged

Simon Black
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Rising affluence has given increased opportunity for individuals to pass on wealth to chosen members of their family. Unfortunately, in our experience, this has also led to a rising number of wills that are being challenged by those either not included in a...

Shortlisted for LFS National Conveyancing Awards

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Every September, the prestigious LFS National Conveyancing Conference brings together law firms, mortgage lenders and related specialist IT and data providers from across the UK. The highlight is the presentation of coveted national and regional awards. In...

Shortlisted for marketing excellence

Peter Mills
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Harrowells has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Marketing, Website and Social Media’ category in this year’s Law Firm Services annual conveyancing awards. To be shortlisted, law firms have had to demonstrate to judges a coherent approach to...

Getting your ducks in a row

Stephen Proctor
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Whether they are buying, leasing or selling commercial property, our job is to help our clients strike the right deal for their business and to deal with any issues that might threaten to delay or compromise a successful conclusion. Where transactions rely...

Why you get asked for ID and bank statements

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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We sometimes get asked why documents like driving licences, utility bills and bank statements need to be shown to our solicitors when buying or selling residential property. The short answer is: to defend you against cybercrime and identity fraud. In a...

More rental properties will be caught by HMO licensing rules

Simon Black
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Government rules concerning what types of property need HMO licences are changing this autumn. Make sure you are not caught out. The current rules cover properties that are three or more storeys high, have 5 or more people in more than 1 household and share...

Can someone really steal a house?

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Property fraud – where someone mortgages or sells a property you own without you being aware and pockets the proceeds – is still relatively rare but is on the rise. You are at potential risk if the property is rented out or not mortgaged or...

Specialist estates planning lawyer joins Harrowells

Ed Ryder
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We have expanded our Private Client Department with the appointment of a new partner. Philip Nelson (pictured left with Head of Department Ed Ryder) lives near York and joins from specialist national private client law firm, Wrigleys, Leeds....

Harrowells scoops two top home conveyancing awards

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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We have scooped two major home conveyancing awards, one for the second year in succession. We have become Yorkshire and North East Regional Firm of The Year in the Law Firm Services National Conveyancing Awards, an accolade we previously...

Issues to consider before you buy that dream rural property

Janet Rhodes-Blangsted
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Larger than average gardens, existing outbuildings and land can be very attractive features of many rural properties for sale. If you are looking for residential/commercial development or conversion potential though, have an early discussion with the...