This month we sit down with.....Charles Miéville. Charles is a Partner in the Residential Property team and acts for private individuals in residential acquisitions and disposals, as well as clients investing, refinancing or developing residential property.
1. Who are Forsters?
Forsters is a full-service law firm based in Marylebone, specialising in providing exceptional legal advice to clients principally drawn from the real estate and private wealth sectors. I am a residential transactional partner, working mainly on Prime Central London transactions. I act for a wide variety of clients from developers and banks, to ultra high net work individuals, family offices and royal families. I work with both domestic and international clients; with a particular focus on advising Middle Eastern clients (my experience with Sharia law financing is helpful in this respect) and US clients.
2. What sets you apart ?
Forsters cares first and foremost about people and the relationships we build. What makes us different is that our aim is not simply to complete transactions, but to become trusted advisors to our clients. The client journey may start by my suggesting one of the great buying agents we work with to assist the search, introducing the client to mortgage and insurance brokers, before involving my Private Client partners on structuring the purchase (tax and sometimes family law considerations), then completing the purchase and subsequently assisting with suggestions on architects, interior designers and schools advisors whilst working alongside the client on construction documentation and planning matters. Indeed clients will often ask me for help on a number of non-legal matters and it is flattering to gain this level of trust with them and to be approached to assist – if we cannot help directly, we will certainly know someone who can!
3. Why do you do what you do?
I got into the industry because of my passion for real estate, particularly high end residential. I wanted a career where I could combine this love with my interest in the law. The private client angle was appealing and much of my time is spent building bonds with both clients and intermediaries – the aim being to enjoy my job by virtue of the people I work alongside and for. The greatest sign that this has happened is that to a certain extent my personal life and work life have merged – I don’t resent dealing with work matters outside of “working hours”, clients expect a first-class service and that is something I enjoy providing.
4. What advice do you have for clients looking to sell a property?
I would say preparation is key – below are some points to consider, ensure you:
a. Have all the necessary party wall awards where you have built extensions on the party wall line
b. Have all necessary planning permission and listed building consents (as well as any consents under an Estate Management Scheme such as Wellcome Trust, Crown, Grosvenor, Howard de Walden or Cadogan) – involve your lawyer at an early stage to check the position where consent hasn’t been obtained and/or conditions/permissions have been breached in some way. Enforcement periods have more recently been extended from 4 to 10 years so any breaches will remain relevant for longer
c. Have landlord consent for alterations (where you have a leasehold property)
d. Have building regulations completion certificates (either from the council or an approved inspector) for alterations, including plumbing changes, windows (or FENSA certificates for these), gas and electrical installations
e. Have located an original share certificate (where you have a share in the freehold)
f. Have located all original guarantees that you may have (damp proofing, wood repair, glazing, structure, roofing for example)
g. Where in a flat in a building above a certain height and subject to other criteria which we can advise you on, you have prepared a leaseholder certificate and served it on your landlord
h. Where the property is tenanted and you expect to sell with vacant possession, you have carried all necessary pre tenancy steps to enable you to serve a valid s21 notice on the tenant
i. Have completed the property information form, fittings form and (where leasehold) the leasehold information form in advance of finding a buyer, and compiled any documentation that you refer to in it.
It is always worth speaking to your lawyer in advance, to work out if there could be any issues from anything you are planning to disclose and how to best deal with it, for example indemnity insurance may be an option but if you have approached the counterparty to try to resolve, this may prevent you obtaining insurance.
5. How are you finding the market post election?
For as many clients as I may be seeing leaving the UK (Italy, Dubai and Switzerland being popular destinations) we are still seeing a healthy stream of work at the top end of the market. My Middle East clients are not likely to be affected by any non-dom changes, and I think that for most people, London will always be a popular place to be – culturally, language wise, schools (despite the looking VAT on fees), legal system and time zone all help create a place people want to spend time, although being squeezed on the tax front will always be a negative.
The more “mainstream” market has been hampered by higher mortgage rates, and many people are sitting tight pending rates falling – this in turn means less inventory, and less inventory means prices are not necessarily dropping, particularly for trophy assets. Buyers are however being very specific in a difficult market – not wanting to overpay or to be exposed to possible price reductions, they are insisting on every matter being addressed, where historically they may have taken a view.
What issues are we seeing with properties? Negative surveys are a big one – due to the increase in construction costs, delays in getting builders and materials, people are less inclined to do works, and when negative surveys come back, people are after bigger discounts off the asking price to account for likely costs. Where leasehold apartments are concerned, the Building Safety Act 2022 introduced complex and more rigorous obligations on many buildings. The additional information that is needed on a sale can take time to come through (including the infamous EWS1 “Cladding” certificate, so it is best to discuss this with your managing agent at a very early stage.