Latimer Hinks Solicitors

Anne Elliott, agricultural law specialist at Latimer Hinks Solicitors explains why succession planning for farming businesses is so important.

Latimer Hinks, one of the North East’s leading law firms, is urging businesses to use the New Year as an opportunity to tidy up their employment contracts to avoid common personnel-related legal pitfalls in 2013.

Latimer Hinks, is warning that a recent case at the Court of Appeal should highlight to commercial property owners and tenants that they keep up to date with their insurance obligations.

There is little doubt that parts of our region are experiencing something of a boom in property prices, even if those surges are confined to so-called ‘property hotspots.’

There are many schemes available to first time buyers. These include the FirstBuy scheme, which allows people to take out a mortgage for 75 per cent of the cost of the property.

Traditionally, anyone nearing retirement would have felt safe in the knowledge that they had a comfortable pension fund and, if they were able to put some additional funds aside, a nice little nest egg. Nowadays, pension funds are being squeezed.

The future looks bleak for older borrowers looking to make that first move on to the property ladder. This follows the announcement by The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of a crackdown on the availability of mortgages for those in their fifties.

Last week, the UK’s third biggest mortgage-lender Nationwide sounded the death knell for interest-only mortgages. From this week, it would no longer offer interest-only deals to new customers.

The problems caused by the torrential rain last week were a major source of frustration, and disruption to many. The extreme weather caused flooding, which even saw a block of townhouses in Newburn, Newcastle, partially fall apart at the foundations.

Grimy kitchen units, dirty dishes stagnating in the sink, and less than spotless bathrooms have been highlighted as the biggest buyer turn-offs, according to a recent survey by Rightmove.