Whether you’re a property investor looking to buy or sell a single property or a portfolio, a landlord or tenant entering into a commercial lease, or if you are looking to buy, sell or re-mortgage your residential property, Hassan Luk team have the expertise and knowledge to guide you through the process with confidence.
We provide a bespoke and flexible service to ensure that your sale and/or purchase is completed thoroughly and as smoothly as possible. As well as drafting, reviewing and negotiating all the necessary documentation, we will conduct the relevant in-depth searches on your behalf to minimise the risk of your transaction.
We can help lenders, real estate debt funds and borrowers on financial matters where the main security is real estate.
Our dedicated team of specialist real estate finance lawyers provide banks, peer-to-peer lenders, challenger banks, bridging lenders and other funders and financial institutions with an integrated, partner-led service.
We understand that it is vital to your business that we are able to offer commercial solutions and bespoke advice at competitive rates. In order to do this, we quickly identify any problems and propose pragmatic, effective ways forward so that transactions proceed without unnecessary delays.
Real estate transactions need to be closely analysed to avoid unnecessary tax leakages and to minimise your overall costs.
Our real estate tax lawyers can make sure that your transactions are structured in a way that best suits your profile. We can advise on the tax implications of a wide range of real estate transactions and related structures.
Tax issues
Our Real Estate Litigation team advises its clients on a wide range of disputes in relation to both residential and commercial properties.
We regularly advise landlords, owners, occupiers, tenants, property managers and developers, in relation to a wide range of properties including retail, offices, industrial, leisure, restaurants, pubs and residential.
We are committed to helping clients avoid disputes wherever possible and often advise our clients on the preventative measures available to them to minimise risk. However, where disputes do arise and you need to take steps to enforce or defend your rights, we provide clear advice to guide you through the legal proceedings process, offering practical and commercial solutions to our clients throughout.
We aim to guide you to a successful conclusion of buying or selling your home. Moving home can be both exciting and stressful, which is why our expert team with a wealth of experience gives you a personal service.
From the beginning to the end of the transaction we will clearly explain the process of transferring real estate, advise you on the practical steps to be taken, carry out investigation of title and searches, and report our findings to you comprehensively.
Good legal advice from a commercial property lawyer is an essential ingredient to ensure your transaction proceeds smoothly and your risk is minimised.
For developers and investors, our commercial property team provide advice on acquisitions, disposals, property finance, asset management, planning, construction, SDLT and VAT issues, as well as all contractual issues.
At Hassan Luk, our lawyers will ensure you remain in control during the entire process, however complicated or simple things may seem. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, a landlord or a tenant or a commercial developer, the stakes are high.
Our team provides pragmatic, commercial focused advice to commercial landlords and tenants in relation to agreements for lease (including pre-lets), leases, re-gearing of leases, lease renewals, assignments, authorised guarantee agreements, licences, rent deposits and surrenders.
When acting for either party, our experience is that the more you can agree in the heads of terms, the faster the transaction will proceed. By working with us at the outset, we will be able to help you negotiate the heads of terms, highlight the key points and make sure they apportion the risk between the parties appropriately for the circumstances.
Landlords
We work with landlords to ensure that their property is managed effectively and reaches its full potential. We can assist with all legal aspects of property portfolio management.
Tenants
We work with occupier tenants to make sure their leases are granted on acceptable terms and that they are clear about, and happy with, their obligations. We advise tenants on any reconfiguration of their occupational requirements, whether divesting themselves of space or seeking new space. By ensuring you know that they are in safe hands, they can concentrate on running their own business.
Real estate is a long-term investment and we build lasting, partner-led relationships with our clients to match. We don’t just handle the issue at hand but provide strategic advice for maximising future income and avoiding problems before they arise.
Our in-depth understanding of the issues and practicalities involved enables us to undertake complex work for a diverse client base that includes developers, entrepreneurs, landowners, listed companies, government bodies and major institutions.
No matter how complicated the transaction, our focus is on ensuring everything runs smoothly and is handled in a timely, stress-free and communicative manner. Our lawyers use their considerable insight and experience to deliver advice that is robust, commercial and progressive.
Technology is one way we deliver this level of efficiency. You’ll have live access to documents, correspondence, matter updates and costs at all times through our secure digital management tools.
We always have the right people, doing the right work, in the right place. You’ll get regular strategic advice and oversight from our senior lawyers and partners while our lawyers work effectively to make things happen.
All transactions vary depending on the complexity of the legal title, the length of the chain and many more external factors. Therefore, no guarantee can ever be provided.
The average time for a conveyancing transaction is approximately 16 weeks nationally. Our dedicated team pride themselves on routinely making that timescale much shorter, and we will be working hard to do the same for you.
The whole balance (to include Hassan Luk Advocates’ fees) must be received and cleared in our account by completion.
Seven working days.
Time must be given for the advocates to transfer monies. Completion is hoped to be achieved by midday, but this is dependent on the length of the chain involved and the speed of which the bank transfers funds. Monies must be received by the vendor’s advocates before keys are released. If you are selling and purchasing a property simultaneously your sale will normally complete at least an hour before your purchase.
The buyer is responsible for paying stamp duty, and it’s important to consider this cost when making property transactions.
The stamp duty rate is 4% for properties within municipalities (cities and major towns) and 2% for those outside municipalities (upcountry). For example, if you buy a house for Ksh10 million, you need to pay Ksh400,000 as stamp duty if the property is within a municipality.
However, some transactions are exempt from stamp duty, which means you don’t have to pay it. These exemptions include:
It’s essential to be aware of these exemptions to save on costs.
Where a property is being purchased by more than one person, information provided by us to any one of you, either verbally, on the telephone or at meetings, or in correspondence, is deemed to be provided to both or all of you, unless we are specifically instructed to ensure that each party is informed individually.
In respect of a leasehold property or a property which has a liability to pay any type of service charge, the amounts will be split (apportioned) between the buyer and seller on completion.
The annual charge will be split so that the seller only pays up to the date of completion, and the buyer takes liability thereafter. If you have paid the yearly charges in advance, we will ensure that the buyers share is paid back to you with the completion monies.
If you are in rented accommodation, it is advisable to delay serving notice to quit on your landlord until contracts have been exchanged and a fixed completion date has been agreed. If you are required to serve notice, please let us have details of the period of notice required to enable us to bear this in mind when exchanging contracts and agreeing a completion date suitable for you.
There are certain documents where we must hold the original signed copy. We will advise you when this is required.
If you decide to use a removal company it is a good idea to get estimates from more than one company and to make sure their insurance covers them adequately for loss of or damage to your possessions.
If you are moving long distance or over night, it is advisable to speak to your removal company early in the transaction.
It is advisable to delay booking your removals until contracts have been exchanged and a fixed completion date agreed. Some companies will agree a provisional booking, which can be confirmed by you on the day that contracts are exchanged.
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