Our Services

At Minahan Hirst & Co we specialise in acting for clients when buying and selling commercial property. Buying and selling any property can be a stressful experience and we pride ourselves of providing a first class service to clients in a way we believe helps to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety involved in this process. We work to expedite transactions on behalf of the client in an efficient and professional way and ensure that the client is fully informed and up to date at each step of the process.

We are able to provide an estimate of costs either by telephone, by post or email which is both open and transparent and which does not contain any hidden extras or schedules of additional costs.

If you, your partnership or company are considering restructuring or financing then it is useful to talk to us at the same time you approach lenders. This will enable us to review the type of transaction you are entering into and to ensure that any concerns are addressed prior to your application to a lender being made.

In most cases we are also able to act for your lender in the same transaction. Please note however, in certain circumstances some lenders will wish to appoint their own solicitor who will set out the requirements of the lender in terms of documentation and searches they require from us.

Whether you are financing for the first time or refinancing existing property we are experienced and specialise in preparing documentation including private loan agreements, legal charges, debentures and other documentation depending on the nature of the transaction.

When selling a property by auction the contracts are using exchanged at the point the hammer falls and a successful bidder wins the auction.

We at Minahan Hirst & Co specialise in the preparation of auction packs. An auction pack should contain all of the information that a prospective bidder will need to satisfy themselves as to the good and marketable title of the property before they attend the auction. This pack is usually available from the auctioneer for some months prior to the auction taking place. It is important to ensure that an auction pack contains all of the information that a potential bidder may require as this will usually encourage more people to be prepared to bid on the particular property on the date of the auction. The auction pack will include evidence of title, rights, easements, reservation and covenants pertaining to the property, usually the results of searches, replies to standard commercial property enquiries and any other anticipated enquiries and any other special condition to the contract that the seller would wish to include, for example an additional fee for contribution towards the cost of searches.

The importance of preparing a good auction pack is that a buyer will be able to raise enquiries and satisfy themselves of the title to the property as they would in a normal purchase, before the hammer falls and they are contractually bound to purchase the property.

If you are purchasing at an auction, we can obtain the auction pack and report on the contract and title prior to you attending the auction then when attending the auction you will then have the confidence to place your bid on a property once we have reported to you that we are satisfied with the title, that it is both good and marketable and also mortgageable.

When we act for a company it is necessary for us to verify the identity of all of the officers of the company, the directors and the beneficial owners of the company in the same way we would a private individual.

When a company is purchasing property it is also important to confirm the source of the funds for the purchase which may sometime involve the production of the company’s accounts or other evidence of the source of funds. When acting for a company in the purchase of property we will complete a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return on your behalf in the same way we would with an individual purchasing property. In order for us to do so you will need to provide us with your unique tax reference code to enable us to submit the return on your behalf.

Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable by companies who buy residential or commercial property and a higher rate of Stamp Duty applies on any dwelling purchased by a company that exceeds £40,000.00. Please note that there is no exemption available for those who renovate property and those who may only hold property for a short period of time whilst carrying out renovations before re-selling.

When purchasing a residential property in the name of the a company then higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax will apply, for further information on amount payable please visit the HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculator.

Properties that are not wholly residential and properties that are purely commercial will also be subject to Stamp Duty Land Tax at different rates.

Annual Tax on enveloped dwellings applies to none natural persons, such as companies, who own residential property in the UK. An ATED Tax Return must be submitted annually where a company owns any property at a value in excess of £500,000.00.

The ATED is an annual fixed sum charge.

As with all taxes there are exemptions and specific rules depending on the transaction.

Further information can be provided on a case by case basis by enquiring with your solicitor.

Where a mortgage is being granted to a lender in return for a mortgage advance then a lender will often require as part of the mortgage conditions that a director or directors of the company enter into a personal guarantee for the loan. Specific advice and guidance can be given by your solicitor when considering offering a personal guarantee and/or indemnity for the debts of the company.

If you are a Landlord of a commercial property or an individual/business considering taking a leasehold tenancy then we at Minahan Hirst & Co specialise in advising and acting for either a Landlord or potential Tenant in relation to the granting and taking of Leases.

It is important that before you agree to grant a lease or take on a lease that you seek legal advice. Usually a heads of terms is agreed in advance of the lease being prepared and the heads of terms will include a list of the provisions to be contained in the lease. We would advise that you always take legal advice before agreeing to the contents of the heads of terms so that both parties are aware of what they will, or will not be prepared to contract upon.

When acting for a landlord it is important that the state of repair and condition of the property is maintained throughout the lease term by the tenant and the tenant contributes to other such outgoings as service charge, contributions to the repair and maintenance to the building in which the property forms part of. Equally, when acting for the tenant the tenant will want to make sure that they will not be required to put the property in any better state of repair and condition then it was at the time the tenant took over the property. At Minahan Hirst & Co whether acting for the landlord or the tenant we are experts in negotiating the best terms possible for our client.