We understand that if you’re in the middle of buying or selling a house the news of a second lockdown will have come as a blow.
While criminal and family matters are allowed to continue in court, conveyancing is not, as it isn’t considered essential; the risk of transmission of Covid-19 within a busy contract court is just too high.
Only matters that were beyond the point of no return – given the one working day’s notice to lockdown before the next Contract Court – were able to go ahead this week. For all other matters that are signed up to complete in the next few weeks, the Court will not hear them unless they are deemed absolutely essential.
There is no legal definition of what that means, but an example would be where a person is terminally ill, or someone who needs urgent care. In other words, it will be for exceptional circumstances only.
As the vast majority of present transactions will not fall into this category, they will need to be put on hold until the position is clearer. Estate agents and removal companies are both affected. We have already contacted our vendors and purchasers, but please ensure you take legal advice if you have any specific queries.
Vendors and Purchasers will need to ensure they have organised power of attorney prior to completion if they have not done so already.
If you are due to move to a Rental Property our Rentals Team is contacting everyone but you should speak to our rental team regarding any queries in the meantime.
As and when the situation changes we will update everyone. In the meantime please stay at home, stay safe and follow Public Health advice.
In line with the latest www.gov.gg Public Health advice our office remains closed until further notice.
We are all now working from home (Monday to Friday 09.00 to 17.30 and Saturday 09.00 to 12.30) and will continue to provide as many of our services as possible and will continue to support all our clients to the best of our ability.
Don’t hesitate to give us a call on 711766 for Local and Open Market sales enquiries, and 721757 for our rentals and property management teams. Or, email sales@swoffers.co.uk and leave your name, number and any message.
We will be monitoring all messages and will return your call or email as quickly as we can.
