Tradecraft tips: June 2023

Face value – 1

A man was on a motoring holiday in France when his car broke down. The garage there told him he would need a new engine, but he was very sceptical about this and had his car put on a trailer and towed back to the UK. His local garage fixed the car for £49. What was that about a new engine?

Clients wanted to start a business and were looking for premises. The council had converted a redundant school into units for small businesses, but the clients said it was only open from 9 to 5 and they would be working longer hours. I was very sceptical about this; we contacted the council and they replied: “You must be joking. Some of the tenants practically live in the place; they are working there at 2am.”

The wonderful thing about the council business centre was that you could get a monthly tenancy, so if things did not work out the tenant only had to give a month’s notice and they were completely clear. If they took on normal commercial premises, say for a two-year term, and after nine months they ceased trading they would still be liable for 15 months’ rent unless they could assign or sublet.

If you are the least bit doubtful about what you are being told, look into it further. In legal work, as in life in general, do not take everything you see or hear at face value.

When I failed my 11 plus I was told I was not good enough to be educated beyond the age of 16. Thank goodness I questioned that judgement.   

Face value – 2   

A client was selling a former council house. The surveyor who prepared the home report said that it was a Tee Beam type house and therefore not mortgageable. This was based on a list prepared by the council of all houses of non-traditional construction in Aberdeen. Considering the position, I remembered the words of the Duke of Wellington: “Being born in a stable does not make one a horse.” Inclusion in the list was not in itself conclusive evidence of the status of the house. The task here was to gather evidence to prove that the list was wrong. The City Archives had a copy of the building warrant plans for the house from the early 1950s, and the two universities here in Aberdeen each had books showing the specification and internal layout of a Tee Beam type house. Studying these proved beyond doubt that the list was wrong. There was an audible sigh of relief from the client and her sale could proceed. The surveyors waived their fee for the home report, so that was a little bonus for the considerable research I had done for the client.  

Face value – 3 

An interesting spinoff from that tale was that another firm of solicitors was selling a house round the corner which also appeared to be on the list by mistake. It was advertised at a substantially reduced asking price as being unsuitable for mortgage purposes. I could not inform them about this fundamental misunderstanding, as removing the apparent impediment would have put their house into direct competition with my client’s house and I regarded that as acting against my client’s interests, so I remained silent. The house sold for about £42,000 less than its true value. What really intrigued me about this case was that the wording of the single survey seemed to indicate a measure of doubt in the surveyor’s mind about the type of construction, but obviously no further investigation was made. If I had been the surveyor I would have investigated further. The information to decide the matter was readily available without having to cut a hole in the wall of the house to see what it was made of. 

Going into business

My experience of clients who want to start up a business is limited, but some of them seem to want to do it at 200mph. They are like a dog straining at the leash with its front paws up off the ground. Trying to restrain clients in circumstances like this is difficult to say the least, but bearing in mind the potentially catastrophic consequences of a business failure you have no option. Careful preparation in unhurried circumstances would give the clients the best chance of success. 

If I wanted to climb Mount Everest I would not turn up at the foot of the mountain, with no prior mountaineering experience, dressed in jeans, a T shirt, and training shoes, look up at the summit and say “Here goes”. Why is it that starting a business is one of the things in life that you can do with no prior training or qualifications at all? If the clients appear to be resentful of what you know to be sound advice, you really have to give serious consideration to resigning agency. If you keep acting for them and they simply go ahead regardless and come to grief in the process, embarrassment alone might prevent them coming back to you for advice about the mess they are in.