The legal complexities of property ownership often cause problems on separation, divorce or at probate time. Married couples have automatic rights which protect their occupation. To cover a situation arising when a marriage goes through a difficult time it is quickest and cheapest to issue a simple notice with the Land Registry that will ensure [...]
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European Housing Market Update
The problems and presures of our housing market sometimes seem to be insurmountable and we feel we are all alone with our UK problems. This is not the case. What is happening beyond our UK shores to the European housing markets. France and the French Housing Market House prices have been in an expanding bubble [...]
Double Dip House Prices
Economic woes seem to be piling up for the government and our UK economy which may be passed on to the housing market. The current double dip recession may be thought by some to relate to the poor quality of the statistic (which wouldn’t surprise us). Equally it may be a further slide or downturn [...]
Suffering from Bad Mortgage Lending
Many householders and borrowers have suffered from the bad mortgage lending that was endemic for the last 15 years. Northern Rock came to epitomise the bad lending that contributed to the financial collapse and follow on credit crunch. UK lenders were bailed out by the tax payer and everyone is still paying for this action. [...]
How to Save on Council Tax
The Government introduced the Council tax in 1991 and had homes valued into bands dependent on a assessed value. Since 1991, there has been no revaluation or rebanding. The effect is that many houses that were incorrectly banded are still in that situation. You can still appeal about your band and there are surveyors who [...]
London Residential Asset Class
I liked the phrase ‘London Residential is now a recognised asset class’ used by Savills’ chief executive Jeremy Helsby. The upmarket estate agent was announcing good profit and revenue growth on the back of prime London properties during 2011. This overall growth was despite lower commercial property transactions, losses in Europe and a slow down [...]
Stamp Out Stamp Duty Avoidance
Stamp Duty Land Tax was introduced in December 2003 to cut down avoidance on the old stamp duty. It is levied on purchases of flats, houses and other land and buildings on a sliding scale up to 5% on properties over £1m. Avoiding stamp duty is a totally legal process and should not be confused [...]
Too Many Lawyers Chase Countrywide
There is a countrywide problem of too many lawyers chasing companies for damages. Now the housing market is picking up legal claims based on valuations made between 2004 and 2007. PPI and miss selling has cost the banks a fortune, ambulance chasing accident claims activity is at an all time high and it seems as [...]
Ducks and Drakes with Mortgage Interest
Mortgage rate increases continue to flow as a fourth lender joins in this month. Hot on the heels of Halifax recent decision to increase the variable rate came Santander who are increasing rates for new borrowers. Nat West are also to increase their rates on 200,000 mortgages by a quarter to 4%. The Bank of [...]
Downsizing or Rightsizing
Why do governments want to tell people how to live their lives. Why should older homeowners be encouraged to sell up or move out to smaller properties. There are better reasons for downsizing than pressure from others and you should consider the pros and cons before embarking on such an exercise. Do not rush into [...]