The government has recently announced that it plans to give leaseholders the right to extend their lease to 990 years. Currently houses occupied under a lease can only extend their lease once for 50 years, whilst flat leases can be extended as often as required, with a zero ground rent for 90 years. Furthermore,…
Despite the recent announcement of a second ‘lockdown’ in England, Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has said that the housing market would still be able to operate. All involved in the conveyancing process will of course have to operate using Covid secure practices however, it has been confirmed…
The Government has announced that to boost the property market, there will be a temporary stamp duty ‘holiday’ on the first £500,000 of all residential property purchases in England and Northern Ireland where the property is the main residence. This will apply throughout 2020 coming to an end in March 2021. Stamp duty is…
The government has recently announced that estate agents can now re-open, viewings can be carried out and removal firms and conveyancers can restart operations. This is all subject to the social distancing and health and safety regulations that are now in place. The BBC has estimated that there are approximately 450,000 buyers and renters…
Property auctions could be set to rise as we come out of the pandemic. The impact of the lockdown may require property owners to change strategy and seek to dispose of stock superfluous to requirements. Many pubs and restaurants if unable to trade until December could be severely impacted and investment owners may look…
Reasons to be optimistic in the mid-term? One positive is that low interest rates should be available for a while and will likely be held low until the economy recovers. Although it is possible we could see some inflation as a result of quantitative easing, it is unlikely to happen quickly with businesses being…
The leasehold sector has recently been in the spotlight again following a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation. The findings suggest that some buyers continue to be unclear as to the nature of their purchase and subsequent costs that they may incur. The CMA said some homeowners found themselves in “serious traps” after being misled…
Recent statistics suggest that the housing market is showing price increases across the country. The North appears to be leading the way although the London area also saw increases. Interestingly there are some quite strong regional disparities with property values increasing by 300% more in Yorkshire as in south-east England. Information from the Land Registry…
Buying a property is a big commitment and there are many important decisions to be made throughout the process. One of them is how the property is going to be owned if there is to be more than one owner. Maybe you are buying a property with a loved one? If so, this is an…
In this article, Paul Stone a member of the Property Team explains some of the more common terms encountered in the world of Property When you decide to purchase or sell a property, it is common to encounter words and descriptions that seemingly appear to be in a different language. This may be seen…