Buyers of shoddy new homes given fresh protection with industry ombudsman
Homebuyers are to be given fresh help with rogue builders and shoddy work by a New Homes Ombudsman. Housebuilders will be obliged to join the ombudsman so all homebuyers can get issues resolved. Developers will be forced to pay compensation for substandard finishes on...
CGT changes to hit second homeowners and property investors
Law firm Collyer Bristow has warned that second homeowners and property investors are to be hit by changes to Capital Gains Tax. Homeowners, second homeowners and property investors who cannot rely on the principal private residence relief and sell a property face a...
UK house prices rise at fastest rate on record
2019 general election result provided period of ‘stability’ following Brexit uncertainty Photograph: Yui Mok/PA - VKM Mortgage brokers claim no rights to this image UK house prices rose over the last month at the fastest rate on record for the time of the...
The Skipton raises £250k for Alzheimer’s Society
A three-year fundraising campaign by the Skipton Building Society has raised a quarter of a million pounds to support the battle against dementia. Seven PHD dementia research students at the Bradford Doctoral Training Centre have been funded by the Society’s £250,000...
MPC “keeps its power dry” with rate decision
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.75%. The nine-member committee voted 7-2 to hold the rate. Jonathan Haskell and Michael Saunders voted to lower the Bank Rate, believing the weakening economy called for...
Next base rate move could be down rather than up – BoE’s Saunders
The Bank of England's (BoE) next Base Rate change may be to cut interest rates rather than raise, policymaker Michael Saunders has said. Speaking to local businesses in Barnsley today, Saunders, who is a member of the BoE’s Monetary Policy...
Bank of mum and dad ‘one of UK’s biggest mortgage lenders’
Parents spend so much money to get their children onto the housing ladder that they are now among the biggest lenders in the UK, a survey suggests. The average parental contribution for homebuyers this year is £24,100, up by more than £6,000 compared to last year,...
Lenders decline a third of customers using comparison sites – Experian
Lenders reject 33 per cent of customers as they do not meet their full lending criteria, according to data from Experian. Its analysis also found that just 3.5 per cent of people searching for a mortgage were eligible for every deal on the market. According to...
Does a local Lidl really bring down house prices?
Houses near a Waitrose are worth 12% more than average – and now three of its supermarkets have been sold to Lidl. But the discounter’s arrival might not be all bad news … Waitrose has sold off three of its supermarkets to Lidl, sparking a wave of...
Leasehold reform is ‘inevitable’
The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) believes that leasehold reform is higher on the political agenda than it has been in a generation. The government has already published its proposals to reform the sector, and a recent Labour...
Lenders ‘strong enough’ to keep lending through a no-deal Brexit ‒ BoE
Photo by George Rex. The Bank of England has admitted the chances of a no-deal Brexit appear to be rising, but argued that UK lenders are in a sufficiently strong position to continue their lending “through the wide range of UK economic and financial shocks” that may...
New surveyors’ scheme sets quality standards in residential surveying 12/06/2019
The Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) is launching a unique standards scheme for independent residential surveyors that sets new quality and performance targets for the industry. Launching the Certified Building Surveyor Scheme at its annual...
Use pensions to fund first-time buyer purchases, says housing secretary Brokenshire
Housing secretary James Brokenshire MP has proposed that first-time buyers should be allowed to dip into their pension pots to fund deposits for buying a home. The MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup was offering “some personal ideas” to Conservative party leadership...
House prices up 5% in year to April
New property price data shows robust rises over the last year, but why are the monthly figures so erratic? House prices in the three months to April were 5% higher than in the same three months a year earlier, said Halifax – a robust and surprise increase in a market...
Buying vs renting – which is cheaper?
The gap is closing but who is better off by £366 a year - tenants or homebuyers? The gap between the cost of buying a home and renting one is down 59%, to its lowest level in nine years, according to Halifax. Buyers are now saving an average £366 a year compared to...
