HB 121 Solicitors

Purchasing a property at auction can be daunting; however it can be a great way to get on to the property ladder. When purchasing a property at auction, especially as a first time buyer, talking to us at an early stage can help and guide you through this process to avoid mistakes that could be costly. We can only give general advice before the Legal Pack is available. Finding an auction When finding an auction house you should decide on the area you are interested in. After contacting auction houses in that area you can ask for a catalogue and subscribe to their mailing list. Catalogues are normally published a few weeks before the auction date. Preparing for auction Once you have found a potential property to purchase you can contact the auctioneers to book viewings A few things you can do while researching an auction property are: Take a surveyor, builder, or architect with you  to any viewings to conduct a thorough inspection. Consider a survey Don’t rely on the guide price ...

The Chancellor of The Exchequer has unveiled his Budget for A New Age. This has seen Economic Growth forecast up from 4% to 6.5% - that is good but Inflation is on the way up. Some “highlights”: The building of 1 million new homes is looked to be unlocked. £24billion is earmarked for housing (£11.5billion to build up to 180,000 affordable homes with brownfield sites being targeted for development; £5billion to help in the removal of unsafe cladding for high risk buildings). More money is being injected into Education. More money is being provided for the Levelling Up Agenda. More money is being provided for more Police Officers and Courts and Rehabilitation. Tax Relief is being provided for Research and Development. Business Rated will be made more streamlined, fairer and timelier with more frequent revaluations (that will start an industry in itself!) Investment Relief is increased. Hospitality will be encourages with a 50% discount on Business Rates (up to £11...

Since May 2021 individuals owing money to creditors have a limited further protection but have been given some Breathing Space.  Protection is given from action taken by creditors (people who you owe money to) for up to 60 days. This is good news for people struggling to pay their debts giving an opportunity to take advice without interest and charges accruing. If individuals are receiving mental health treatment the protection will last until 30days after the treatment has stopped. There are some conditions: 1.        The scheme can only be started by a debt advice provider (authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority) or a local Authority if they are providing the debt advice. They will then administer the particular scheme for that individual.    2.        Individuals have to be assessed by a debt advisor as being in problem debt and they have to confirm that the scheme is appropriate 3.   ...

The House price increase seems to be ever continuing. Almost every article in the press, or on television, seems to confirm that house prices are still continuing. I can recollect only one that indicated things are slipping back a little. Personally, I would like to see a slow but steady rise which is sustainable rather than a dramatic upward surge which bubble then bursts. You also have to think about the young end of the market who are being pushed off the home buying ladder – if indeed they ever can get on it. If there is no “new blood” coming into the market it will inevitably stall higher up the ladder eventually. A new report by the Resolution Foundation found that the current house prices boom was not caused by the stamp duty holiday but prices will keep rising by home preferences changing and pandemic related factors such as low interest rates (though it could well be argued that we have had historically low interest rates for some time – some of us remember the eye watering ...

Well despite everything the property market is proving not just resilient but booming. The end of the stamp duty land tax holiday may have been thought to dampen demand but frankly hasn’t been noticed much if at all. In many areas (especially beyond the South East) prices are at their highest ever recorded. North West England leads with prices up 15%has increased and West Midlands is up by nearly 10%. Of course, you always get one report against the trend but the majority reflect the norm. How can this be – well if I could predict the housing market accurately, I would be a very rich person and it is always interesting to note that the Housing Analyst’s predictions given at the beginning of each year vary quite considerably and are rarely “bang on.” There is a shortage of supply of houses – the basic economics of supply and demand provide that prices will therefore go up! Also, one of the outcomes of the pandemic and people working from home is that they tend to want more space and...