28 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Stamp duty changes detailed in the Chancellor’s recent budget speech have led to a surge in interest from first time buyers – and lenders may be quick to see the opportunity. With banks experiencing slow sales and a renewed interest from first time buyers, brokers have suggested that this […]
Winter: The Perfect Time To Sell Your Home
27 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen If you were asked in which of the seasons you should put your property on the market, winter might not be your first answer. But contrary to conventional wisdom, winter is a great time of year to sell. There is less competition, more committed buyers and it’s easy to […]
Impact Of Budget On Housing Market
24 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Housing was certainly at the centre of the latest budget announcement, with the Chancellor promising funding for house building, upping the council tax premium for empty properties and slashing stamp duty for first time buyers. House building A £44 billion housing package is proposed to increase the number of […]
Selling A Property After A Death In The Family
15 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Selling a home after a family death can be a stressful experience. Having lost a loved one, the last thing you want to do is deal with pushy estate agents, endless forms and complex jargon. To add to all that, you’ll need to clear the property ready for sale […]
Steer Clear Of This Cunning Online Payment Scam
15 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen There’s always some online scam doing its rounds and most of us feel pretty confident that we’d never fall victim. However, a recent scam has caught out more than 19,000 unsuspecting people and netted fraudsters a total of £100 million in the first 6 months of the year. Many […]
What Happens If You Die Without Making A Will
14 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Just 46% of adults in Britain have a Will with more than half of the country leaving things to chance. So what happens to your assets if you don’t make this important legal document? We look at what happens if you die ‘intestate’ and the other compelling reasons why […]
Buying A New Build: What You Need To Know
6 Nov 2017 Author: Stephen Breen For many, new builds are the first rung of the housing ladder. They benefit from the Help to Buy scheme which gives you a 20% loan from the Government (40% in London), interest free for five years. For buyers who have saved the required 5% deposit, the Equity Loan […]
Protecting Your Estate From Inheritance Tax
23 Oct 2017 Author: Stephen Breen It’s likely you’ll have heard or read recently in the news that Hugh Grosvenor, the only son of the late Duke of Westminster Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, inherited the bulk of his father’s £8.6 billion estate free from inheritance tax – a feat achieved through the use of family trusts. […]
Have You Made A Living Will Yet?
12 Oct 2017 Author: Stephen Breen A Living Will – technically an ‘Advance Decision’, is a legally binding document that allows you to refuse certain life sustaining treatments should you lose mental capacity in the future. Life-sustaining treatment might include care, medicine, surgery or other help given by doctors in order to keep you alive. […]
Buying Together: Here Is What You Should Know
29 Aug 2017 Author: Stephen Breen With house prices soaring, it can be tempting to pool your savings with someone you know to get your foot on the housing ladder. Whether this is your partner, sibling, friend or spouse, we look at the implications of joint home ownership. Benefits of buying together The main benefits […]
Are Lasting Power of Attorney Criticisms Justified?
23 Aug 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Last week a former Court of Protection judge poured scathing criticism on Lasting Powers of Attorney, concluding that he would never sign one himself. Instead, the Judge advised that people do nothing, so that if they should lose mental capacity, a friend or relative would have to obtain a […]
The Interest Only Mortgage Dilemma
15 Aug 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have revealed that around 1.9 million borrowers in the UK have an interest-only mortgage, meaning that their payments cover the interest charged but never reduce the capital sum loaned. At the end of an interest-only term, a lender will look to […]
Would You WhatsApp Your Will?
11 Aug 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Around two thirds of adults in the UK haven’t yet made a Will, leaving their finances to the mercy of intestacy rules. With so few taking the opportunity to put their affairs in order, it is no wonder that the Law Commission is looking for new ways to simplify […]
First Time Buyers: The Help to Buy Lifetime
25 Jul 2017 Author: Stephen Breen First introduced by George Osborne in 2013, the Help to Buy equity loan scheme is still going strong and has helped more than 285,000 first time buyers get a foot on the housing ladder. If you’ve not yet considered Help to Buy, here’s what you need to know about […]
Choosing The Perfect Care Home
24 Jul 2017 Author: Stephen Breen With one in four care homes and one in three nursing homes failing on safety standards, finding the perfect care home for a loved one is nothing short of a challenge. Whether you’re looking for a care home for yourself or a family member, we take you through everything […]
High-Cost Leases Make Properties Unsellable
19 Jul 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Around 100,000 homeowners are stuck with high-cost leases that allow huge hikes in ground rent, making their properties unsellable. The problem affects owners of new build properties offered by house building companies. Buyers were offered a lengthy lease or the option of purchasing the freehold for an extra sum. […]
Death Of A Shareholder
26 Jun 2017 Author: Stephen Breen Directors risk their business by having no Shareholder Agreement, Will, or Lasting Power of Attorney in place. You’ve done the hard work, put in the hours and now you have a flourishing business. Everything is in place, isn’t it? A recent survey found that more than half of the […]
Help For First Time Buyers
Soaring property prices and stringent lending criteria have given first time buyers a rough ride in recent times. But with the pace of house price rises slowing and an increased number of 95% loan-to-value mortgages available, the dream of getting a foot on the housing ladder is once again becoming a reality. There are currently […]
Nine Tips For Purchasing Property
For most people, buying a house is the most expensive purchase we will ever make. It’s perhaps no surprise that adults have rated purchasing a home as more stressful than divorce, bankruptcy or even bereavement. Whether you’re taking your first step onto the housing ladder or you’re purchasing your second or third home, knowing these […]
New Genetic Test Calculates Risk of Alzheimers
21-March-2017 A new DNA test could help identify at birth which people are most likely to develop Alzheimer’s later in life. For some babies, the risk that they will develop Alzheimer’s before their 80th birthday is very small. For others, the odds are much greater. Scientists now have a genetic test which determines the likelihood […]
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