House Sales and Purchases

As Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors are members of the UK200Group we are able to share with you the following information on Coronavirus and Mortgage Payment Holidays which has been brought to our attention by Ann Bibby, Vice Chair of the UK200Group Tax Panel and Partner, Ellacotts.  She has received the below from Andrew Green, Caboodle Financial Services Ltd. We hope you will find this beneficial and we will continue to keep…

The government has pledged to provide more affordable homes and to clamp down on leasehold abuses on newbuild properties. The measures were announced in the Queen’s Speech at the start of the new parliament. The new First Home scheme will be designed to make homes available at a discount for local first-time buyers. Councils will be able to use housing developers’ contributions to discount homes by 30% for people who…

Cartmell Shepherd in Cumbria and Northumberland has once again secured membership to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme – the mark of excellence for the home buying process. This is the 8th year in a row that Cartmell Shepherd has achieved CQS accreditation. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to continue to hold CQS status, which marks the firm out as continuing to meet…

The number of first-time home buyers has reached its highest level for 12 years. The latest mortgage data reveals that 35,010 people took their first step on the property ladder in August. That’s the highest monthly total since August 2007. The figures, from UK Finance, follow the Ministry of Housing’s own research revealing 87% of the public would prefer to buy rather than rent. It also found 57% of people…

By Elizabeth Crouch Head of Residential Conveyancing The value of the government’s Help to Buy scheme has been called into question by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee. They say much of the money invested could have been better spent elsewhere. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme was introduced in April 2013 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (the Department) to address a fall in property…

By Elizabeth Crouch Head of Residential Conveyancing Homeowners buying a property under Help to Buy are now allowed to take out 35-year mortgages. The government has moved to close what it describes as a loophole, which has seen purchasers using the scheme facing difficulties and uncertainty if they wanted to take out a mortgage with a term of more than 25 years. Under the changes, which are taking effect immediately,…

By Elizabeth Crouch Head of Residential Conveyancing The latest House Price Index figures show that the cost of an average home in the UK jumped 0.7% between March and April. The annual rise to April was 1.4%, bringing the cost of the average property to £228,903. In England, the annual rise was 1.1%, with the average property costing £245,128. The regional data for England shows that: the North East experienced…

By Linsey Hayes Conveyancer House prices rose slightly over the year to March, but there was a fall in the latest monthly figures. The UK House Price Index shows that prices fell by an average of 0.2% between February and March. However, there was an annual rise of 1.4%. The average house in the UK is now valued at £226,798. In England, the March data shows a fall of 0.5%…

By Sam Bulman Conveyancer The government has issued a new set of guidelines to help people preparing to sell their home. The document, How to Sell, was produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and covers everything from ensuring your home has ‘kerb appeal’ to making sure you get good legal advice from a qualified solicitor. People who haven’t sold a property for many years may notice…