Council assistance through Right-to-Build could unlock 1million new self-build homes. Could you make your dream home a reality?

People who want to build their own home will be able to turn to their council to make their dream a reality, under measures announced by Nick Boles on 2nd July 2014. Boles announced the arrival of a new ‘Right-to-Build’ which seeks to unlock land for custom builds. With Germany self-building 60% of all its new property and Austria 80%, is it time we joined the trend?
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Tax position for fixtures in commercial buildings – rules changed on 1st April 2014 could seriously impact commercial property owners

Purchasers of commercial buildings such as a factory or offices must jointly elect to fix the value of the fixtures in the contract to be able to claim any capital allowances on those fixtures.
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Statistics reveal that prospective purchasers can pay more than £10,000 per square metre of property in certain areas of the country

Recent figures released by the Halifax show have indicated that purchasers of houses in Chelsea, London could find themselves paying more than £10,000 per square metre as the average price for the area is revealed to be a staggering £10,854.
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Paying your mortgage off early – the pros, cons and pitfalls

Paying your mortgage off earlier than expected could be one of the biggest investments you ever make. You can be rid of your biggest debt fast, free yourself from ties to the mercy of the varying property market and put all the money you are no longer paying out to better use. With inflation and the base rate both low, we reveal why you should be thinking about overpaying on your mortgage obligations…
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New proposals made by the Bank of England aim to prevent housing boom

Proposals made by the Bank of England, including a cap of 15% on the number of mortgages that lenders can give to people who want more than 4.5 times their salary, are being recommended to prevent another housing crisis…

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Local Authorities Escape Hefty Resource Drain as Court of Appeal rules on Homelessness

The Court of Appeal have provided an important ruling in the case referenced above, in which the appellant applied for protection under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as homeless and was granted it, without priority status. When appealing the priority aspect, Hackney declared that the appellant was no longer homeless – a decision which she has taken all the way to the Court of Appeal…

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Supreme Court gives Preliminary Ruling on Monk Evictions

The Supreme Court is reputedly set to reject a challenge to the rule in Monk on notices to quit given by joint periodic tenants. The case referenced above saw a seven-judge panel hear a challenge to the 1992 ruling from a man left stranded in a property after his wife terminated the joint tenancy and left him. We look at the challenge, which asked what impact, if any, the European Convention on Human Rights might have…

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The Property Market Monthly Fact File – July 2014

The property market fact file is a collection of data compiled each month by our Chartered Surveyors and the propertysurveying.co.uk team; collating survey data, statistics, trends and information from the property market. This aims to provide a single place where anyone with an interest in UK property can find the information they need.

To read the monthly fact file, click here.

A Tale of Two Countries

There has been much publicity over the last month regarding the state of the booming Luton Bedfordshirehousing market. When closely analysed, however, the housing market itself has seen remarkable internal differences; with mild to modest increases in the vast majority of the country and the affluent South East surging ahead. The differences are sufficiently pronounced almost to suggest a tale of two different countries, rather than different areas within the same economy. What then can be done to rebalance this differential and bring the two halves of a broken country back into a single whole?

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Rejuvenating Britain’s High Streets – What is the secret?

The state of Britain’s High Streets and their recent trend towards decline has been a topic of concern for many British stakeholders over the last few years. Whilst economic fortunes are improving, the success of the internet and out of town shopping centres are Cardiff - Keith Battenstill major threats. We look at a report which has recently identified the secret to rejuvenating a British high street and the views of expert Mary Portas following her recent study into the area…
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