Does commuting save you money?

With the average house price in London’s Zone 1 and 2 currently at over £640k, it can make sense to live a little further away and have a cheaper property. Of course, the rail fare will cost you quite a bit, and there’s the travelling time to take into account, but will that add to your quality of life or detract from it?…
To read the whole article, click here.

The estate agent who ‘forgot’ to mention murder, the bodies in the garden and other outrageous complaints…

When the housing market starts to boom, buyers’ and sellers’ activity soars. One side wants their property to sell for the highest price and the other want to grab a bargain. In this frenzy, the estate agents try to keep both sides happy. However, in their desperation to get a sale or exploit a property, things can go very wrong. Bodies, ghosts and seagulls all feature in this tale of house buying woe…
To read the whole article, click here.

In case you missed it…..

Woman moves house 56 times in 13 years

For many, moving house is a stressful ordeal to be avoided wherever possible. The average Brit opts to move house a total of around 8 times in his or her lifetime but for one woman, stress is evidently no obstacle as she’s racked up 56 house moves in just 13 years.

To read the whole article, click here.

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?
To read the whole article, click here.

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.
To read the whole article, click here.

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.
To read the whole article, click here.

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…
To read the whole article, click here.

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…

To read the whole article, click here.

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?

To read the whole article, click here.