Billy Smith Named The Times’s Lawyer of the Week
Founder and Director of Complete Clarity, Billy Smith, is The Times’s Lawyer of the Week. Read the full article and interview here.
First-Time Buyers Struggle to Raise Deposits
A record number of first-time buyers are now relying on financial help from family members in order to get a foot on the property ladder, according to new research from the Social Mobility Commission. The ‘bank of mum and dad’ is often the lender of choice for many would-be home owners. According to the research, over a […]
Calls for VAT Exemption for Wills Containing Charitable Bequests
Charity consortium Remember A Charity has called on the UK Government to do more to encourage legacy giving by making the cost of writing a will containing a charitable bequest exempt from VAT. According to the consortium this could lead to a 100% increase in the number of people choosing to include charitable bequests in […]
Proximity to a Farmers Market Can Boost House Prices
New research by Zoopla has found that properties located close to a popular farmers market could be worth up to 26% more than the average home in the same county. It appears that living in close proximity to a weekly supply of organic vegetables and artisan bread can come at a price, with properties near […]
Government Urged to Act on Retirement Housing
Two separate organisations representing the interests of older people have called for a “revolution” in housing provision to better meet the housing needs of people in retirement. Stamp Duty Exemption Saga, which provides services for the over-50s, has called on the Chancellor to introduce a Stamp Duty exemption for those downsizing in retirement. According to […]
The Importance of Having a Living Will
A charity has launched a new campaign highlighting the importance of people officially recording their medical care and treatment wishes in case injury or illness leaves them unable to make these decisions for themselves in future. Recent research by Compassion in Dying found that a third (32%) of people worry about the care they would […]
Housing Market Needs More Houses
The UK Government recently published a White Paper on the housing market in England, describing it as “broken”. According to the White Paper, the reason for this is very simple – not enough homes are being built, now and in the past, and supply continues to lag significantly behind demand. Not Enough Houses Being Built […]
House Price Growth Steady at Start of Year
The start of 2017 has seen ‘broadly stable’ annual house price growth amounting to 4.3%, according to Nationwide’s House Price Index for January. This is only slightly below the annual growth rate of 4.5% recorded in December 2016. On a monthly basis, house prices rose by 0.2% in January, after seasonal factors were taken into […]
Rise in Number of First-Time Buyers
The number of first-time buyers in the UK rose by 7.3% in 2016, from 312,900 in 2015 to an estimated 335,750, according to the latest Halifax First-Time Buyer Review. This is apparently the highest level since the start of the financial crisis in 2007 (359,900). First-Time Buyers Integral to the Housing Market Halifax highlights that […]
Depp and Heard Divorce Finalised in Court
The divorce of celebrity couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has now been finalised in a Los Angeles court, various media outlets have reported. The couple had been married for less than two years before they announced their separation in May last year. The separation and subsequent divorce proceedings have been high-profile, and at times […]
