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Stamp duty change results in buy-to-let slump

Following the introduction of a stamp duty surcharge in April 2016 mortgage activity in the UK buy-to-let sector has plummeted. Changes implemented in April 2016 resulted in a 3% stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let and second home purchases. This impelled a sudden surge in lending in February and March 2016 as landlords rushed through purchases to avoid the impending 3% increase in stamp duty tax. However, the spike in mortgage lending was short lived as a sudden and significant drop followed. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures show that…

House sellers are facing testing questions

Springtime is traditionally the busiest time for the property market, but with a knotty problem affecting more homes than ever, it’s worth doing some horticultural homework before you start, whether you’re buying or selling. Japanese knotweed is a highly invasive, aggressive and destructive plant, able to grow as high as four metres in just a few months and with roots that can spread seven metres. It’s non-native with no natural predators, and is able to cause significant structural damage, growing through asphalt and other hard surfaces, often compromising building structures.…

Legal Tips and Help

Buying or selling a property can be an emotional roller coaster and lawyers use a lot of technical terms, so much so that it can be difficult to follow what they mean and at a time when you are trying to deal with the ups and downs of buying or selling a property, this is not a good recipe for keeping calm. To bring clarity to the puzzle of conveyancing “speak” we at Bowling & Co try our level best not to bombard you with lots of confusing legal terminology.…

Focus on Commercial property department

This month we take a look at our Commercial property department which is headed up by our Senior Partner, Huseyin E. Huseyin. The specialist Bowling & Co commercial property team provide a comprehensive service to both UK and international clients involved in property transactions. We provide a complete lifecycle service and deliver optimum, cost-effective work through transparency, experience and expertise. Our involvement in the property industry over the last 60 years enables us to fully understand our clients’ needs and help them in all aspects of commercial property, whether it be…

Disputing a Will can be a very costly exercise

Record numbers of inheritance disputes are going through the courts as modern family structures and rising house prices push more families to contest unfavourable outcomes.  One recent case has seen a family lose out after legal action involved two brothers who have run up fees of more than their entire inheritance by disputing a stepmother's share of their father’s estate. The trend towards increased inheritance disputes has been attributed to a number of factors.  Increasing numbers of so-called ‘blended’ families where divorced parents re-marry is one such factor, with original family members…

Maximising your opportunities for inheritance tax reliefs

As the end of the tax year approaches on 5th April, it's a good time to make sure you're maximising your opportunities for inheritance tax reliefs.  This year, as well as taking advantage of exempt lifetime gifts and transfers, property owners should also look at how the new transferable residence nil rate band fits their profile. The Residential Property Nil Rate Band Under the new rules, when a person leaves a residential property to direct descendants there will be an additional nil-rate band for inheritance tax purposes – the transferable…

Animal charities win battle in fight over inheritance case

A woman, who was cut out of her mother’s £500,000 will, has lost out to three animal charities at the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment this month. In 2004, Melita Jackson died and left most of her estate to three animal charities and completely cut her only child, daughter Helen Ilott, out of her will. Mrs Ilott was originally awarded £50,000 by a judge, which was almost tripled on appeal. The three charities challenged that increase, stating that people should be free to choose their beneficiaries, and the court…

No rabbits, just selfies come out of Hammond’s hat in pre-Brexit budget

The first steps towards preparing the UK for a post-Brexit future were announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his Spring Budget, which avoided headline-grabbing shake-ups and tax breaks in favour of economic stability.   In the run-up to the announcement, sterling slipped to a seven-week low, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the move towards exiting the European Union, but the Chancellor pointed to robust economic growth, record levels of employment and a falling deficit, saying real GDP had grown by 0.7% in the final quarter of 2016 and by 1.8% over the…

Unmarried couples need to protect themselves

A landmark victory in the Supreme Court has seen a Northern Ireland woman win a share of her former partner’s pension, with commentators saying it’s likely to add impetus to the drive for greater rights for unmarried couples.  But, in the meantime, cohabitees should face up and formalise arrangements, rather than keeping their fingers crossed.   The victory of Denise Brewster involved her claim for a survivor’s pension after her long-term, live-in partner Lenny McMullan died suddenly, shortly after they had become engaged.  He had paid into Northern Ireland’s local…

Security

In nearly all matters where money is being borrowed or lent, security over assets will be required. Security gives the lender the comfort that, in the event the borrower cannot repay the loan, the security can be enforced and the lender can recover the outstanding loan. The most well known example of such security is probably where a residential property is purchased using a bank loan, and as security the bank is granted a mortgage of the purchased property. In business, it is common for entities such as limited companies…

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