With property still being regarded as one of, if not the best, investments one could make – the constant news of stagnation in the market, or worse still a drop in property prices is a cause for concern, as it is viewed as a reflection on the economy as a whole.
In all of this, there is some good news however, as people who have been waiting to get on the property ladder, may now be able to find a property they can afford – even though they would likely have to face tougher mortgage rules, a possible higher deposit request, and the fact that the Bank of England just raised the base rate to 0.75% (the highest since 2009). As dreadful as that may sound, provided you have the deposit, all it will really mean is a bit more shopping around for the perfect lender; but with a greater variety of houses to choose from, I’m sure this will be a welcome challenge.
On a lighter note, (arguably!), billionaire property tycoons are snapping up prime property in London for a bargain (£30,000,000 before SDLT as an example), as prices have been falling for those too.
So whether you have a few millions stashed away somewhere, or are finally able to get a foot on the ladder, the team at Aston Brooke are ready and willing to help with the legalities.
If you would like to speak to any of our experts please call 02380004321 and we would be more than happy to help.

Improvements to Buying and Selling – Transparency, Efficiency and Speed

In April 2018, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published responses to their former report (December 2017) on the recommendations to improve the process of buying and selling a property. It has been said that selling and buying a property can be a fairly stressful procedure for the parties involved. The average length of time for the sale/purchase of a property is approximately 8-12 weeks from instruction to completion.
The Government believes there are ways which would help to improve the overall process in order to improve speed and efficiency. Some of the UK governments recommendations include encouraging greater transparency by solicitors, making more use of digital technology, buyers getting a mortgage offer decision in principle at an earlier stage and speeding up receipt of local authority searches. All recommendations are analysed thoroughly throughout the government’s response. That factor which has received the most positive feedback is the use of digital technology in an efficient way.
This would certainly reduce the amount of paperwork for the conveyancers and allow the transactional parties to sign documents online via electronic signature. However, concerns are prominent for those who are not ‘tech-savy’ and prefer face to face interaction with their solicitor receiving actual hard copy documents rather than e-communication. Despite this concern, only a small percentage (6%) of the public questioned gave the view that technology is not necessarily the solution.

For more information on how the government wishes to tackle these challenges please click here.