July Budget 2015: Are you an entrepreneur, an apprentice or a single parent? What does George Osborne’s statement mean for you? July 8, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal [...]
July Budget 2015 – changes to mortgage tax relief: Here’s what to do now if you’re a buy-to-let landlord July 8, 2015 A major shake-up of the buy-to-let housing market could be about to take place, after chancellor George Osborne announced plans to change mortgage tax relief for landlords. In his Budget speech today, the chancellor said the relief will be cut to 20 per cent, from 40 to 45 per cent, in an effort to "level [...]
July Budget 2015: Buy-to-let landlords hit as George Osborne restricts mortgage tax relief and hikes rent a room allowance July 8, 2015 George Osborne has cut mortgage interest relief on buy-to-let homes, in an effort to create a "level playing field" between prospective landlords and those buying their homes to live in. Read more: Chancellor slashes corporation tax and bank levy The chancellor said the relief will be cut to the basic rate of income tax, which [...]
IMF calls on the US to complete post-crisis reforms July 7, 2015 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the United States to complete reforms promised in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The Washington-based organisation said one key post-crisis reform, the Dodd Frank Act, must be strengthened as well as protected from legislative proposals to water it down. Key areas of contention that need to [...]
Five charts showing how we’re massively underestimating how much life costs, including children, house prices and pension costs July 7, 2015 You're probably really bad at estimating how much things cost – but don't worry, most of us are. As a nation we're drastically underestimating the cost of major life events such as having children, buying a house, or saving for retirement, according to a new poll by King's College and Ipsos Mori. "It’s concerning that [...]
July Budget 2015: From benefits caps and child tax credits cuts to pension and inheritance tax changes, here’s what to expect July 7, 2015 Tomorrow, George Osborne takes to the despatch box for his first truly Conservative Budget – indeed, the first majority Conservative Budget since 1996. The chancellor is notoriously good at trailing the contents of his Budgets before he stands up – so what do we know so far? Read more: Budget live – all the key announcements [...]
UK house prices: First-time home buyers priced out of market July 2, 2015 Annual house price growth has slowed to a two-year low, according to a major mortgage provider. But months of fast growth has left first-time buyers struggling to put deposits together, despite government programmes to help them. House prices were 3.3 per cent higher in June than in the same month last year, Nationwide said. It [...]
After UK house price growth slowed in June, is the UK housing market now finally cooling down? July 2, 2015 Augustin Eden, a research analyst at Accendo Markets, says Yes The market is finally cooling down – to the point where it may actually start to contract on an annual basis. There is much to be done until house prices are actually “affordable”, of course. A Bank of England interest rate rise would deter buyers [...]
First-time buyers suffer from cuts to higher loan-to-value lending June 28, 2015 THE HIGH loan-to-value (LTV) end of the mortgage market is in decline, according to figures published today by insurance firm Genworth and comparison site Moneyfacts.co.uk. The value of loans with a 95 per cent LTV ratio, where 95 per cent of the value of a property is borrowed, dropped by £147m year-on-year during the first [...]
The rental revolution: changes in the private rented sector June 25, 2015 The UK’s rental market is undergoing a transformation as it continues to grow New investors including pension funds Legal & General and M&G are entering the sector, promising to add scale through major new apartment developments. And the government is backing the private rented sector as a key provider of new homes. Alongside UK developers [...]