Stopping gazumping to lead new estate agent crackdown by government April 8, 2018 The government plans to clamp down on the practice of “gazumping” by estate agents among multiple measures announced today in a bid to improve the property market for consumers. Estate agents will also be required to hold a professional qualification and be transparent about fees for referrals to solicitors, surveyors and mortgage brokers. The moves [...]
How to sell the home of a relative following a death in the family April 6, 2018 Selling a property after a death in the family can be difficult for many reasons. Whoever has been named executor of the deceased’s will is forced to sort through the home of someone who was very dear to them, whilst also dealing with the many complications that come with selling a property. To help simplify [...]
Gold up, dollar down: Markets react as China unveils retaliatory $50bn tariffs on US products April 4, 2018 Donald Trump has denied the US is in a trade war with China, as markets fell on the back of retaliatory tariffs unveiled by Beijing this morning. The US dollar fell against the yen, euro and pound this morning after China revealed its tit-for-tat $50bn measures. Beijing confirmed a 25 per cent levy on US [...]
Prime London property sale prices fall as rental values slump according to Knight Frank report April 3, 2018 Property prices in central London declined 1.1 per cent in the first two months of this year, while average annual rental values fell 1.5 per cent in March, according to the latest reports from property consultancy group Knight Frank. However, despite the downturn, the market seems to be stabilising amid political uncertainty. “While the market [...]
Everything the left thinks it knows about inequality is wrong April 3, 2018 Listen to the Dear Leader Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow travellers, and one would think that economic inequality in the UK is going through the roof. “We cannot go on creating worse levels of inequality,” Corbyn said last year. Left-wing commentators such as Polly Toynbee and Will Hutton have in the past claimed inequality is [...]
Trump’s protectionism poses “significant risk” to global growth says Bank of England March 27, 2018 Policymakers at the Bank of England are concerned that protectionist economic policies pursued by US President Donald Trump could damage global growth, according to their latest assessment of the risks to the financial system. The Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) is concerned that “The potential for an increase in trade barriers represented a significant downside [...]
The EU’s misguided tax on tech giants is doomed to fail March 27, 2018 Amid the moral panic about “tech giants”, trust the European Union to lead the way with a ham-fisted proposal to “level the playing field”. Politicians on the continent have worried for years about the tax planning of these (usually American) super-firms. Last week, they issued a proposal to deal with the perceived problem: allow individual [...]
Look to the Innovative Finance Isa for market-beating returns on your tax- free savings, says Eleanor Ross March 26, 2018 With ISA season on the horizon, enticing interest rates might be demand- ing your attention – f lashing on billboards, TV adverts, and popping up in your inbox. Savers UK-wide have long waited for Isas with higher returns, but it seems unlikely that this will be the year for a life-changing interest rate boost. As [...]
The highest penthouse in Europe is at Zlotta 44 in Warsaw, Poland March 24, 2018 The sweeping shape of Daniel Libeskind’s Zlota 44 glass skyscraper in Warsaw evokes an eagle in flight, or – as the locals would have it – a sail. Those images of freedom are no accident; the locally-born architect was a child of Holocaust survivors determined to bring a new feeling of liberation to a city [...]
Short term lets in London are an untapped goldmine March 24, 2018 There is a view that estate agents’ short lets departments are simply a vehicle to rent out properties that the sales department can’t sell. In fact, the short let market is an untapped goldmine that is frequently overlooked. I believe a lot of this stems from confusion around the term ‘short let’. It can be [...]