The need for affordable housing has never been under as much scrutiny as it is today, due to population increases and regular shortfalls in new housing targets.
Recently released figures from Land Registry have revealed that the average UK house price stands at £183,861, which is a 4.6% increase from last year.
With this in mind, Howells Solicitors has put together some advice for first time buyers, so they’ll be able to fully prepare themselves financially before they take their first steps on the property ladder.
How much deposit do you need for a mortgage?
The first step to consider is the amount of deposit you want to place on a property. Please see the list below for deposit percentages based on the average UK house price (£183,861). More...
Now that further information has been released regarding the Help to Buy ISA, we thought we'd revisit our previous post on the pros and cons of the Help to Buy ISA in order to offer additional information to our readers.
On December 1st 2015 the new Help to Buy ISA will be coming into place.
The following banks have confirmed they will be offering this product:
- Barclays
- Lloyds
- Nationwide
- NatWest
- Santander
- Virgin Money
First time buyers only can save up to £200 per month towards a home, and the government will then increase these savings by 25%.
Please note: the maximum bonus amount has been capped at £3,000. This means you will need to contribute £12,000 of savings to get the full benefit from this ISA. More...
Six solicitors at Howells have been named in the recently published Legal 500, 2015 Edition.
The independent guide assesses the strengths of lawyers and law firms across the UK using a series of in depth criteria, and highlights those who excel in their area of expertise.
Leaders in Probate
Laith Khatib has been identified as one of only three solicitors in Wales who are considered ‘leading individuals’ in the field of contentious probate and trusts. Clients are said to be ‘lucky to have him on side’. The contentious probate team at Howells has achieved a very high overall ranking.
The non-contentious wills, trusts and estates team has been recognised as providing a ‘second-to-none’ service, with John O’Connell recognised as being ‘highly regarded for estate, trusts and deputyship matters’. Claire Davis is mentioned as head of department. More...
Howells Solicitors has achieved a first for a UK law firm and won three categories at the conveyancing industries prestigious annual Law Firm Services Awards including the premier ‘Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year’.
Winners of Three Prestigious Awards
Attending the ceremony on Thursday evening at the Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, Mark Hobbs, managing partner of the law firm with six offices across South Wales and members of his team were invited onto the stage three times to receive awards for:
Best Conveyancer for Wales and the West Midlands
Judges Comments - “Howells Solicitors scored highly in every area, but were particularly impressive in the mystery shop where they scored the highest of any entrant.
They also really impressed the judges with a real passion and understanding of their business and how they want to grow and improve. It was no surprise that this firm who articulated an understanding of the clients emotional connection to the transaction, scored so highly in the mystery shop and other areas.” More...
It’s natural that parents want to give the best start in life to their children. Parents will often make lifestyle changes and sacrifice their own free time to provide a taxi service to and from after school activities, sports events, music and dance lessons, theatre groups, the list goes on!
For the majority of parents, they willingly accept doing all of the above and see it as part of their parental responsibility.
When it comes to educating their children and choosing which school they would like them to attend, some parents will dig deep financially and move home, or even rent a property in a school catchment area to ensure they increase their chances of securing a place. More...
