Last week we were delighted to win our sixth national conveyancing award of 2016.
A Pleasant End to a Successful 2016
Shortlisted as a finalist in the ‘Best Large Conveyancer’ category of The Times Estate Agency of the Year Awards 2016, we were presented with the Silver Award at a glittering ceremony in the Hilton London Metropole.
This brings the curtain down on a wonderful award-winning year for the company across all six Howells Solicitors branches. This year we have also seen the company make key appointments in other departments to enable the company to provide comprehensive private and commercial legal services. More...
Here at Howells our expert property solicitors are always happy to help and answer any queries you may have about the conveyancing process. More...
Available from banks and building societies, the new Help to Buy ISAs are savings accounts offering those saving deposits for their first home competitive rates of interest and a top up bonus from the Government of up to 25% to a maximum value of £3,000.
When will they be available?
The new initiative was launched on December 1st 2015 and will remain open until 30 November 2019. The government bonus must be claimed through the purchase of a house by 1st December 2030.
Who is eligible to open a Help to Buy ISA?
Anyone who is aged 16 years or older, a UK resident and purchasing a property in the UK for the first time will be eligible to open this savings account. The house value must be £250,000 or under (in London the limit is increased to £450,000) and must not be rental or buy-to-let.More...
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...
