You may already be aware that in its Spending Review and Autumn Statement published in November 2015, the Government announced its plans, in certain circumstances, to introduce a higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax from the 1st April 2016. 

What You Need to Know

These proposed changes were part of a consultation which ended on the 1st February 2016. Once the Government has considered all responses, it will confirm its final policy in the Budget on the 16th March 2016. More...

Last Friday Howells Solicitors won The Gold Award in The Best Large Conveyancing company category of The Sunday Times / The Times Estate Agency of the Year 2015 Awards.

Competing against conveyancing companies from across the UK, the judging panel awarded us the top prize and said we are ‘a stand out business.’

This achievement follows our success in September when Howells achieved a first for a UK law firm and won three categories at the conveyancing industry's prestigious annual Law Firm Services Awards including the premier ‘Overall Conveyancing Firm of the Year’.

A Word from Mark Hobbs

Managing partner Mark Hobbs said of our successes in 2015:

“The Award is a fitting finale for Howells in 2015. We started the year by announcing a record turnover for the company and have created over 31 jobs across all of our six branches with more planned during 2016. 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...

Understanding stamp duty can be extremely confusing at the best of times, but should you be buying more than one property, the issue becomes even more complex.

Howells Solicitors offers a brief overview to help you get to grips with stamp duty liability.

Linked Transactions

If a single party purchases two or more properties from the same seller, then this is known as a ‘linked’ transaction. For example, if a buyer were to purchase two flats from the same developer, or a house and a piece of land from the same seller, they would be considered linked transactions. More...

In his Autumn Statement Chancellor George Osbourne announced buy-to-let landlords and people buying second homes in England and Wales will have to pay an additional 3% on each stamp duty band from April 2016.

Mark Hobbs, managing partner of Howells Solicitors, one of the UK’s largest conveyancing firms, anticipates that this will prompt an increase in activity by investors as they rush to complete property transactions before the April deadline. This flurry of activity is then likely to be followed by a lull in the property market after the new changes have come into place, and this might benefit first-time buyers.

“At this early stage it is very hard to predict how this change will impact the property market. After the initial rush to complete transactions in the run up to April next year, there is likely to be a lull in the marketplace. This could be good news for first time buyers, as there may be less competition for certain types of property that would otherwise have been purchased by investors.”

“In my opinion this could have a very positive effect in the marketplace in the latter half of next year. In the slightly longer term, if the additional tax reduces the number of buy-to-let properties being purchased, this will create less supply, and with an ever-increasing demand in the rental sector, is bound to result in an increase in rental fees. If rents do increase, this is likely to increase the yield in property and then in my opinion in the longer term it is unlikely to be significantly affected by these changes”. More...