The cost of living increases, especially energy, prompted by the economic costs of two years of Covid-19 are also being accompanied by interest rate increases, while would-be home buyers watch asking prices for property continue to increase. To all intents this is a...

How to deal with rising interest rates With Bank of England interest rates increasing to 0.5% in February1, millions of households may now be feeling the additional squeeze on the cost of living as their monthly mortgage payments rise, according to the trade body, UK...

Children Missing Out on a Child Trust Fund CTFs were set up by the government for all children born between 1st September 2002 and 2nd January 2011 where low income families were claiming Child Benefit. They were tax-free savings accounts for children with the aim of...

Garden rooms and permitted development rights Many of us have a shed in our gardens. Some were probably inherited when we moved house and are versatile enough to be a gardener’s store, a hobby sanctuary or just a place to keep bicycles and other items that won’t fit...

Buyer Demand Outstrips Property Supply No one can have failed to notice the rise in house prices and the rush to buy property, particularly since the lockdown eased. Reports from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) tell us that the number of properties...

0% Credit card transfers on the decline Credit cards are a staple part of most people’s financial lives and, used properly, can provide valuable liquidity at particular times as well as enable individuals to purchase high-value items and services, or just simply for...

Leaseholder Rights - Help Is At Hand   Are you aware of the differences between owning the freehold of your home and being a leaseholder? In this blog, we look at the difference between freehold vs leasehold and what your rights are if you are a property...

Council tax band checks Most of us will have received our council tax bills for the year 2021/2022 and seen the almost universal 5% increase and wondered how it could be justified given the difficult year we have all endured. There is not much we can do to challenge...

Taking advantage of a 5% mortgage deposit During the Spring Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that the Government is introducing a mortgage guarantee scheme to help first time buyers and existing homeowners. For many, it may not be easy to save for a 15% or 20%...

If you were to lose your income today, how long do you think you could last? Legal and General (L&G) recently published their Deadline to Breadline 2020 research, which revealed that the average household is just 24 days from the breadline - this is a lot less...