Special offer for First Time Buyers

Special Offer For First Time Buyers For a limited time Ashworths are pleased to help First Time Buyers take their first steps on the home-owning ladder by paying for their standard conveyancing searches.  This offer saves an average purchaser around £300. Click here for details of our offer and to arrange for one of our […]

Help to Buy

Help to Buy – What happens when the “Bank of Mum and Dad” runs dry? Even those sceptical about the effect of the various Help to Buy government initiatives would admit that they are surprised by the impact that the schemes are having on the housing market. Whilst it must be said that in Wimbledon, […]

The Budget and SDLT Changes

Increases to commercial property rates The announcement in the budget that non-residential rates would rise from midnight caught most people unaware.  There was never a particular reason for the disparity between the “slice” system for residential property and the “slab” system for non-residential property, and this distinction has now been abandoned. Not only did the […]

Buy to let landlords – under attack?

This article was originally published in Wimbledon Time & Leisure in February 2016.   Buy to let landlords – under attack? Around 40% of the housing stock in Merton is rented rather than owned, with around half of that being rented from private sector landlords.  According to the 2011 census, these figures are largely representative […]

SDLT “Additional Residential Property” Consultation

Many readers will be aware of the changes that were announced in the 2015 Autumn Statement regarding higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for purchasers of “additional properties”. In short, the purchase of any new buy-to-let properties or second homes from 1 April 2016 will attract an additional 3% SDLT charge on top the usual […]

Stamp Duty Land Tax – A new “additional property” rate from 1 April 2016

In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement it was today announced that a surcharge of 3% would be introduced on all of the SDLT rates for buy-to-let properties and for second homes. The Chancellor believes that the new surcharge will raise £1 billion for the Treasury by 2021, but some commentators believe that the change will distort the […]

Give-it-Away’s Give-it-Away begins!

For a number of years Ashworths has supported Give-it-Away. Give-it-Away is not a charity in its own right, but is a company that develops and trades in property and gives ALL of its profits away to local charities.  In recognition of the work that “the company” has done, its CEO Charlotte Grobien was awarded the […]

Stamp Duty Changes A Few Months On

The announcement by the chancellor at lunchtime on 3 December 2014 introducing changes to the stamp duty thresholds caused quite a stir in most property departments and estate agencies across England. A surreal panic set in since the reforms were to be implemented by midnight and they came without warning. People joke about property lawyers […]

New Year’s Honours – Charlotte and Jane

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHARLOTTE AND JANE For more than four years, Ashworths has been a very proud supporter of Give It Away, a development company that donates all of its profits to local charitable causes.  We are only too happy to provide our specialist development legal services on a pro bono basis to Charlotte and her team. We […]