Category Archives: viewpoint

Bricks and Mortar the Last Bastion of Safety for Homeowners?

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After the recent ‘climate crisis’ of an ‘extreme’ summer, there’s a definite chill in the air and it’s not just the weather. Economic data screams out ‘recession’ (though hopefully not its uglier twin, ‘depression’) as the country heads inexorably towards the bottom of the financial Marianna Trench. Portents are ominous – the BoE has yanked interest rates up from around their ankles, mortgage providers are increasing their lending rate and pulling some of their historic fixed-rate products, and ONS figures showed inflation hit 10.1 per cent in July – up from June’s 9.4 per cent.

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Thank goodness that the Bank of England has woken up and smelt the coffee by increasing interest rates by half a percent

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What a strange world we are living in presently.  In the past, where inflation has taken hold, half a percent – increase or decrease – was considered de minimis in the scheme of things and hardly worth a mention.  Today, it is heralded and chronicled as the biggest jump in 27 years.

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Shhh, don’t tell HMRC, but I may have found a faultless Stamp Duty saving scheme!

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While the best things in life may be free, it is an inviolable truth that the government will somehow find a way to make them taxable. While that may be the price we pay for representation (a much-debated topic since American colonists rebelled against British rule in the 1760s), not all taxes are equal. Or indeed fair. One of the most egregious examples is Stamp Duty, which is festering away under the epidermis of our beleaguered housing market. However, the good news is that there is a cure. Admittedly, you need several million swilling around in the piggy-bank to take advantage of this loophole, which up until now, has not been exposed.

If you rent instead of buy in the uber rental market, for say five years, the government will give you a rent-free tenancy for this period. Sounds implausible? Let me explain… Continue reading →