Author: Benjamin

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a bank had a duty to investigate whether a woman was under the undue influence of her partner when she took out a mortgage that would be used in part to pay her partner’s debts. The case was brought by homeowner Catherine Waller-Edwards who, according to the ruling, started a relationship in 2011 with Nicholas Bishop, a property developer and builder. According to the ruling, she was emotionally vulnerable at the time. She was, however, also financially secure and owned her own home mortgage…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Renters’ Rights Bill is now in report stage in the House of Lords, but almost half – 48% – of UK landlords have made no preparations, new research shows. Typically, small landlords are more likely to be unaware of the Renters’ Rights Bill and less likely to have made any preparations than professional landlords, according to flatshare site SpareRoom, which carried out the study. SpareRoom survey of 821 UK landlords in May 2025: Landlords Plan to leave the rental market Plan to reduce portfolio Plan to invest in holiday…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Ross D’Aniello With summer fast approaching, there is a renewed energy rippling through the country house market across the Midlands and the Cotswolds, according to Chartwell Noble. The estate agency reports that spring was uncharacteristically subdued this year, but market conditions are now improving. “The rain seemed endless, which not only dampened spirits but delayed launches, photography and crucial early viewings,” said Ross D’Aniello, co-founder & CEO at Chartwell Noblereports. “For lifestyle-led properties, especially those where gardens, terraces or views do the talking, that weather was a real setback. At…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: It is more than a year since the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent as part of the pre-election wash-up, and yet many of the proposed new rules rain largely unenforced — a situation that continues to frustrate hundreds of thousands of leaseholders across England and Wales, according to Linz Darlington, founder of leasehold extension specialists Homehold. Yesterday’s House of Commons debate offered little comfort. Speaking in the chamber, Government Minister Alex Norris confirmed that the public consultation required to implement key parts of the Act, which includes…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: The Renters’ Rights Bill has completed its Committee Stage in the House of Lords and will move on to the Report Stage imminently, but as the bill nears the statute book, property professionals continue to voice concern about how these reforms will actually work in practice. Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director of LRG, is the latest agent to express ‘disappointment’ at the proposed new legislation set to be introduced. Thompson is rather surprised that so few of the 280-plus amendments have been taken on board. “Many of these proposals were…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Guy Gittins Foxtons will today introduce new medium-term financial targets, including an aim to deliver £50m of adjusted operating profit – more than double the amount achieved in 2024. Foxtons Group plc is today hosting a Capital Markets Event to outline the next phase of its growth strategy, with updated targets reflecting the significant progress made to date, the scale of the opportunity ahead and the continued momentum towards the group’s original target of delivering £28m to £33m of adjusted operating profit, as announced in March 2023. The Capital Markets…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Nested, the estate agency platform for self-employed agents, and Gazeal have agreed a new partnership aimed at tackling fall-throughs and accelerating the sales process. The pair hope that Gazeal’s Reservation and Deposit Agreements will allow Nested partners to provide clients with greater certainty with a view to reducing fall-throughs and speeding up transactions. Alice Bullard, CEO of Nested, commented: “Everyone in the industry knows how painful fall-throughs are – for the seller, the buyer, and the estate agent. We’re always looking for ways to make the process smoother…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: L-R:Craig Syme, Stephen McKechnie and David Gibb Dwello, Scotland’s newest residential lettings agent has opened its office in Glasgow’s West End, with the aim of bringing 1,000 properties under management within the first two years. Founded by experienced landlord, Stephen McKechnie, who has assembled a team of experienced agents, Dwello aims to compete with the big established agents in the Scottish market. The company’s founders have first-hand experience of all sides of residential lettings, having been landlords and agents. The agency will employ fifteen staff in its Glasgow office. David…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: Connells Group continues its strategic expansion with the acquisition of Aspire Estate Agents, a five branch estate and lettings agency in south-west London. It is the biggest acquisition that Connells have made since Countrywide in 2021. Aspire has a sales business covering Battersea, Balham, Fulham South, Fulham Central, and Clapham, as well as a substantial portfolio of over 750 lettings properties. The agency will retain its own brand identity as it joins the John D Wood & Co. family. Chris Rosindale, chief operating officer, Connells Group, said: “This acquisition is…

[openai_chatbot] rewrite this content and keep HTML tags as is: PEXA has announced the completion of the UK’s first fully digital purchase transaction. The transaction took place as part of the testing of the digital property exchange platform’s sale and purchase proposition ahead of its full launch and wider market roll out later this year. Hinckley & Rugby Building Society was the first UK lender to complete a mortgage using PEXA, with national law firm Muve acting as the conveyancer within the PEXA workspace for both the purchaser and lender. The transaction leveraged PEXA’s proprietary payment scheme, PEXA Pay —…