Richard Carter

With summer in full swing, many people are planning to make changes to their gardens. Some changes might be extensive, including decking, a garden office, fences or a total landscaping overhaul. While you generally won’t need permission to plant your...

Equity release activity climbs 24% year-on-year to £4.8bn as market returns to growth. Summary • Record amounts of property wealth were accessed via equity release products in Q4 and across 2021 by more than 76,000 new and...

A recent survey has given some insight as to reasons why a buyer withdraws from a transaction. The survey was carried out by a “quick buy” company that specialises in buying houses where transactions have recently fallen through. Almost...

As part of our drive to reduce risk to clients we have recently obtained 2 further accreditations. The first is the award of Cyber essentials Plus to recognise our work in having processes to prevent cyber-crime and fraud. We are very aware of this daily...

Over the past 12 months, I have dealt with more equity release lifetime mortgage cases than in the previous 5 years put together. There is no doubt that equity release is becoming a more popular product and this is likely to increase as house prices rise...

Having staff working remotely has presented significant challenges for many businesses, but one of the most difficult to address is the increased cybersecurity risk. As many companies did not have sufficient opportunity to prepare for the transition to...

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK’s economic agenda dominated the Chancellor’s 2021 Budget Statement, with support for business and jobs receiving top-line billing. Coronavirus lockdown keeps chancellor’s attention on...

Leasehold property owners are set for important changes in the coming months, with the Government’s plans to grant new rights on lease extensions and the ending of ground rent. It is may be the beginning of the end for this...

Non UK residents to pay Stamp Duty surcharge from 1 st April 2021 With all the press focus on the Stamp Duty holiday that is shortly to come to an end it is a good time to also focus on an another potential increase in Stamp Duty due to...

Court Service Issues a List of Priority Work during the Coronavirus Lockdown. The Courts and Tribunal Service split all Civil court Listings into 2 groups – work that “must” be done and work that “could” be done. This...

Legal & General published a report in 2019 indicating that the "Bank of Mum and Dad" had lent around £6.3 billion to fund house purchases for their children. If the Bank of Mum and Dad was a real bank, it would be the 11th most...

Residential Property Buy To let - Update for Landlords on the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and Electrical Checks for rented properties coming this year. For landlords renting out private properties a Tenant Fees Act 2019 was the latest in a long line of...

Thinking of buying a property for the first time in the next 10 years? Take action this month! If you are someone who might buy a property for the first time in the next 10 years then you may need to take some action over the next month! The Help...

Martin Tolhurst Solicitors recently completed a two stage assessment of the entire firm in May and June this year which lasted a period of 13 days. Every single part of the business was reviewed and the assessors report and recommendation have now been...

It’s that time of year where we get a few instructions that usually begin with the conversation “We’ve been going on holiday to Devon/Cornwall/Dorset/Norfolk for some years now, we love it there and this time we decided on the spur of the...

Warmer weather draws our attention to the outdoors and a visit to the garden centre will be top of the to-do list for many as their thoughts turn to gardens after the slow start to spring. But being sure of the ground rules is a good idea before...

If you’re attempting to obtain planning permission to develop your property, you need to ensure that you understand exactly what is expected of you, and what requirements you need to meet in order for your application to be granted. These will differ...

The Government has announced plans to tackle unfair leaseholder arrangements on new-build properties, but in the meantime, as the spring housing market gets into full swing, it’s worth understanding the difference between freehold and leasehold...

Richard Carter, a Partner specialising in Property matters at the Firm, has reacted to the news of proposed new laws designed to prevent property fraud. “Two years of consultation the Law Commission has proposed some new...

New Build Housing Shortfall in Kent - Government threatens to act. We are hearing more and more about a “housing crisis”, “generation rent” and “new build shortfalls”. This week in...

Martin Tolhurst Solicitors welcomed the cut to SDLT for First Time Buyers announced by the Chancellor in his budget On Thursday. Residential Property Partner Richard Carter commented: “The payment of a large upfront payment for SDLT has...

Some figures released this week give the first definite indications that landlords in England and Wales are re-evaluating their portfolios and properties, and beginning to sell properties. Richard Carter, the Managing Partner of Martin Tolhurst and...

Government increases in Stamp Duty have cooled the Buy-to-Let market, but First Time Buyers take up the slack! An industry leading report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders was today analysed by Richard Carter, a Property Partner at Martin Tolhurst...

So at long last it is official, and confirms everything that lawyers acting for first time buyers over the past year have known – the UK’s biggest mortgage lender is the Bank of Mum and Dad! According to data and a survey from Legal &...