Homes & Gardens

The Local Government Association is urging new ministers to rethink the Pay to Stay policy which will require councils to charge some of their tenants higher rents from April 2017.

It comes as new analysis reveals today that more than 70,000 social housing tenants could face rent rise bills of an average £1,000 a year from next year under government plans to increase rents for those deemed to be earning high incomes. The LGA is warning the policy would create a bureaucracy causing stress to families, further costs to councils, and financial returns to the Government far lower than...

Historically low interest rates and schemes such as Help to Buy are set to ensure that buyers looking to make a move to Exeter in 2016 will be able to take advantage of some of the best buying conditions the housing market has ever seen.

Five star housebuilder David Wilson Homes, which has a number of developments in Exeter, said the EU Referendum result has created some uncertainty for potential buyers but says that nothing has changed in terms of attractive interest rates and schemes to help existing owners move to a larger home in the city.

Help to Buy is a very popular...

On Friday (22 July), local councillors, tenants and housing professionals came together to celebrate the official completion of The Guinness Partnership’s latest homes in Topsham, Exeter. The ten brand new homes on the new Seabrook Orchards estate, developed by Bloor Homes, are comprised of two and three bedroom houses, with six for social rent and four for shared-ownership. Allan Ramsay, Director of Investment and Commercial at The Guinness Partnership, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer brand new homes to the people of Topsham in a community that has so much to offer. Seabrook...

Following the latest news that we are set for another round of cheap mortgages, with rates at some banks now as low as 0.99% , it is as good a time as any to take out a mortgage in order to get on the property ladder.

However, while mortgages may be cheap, house prices most certainly aren’t, with the average house price in Exeter and wider England now up to a staggering £300,000. In Exeter alone, house prices have risen by 159% since the turn of the millennium, while wages have only increased by 51% . According to property experts the Open Property Group , the recent ‘Brexit’ vote...