Open any of the free newspapers that littered tube carriages last week and you will have noticed a sudden glut of colourful no-expense-spared ads. Out-of-town developments – Ashford, Crayford, Thurrock – promising mortgages from as little as £364 a month, with only 5% deposit. Despite its no-turning-back rhetoric, the UK government is actually introducing many [...]
Will ‘Help To Buy’ Thaw Out The Frozen British Economy?
April 15th, 2013Our Customers still want Quality over Quantity
April 11th, 2013In a world where more and more conveyancing firms are opting to commoditise their service, and offer an on line, impersonal service to their clients, Cunningtons has moved towards offering a personal quality service to their clients. In a recent article for the Property Reporter on line, http://bit.ly/16WtpvA the argument was made that estate agents should [...]
SDLT disadvantaged area relief ends today
April 5th, 2013For the last few years, those buying in certain “disadvantaged areas” http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/reliefs-exemptions/disadvantaged-areas.htm#1 have had the benefit of relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for properties valued between £125,000 and £150,000. So for example those buying in various wards in a number of London Boroughs, such as Penge, Thamesmead East, Arsenal, Charlton or Oval, or in other areas [...]
Would you recognise domestic violence?
March 21st, 2013Most people think of domestic violence as being limited to physical violence, but the legal definition has now been widened by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. Domestic violence is now defined as “any incident, or pattern of incidents, of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (whether psychological, physical, sexual, [...]
Cunningtons launch a new Family Law Fixed Fee Scheme
February 27th, 2013In light of the huge changes to Legal Aid coming into force on 1 April which will mean very few people will qualify for Legal Aid, Cunningtons have launched a Fixed Fee Scheme for family law clients. We understand that costs are an important factor for clients when they decide whether to instruct a solicitor [...]
Are We Nearly There Yet?
January 29th, 2013Yes, we all remember asking it, and for those with children you will experience it, even on the shortest of trips. So, did it get us there any faster? Did it speed up the journey? Did it help keep everyone calm and less agitated? Did twitching the curtain, looking out of the window, waiting for [...]
Cunningtons scoop top prize at The Estate Agency of the Year Awards 2012
January 22nd, 2013Cunningtons was awarded winner of the Best Overall Conveyancing firm at The Estate Agency of the Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times and The Times. On Thursday 6th December, approximately 600 leading estate agents and conveyancing lawyers descended upon The Lancaster London Hotel opposite Hyde Park for The Estate Agency of The Year [...]
Cunningtons continue to provide vital Legal Aid services
January 8th, 2013Cunningtons are very pleased and proud to announce that both of our Family Law offices at Chelmsford and Braintree have been awarded the new Legal Aid contract, which comes into force on 1 April 2013. This means that these offices can continue to provide eligible clients with family law advice in certain cases at a [...]
A Blueprint For A Stable Community?
January 8th, 2013Community self-build housing feels like it’s both a step back to centuries past, echoing the way Britain was originally constructed, whilst at the same time a glimpse of how a more co-operative and sustainable way of living can be achieved in the modern age. This is particularly true when you look at the Hedgehog project [...]
Cunningtons Sales Director Justin White gives his assessment of the housing market for 2013
December 10th, 2012Having worked in the property market for over twenty years I can honestly say that, in common with what many market observers are saying, this market is the worst I have experienced. There is a process needed to build a stable market from a declining one and currently I cannot see that there are any [...]
