James Pickford

Ground rents, rates and insurance add to mortgage costs

Buy-to-let property sales are on the rise

Speculation that Labour will align CGT with income tax rates

Stagnating prices have made it hard to build equity, research reveals

A growing number of holiday homeowners letting out their properties are moving to pay business rates to avoid sharply rising council tax bills. There were 78,000 holiday lets registered for business rates on March 31 2024, up from 63,000 in 2020, according to analysis by estate agent Hamptons. But the number of homes liable for second homes council tax — recorded at October each year — has stayed at 263,000 over the four years. Council tax on second homes is going up in many holiday spots, whe…

Monthly rents outside London at a record after 7 per cent annual increase

Credit card debt is cutting into people’s ability to get a mortgage, as high interest rates and living costs have put household finances under strain, brokers have warned. Outstanding balances on credit cards are rising at an annual rate of 9.9 per cent in the 12 months to March 2024, according to figures released on Tuesday by industry body UK Finance. About half of these (49.8 per cent) incurred interest. Mortgage brokers, however, said more people seeking to take out a home loan were saddle…

On average, buying a home with a capital and interest mortgage is 11 per cent more expensive than renting

FT Money wants to hear from readers in a rent or buy dilemma

The gap between budgets planned and money spent is at a decade high