Gray Stuart – UNTIED KINGDOM

From our office in the UK where we have company directors on the ground we are able to help International property buyers and Investors in many ways. Some of services include the following.

Buying the Best Property in the UK

Very simply we offer our International clients the best of both worlds in that we have proven experienced local knowledge on the ground as well as international expertise from having made many different transactions throughout the world.

In the UK we can help you take advantage of the new hot spots such as Liverpool and Manchester and whatever your budget help you acquire the very best buy to let properties from 50,000 in Halifax to the Multi-Millions in Mayfair, London

Investments

The UK offers a wide range of specialized investment outside of the standard property investments some with investment and rental guarantees. These can be Student accommodation, Hotel Rooms, Developer loans and other such interesting investments which offer a high rate of return. At Gray Stuart our professionals can take you through the different types of investments and gage your risk versus reward investment strategy.

Entrepeneur Visa

For those of you who don’t live in the UK especially in light of BREXIT you may need assistance in obtaining one of the various investment visas that would allow you to do this. Our team of professionals will be able to assist you in this process.

Setting Up a Business in the UK

Very simply our professional directors can help you with the set up your company structures in the most tax efficient manner possible. We only use the very best Lawyers, Accountants and professional advisors to make sure your company structure is set up in the correct and most tax efficient way possible

.

Commercial Leasing and Rental requirements

-If you’re looking for the right office premises for your business or you need to find your newly recruited Ex-Pat staff the right quality accommodation so they can focus on working 100% for you without any issues then our professional local team can help you with access to the very best residential and commercial properties available in the local market.

Asset Management

If you’re an investor and already own assets in UK or just acquiring them then our team of professionals can offer you the complete asset management services including property management and project management here in Spain

These are just a sample of the key services that Gray Stuart UK provides and should you need any further information do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Gray Stuart UK

16 Stonor Green

Wallington

Oxon OX49 5PT

United Kingdom

 

Email:  help@exclusivehotproperites.com

Tel:         +44 20 7558 8355

Why Invest in UK Property?

Last updated January 2018

The UK is one of the very best and most stable property markets in the world with its capital London being one of the great property investment capitals of the world. There has been a degree of uncertainly since the UK voted to leave the UK but the basic fundamentals for the UK are very strong and the cost of leaving the EU has already been discounted into the economy and exchange rate.

Some of the best reasons why it may be a great time to buy physical property or invest in funds with UK real estate exposure is the weaker pound means UK homes and other properties are 10% less expensive in dollar terms and that is obviously if you are not already based in the UK.

UK PROPERTY MARKET

House prices in UK are still rising (though not in inflation-adjusted terms). The average house price in the UK rose by 2.8% (0% inflation-adjusted) to £209,971 (US$ 273,046) during the year to Q2 2017, based on the figures from Nationwide. Previous quarters had seen rises of 4.1% in Q1 2017, and 4.5% in Q4 2016.

In London prices decelerated sharply, with price rises of only 1.2% (-1.5% inflation-adjusted) during the year to Q2 2017.  London is the second weakest region in the country after the North, according Gray Stuart

Supply of houses to the UK’s market has hit a record low. Newly agreed sales have also fallen, as buyers have taken a more cautious stance in recent months.

The highest price rise was in East Anglia, with house prices increasing by 5.04% during the year to Q2 2017. It was followed by South West (4.43%), North West (4.13%), East Midlands (4.11%), and Northern Ireland (3.80%).  A net balance of 7% of respondents in RICS’s Chartered Surveyors’ survey believed that house prices are rising, down from last month’s 17%.

The North had the weakest growth of 1% y-o-y in Q2 2017. House price growth was also weak in Wales (1.40%), and Scotland (1.72%).

The weakness in the government following the election is “stifling” the country’s housing market, respondents to the RICS´s UK Residential Market Survey suggested in June 2017. Around 44% of RICS respondents felt that the weakened activity in the housing market was due to the country’s uncertain political climate. Only 27% of them identified Brexit as the biggest factor for the market slowdown.

RICS’s survey respondents saw London prices softening, especially in the most expensive areas. Aside from political uncertainty, respondents in London also equally cited Brexit and changes in Stamp Duty as factors contributing to the housing market’s flat activity.

“London is slowing more dramatically than the rest of the country, as it is more exposed to changes in sentiment due to house price growth over the last 10 years and what that did for affordability,” says Savills’ head of residential research, Lucian Cook.

The UK’s and particularly London’s previous dramatic house price rises were fueled by four factors:

  • Immigration and population growth have been strong, especially in London.
  • Interest rates have been at record lows, with a large expansion of the money supply through “quantitative easing”.
  • The City of London (London’s financial center) continues to boom.
  • There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of properties in the UK.

WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY INVESTMENTS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE UK?

For the would be property investor there is a wide range of different types of property investments that include the following:

  • Residential Buy to Let Properties
  • Commercial Investment Properties
  • Commercial Business Properties such as Hotels and Care Homes
  • Student accommodation
  • Holiday Resorts
  • Fractional Ownership products
  • Guaranteed Rental products

Within these sectors there are developers who have created investment vehicles for smaller investors to invest into these areas but for generally a small amount of money.  Such investments include individual Hotel Room Investment, Student accommodation and similar. However the main investment even from small investors seems to come from buy to let properties and commercial investment properties. The great thing about the UK Property Investment market is there is a range of products for investors to invest into giving the investor far greater choice than they have in some other property investment countries.

INVESTMENT CONCLUSIION

When you consider UK yields and capital appreciation in property assets as a whole in what is one of the world’s great economies the UK has a lot to offer potential investors especially those from Asia who are looking to invest in new markets. If you would like any advice or assistance in which UK property investments represent the best value or are seeking something specific please fill out the contact form and one of our property specialists will contact you to discuss your requirements with you in detail.

The Buying Process in the United Kingdom

The UK is made up of 4 Countries England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With the Exception of Scotland the rules are very similar in the remaining Countries so for the benefit of this article we will be focusing on England but will address Scotland differences later on.

LAWYERS AND THE LAW SOCIETY

In the UK all transactions are conducted by Lawyers or Licensed Conveyancers. We would always recommend using a Lawyer who will be a member of the Law Society and through there member guarantee scheme this means your money is always protected should the solicitor or lawyer you use go bankrupt or into liquidation. Generally speaking sound advice is always to use a Lawyers practice that has at least 3 solicitors as its partners. Saying all of this the UK is one of the safest places in the world to buy and sell property.

THE BUYING TRANSACTION

In the UK the process is a very simple one with the following steps

  • First agree a sale with the vendor of the property and then inform your Solicitor of the details of the sale such as price, exchange date and planned completion date.
  • Your Lawyer will then make contact with the vendors solicitor and agree a date to exchange contracts at which point a 10% of the purchase price is normally paid and set a date for completion at which time the balance of the purchase price is paid over and you take control of the property
  • Before Exchange of contracts your Solicitor will check with the land registry to see what charges and debts exist on the property as these will have to be cleared before the title can be transferred to your name. Also prior to Exchange of Contracts the Lawyer should give you a statement of account for completion so you know exactly how much money you need to deposit with the Solicitor to complete the transaction on the due date. This cost will include Land Registry Fees, Stamp Duty and Legal Fees. On commercial transactions this could include such item as Stock and Deposits
  • Upon completion your Lawyer will make sure that the Title of the property is transferred into your name and the property becomes yours.

One very important thing to remember about buying in the UK except Scotland is that the Vendor can pull out of the sale at any time prior to exchange of contracts and completion. This is especially important in a boom market where the owner might get a better offer from another buyer prior to exchange of contracts. This is called Gazumping.

The system in Scotland is a much fairer Tendering system. Very simply a closing date for the sale is set the owner chooses which bid to accept and then is duty bound to honour that contract and should the owner pull out of the transaction then they would suffer financial penalties for doing so.

BEING A CASH BUYER IS KING

This is particularly important where you have a chain of buyers and if one person pulls out the whole chain can break and it could affect as many as 20 sales. So if you’re a cash buyer that should give you a bit more room to negotiate with the seller because they know that the sale will actually happen and happen very quickly.

PROPERTY STAMP DUTY IN THE UK

PURCHASE PRICE                             MAIN RESIDENCE             ADDITIONAL HOMES

Up to £125,000                                  0%                                          3%

£125,000.01 – £250,000                   2%                                          5%

£250,000.01 – £925,000                   5%                                          8%

£925,000.01 – £1,500,000““           10%                                        13%

 

 

This is meant to be a quick guide giving you the basics bus should you want more detailed advice about the buying process in the UK please fill in the contact form and one of our property and residency specialist will contact you to discuss your personal circumstances with you in detail.

UK Location Guide

The United Kingdom, made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England – birthplace of Shakespeare and The Beatles – is home to the capital, London, a globally influential centre of finance and culture. England is also site of Neolithic Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.

The UK is best known for London one of the world’s best and favourite capital cities but the UK has a lot to offer from the wonderful Lake district in the North West of England to the Welsh Valleys and the Highlands of Scotland. As a visitor you could spend 3 months in the United Kingdom and only begin to scratch the surface of this wonderful country that really does have something for everyone.