The iconic bridges over the River Tyne tell me I’m home. It feels like it has been a relatively windy route to get back to the North East but I’m glad to finally say “I’m back in the toon”. Originally from the North East, although not many will vouch for my accent after 9 years in Scotland, I decided it was time for a new challenge and to face that challenge in my home city.
The move from Scotland back to the North East seems to have been relatively seamless. Many people are of course not believers of fate, but everything seemed to have fallen into place at the right time. One of those items falling into place was of course my new role in the New Build team at Jacksons. Already an established team in Jacksons’ Tees Valley office, replicating the success of the New Build team in Newcastle will be sure to be no mean feat.
I’ve spent several weeks in our Tees Valley office getting to know the systems and more importantly the team that have made New Build such a success in the Tees Valley area. The Tees Valley New Build team have certainly set the bar high for me to follow in the Newcastle office and I look forward to that challenge.
Newcastle, and the surrounding areas, is a vibrant place to not only work but also to live. This can be evidenced with the number of new build sites which seem to be popping up in and around the region. It has been great to get out of the office and visit the many new sites across the region from Longhoughton to Browney, to Sunderland to Hazelrigg. It certainly feels that the property market is booming in the North East despite the uncertainty that seems to surround us over Brexit and a threat of Scottish Independence. Of course, perhaps an advantage for buying a new build in such a vibrant market is that a New Build property is a fixed price. The government has rolled out many schemes to enable and assist people with buying such properties, such as Help-to-Buy Equity Loans, Help-to-Buy ISA’s and Lifetime ISA’s. Not only do you receive help from the government, but some builders have great incentive schemes such as help with deposits, assistance with stamp duty as well as kitchen upgrades and the like.
There has of course been a steep learning curve for me, given that I am a Scottish qualified solicitor versed in the Scottish conveyancing system, adapting to the English conveyancing system has not been without its challenges. The main challenges appear to be the differences in terminology rather than the systems per se and, perhaps, re-acquainting myself with the accent!
Of course, there are going to be many more challenges that are going to face the New Build team, if not the property market in the coming months. No matter how much we can try to avoid the dreaded word “Brexit”, there is the ever-threatening looming deadline of the 31st October and whether we leave the European Union with a deal or without a deal. Either will of course have an impact on the property market but of course this is out of our hands. Such uncertainty does not appear to be impacting the New Build property market in the North East.
Isabelle Edmondson, Solicitor New Build
