April 27, 2012
Negative equity map of the UK shows clear North-South divide
Plunging house prices have triggered a new negative equity crisis, with the North bearing a far greater burden than the South.
12% of homeowners in the North have negative equity, 6% higher than national average
Hundreds of thousands more families have become trapped in the nightmare of having a mortgage bigger than the value of their home over the last 18 months.
The report, from the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s, said 3.6 per cent of mortgage-holders were in ‘negative equity’ during the spring of 2010. By the end of last year, the number had risen to 5.6 per cent.
Read more from the Mail Online
April 16, 2012
Warnings on future saleability of solar ‘rent a roof’ homes
Thousands of households that agreed to rent their roofs to solar panel companies, in return for free electricity, could find their properties are unsaleable. It has emerged that lenders have begun to turn down mortgage applications from homeowners who are signed up to such schemes.
According to a story in Guardian Money, owners of such properties are being turned down for remortgages, which suggests that prospective purchasers of such properties are also likely to be rejected.
Guardian Money was contacted by a Southampton couple who were refused by several companies when they tried to remortgage, even though their existing mortgage provider, RBS, apparently agreed to the scheme.
Applications for a remortgage have been apparently turned down by Skipton and Nationwide, although RBS has offered them a mortgage on the basis that it approved the solar installation.
The couple are now worried they won’t be able to sell if potential buyers also struggle to find a loan.
February 3, 2012
How to choose a removal company
Moving the contents of your home to a new one is daunting and can be both physically and mentally exhausting, especially if you are on a tight deadline. Choosing the right removal company can make all the difference.
- Get several quotes well in advance of your completion date. The cheapest quote may not always be the best one, many larger removal companies offer a packing service too so that you can ensure everything will be taken care of.
- Get recommendations.
- Start the process in plenty of time, it can take a couple of weeks getting quotes and finding available dates – some companies are booked up weeks in advance.
- Plan ahead – provide the removal company with details of your new property’s access points and layout, ie how many flights of stairs, will furniture fit through the doors.
- Get insured – most removal companies provide dedicated moving insurance against loss or breakages whilst in transit, however, make sure this is the case before booking anyone. You should also contact your own contents insurer to find out if your policy will cover your contents whilst it’s being moved!
- Avoiding the cowboys! It’s a good idea to check that any companies you choose are members of either The British Association of Removers or The National Guild of Removers and Storers who are both committed to excellent standards and professionalism.
January 31, 2012
Buying a home is cheaper than renting
According to research done by Halifax, buying a home in the UK is over a £100 a month cheaper than renting. The typical monthly cost of buying a three bedroom house was £600 towards the end of 2011, making it £116 lower than the average monthly rent of £716 paid on the same property.
This will be welcome news for December’s mortgage seekers when mortgage approvals reached a 19-month high and grossed some £9bn.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “The affordability gains for buyers relative to renters in the last three years have been significant. The average mortgage payment has fallen dramatically over recent years as a result of falling house prices and mortgage rates. At the same time, rents have risen due to strong demand for rented accommodation.”
read more on this article by the Telegraph
source: the Telegraph
December 7, 2011
Thinking of moving in the New Year? Here are our top tips on how to get your property ready to sell and secure the best possible price
January is a popular time for homeowners to market their property. Follow our simple tips to prepare your property for the market and make your home more attractive to prospective purchasers.
July 19, 2011
Think you’ve got structural problems and need an engineer’s report? Don’t worry we can help
Quite often in the house purchase process chains break down unnecessarily and sales fall through due to potential purchasers getting ‘cold feet’ when their valuation report or homebuyers survey highlights the need for the property to be checked out in detail by a Structural Engineer.
Structural problems have a reputation of being seen as costly and devastating, but that need not be the case.
Our range of structural engineers reports offer specialist advice to suit a variety of budgets.
With reports starting from as little as £180 + VAT, there’s no need to fear the worst.
Not only do our reports detail any structural problems or concerns which have been found during the survey, but also give an indication of the likely costs of carrying out the necessary repairs to fix these problems.
So, even in the worst case scenario, at least you will be going into the purchase process fully armed with the information you need to make informed financial decisions.
Remember, our team of advisors are on hand to answer your questions and offer advice, either call us now on 0800 027 5130, send us an e-mail via the contact us section of our website or get a quote on-line.
March 4, 2011
Buying a house is now cheaper than renting
With house prices falling and landlords increasing rent, it’s now cheaper to buy a home than rent.
Read more
January 4, 2011
Selling your home? Top tips on how to do a viewing
Showing prospective purchasers around your home can be extremely daunting, here’s a guide and useful checklist to help get the most out of each viewing.
Its always useful to have a diary to schedule viewings, for each appointment make sure you take a name and mobile phone number so that you can contact them if any emergency arises or if they are running late.
Before a viewing
- Have a print out of your property details as they may want to take this away.
- A blank piece of paper so that you can take any notes while you are showing the buyers around.
- Know how much the council tax is.
- Know how much a quarterly gas and electric bill is.
- Know how much your water and sewage rates are.
- All the doors are shut so that you can present the room to them. If all the doors are open it is too much for someone to take in all at once.
- You have planned a route through the property.
- Your have prepared your property.
- Any pets are out of the way as some people are allergic or uncomfortable with animals.
- If a flat know how much the maintenance and if applicable ground rent are.
November 17, 2010
House prices rise in October
Money saving expert have reported that house prices rose at their fastest rate for 18 months in October after a steep drop during the previous month.
The average cost of a home rose by 1.8% in October, partially offsetting September’s record fall of 3.7%, according to Halifax.
October 5, 2010
10 top tips for buy-to-let success
To reap the rewards from your buy to let investment, it’s important to keep up with the market’s movements.
It has been announced that from April next year, the Government is going to cap the amount it pays to housing benefit recipients, of whom approx 1.4 million rent property in the private sector.
If you are thinking of buying to let, here are some really helpful tips ( taken from the telegraph online) :-