That first home

Remember that feeling? It’s all yours, tiny, falling down and comes with that pungent smell of years gone by! (Or even cats, dogs or worse!)

You have a modest regular income, solid credit record, and a burning desire to have and hold your own little kingdom. Great! perfect mortgage candidate, Right? Wrong! Recent figures show how the credit crunch (don’t you hate the sound of that phrase?) has turned the mortgage product upside down.

We are constantly hearing how first time buyers are being left out in the cold, how do you get on the proverbial ‘property ladder’ if at every turn the bottom rung has been cut! It is clear that with rates of 7 to 8 percent on offer, first time buyers are subsidising equity richer, affluent homeowners on low tracker rates.

First time buyers once the lifeblood of the market, are feeling ignored as lenders lean towards the lower risk borrowers. As a first time buyer, it’s all about the compromise, perhaps not quite living in Bell Air or having that lovely open plan loft living. The ‘compact and Bijoux’ apartment may have to do for now. That may still be tenable for some, having savings or parents that are fine with handing over their retirement fund, so that the little darlings may move on. Others are not so fortunate.

What’s the answer? Who knows, but with two teenage children at home, the possibility of them not moving on to that old property ladder is pretty scary!!

The big freeze on interest rates

UK interest rates have been left at 0.5% following the Bank of England's latest meeting. The cost of borrowing has been at a record low since March 2009 and economists do not expect the central bank to raise rates in the near term.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also maintained the quantitative easing (QE), or asset buying, programme at £200bn. The UK is thought to have exited recession in the last quarter of 2009. The MPC said it expected its QE programme to take another month to complete and that the scale of the programme would be kept under review.

'Challenging year'

Roger Bootle, economic adviser to consultants Deloitte, said the MCPc’s latest meeting was a "holding operation", as the committee is in "wait-and-see mode" until its next inflation report in February.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, saw "no surprises" in the MCPc’s announcement. "The environment for the MPC now becomes much more challenging. Firstly it has to decide whether to provide more QE next month - it is possible, but we doubt that it will," he said.

"Beyond that the issue will be whether to tighten and if so, when and by how much. It is going to be a very challenging year to be a policy maker." Manufacturers said they supported the Bank's decision. "The recovery is now underway, but its strength remains in doubt," said Lee Hopley, chief economist of the manufacturers' organisation, the EEF. "There are a number of potential pitfalls even as the UK economy starts growing again, including cautious consumers, questions over the public finances and a still-fragile banking system."

Property Not Selling?

It may be time for a re-vamp of your property and the way it’s being marketed!

It's hard not to feel a little downhearted if your property has been on the market for a while and you don’t seem to have the same influx of potential viewers. More people are using the internet to view properties’ than ever before and your property may be being discounted before potential purchasers even venture through your door. Just visually changing the look of a few rooms could generate some new interest or make a previous viewer see your home in a new light. Your estate agent will be more than happy to come and snap a few new photos and update your properties profile, never forget that your estate agent wants to sell your property just as much as you do.

Make sure your estate agents photographs and details really sell your property. Imagine you are a potential purchaser and you are searching on a property portal website - there are two properties in a similar price band and area to your own – but the other properties estate agents have taken fantastic, bright, clear, flattering photographs and given the properties a great write up? Which would you look at first? Have a good look then at your properties details - compare the way your estate agent has marketing your property and ask the questions?

1. Have all the great selling points of my property been photographed and shown? Are the photos clear and bright?

2. Have all the great selling points of my property been written out? You have a newly fitted kitchen with fantastic gadgets that you’re leaving behind but you only have one kitchen photograph and there are no details of the kitchen or the gadgets in the details. You have working fireplaces – you can see the fireplaces in the photographs but it isn’t in the details that they are working. You have a family bathroom and an en-suite but the photograph shown is only of the en-suite, which a viewer could mistakenly be assume is a ‘very’ small family bathroom.

Here are a few tips

Firstly - walk around your property or better still get an ‘honest’ friend to walk around and make a note of things that catch the eye - scuff marks, peeling paint, overflowing cupboards or grubby grouting. A room full of furniture – you use six dining chairs which makes the room look cluttered but for the estate agent photographs and viewings take out two chairs and instantly the space looks larger. You’ll be amazed at the things you overlook that a viewer could be put off by.

Before your estate agent comes around to take photographs of your property, make sure its clutter free, that there aren’t dirty clothes or dishes spotted about. Open all your curtains and blinds if the photos are being taken in the day and turn on the lights in all the rooms so that you get the full effect of your homes warmth. If possible make sure you are at your property when the photographs are being taken, ask to see the photos and details before they’re published on any sales material or websites - if you’re not happy with the photos and details – speak up and ask for re-takes and re-writes.

Give your property a really good spring clean and as much as possible remove personal touches and clutter. You want your potential buyer to imagine living in your home. Make your home as neutral as possible it will help the viewer to visualise his or her own family in your home. By removing clutter you’ll also make your rooms look larger, remove furniture that may be blocking the view of any features. Remember buyers are looking at the whole of your property and storage is always key, whilst it’s tempting to hide clutter in a wardrobe or spare room your viewer will want to know how large those rooms and storage areas are. Consider storing items in boxes, neatly stacked away in the garage, or even ask a friend or storage unit to temporarily store these items.

If you feel your property may have ‘gone off the boil’ it could be time to give your property a small budget makeover. There is potential in everything you own, even if you've been living with it for so long that you're blind to it. That nondescript kitchen dresser that suddenly takes centre stage when you wallpaper the inside with a vibrant print or paint; what was previously viewed as a large cumbersome piece of furniture suddenly stands out after being given a lick of something colourful. Alternatively, if you hate a piece of furniture but don't want to pay to replace it, you can hide it by painting it the same colour as the walls of your house. This will also make the room look much bigger.

Paint, wallpaper and fabric are key to unlocking a new look for every area of the home. Tester pots of paint may not cover a wall, but there is enough in those little bottles to paint old picture and photo frames and then hang them together on what was an empty white wall. A tablecloth made by stitching together clashing off-cuts of fabric can brighten even the dullest dining table. Buying new bathroom towels and rugs in a vibrant colour can instantly make a room look brighter, newer and inviting. Re-organise your books according to the colour of their spines to form bold batches of colour on your shelves. Change the focus of the living room from the TV to the fireplace; or face a sofa and chairs towards each other for a more sociable set-up. Buy a few cheap plants and pot them in bright or unusual planters for a stark corner. Any of these little touches can bring life to a room and refresh your property instantly.

And for people who still harbour concerns about whether all this is worth it, make some simple changes first and see what a difference it makes: Once you have done this you will see that it really is worth moving on to the bigger stuff. Above all, don't be afraid to have a go – you can always change things again if you don't like them.

Remember its all about creating or re-creating interest in your property – to sell your property and never forget that your estate agent wants to sell your property just as much as you do.

Keeping warm is a costly business

Just over a week ago, we were all huddled up in our house wearing hats scarves and even skiing thermals! t was -5 outside and, clearly not much warmer inside. The fire was lit and the central heating was going at full throttle, sounding like a 747, but did it make any difference? No, as we all shivered and moaned, it reminded me of scenes from Dr Zhivago (setting light to the chairs for a morsel of heat!)

Our house, in the midst of the lovely Herefordshire countryside is a Georgian rectory, a little piece of history. Lovely in the short summer months, come winter it turns into a fridge. All heat, desperate to escape flees from every “original feature”.

A new study by the Energy Saving Trust shows that, even in an average year, a family in a three-bedroom Victorian/Georgian will pay £250 more in energy bills than a family in a three-bedroom new-build semi. With the price comparison service Energyhelpline predicting that British families will pay £1.9 billion in extra heating charges as a result of the cold snap, it is clear that the discrepancy will be even greater by the time that the next batch of bills arrives.

When environmental campaigners talk of “toxic heritage”, it is houses such as ours that they are making reference to. We may be able to do certain things to bring our houses in to the 21^st century, energy efficient wise, but the cost can be more than the house is actually worth!

In recent years there has been a vogue for knocking down walls to create an open-plan space. But of course, these older properties aren’t designed for this. Originally you had smallish rooms with a single radiant heat source — and a door. If you wanted to keep a room warm, you closed the door. The idea that it’s desirable to heat a whole house to a uniform temperature is a very modern one.

I wonder whether this cold bitter winter will propel a boom in sales of the new build. Who knows, perhaps it will. A May 2009 YouGov survey carried out for the New Homes Marketing Board found that would-be buyers were increasingly concerned about eco-efficiency: it was their third-most important criterion behind having a garden and somewhere to park a car.

I have given some top tips on trying to retain some of the heat in an older draughty property! Stop draughts by blocking gaps between floorboards and around skirting boards; around poorly fitting sash windows and doors; around the loft hatch; and unused chimneys (buy a chimney balloon to block it up). Remember letterboxes and keyholes, too Make sure you have the recommended 270mm of loft insulation Look into installing secondary glazing if you can’t afford to replace the windows Solid wall insulation, either internal or external, is an option, though the former will compromise room size and the latter is hard to fit in a way that is architecturally acceptable

Separation and your home

It may not be your first thought when you split up, but what to do with the property, will at some stage have to be dealt with.

If you are fortunate enough to own your property outright, then the matter can be dealt with quite simply by a formal deed of Transfer, signed by both parties and lodged with the Land Registry.

If your property is in a mortgage, however, this could complicate matters. If the remaining owner is insistent of keeping the mortgage in its current form (either with or without further borrowing to deal with any buy-out) then the Lender must be approached for their formal consent. Dependant upon individual circumstances, a financial review may be undertaken to ascertain ability to maintain repayments and limit of available credit. Once the Lender is satisfied that the remaining owner can satisfy its lending criteria, formal consent to the transfer will be given. In addition to both the remaining owner and outgoing owner, the Lender will execute the Transfer deed formally releasing the outgoing owner from their liabilities and obligations under the mortgage.

Should an alternative mortgage product be preferred by the remaining owner, the existing Lender need not be approached for consent. On completion of the new mortgage, repayment of the existing mortgage will automatically cancel out any interest they would have had in the transaction. The re-mortgage element would be dealt with simultaneously, the remaining owner taking on a fresh mortgage product in their own right (as if they were an original sole owner).

We have an extremely experienced conveyancing team that are used to dealing with all manner of property issues, including those that arise during a separation.

Property asking prices rise as stock drops

This caught my eye whilst reading the times yesterday.

Homesellers increased asking prices by 0.4% in the past month as the number of buyers searching for property online reached record highs. Rightmove, the property website, said that sellers' expectations had pushed up the average asking price to £222,261 in the UK and by 2.3% in London to an average of £407,731. The rise comes after a decline in the amount of stock on the market.

I can't help but wonder if the record highs in property being bought/sold and searched for online, is also due to the amount of bad weather we've had in the last month. Being sat at home of an evening with a nice cuppa and the left over chocolates, searching online - rather than getting wrapped up and going out to face the cold and snow would be the preferable option for me. With record sales of iphones and Blackberrys over Christmas - the internet is now much more accessible. You can still use your local estate agent - but they're also now online and also on a property search website.

 

 

 

 

Hasn't it been a strange couple of years for the UK Housing Market

The UK housing market is no stranger to booms and busts, but the recent credit crunch and recent recession has been one of the most testing experiences for the UK property market.

After falling 20% from their 2007 peak, house prices unexpectedly rose in 2009. According to the Nationwide, house prices were 6% higher at the end of 2009 than the start. Many point to house price to earnings ratio’s and point out they are significantly higher than at the end of the last bust. This will certainly be a factor keeping house prices low; it will prevent any rapid increase in prices and could lead to a further downward correction. But, against this backdrop, there are some encouraging signs of a return to more normal lending conditions.

We can see the first positive signs, in the improvement in housing transactions. When housing transactions were very low, it meant changes in house prices were more a reflection of the unusually shortages of property on the market.

Banks gave 60,518 loans to buy homes, up from 57,718 in October; this is highest level since 2008. The amount of net mortgages rose to £1.5bn the most for nearly 11 months. Whilst there will be no return to the boom conditions of the naughties, there are signs banks are slowly expecting to increase the number of mortgages. The proportion of disposable income spent on mortgage payments, by first time buyers has fallen from 50% of average earnings in June 2007, to 27 per cent by November 2009. This is below the long term average of 35% and will definitely encourage more into the market.

The stabilisation in house prices may well encourage people to sell who have been holding off. But, on the other hand, the end of dramatic falls may also encourage buyers back into the market.

The overall outlook for 2010 looks for a period of consolidation. I think the most likelihood for house prices is to remain static. They may go down a little, they may even go up. But, it is hard to see wild swings in house prices this year.

This stability is no bad thing. After the roller-coaster ride of the past couple of decades, a period of consolidation could be just what the housing market needs.

What lies ahead for the property market of 2010?

We believe that the property market will continue to improve slowly throughout the course of this year.  We are seeing a lot of cash purchasers coming into the market to secure a good, safe return on their investments.  We anticipate a slow but steady start to the year. The property market will continue to improve with more properties coming onto the market with the advent of the conservatives abolishing HIPs in the summer and with Mortgage lenders becoming more realistic with their lending requirements as property prices remain stable and their need to lend increase.

Lloyd Davies, Convey law

What do other experts in the market think:

It would be wrong to expect a continuation of the current rapid recovery in the housing market, as the economy is not in a position to permit this in the short term. Similarly, it would be wrong to expect carnage.

Liam Bailey, Knight Frank

This year’s rise in house prices, driven by an acute shortage of property, does not look sustainable. We still think that prices will fall by between 35 per cent and 40 per cent from their peak. While it is difficult to judge when prices will turn lower, we have penciled in falls of 10 per cent in 2010.

Ed Stansfield, Capital Economics

The stock of property for sale remains extremely limited, forcing prices upwards. I expect to see this change rapidly in the New Year as people are encouraged to come to market by rising prices, which could in turn bring about a second dip in property values.

James Hyman, Cluttons

The volatility in the stock market throughout 2009 has helped to fuel the feeling of financial insecurity and many have turned to the old favourite bricks and mortar. Property still holds a magnetic appeal in the medium term to savers and investors alike. We will see not only an improvement in the market itself but an increase in the number of deals.

Gary Hersham, Beauchamp Estates

Interest rates will not change in the first half of the year. However, when they do start to rise again, maybe in the middle part of 2010, it could prevent anyone looking to upsize from being able to move.

Caroline Kavanagh, Townends & Regents estate agents

Certain properties will continue to defy market conditions and sell well, in many cases at 2007 levels. Growth next year will be strongest in prime Central London and ripple out most quickly to the South East and prime centre’s, such as Oxford, Cambridge, Winchester, Bath and Harrogate.

Catherine Penman, Carter Jonas

Central and southwest London are already experiencing better-than average house-price growth and are expected to continue leading the way in the house-price recovery into 2010. These family movers will also push up house prices in the suburbs of all of the major UK cities.

Scotland and the South East look well placed to strengthen. There will, however, be significant challenges in areas with large numbers of manual labourers, below-average wages and a higher incidence of credit-challenged borrowers. These locations, scattered through the whole of the UK, may even experience falls next year.

Stuart Law, Assetz

With low levels of stock and growing confidence and demand people will have to broaden their search if they want to find value. Areas such as East Sussex and Kent, which have been lagging in the recovery, will benefit from this effect and there will be a direct impact on prices.

Philip Harvey, Property Vision, South East

Smaller niche sites of well-designed family housing will see moderate growth in 2010, fuelled by lack of supply. Opportunities for first-time buyers will continue to be an issue as lenders stay cautious and deposit demands remain high; this may have a longer term effect on the overall housing market recovery.

James Gibson, Sovereign housing association

The Government will want to do its utmost to get some feel-good factor into the public psyche before the general election. There will be further pressure exerted on the banks to increase the residential lending necessary to stimulate the housing market.

Roger Russ, Tyser Greenwood Surveyors

The gulf between good properties and the very best has now widened. If people have taken a bath on their stocks and shares, perhaps they have made a promise to themselves to be more careful with their investments.

Lulu Egerton, Strutt & Parker

Extract from The Times

Can you sell your home on Twitter?

You may be forgiven for thinking that snow would put a halt to all thoughts of property purchases… not so. I know this because I read it on Twitter (always one to keep up with the young and trendy!!)

“No one cancelling property viewings,” Ed Mead, of Douglas and Gordon, tweeted, “Good sign of commitment maybe”.

Although I am an incredibly busy person, (boss may actually read this) I have managed to follow a few Estate agents on the social networking site.

Jackson-Stops and staff have tweeted that they have been instructed on a site in Chelsea for a family home with swimming pool. Regular tweeter David Adams, of Chesterton Humberts, claims that 85 per cent of country-house sellers plan to move in order to reduce mortgage debt.

Embarrassingly in this modern digital age, I am just flirting with twitter; my interest was aroused recently, when it was mentioned to me by my very cool friend Anoushka, that she had actually bought a flat on this very site.

How I hear you ask …

She posted a tweet asking if there were any good investment properties in the Bristol/Bath areas. Home selling portal Rightmove tweeted back, and she subsequently bought an investment flat that was advertised on its website.

Sounds easy, is this a sign of things to come, I wonder?

Not so according to Ed Meads, “Twitter is a complete waste of time for anyone trying to sell anything. There are many agents out there trying to sell properties via tweets, which is a complete no-no and a turn off for any self respecting twitterer.” He goes on to state that one benefit is, it does give an agents snapshot of exactly where the market is in a specific location at any one time.

I wonder if you can sell your house via Face book, Friends reunited or even Bebo?

How to cope with the cold in the frozen UK

As the temperatures continue to plummet across the UK and people are battling treacherous conditions; what can you do to keep your home and yourself safe and warm?

What is the best way to heat my home?
If you cannot heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep. Keep curtains drawn and doors closed to block out draughts. Make sure radiators and heaters are not blocked by furniture or covered by curtains.
Take care not to block air vents or grilles even if you feel a draught coming through them.
Draughtproof the front door with a well-fitting curtain and fix draughtproofing strips to windows and the bottom of external doors. Leave a small section untreated around windows to let in fresh air.

What can you do to look after yourself and your family?
The NHS is advising people to have regular hot drinks and at least one hot meal a day. You need to keep as active as possible. Those with difficulty walking or sat behind a desk should keep moving arms and legs and wiggle fingers and toes.
Wrap up warm if you need to go outside on cold days. Wear several light layers of warm clothes, rather than one chunky layer. Clothes made of wool, cotton or fleecy synthetic fibres are usually warmer. At night, turn your heating off and go to bed a little earlier and use a hot water bottle or an electric blanket to warm your bed up but never use the two together as it can be dangerous.
Always remember to check up on friends, relatives and neighbours, particularly the elderly and people with serious illnesses.

What can I do to look after my home?
If you're going away for a few days, British Gas advises setting your central heating to come on twice a day at a low temperature to avoid freezing and burst pipes.
The Met Office advises putting grit or cat litter on paths and driveways to lessen the risk of slipping but remember if you clear the pavement outside your property and not the council YOU could liable if anyone slips.

Are there any benefits that you or elderly friends, relatives can claim to help with their heating bills?Some pensioners, people on income support, those with disabilities and certain carers may be entitled to a cold weather payment. These one-off payments of £8.50 are made automatically when the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C (32F) or below over seven consecutive days. If conditions are particularly severe, the government has said it will increase it to £25 this winter. Separately, people aged 60 or over who normally live in the UK are eligible for a tax-free annual winter fuel payment. It is usually paid from November and the amount varies. In 2008-9, payments for over-60s rose to £250 and to £400 for the over-80s. If you have not had the payment before and are not getting a state pension or another benefit (apart from housing benefit, council tax benefit or child benefit), the payment will not be automatic.
You can apply by calling 08459 151 515 or go to the Direct.Gov website.

What can I do to keep my car running?
· Driving in severe winter weather poses many challenges but there are ways to keep your car on the road and moving.
· Ensure your tyres are inflated correctly and that you have a minimum of 3mm of tread on your tyres to cope with wet and slippery conditions.
· Batteries run down more quickly in the cold so make sure to top them up or trickle-charge them.
· When starting the engine, depress the clutch as this will reduce drag on the engine and preserve the battery.
· Keep topped up with screenwash and use a proper additive at the right concentration to prevent it freezing.
· Keep your fuel tank topped up - that way if you are caught out, you will have enough fuel to make it home or run the engine to keep warm.
· Clear all snow and ice from the windscreen before driving. Do not use water to de-ice windscreens. Hot water can crack the glass, and the water will only freeze again on the screen or on the ground where you're standing.
· A squirt of WD-40 will prevent your door locks freezing up.

What should I take on car journeys in case I get stranded?
Always pack a warm coat, hat, gloves, sturdy boots and a blanket to keep you warm if you get stuck. Take some food such as chocolate or biscuits, water and a hot drink if you can.
Always carry a fully-charged mobile, some old bits of carpet or cat litter to put under the tyres when stuck and a shovel to clear snow. Jump leads, a first aid kit and a torch may also come in handy.

Extracts taken from the BBC Website.

The recent closure of Wolstenholmes may have left many clients with a Stamp Duty Tax liability that could have been avoided.

Manchester conveyancing solicitors Wolstenholmes has been closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

 

We have been receiving telephone calls from disgruntled Wolstenholmes clients for some time. They have been complaining that you could not get hold of their Conveyancer, or anyone else for that matter, for some time. They clearly didn't have the infrastructure set up for handling so many transactions.

The timing is unfortunate given the 31st December deadline for the Stamp Duty holiday for properties with a price of £175,000 or less has now passed. Buyers who now have to pay Stamp Duty as a result of the Wolstenholmes closure may be able to make a claim on the SRA Compensation Fund if they can prove that their property transaction could have completed if their Conveyancer had acted quicker.

The recent closure of Wolstenholmes may have left many clients with a Stamp Duty Tax liability that could have been avoided.

Manchester conveyancing solicitors Wolstenholmes has been closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

 

We have been receiving telephone calls from disgruntled Wolstenholmes clients for some time. They have been complaining that you could not get hold of their Conveyancer, or anyone else for that matter, for some time. They clearly didn't have the infrastructure set up for handling so many transactions.

The timing is unfortunate given the 31st December deadline for the Stamp Duty holiday for properties with a price of £175,000 or less has now passed. Buyers who now have to pay Stamp Duty as a result of the Wolstenholmes closure may be able to make a claim on the SRA Compensation Fund if they can prove that their property transaction could have completed if their Conveyancer had acted quicker.