What is a survey?

For a sale or purchase to occur you need to organise a surveyor to come and survey the property you wish to purchase. This will give you a detailed account of the condition of the property and whether it will be a sound investment.

There are three types of survey-

Valuation Report

Your Mortgage provider will insist in a valuation report before they will agree to lend you any money. This lets them know that the property is sufficient security to cover the loan .If the property is unfinished; they will carry out checks on the builder and the development. They usually release the money in stages until the building is complete, and can then be valued. The cost of this is usually about £100.

Homebuyers Report

This is a report that gives details of the basic fabric of the property. This tells us the faults and failings of the property that could well affect the overall value. This may cost around £250.

Full Structural Survey

This is a far more in depth report than the homebuyer’s report it really goes into the construction and condition of the property and as such may cost twice as much. This is very informative, giving details of how it was constructed, materials used and the condition of the roof walls etc. This report is usually for old, expensive and properties in need of repair.

Once you have decided which survey is the most appropriate for you, contact needs to be made with a recommended surveyor. They will need details of the property. New builds often come with a guarantee, that ensure against major faults that may be the result of builders negligence. If you new home doesn’t come with a warranty, a homebuyers report could be for you. When going for the pricey end of the market, it would be well worth having a full structural survey.

Time and cost of survey

This will depend upon the type of survey commissioned. Also taken into account will be size, condition and location of property. As with most things it is always sensible to have a couple of quotes from different surveyors.

 

We all want to be mortgage free at fifty

We all have a dream that as we approach our ‘autumn’ years, we will no longer be a slave to our mortgage. We want to have the disposable income to spend as we wish, travelling, hobbies or simply having the luxury to choose.

 

The co-operative bank has found in its research that 62% of UK consumers aim to become mortgage free by the time they reach the age of fifty.

With the mortgage paid off, the main objective of 52% of those surveyed was to enjoy more holidays.

 

Nearly a third (31%) said that the extra cash would be saved for their retirement, a quarter (27%) said that they would work fewer hours, or even work part-time.

Overpayments are being made with the goal in site of clearing the mortgage. Many are taking advantage of the current low interest rates.

End of stamp duty holiday fails to blight property market

2010 began quite positively for the housing market; valuations on residential property carried out last month were 9% higher than the previous year, despite the removal of the stamp duty holiday.

December and January are traditionally quiet months in the housing market, December was a hub of activity due to transactions trying to complete before the withdrawal of the higher stamp duty threshold. This upward trend continued into January.

During the downturn, many homeowners who wanted to move delayed their purchase decisions. As confidence continues to come back to the housing market, this is translated into much higher levels of activity among existing homeowners and buy-to-let investors.

January freeze hinders property market

 The Arctic weather conditions put a freeze on the housing market during January as buyers and sellers put their moving plans on pause.

Overall, 20% more surveyors reported a drop in new house hunters than those who saw a rise, down from 18% more who reported a rise in inquiries in December.

At the same time, a balance of 5% of surveyors said the number of people putting their home on the market fell, down from 15% who had seen an increase in sellers during December.

Bad weather had had a negative effect on the level of new sales agreed. Despite the slowdown in activity, house prices continued to rise with 32% more surveyors reporting price increases in January than those who saw falls, up from 30% more in December.

Surveyors remain confident that the dip in activity is temporary, with the proportion who expect prices to continue rising doubling during the month from a balance of 12% to 24%.

Things are likely to pick up in the forthcoming months as we step into spring. The housing market recovery continues to be strongest in London, the south-east and the south-west.

Halifax's chief economist, Martin Ellis, said he expected to see more homes coming on to the market in the coming months, and this would curb further price rises in 2010.

 

The year ahead

Although there were many difficulties last year, the Christmas cheer seems to be working and the property market seems to be holding its own.

In my humble opinion people are clearly keen to buy. What is also interesting is that the lettings market is just as buoyant as the selling market. This tells me that people are simply bored with the property waiting game.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t see the market leaping for the stars just yet, I hope those heady days of soaring and crashing are behind us, for a few years at least.

It would be good to put down some firm and stable foundations, producing a steady market for a while.

There are potentially two blots on the landscape, the Football World Cup and the forthcoming election. Neither of these is inconsequential nationally and both may affect the economy as a whole. New activity in the housing industry usually slows down considerably during the period of the World Cup as football fever hits the nation. The election will have an effect not least of all because of Tory promises to abolish Home Information Packs if they win, which looks likely.

Although the Bankers are still taking a beating in the press, one would hope that they have learnt a few lessons along the way. We have gone from complete free and easy lending, to the other end of the spectrum, where getting any form of lending is difficult. One thing is for sure, to make any money the banks must lend, this will happen, if a lot more cautiously this year.

Hopefully 2010 will give us the opportunity to get out of this financial mess and start to grow again.