Sales
According to a recent report conducted by YouGov for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), 85 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted to live in homes they own over the next ten years, in 2007, this figure was 84 per cent.
Homebuyers will also be pleased to hear that houses for sale in the UK are much more affordable now than they were two years ago. There has been a drop in the proportion of salary homeowners spend on mortgage repayments from 17 per cent of a homeowner's earnings to just 9.6 per cent.
National house prices showed little change in the latest figures released by the land registry, in August prices were down just 0.3% making the annual average house price increase across the UK 6.7%.
In Southend the last two months have shown small price decreases making the average detached house price now £319,755 with a semi detached at £200,271 and terrace houses £149,801. August prices became more affordable, reducing by -1.0% making the annual change + 8.2%.
Meanwhile, house sale volumes are currently running at about 60% of their peck activity of 103,180
Rental
Landlords are unlikely to reduce their rents in order to make room for the proposed housing benefit cuts. This is the opinion of the Residential Landlords Association (ARLA), which stated that the government's plans to reduce the local housing allowance (LHA) will prevent claimants from being able to live in 70 per cent of rental accommodation. Alan Ward, chairman of the RLA, revealed that 75 per cent of landlords with buy-to-let properties will "not be prepared to reduce their rental levels". He also stated that 54 per cent of landlords said the proposed cuts will make them stop letting to housing benefit claimants. The National Landlords Association recently reported that the reductions to the LHA could result in up to 90 per cent of landlords being less likely to take on claimants as tenants. More than one million people, who currently receive housing benefits, can expect to receive a reduction in LHA of £12 per week if the proposals go ahead.
Landlords could take up a new offer from The Mortgage Works. Yesterday (September 15th 2010), the mortgage provider announced it has made changes to some of its buy-to-let products. These include rate improvements of up to 0.6 per cent on some fixed-rate products, giving £1,000 in cash back for first-time landlords and providing a zero arrangement fee option. It has also introduced a new 75 per cent loan-to-value first-time landlord and let to buy product. Nationwide's director responsible for mortgages Andy McQueen said: "These new changes will further strengthen our product … We believe we're offering the increased clarity, variety and flexibility needed to ensure that intermediaries can satisfy the ever changing needs of their clients." Last week, the National Association of Estate Agents suggested there could be more people looking for buy-to-let properties after it said that the future for the market looks good.
Mortgages
There has been some positive news in the Mortgage Market recently, with Abbey, Alliance and Leicester and Nationwide all reducing the cost of mortgage funding across their product range on products from 60% LTV up to 90% LTV.
Last week also so the emergence of a brand new lender to the UK mortgage market, with the launch of Precise Mortgages, who have launched as an Intermediary only lender. Any new lenders entering the market can only be seen as a very positive sign of recovery for the UK mortgage market.
Further more, Paragon have also announced they will return to lending again with the launch of a new range of Buy to Let mortgage products. These will be the first new buy-to-let mortgages that Paragon has offered since February 2008 when it withdrew from the market due to conditions in the global financial markets.
All this is good news for the buy to let investor, but what is really needed now is an increase in availability of higher loan to value mortgage deals for First Time Buyers, as there are still only a small handful of lenders offering mortgages up to 90% loan to value and they are not currently priced in line with the current historically low bank base rate.
Tudor’s in house mortgage broker, Kit Thompson, of Amber Mortgage Solutions offers whole of market mortgage advice and no broker fees. Please contact him on 01702 346818 or 07896 981380. Email: kitthompson@ambermortgagesolutions.com
If you require any further information about the property market go to www.trustintudor.co.uk or call our property specialists on 01702 346818
Alan Kirkman Director Tudor Estates created 1st October 2010
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Monday, 20 September 2010
A house in our road is practically falling down. It’s in a terrible state. Can anything be done?
That rather depends on whether there’s anyone still living there or not.
If the property is empty, and has been for more than 6 months, then your local authority may decide to make something called an Empty Dwelling Management Order.
Brought into being by the 2004 Housing Act, EDMOs basically entitle local authorities under certain circumstances to take possession of empty residential properties, do them up, and then rent them out.
An interim EDMO lasts for up to a year, during which time the council will make every effort to agree a plan with the owner to bring the property back into use. If no agreement is forthcoming, or if the owner simply cannot be traced, then a final EDMO can be made, effectively turning the property into local authority housing for up to 7 years.
In case anyone reading this is scared that they could suddenly find council tenants ensconced in their precious holiday home, I should emphasise that a EDMO can only be made with the approval of an independent property tribunal, which must first be satisfied that the property concerned has been unoccupied for at least 6 months, and that none of the various exceptions apply. Holiday homes, for example, are exempt. So too are properties that are subject to probate as a result of bereavement, and those that are genuinely on the market for sale or to let. In any case, EDMOs can always be terminated early if the owners decide they want to sell, or live there themselves.
If, on the other hand, the property you are concerned about is still occupied, then I’m afraid your only real option is to try and persuade the people living there to get things sorted. If he/she/they won’t co-operate, then there’s not really very much else you can do, unless the state of the property is so bad that it is actually dangerous to passers-by and neighbours, or if it is creating a serious nuisance or health hazard – for example, if it is infested with rats. Then, the local authority may be able to step in.
For further information on selling buying renting or auctions go to : www.trustintudor.co.uk
If the property is empty, and has been for more than 6 months, then your local authority may decide to make something called an Empty Dwelling Management Order.
Brought into being by the 2004 Housing Act, EDMOs basically entitle local authorities under certain circumstances to take possession of empty residential properties, do them up, and then rent them out.
An interim EDMO lasts for up to a year, during which time the council will make every effort to agree a plan with the owner to bring the property back into use. If no agreement is forthcoming, or if the owner simply cannot be traced, then a final EDMO can be made, effectively turning the property into local authority housing for up to 7 years.
In case anyone reading this is scared that they could suddenly find council tenants ensconced in their precious holiday home, I should emphasise that a EDMO can only be made with the approval of an independent property tribunal, which must first be satisfied that the property concerned has been unoccupied for at least 6 months, and that none of the various exceptions apply. Holiday homes, for example, are exempt. So too are properties that are subject to probate as a result of bereavement, and those that are genuinely on the market for sale or to let. In any case, EDMOs can always be terminated early if the owners decide they want to sell, or live there themselves.
If, on the other hand, the property you are concerned about is still occupied, then I’m afraid your only real option is to try and persuade the people living there to get things sorted. If he/she/they won’t co-operate, then there’s not really very much else you can do, unless the state of the property is so bad that it is actually dangerous to passers-by and neighbours, or if it is creating a serious nuisance or health hazard – for example, if it is infested with rats. Then, the local authority may be able to step in.
For further information on selling buying renting or auctions go to : www.trustintudor.co.uk
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
What is a shared equity scheme ?
These days, it is frequently one of the conditions of planning permission being granted for new residential developments (under what is called a Section 106 Agreement) that they must include a certain percentage of units designated for social housing. While some of these will be set aside to meet general social needs, a proportion is usually earmarked for purchase on preferential terms – either specifically for the benefit of key workers such as nurses or policemen, or for those on low incomes and lacking the hefty deposits which lenders now generally demand. Shared equity is the preferred mechanism for helping the latter group – people who for one reason or another wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford home ownership.
As the name implies, shared equity basically allows someone to purchase a percentage share in a property, while paying rent on the remainder – usually to a housing association. In most cases only a very small deposit will be required, if any at all.
How does it work? Well, to keep the sums simple, let’s look at a property valued at £100,000. The buyer takes out, let us say, a £50,000 mortgage to purchase half of the equity, and pays rent on the remaining half. If this sounds more expensive than repaying a full £100,000 mortgage, it’s worth remembering that the rent payable in these cases is not based on normal market rates, but on the prevailing rate for social housing in the area concerned, which is naturally a lot lower.
But what happens if or when you want to move, and you only own half of your current home? Well, the answer is that you sell your half pretty much in the normal way – except for the fact that the purchaser must be acceptable to the housing association.
A variation on this basic model exists whereby you may be able to buy a bigger and bigger share of the property as your own income level increases. This is known as “stair-casing.”
As the name implies, shared equity basically allows someone to purchase a percentage share in a property, while paying rent on the remainder – usually to a housing association. In most cases only a very small deposit will be required, if any at all.
How does it work? Well, to keep the sums simple, let’s look at a property valued at £100,000. The buyer takes out, let us say, a £50,000 mortgage to purchase half of the equity, and pays rent on the remaining half. If this sounds more expensive than repaying a full £100,000 mortgage, it’s worth remembering that the rent payable in these cases is not based on normal market rates, but on the prevailing rate for social housing in the area concerned, which is naturally a lot lower.
But what happens if or when you want to move, and you only own half of your current home? Well, the answer is that you sell your half pretty much in the normal way – except for the fact that the purchaser must be acceptable to the housing association.
A variation on this basic model exists whereby you may be able to buy a bigger and bigger share of the property as your own income level increases. This is known as “stair-casing.”
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