HBOS are throwing a life line to homeowners in negative equity

Some homeowners whose existing mortgage deals are coming to an end are finding that the loan on their home is more than what the property is worth. Typically in this scenario a homeowner would revert to a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage. With a downward spiralling market homeowners are finding themselves in negative equity and are unable to remortgage.

The negative equity phenomenon is a problem and you may decide that the best way out of the situation is to sell your house fast and downsize to a more affordable property.

However the Halifax and the Bank of Scotland think they may have come with an alternative answer to help homeowners the introduction of a 120% remortgage. At the moment HBOS are the only lender offering options to homeowners in negative equity.

What does this mean for HBOS mortgage customers?

The introduction if the 120% remortgage means homeowners in negative can get a fixed rate mortgage without moving to a standard variable rate mortgage. You may be wondering what the problem with this is when interest rates are only 0.5%. Well at the moment nothing, but rates are likely to rise again fairly quickly next year. This means some customers will find their rates increasing out of control.

It would be good if other lenders followed suit.  Often consumers who have a higher loan to value are left with little or no options.

Accidental Landlords Face Fines

The poor housing market is bringing a lot of accidental landlords onto the market. What is an accidental landlord? This is someone who has entered the letting market by chance,  and they know let a property that they had previously lived in, inherited, or one that had been purchased for another family member who has since moved on. Surprisingly enough this is how roughly half the landlord population become to be letting their property. With a stagnant property market homes are not shifting fast and often the best option is to let .

If you cannot sell your home you may be forced to rent it out to recoup some of your costs. The problem is that accidental landlords are not always aware of the  regulations involved in letting out a property and can face fines if they let a property that does not comply with letting regulations.

Regulations relating to gas and electricity, fire safety, Energy Performance Certificates and tenancy deposit protection are all areas in which an accidental landlord may not be aware.

To prevent having to deal with these problems contact us and sell your house fast for cash. Property Cashpoint have a pool of property investors looking to purchase your home.

New Home Information Pack

As of yesterday you now must have a Home Information Pack (HIP) if you wish to sell your home. A HIP can cost anywhere between £300 and £500. This will mean that there is more paperwork needed when looking to sell your home which could potentially increase sale times. In a slumped market will an initiative like this really help?

The new HIP pack on the other hand could eventually make it quicker to sell your home. Often a house will fall through because the seller later finds out information that effects their decision to buy. If all information is available to sellers from the start it could help you to sell a house quickly.

What does the new Home Information Pack rules mean for sellers?

The new rules mean you cannot put your house on the market until the HIP has been completed. This will slow down the sales market as it takes between 3 – 5 days for the information for a HIP to be returned. Many are calling for the government to suspend these new rules until the market recovers. What do you think?

Interest in the UK property market continues

It was announced earlier this month by a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) that interest in the UK property market in increasing with London and the South East leading the way. Does this signal a return back to a healthy housing market?

The survey reveals that interest was ignited again and began to show signs of improvement in January and growing in February. Apparently interest in London is at a high not seen for 2 years. This new found increase in property is down to the lowest interest rates we have ever seen coupled with the lowest prices seen for years,

The fall in prices is causing those that can get a mortgage to search for a bargain. Even though demand has increased this has yet to be converted into sales. Agencies are still seeing the lowest sales levels for decades. I presume with house prices continuing to fall sellers may also be holding back in anticipation of an upturn in the market.

UK Housing Market at its Lowest

Is the UK housing market at its lowest? It’s the question on every ones lips, well if you are looking to purchase a property that is. Over the past few months the UK property market has been in free fall with prices falling all over the country. This is great for first time buyers who have found it tough in recent years. It’s also very good for buy to let investors. Unfortunately those looking to sell in this market are not so pleased.

When will the house price crash end?

Some say that we have now reached the lowest point. Estate agents have reported an increase in footfall in recent weeks, this is probably down to the very low interest rates. These rates have started to filter through to some lower mortgage deals which is sparking interest again.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have declared home sales to be the lowest since 1978. However signs that the market may be recovering are the number of potential buyers registering with estate agents during February 2009 rose to the highest level since August 2006. I suspect this is down to rock bottom house prices and low interest rates. So are they right is now the right time to buy?

Is this the road to recovery?

Are these the signs of a return to a healthy housing market? Some still say we have  a little way to go. Mortgage approvals for new house purchases are still very weak 31% lower than this time last year and 65% lower than the 2006 peak.

Mortgage Lending at its lowest for 8 years

Mortage lending has reached an all time low.

If you compare lending in February 2009 with February 2008 mortgage lending figures are down a massive 60%. In February £9.9bn was leant to UK homeowners. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) this is the lowest level experienced since 2001.

This is a furhter fall of 15% on January’s figure of £11.7bn. The CML said that this decline iw much higher than the expected fall from January to February of 3-4%. The CML has said February’s lending figure is in line with its forecast for £145bn of lending in 2009 as a whole.

The low level lending figures is expected to keep a dampener in the UK property market for some time.

If you are looking to purchase a property and make some gains you can still do so even in this market. Visit the Property Investor experts.

Property Banker

Property Banker is a specialist estate agency. They source high yielding, low maintenance, tenanted investment property throughout the UK. Property Banker use various forms of  mass media advertising such as TV and Radio to find below market value property.

BMV is an abbrievation for Below market Value.  Buying a property Below Market Value means that the buyer pays less for the property than the seller could reasonably expect to receive on the open market.

If you would like more information please visit www.propertybanker.co.uk