Great tips from Channel 4 - by Sarah Jagger on what to ask about when it comes to mortgages. We have listed the 12 questions you really should be asking before you put the pen to the dotted line.
- How much should I borrow
- How much will it all cost?
- Get independent financial adviser to overhaul your finances – a fresh pair of eyes is always good
- What range of mortgage products is on offer? Is it just from one provider?
- How is the mortgage advisor paid?
- How do I decide between the deals/incentives on offer
- How long will it take to get a mortgage approved?
- What information will I need for a mortgage application (proof of income, utility bills, etc)?
- What mortgage, stamp duty, solicitor fees will I incur?
- What happens when any special mortgage deal I take out, such as a fixed or capped rate, comes to an end?
- Is the mortgage portable? i.e. can I take it with me when I next move house
- Does the mortgage have any early redemption/repayment penalties?
Lucy Hart, a team leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, shares her 8 secrets for keeping your garden in shape during winter. Below are 8 easy steps you can take now to ensure your garden is in the best shape it can be by the time spring rolls around.
- Get digging and planting
- Clear the leaves
- Make some mulch
- Protect your trees
- Leave herbaceous perennials alone
- Prune your roses
- Aerate the lawn
- Mist your houseplants
For more information on getting green-fingered in the garden take a look at the original article here
With selling a house it is fairly normal to have a for sale sign up. Especially if you are advertising it. But you hardly expect to have it removed. Or do you?
With the Queen visiting Nantwich – the council have decided to tidy up the town ahead of Her visit. As result of this “spring clean” they have taken down the for sale sign of one of the property for sale on CheshireProperty.net.
It does make you think they could have possibly advised the vendors that they would take it down during the visit, and be able to put it back up after. After all the telephone number is on the sign board – so no excuses for not getting in touch really.
Take a look at the houses for sale in Nantwich listed on CheshireProperty.net.
Since the HIPS have been scrapped the number of properties being added to the market has increased. The UK’s leading property website has been reported to say listings on its website “had soared by 35%” in the seven days since the axe of hips. In particular the North West of the UK had a rise of 12%.
Home information packs were implemented to speed up the process of selling. (HIPs provided the buyer with all the necessary information about a property, without them having to fork out any extra cash.) This not always the case. Estate agents claimed that this extra barrier was putting off potential sellers as the upfront costs were considerably high – and people became reluctant to test the market.
According to the Press Association “91% of estate agents thought house hunters paid little or no attention to it”.
On the 21 May 2010, the new Government decided to scrap the HIPs or home information packs. This is good news for people selling their homes. Now there is no need to pay for a Home Information Pack (HIP).
Also this will make selling a house a step easier as there is one less box to tick. HIPS have been criticised historically, as they have been seen as a costly barrier for home owners wanting to sell. These packs can cost hundreds over pounds – so this is a big saving. According to the communities.gov.uk website – this means “a saving for consumers to the tune of £870m over ten years, giving sellers more money in their pocket to spend in the wider economy”
For more information on this please read the full article here.
Why is it just before you go-to a veiwing, you have loads of questions in your mind that you are dying to ask the vendor or agent? Then when you arrive, you have simply forgotten over half of them!
Here are some important questions you should ask.
- What the transport links like?
- How far is the train station/nearest motorway/bus station?
- How many schools are nearby?
- What are the schools like? Note the names of them and check them out yourself too.
- What council tax band is the property in?
- How far are the local ammenties away? Maybe do a dummy run yourself to double check
- Is the house part of a chain or not?
- Roadside parking or garages? Is it safe, if on the road.
- Are the neighbours friendly?
Always make sure you note the property’s address, estate agent listed with (if listed with one),contact number and asking price.
Jot these down now, so you can use these as a checklist when you are been shown around.
Over the next couple of week’s we are going to list some tips that will hopefully help you sell your house.
1 Analyze
Has your house been on the market for a while? Have you had any fresh viewings or any potential offers? If it’s yes, no and no. Maybe you should think about reassessing the situation – this could be in the form of altering the way the house is presented, simply it’s over priced or the market is not just moving at all at your price range.
2. Be Ready for an Offer
Be sure that you have a solicitor in the pipeline and your finances and mortgage in check. This will just make the transaction process move more fluidly. Rather than running round at the last minute, and the process taking unexpected delays which could break a deal.
3. Get it valued and look at the competition
Get the professionals in! Get at least 4 estate agents in, and take the average value out of the 4. Also find out what other houses are selling / advertised at around the area. Then make judgement call on the asking price suggested
4. Fix it or forget it.
Have a good honest look at the house and try to put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer. What puts you off? Make a list and get them repaired. Struggling to find anything? Ask the agents when they do a valuation for their opinions – as a fresh pair of eyes will see things you won’t.