Search Results for: Mortgages
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Housing Market
Investors deterred by buy-to-let clampdown
For many people buy-to-let has been an attractive income investment at a time of low saving rates and stock market volatility. But with the Chancellor George Osborne making it his goal to create what he described as a “level playing field” between landlords and those buying homes to live in, many would-be landlords are now put off the idea of investing in property, new research shows. Around one in four would-be landlords have been deterred from the idea of investing in the buy-to-let sector by the Government’s proposed 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge, according to the study by online investment platform rplan.co.uk. The study has also shown that 9 per cent of UK adults have given up on aspirations to own a buy-to-let property while 30 per cent are still considering whether to do so. Some 14 per cent existing landlords say they will now sell one or more of their properties because of the new rules. In his Autumn Statement last year, the Chancellor announced that a 3 per cent rise in stamp duty for buyers of second homes and buy-to-let landlords will come into play from April, almost trebling the purchase tax on a typical £275,000 buy-to-let…
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Products & Services
Zoopla, Countrywide and Connells partner with Proptech firms
Zoopla, Countrywide, Connells, Fixflo, Property Detective, Trussle and Landbay are to work together in a series of investments and collaborations to bring further services to consumers. FixFlo, the UK’s leading online repair reporting platform, will provide ZPG agent members with tools to help them manage tenant maintenance issues more effectively; PropertyDetective is a supplier of property and neighbourhood research reports and they will provide more in depth property data to Zoopla users and agents; MD and founder of PropertyDetective, Barry Bridges said, “Our reports are now recognised by the industry and consumers alike as the best residential property reports you can get your hands on, full of useful information about the local area, giving an unbiased and genuinely useful picture of the facts that anyone moving home should be making themselves familiar with BEFORE moving home. Today, we start bringing those reports and our insight to a national audience of millions.” Landbay is a leading peer-to-peer lender for property, which will allow ZPG users to invest in the UK residential property market from as little as £100; Trussle, the UK’s first online mortgage adviser, will help ZPG users find the best value mortgages for their needs. Alex Chesterman (right), Founder…
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Products & Services
Tenancy deposit protection
It’s mandatory but there are choices – which one is best to protect your business and your clients?
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Associations & Bodies
Question time
Have you ever wanted to collar the industry’s leaders and get stuck into a decent debate about the challenges and future of the industry? Nigel Lewis puts them to the test.
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Mentoring
Commission schemes
"I want to ensure our negotiators are hungry for spotting and converting every possible business opportunity. Is incentivising through commission the answer?"
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Housing Market
Onwards and upwards?
Marc Da Silva asks property people to predict market trends for the year.
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Latest property news
Only divorce tops selling a house for stress
75% of women say selling a house was stressful, compared to 66% of men. People find moving house more stressful than having children, changing jobs and getting married, according to a Which? survey. In the 2015 Which? national property survey, they asked 1,990 recent home-movers to rate how stressful they found a number of life events, including buying and selling their home. Seven out of ten (70%) respondents said selling their house was stressful, 69% said the same about buying a house. Arranging care for an elderly relative (68%), having a child (53%), changing jobs (49%) and getting married (40%) were all voted as being less stressful than buying or selling property. Divorce was rated as the most stressful of the 10 life events featured in the survey, with 78% of respondents saying it was stressful. Selling a home ranked as the second-most stressful event, followed by arranging elderly care for a relative and buying a house. Women were significantly more likely than men to find moving house stressful (75% of women vs. 66% of men for selling, 73% of women vs. 67% of men for buying). How to make selling a house less stressful (share this with your potential…
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Movers & Shakers
Lord Mayor opens Besley Hill
Besley Hill Town & Country Homes Bedminster was opened in November by the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Clare Campion-Smith, who joined partners George Offer and Kalan Smith for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. George, the son of Besley Hill Estate Agents Managing Director Adam Offer, and Kalan have been best friends since they were at school together. After working at other Besley Hill offices, George took the opportunity to go into business with Kalan when the Bedminster franchise became available. “It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, Kalan and I have an excellent rapport and Bedminster is such a vibrant area for buying, selling and letting residential property,” said George. Besley Hill Town & Country Homes Bedminster is one of a group of 15 offices that have been trading successfully throughout Bristol and South Gloucestershire since the 1970s. Their service includes sales, lettings, mortgages, financial services, auction and conveyancing.
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Latest property news
Mortgage chief calls stamp duty hike ‘political stunt’
George Osborne’s decision to raise stamp duty for buy-to-let landlords has been dismissed as a “political stunt” by Managing Director of Vere Mortgages, part of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. The Chancellor announced an additional 3 per cent stamp duty on second homes and buy-to-let properties in his Autumn Statement, adding thousands of pounds in tax. A property worth £275,000 will currently cost £3,750 in stamp duty but will cost £10,800 from next April when the tax rise comes into play. Buy-to-let is increasing and is currently at the highest level since before the financial crash in 2008. Rather than dampen the buy-to-let market and free up much needed properties for first-time buyers, Mike Coady (left), who heads deVere Mortgages, believes that the clampdown on buy-to-let investors will be “ineffective for its purported aims” of raising cash to help first-time buyers and paying for more affordable housing. Describing the tax measure as “something of a political stunt”, Coady thinks that the Government’s desire to be seen to be acting on this “emotive and topical issue” by appealing to the “politics of envy” with buy-to-let landlords and second homeowner the targets, will not just “trigger…
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Latest property news
Mortgage lending hits 7-year high
Mortgage lending has surged to its highest level since 2008 as borrowers rush to take advantage of highly competitive home loan deals. Fresh data provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that lenders advanced a total of £21.8 billion last month, up 19 per cent on the £18.4 billion lent a year earlier and 8 per cent on September’s total of £20.1 billion. October’s lending total is the highest since July 2008, when lenders advanced £23.6 billion. The CML said total mortgage lending across 2015 looks likely to top its previous estimate of £209 billion as mortgage lenders continue to compete for business by keeping borrowing rates low. Separate figures from MoneySuperMarket revealed that the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 2.68 per cent in October, from 2.72 per cent in September, while the typical three-year fixed rate on offer dropped from 3.1 per cent in September to 3.08 per cent in October. Bob Pannell (left), the CML’s Chief Economist, commented, “As lending in the regulated mortgage space picked up over the summer months, the pace of recovery has improved. This looks set to continue over the closing months of the year with the factors helping support…
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