Property Rescue Blog

Getting on the housing ladder is like beginning a journey on which you are not quite sure of the destination.  Initially, the object of the exercise is to have somewhere to call your own and, perhaps, to start married life or a long term relationship with the person you love.  If the rose-coloured spectacles of love are really working, you might not be too particular about where or what that home turns out to be – so long as it’s yours it is sure to be your castle!

As life continues and family arrives, your next choice of home might be based on its suitability for your children.  Or if the move happens when the kids are a bit older, the school catchment area could become your number one priority.  As well as choosing a home for its accommodation and location, factors such as adding value and investment start to come into play.

But it is often not until middle age that people get to the point when they can choose a home based on nothing more than their own preferences.  Family considerations may have lessened by this time, leaving you free to look for that elusive dream property that you know must exist somewhere.  You have lived in several homes and have found the good and bad things about each one; now you know what is important to you and you’re determined to find it.  But is it that easy?

Without wishing to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm, many estate agents and property search companies will tell you that the definitive dream home is a rare beast.  There will always be something that isn’t exactly as you want, and often the budget dominates the selection.  You may find the perfect home in the less than perfect location, or have to compromise about the type of property you buy if you are intent on living in a particular area.

So if the dream home is really that elusive, can you afford to lose out when you do eventually find it?  Selling your home via conventional means can mean getting stuck in a chain due to factors beyond your control, or worse, having to stand by while a better offer is made on the home you want to buy.

In the current housing market it can be difficult to sell any type of property.  If you have found a home that you really want, you need to ask yourself whether you can afford to let it slip through your grasp.  If you are convinced that this is the one, then you might want to call Property Rescue.  They guarantee to buy your existing home, leaving you free to move and finalise that purchase.  Their offer is fully inclusive of legal fees on your sale and you won’t need to prepare a Home Information Pack because the sale is classified as private.  Contact Property Rescue to see how much they will offer for your home.  By accepting that offer, your dream home could turn into reality.

Interest rates have seen a further cut today with the announcement by the Bank of England that the base rate will be lowered to 5%.  But the recent series of cuts is not filtering through to the mortgage market, where loans are in short supply.

If you are moving home you will probably need to look at costs carefully.  Your mortgage might cost you more, and you may not achieve the original asking price for your home.  It is surprising, especially in this economic climate, that few people bother to prepare a budget for their move and even fewer remember to include everything they should.  Naturally, anyone’s costs can escalate out of control if they get carried away with the credit card, so here are some top tips to help you keep your finances under check:

1. Getting your existing home ready to sell might cost more than you thought.  Buyers today are fussy about what they buy, and in a slow market they can afford to be!  A pot of paint and new cushions won’t cost much, but if you need to change the avocado bathroom suite, landscape the front garden and replace the rotten window frames you’ll be looking at thousands of pounds.  Property Rescue buy houses as they see them.  In the current market, that’s great news!
2. If you are selling on the open market you will need a Home Information Pack, which can cost several hundred pounds to prepare.  HIPs are now obligatory on all property types unless you sell privately.  Selling to Property Rescue classifies as a private sale and therefore saves you this cost.
3. Shop around for your estate agent.  Don’t necessarily go for the lowest price (a low price is useless if he or she can’t sell your home) but find out what the market rate is and try to negotiate a deal that at least matches it.  In today’s market fewer houses are being sold so the agents will want your business.
4. Do the same with removal firms.  Unless you are completely satisfied you will get a good job it might be sensible to avoid the ‘man with a van’, but do get quotes from several different companies.  Find out what insurance cover they offer and remember that large or valuable items sometimes need a specialist remover.  If you don’t have a great deal of furniture, consider hiring a van and enlisting the help of friends for the day.
5. Choose your solicitor with care.  Any solicitor worth his or her salt will be prepared to give you a quotation for conveyancing fees so make use of this service.  Best of all, get a recommendation from a friend – their experience is likely to be representative of how you will be treated.  Choose someone with whom you can communicate easily and who will keep you informed every step of the way.  You will have to pay fees on selling and buying, unless you sell through Property Rescue when legal fees on your sale are included in their valuation for your home.
6. If you’re buying a brand new home remember that nothing will be left behind by a previous owner.  This might seem like good news, but it probably means you’ll have no lampshades, no carpets, no curtains, no blinds, no curtain poles and no washing line.  Put something in your budget for these items; look for cheap blinds and laminate flooring from DIY stores to provide an adequate solution whilst you save up for your silk drapes and hardwood floor!

Property Rescue buys houses of all types, in all locations and in all conditions.  The valuation they give on your home is fully inclusive.  Call today to see how their service can provide a quick easy way to achieve a guaranteed sale.

We reported a couple of weeks ago on ‘A Buyer’s Market’, focusing on a fall in the number of properties sold and the downward trend in the price of housing stock.  Since then news for sellers has worsened, with this week several mortgage lenders withdrawing offers and all becoming more particular about where they allocate limited funds.

Only a few months back lenders were falling over themselves to offer special rates to get mortgage customers through their doors.  But now those very same doors have been slammed in the faces of would-be borrowers.  First Direct, owned by Britain’s largest bank, HSBC, has responded to what it terms ‘overwhelming demand’ by calling a halt to mortgage lending for new customers and cutting the number of mortgage products it has on offer.  It seems that the bank has been over-run with applicants after other lenders have increased their prices.

The 100% mortgage could be a thing of the past if speculation that lenders will require a minimum 10% deposit is correct.  With the average house price in the south east over £260,000 that works out to a considerable sum, but bear a thought for the buyer who wants an average home in Windsor or Maidenhead; they would need to fork out a deposit of around £43,000 and take on a substantial mortgage to finance the other 90%.  Although we are not yet at that stage, in the current economic climate a mandatory 10% deposit isn’t hard to envisage.

It’s inevitable that many first time buyers will be put off entering the market amidst such uncertainty.  Without them, those further up the housing ladder will find it more difficult to sell, so it looks as if the credit crunch and the subsequent mortgage shortage will further slow an already sluggish market.

People who need to sell quickly could find themselves backed into a corner.  Until recently, putting property on the open market was considered the one and only way of selling your home – perhaps with the exception of going to auction.  The service offered by Property Rescue provides a way out of the ‘can’t sell’ trap through a guarantee, which it gives on any residential property.  This guaranteed offer extends to farmhouses, flats, buildings in a poor state of repair or those in a less than desirable location.

The team at Property Rescue is experienced in property transactions and mortgage matters.  This means they can advise people who are having difficulty selling their homes.  Property Rescue will give a valuation for the property in question and, if the seller accepts that valuation, the deal will be tied up quickly, without fuss and with the minimum of complexities. 

In the current market selling can be at best difficult and at worst impossible.  Get in touch with Property Rescue and find out about their guaranteed offer for your home.  You don’t have to sit and wait for a buyer to walk through the door – help is literally a phone call away.