Property Rescue Blog

Selling and renting back your own property is a popular and imminent trend in UK. Countless people find it very helpful in generating some fast cash to overcome financial crisis. Selling and renting back your own property is a wonderful option that allows you to release the equity in your house without remortgaging or moving from your dwelling place.

While selling and renting back your own property, an agreement is to be signed that states that you have sold the property to a company or an individual and the same company or individual is renting the property back to you at the end of the sale. The best part of selling and renting back your own property is that there is no need for you to move out of the house during the entire process. This even helps in keeping the matter discrete and completely confidential without others knowing about the details of your financial jams. The monthly rent is worked out before you finally decide on selling and renting back your own property. In most of the cases this rent comes out to be cheaper than any mortgage monthly repayments.

Selling and renting back your own property is in fact a very vital decision and should not be taken under any pressure. You have full right to know and ask about the details of the entire process. Before finalizing the deal make sure to check the “Guaranteed Rental Period”. This allows you to stay in your own house for as long as you wish to be there. The rent that you agree to pay must be in accord with your paying capacity as the irregular monthly rent payments can make things difficult for you. In such case the owner can even ask you to leave your house.

In the process of selling and renting back your own property, it becomes important for you to be aware of the “Rent reviews”. You must have a proper understanding about the calculations associated with rent increases. To be on the safer side, make sure to get everything on papers. Everything should be written including the offer, the rent reviews, the tenancy length and details and of course the buy back option. In fact you must opt for a reputable and trustworthy rent back company as by selling and renting back your own property you may have a long-lasting relationship with this company.

Selling and renting back your own property helps you in dealing with financial uncertainties and mounting debts in a quick and easy way.

Figures just released show that house prices fell at a record level during the past year.  From October 2007 prices are down 12.4%, bringing the average house price to around ?162,000 and cutting a massive ?20,000 off last year’s value.

This is the 11th consecutive month that prices have dropped, with Northern Ireland and East Anglia being particularly hard hit.  The only place that has bucked the trend is the city of Durham, where prices have actually shown a slight increase.

Although home owners may be distressed about the cut in value of their property, in theory the fall should be good news for first time buyers who have previously been unable to get on the housing ladder.  But the downward trend is making such buyers nervous as they wonder how much further prices will fall and, understandably, are showing reluctance to expose themselves to the threat of negative equity.  More importantly, the credit crunch and the crisis in the banking system means that mortgages are hard to get; a factor that looks unlikely to be resolved in the short term.

Commentators are pessimistic about the outlook over the next 12 months, many predicting that property will continue its decline in value.  Some see the fall being halted at the end of 2009 and a gradual increase happening over the following two to three years.  At present, the US economy and the world financial situation is so volatile that any forecasts must surely be taken with a pinch of salt.

Is it impossible therefore to sell your house?  The lack of first time buyers, the instability and nervousness of the market and the wider economic issues all combine to put people off moving house.  There are some, however, that have no choice other than to move, perhaps through work relocation, family reasons or personal debt.  Estate agents are advising that people need to be very realistic in their pricing if their house is to attract the few buyers out there.  They add that sensible vendors will make sure surveys don’t throw up any nasty surprises, and advise that properties need to be presented in the best possible way.

If you need to sell quickly for whatever reason, there is an alternative to the open market.  Selling your home through Property Rescue gives a number of advantages, including a fast secure sale, ‘paid for’ solicitors fees on the sale, no requirement for a Home Information Pack, and a guarantee that Property Rescue will make an offer for your home.

For information about how to sell property in a volatile market, call Property Rescue today.  Their advice is free and entirely without obligation.

This is a short guide to the process that your lender will have to follow if your house is to be repossessed.  Remember, your lender has an obligation to act fairly as well as to comply with the law.  If you don’t think they’ve done so, consult your Citizens Advice Bureau or a Solicitor, who will help you take the matter further. 

• Arrears
  Lenders can start proceedings against you if you default on two mortgage  repayments but in reality many are reluctant to do this and will work with you  wherever possible to find a solution.  Your lender will write to you chasing  payments, so you should speak to them as soon as you start experiencing  financial difficulties.
• Solicitor’s Action
   If your mortgage repayments remain outstanding for 4 to 6 months the  lender is likely to put the matter into the hands of their solicitors.  You will  receive a letter asking for payment in full of the outstanding amount.  If you  haven’t already made contact with your lender, make contact with their  solicitors – both parties want to see you remain in your home and repay your  debt, even if payments are temporarily lower or the length of the mortgage  has to be extended.  Don’t ignore any communication from your lender’s  solicitor.
• Court Action
  If you cannot pay or cannot reach an agreement to reduce your payments in  line with what you can afford, or if you fail to communicate with your lender or  their solicitor, the lender will start action against you in the County Court. You  will be informed of the date of the hearing, which you should attend after  seeking advice from the CAB or your own solicitor. 
• Court Decisions
  This article does not allow us to go into depth about the variety of options  open to the Court, but they may dismiss the case if payment has been made  in full, or, in certain instances, an adjournment may be sought.  If your home  is to be repossessed an Order for Possession will be made.  Sometimes this  Order is deferred to allow you more time to repay your debt.
• Moving Out
  If the Court has granted an Order for Possession it will have stated a date by  which you should have moved out of the property.  If you are still there after  that date you may be evicted.
• But don’t despair!
  Even once the repossession chain of events has begun you can still avoid it by talking to Property Rescue.  They have helped people in your situation, even up to the very last minute, and guarantee to make an offer for your home.  You can sell to Property Rescue but remain as a tenant or you can decide to move out and clear your debts from the proceeds of your sale.

Don’t bury your head in the sand if repossession is threatened.  It won’t go away and avoiding communication with your lender or their solicitor is likely to make matters worse.  Property Rescue’s advisers are sympathetic to your situation.  They will provide you with all the details you need in complete confidence and entirely without obligation.

This week the government has announced a £1bn package of measures designed to help homeowners through the current financial crisis.  Whilst everyone must surely welcome this news, the question as to whether it will go any way towards resolving the stagnant housing market remains unanswered.

In brief, the measures include:

• raising the threshold at which stamp duty becomes payable on property     purchase from £125,000 to £175,000 – effective immediately
• more government help with mortgage interest payments for those on income support or claiming job seekers allowance, plus a reduction in the length of time such people have to wait before they're entitled to this help (a reduction from 39 weeks to 13 weeks)
• raising the threshold of the loan value on which people on income support and job seekers allowance can get help with interest payments – up by £75,000 to £175,000
• £200m into a scheme whereby ‘social landlords', such as councils and housing associations, will help homeowners who get into difficulties – perhaps through part ownership or additional lending

Some first time buyers who have been putting off the purchase of their first home may be persuaded that this is now a good time to enter the market.  If this happens it could provide a kick start to the bottom property tier and help those in existing chains to complete.  However, there is scepticism over the effectiveness of these measures because none of them address the issue of money supply, which has been at the heart of the credit crunch  The number of mortgages being approved has fallen by more than 70% over the past year – a trend that is expected to continue.  Without funds available for first time buyers and others, the housing market seems doomed to remain in its current state of malaise.

Interest rates were held at 5% by the Bank of England at its meeting on 4 September – the fifth month in a row that rates have remained static as the Bank struggle to contain rising inflation.  The threat of a recession could, however, mean that the Monetary Policy Committee elect to reduce interest rates very soon in an attempt to buoy up a flagging economy.

Homeowners in debt should study these new measures carefully.  Some could find that the help on offer from the government is enough to see them through current difficulties, but inevitably there will be those for whom the situation is too dire or the financial problems too deep.  If you are facing the possibility of losing your home, talk to Property Rescue about their guarantee to buy your property.  Their service could allow you to stay in your home, rescue your credit rating and get through the hard times ahead.  Contact them for an informal chat without any obligation.

James Kirkup, Political Correspondent, The Guardian

The equity sale scheme is part of a package of measures drawn up by Vince Cable, the party's Treasury spokesman, to meet what he says is the urgent need to avoid thousands of families losing their homes.

A slowing economy and rising mortgage costs are putting growing pressure on millions of homeowners.

Figures earlier this month showed that the number of repossession orders made by courts in the second quarter of 2008 jumped by 24 per cent. A total of 28,658 orders were made in England and Wales between April and June.

Mortgage-holders struggling with their repayments should be able to sell all or part of the equity in their house and rent it back from housing associations or even private companies, Dr Cable has proposed.

The Liberal Democrats also say that courts should be given new guidance to ensure that they only order homes to be repossessed "in extreme circumstances".

Councils and housing associations should also be allowed to borrow money from commercial lenders and use it to buy land and empty homes for use as social housing.

Dr Cable outlined his plans as ministers complete their own economic assistance package, expected to be published as early as next week.

The Treasury is known to be considering a stamp duty "holiday" in the hope of stimulating the housing market.

Dr Cable said that showed ministers are missing the point.

He said: "The Government seems obsessed with fighting a losing battle to artificially prop up the housing market, rather than finding ways to deal with its worst effects.

"Ministers must act to help the thousands of families struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

Source of Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/liberaldemocrats/2632080/Struggling-home-owners-should-sell-equity-to-avoid-repossession-say-Lib-Dems.html

Living with debt has become an unavoidable fact of life in 21st Century Britain. The high cost of living, coupled with easy credit and spiralling housing prices has created a situation whereby it seems almost impossible to function economically without having to manage debt.

In some respects, this is an unavoidable situation. For example, housing prices mean it is only the privileged minority who are able to do without a mortgage. The danger comes when debt piles up from a number of different sources and spirals out of control. The advent of low or no deposit mortgages has only added to the pressures on a buckling system. Ubiquitous television adverts, purporting credit for those already in difficulties as a means to escape their problems contributes to a never ending debt spiral.

2006 saw a 59% rise in insolvencies and the current debt is estimated at £1.4 trillion. New legislation brought in 2004 relaxed the rules regarding bankruptcy and for many it is now seen as a viable option to getting out of debt. Similar legislation was introduced in America during the 90’s and is seen as a contributing factor to its current economic slump.

Property Rescue can offer a viable alternative to bankruptcy. In addition to purchasing your home for cash, they are able to eliminate up to 80% of unsecured debt without using any of the proceeds. Property Rescue negotiate a vastly reduced sum on your behalf with the credit card or loan companies. This immediately releases some of the pressures on your finances. Between 9-24 months later they will negotiate a small one off payment to release you from the outstanding debt. This is usually a small percentage of the total owed.

Before any decision are made, it is prudent to contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau. In addition to this the Consumer Credit Counselling Service offer free advice to anyone in financial strife. Bankruptcy should still be the last resort in dealing with debt as there are usually ways of combating the situation without resorting to insolvency.

Equity release schemes are usually targeted at the elderly, as a way of generating capital from their property, whilst being able to continue to live in their home.

There are a number of different ways of releasing equity on your home, but the most popular are either a longer term mortgage or a home reversion. A home reversion is where the homeowner sells all or part of their property to a reversion company and gets either an annual return or cash lump sum.

A home reversion can be a used to relieve debt. It provides the homeowner with instant capital which can be used to cover repayments. The downside is that once the capital has covered the debt, the homeowner is often left in a precarious financial position with no equity left in a home they only part own. Re-mortgaging, although a popular choice, often adds to financial distress. In many cases repayments on a secondary loan, when coupled with the payments on the initial loan actually increase the debt.

Current equity release schemes are targeted at the elderly for a reason. Most schemes require the lender to re –pay the loan on death. In a lot of cases, this reduces the estate of their heirs and helps keep inheritance tax down. They are not designed for debt consolidation per se but more to allow pensioners the luxury of benefiting from capital that is tied up in their home without having to move house.

Sell and rent back has emerged due to the increasing need for people to release capital from their homes before retirement age. The unfortunate reality is that for many, this is to deal with financial difficulties. The main advantages of sell and rent back are the expedience of the sale and the ability for the client to stay in their own home and if required, buy back their property once their financial problems have been sorted. The main issue of course is the fact that there is a big discount on the expected market value. But once this is offset by the money saved in interest repayments the discount may not be such a hefty deficit.

In the simplest terms, BMV is an abbreviation for Below Market Value property. What this means is that the prospective buyers pay less than the expected market value for a property. There is a section of the housing market that specialises in this area and they usually offer a sell and rent back option (at market rent) to the seller, often with a fixed term lease.  

Companies specialising in BMV property usually offer a minimum of 80% below expected retail value. Valuations are normally free and are estimated by examining the local market trends.

There are a number of reasons that people decide to sell their property at below market value. BMV sales are generally paid in cash and offer an expedient sale. Currently, the general turnaround for a house sale in the UK is 7 months and BMV sales can be completed in 24 hours. Also, companies that specialise in this area tend to deal with all aspects of the sale, including dealing with the mortgage lenders.

The rent and sale option is often utilised by people in financial difficulty, as a way of consolidating debt. The main reason for this being that it offers them the security of their own home whilst repairing their financial situation. Repossession orders have increased year on year as Britain attempts to deal with the spiralling cost of living. The advantage of a BMV sale is that it can stop a repossession order and, probably more importantly in the current credit climate, prevents the seller from acquiring a bad credit rating. The CML has recently highlighted that lenders are finding the credit crunch severely limits their members ability to advance the money for a mortgage. A bad credit rating in the current climate may prevent home buyers from achieving a reasonable interest rate.

In simple terms, Sell and Rent back (or Rent and Sale) is when you sell your house and then rent it back at a rental price affordable to you. Typically the reasons people choose to sell and rent back are for equity release, debt consolidation or motivated selling. In most cases, sell and rent back schemes will have a buy back option for the tenant, at the rate of the new mortgage.

The ability to sell your house and rent it back is a viable alternative to equity release schemes, especially if there is a need to generate cash quickly. There may be a case where you are looking to start a new business and need immediate funds as start up capital

The economic slowdown has forced many homeowners into defaulting on their mortgage and has put them at risk of repossession. IVA’s have increased year on year and debt consolidation companies has become an ever present part of the UK’s economic landscape. The advantage of selling and renting your house back, is that you are guaranteed a quick sale and the security of a roof over your head whilst attempting to deal with your financial situation.

For example, if you were looking to sell your property and emigrate overseas, an expedient sale not only releases the required funds, it also gives you the option to rent back for a certain period whilst searching for your new home. The same applies if you are looking to start a new business overseas, also providing a certain amount of flexibility if you decide eventually that you would like to emigrate as well.

Sell and Rent Back in London has been steadily increasing due to its position as the focal point of the economic market. Comparatively speaking, house prices and the cost of living have grown exponentially in London. Debt management is now of growing concern to people in the capital.

The vast majority of Sell and Rent Back companies are based online. The advent of the Internet and World Wide Web have caused many people to ask, “Should I sell my house online?.” The advantages being easy accessibility to the company and a vast array of choice. However it is important to be happy with the company you choose. The need to sell a house quickly often leads to bad choices. Do your research and look for a company that will sell your house online professionally and takes your personal situation into consideration.

As we approach the end of the year it is a good time to look back at the property market during 2007 and look at the current situation.

The year began with what had become a familiar trend of rising prices, which, it seemed, would go on for ever.  But it was not long before some commentators and financial experts were warning of potential slowdown or even disaster in the months and years ahead.  The credit crunch in the US sent shivers through the economy, the effects of which are still with us today and likely to continue for a while yet, whilst bank interest rates rose and mortgages followed suit.  By mid year we were seeing a general slow down in property prices all across the country and in the final quarter of the year prices have begun to fall.

November saw a 1.1% drop according to the Halifax – the 3rd consecutive month of falling property prices.  The Bank of England lowered its interest rate by one quarter of a per cent at its meeting in early December but the effects of this rate cut seem to be limited.  Lending between banks has become very expensive and the Northern Rock crisis has done nothing to bring confidence back to the markets.

As if this weren’t enough, some commentators are predicting that the change in capital gains tax rules, due to come into force next April, will bring a lot of ‘buy to let’ properties back on to the market as investors seek to capitalise on their gains.  The net result of this could be a ‘buyers’ market where the number of homes for sale pushes prices down.  If this prediction is realised, those who took out mortgages during 2007 could find themselves in negative equity situations.

If you need to sell your home fast but can’t find a buyer you might, justifiably, be concerned about what will happen to the market in the months ahead.  For a guaranteed quick sale speak to Property Rescue, who will make an offer on your home within a matter of days, or in some cases just hours.  The price they offer will be a little below market value but it will include the legal fees on your sale, and will avoid the need to prepare a Home Information Pack, which could save you hundreds of pounds.

Property Rescue will be happy to talk to you in complete confidence and make a ‘no obligation’ offer on your property.  If you then decide not to proceed that will be the end of the matter – no salesmen will call, nor will you be pestered by phone calls.  Talk to Property Rescue and sell your property…fast!