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How To Leave The Stress Behind When Moving Home

February 10th, 2021 Posted in Property Investment
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A recent study found that on average, people will move home eight times in their lifetime. You would think that the frequency of such moves would mean that it gets a little easier (or less stressful) over time, but this simply not the case. In fact, moving home is often the cause of great stress, be that due to financial pressures or property induced woes.

However, there are several steps you can take that make moving home a little easier – meaning you can focus on the positive side of moving – not the negatives! 

How To Leave The Stress Behind When Moving Home - moving boxes image
Photo by HiveBoxx on Unsplash
  • If you are selling your current property, figure out how much your house is worth. Consult with experts to ensure that you are not selling yourself short, as you can use the extra cash towards a downpayment for your new home. 
  • Work closely with a Mortgage broker to ensure that you get the best deal on a mortgage. They have years of experience within the industry and are able to provide you with invaluable knowledge and insight that could save you hundreds. 
  • If you know you want to move, but aren’t sure where you want to move to – write down a list of everything you need from your new home. For example, do you need access to certain amenities? How long is your ideal commute? If you have children, you might also want to consider the nearby schools. 
  • Look around a variety of different properties before signing a contract. By shopping around, you’ll be able to gain a clearer picture of precisely what you are looking for – and you’ll know you are making the right decision when you find your dream home. 
  • When you decide to move, ensure that you have a clear budget in mind. Figure out how much you can spend on the move, taking into consideration some of the hidden costs of moving, such as removal fees. 
  • A large majority of the stress associated with moving is tied up in packing. Therefore, you should get started on this task early instead of leaving it till the last minute. Remember: the sooner you start packing, the sooner you finish. 
  • If you plan to redecorate your new property, see if the bulk of the decorating can be completed before the move. This means that you won’t be getting in the way of any of the decorators, and you can unpack right away after the move. 
  • If you are worried about finances, take an affordable approach to moving. For example, you can save money on buying new furniture through DIY projects or buying items second hand. Additionally, you can earn a little extra money by selling anything you no longer need or use. 
  • Another way in which you can reduce the stress associated with moving home is by taking your time. Unless you are moving for work, you have plenty of time to organise the move – meaning you don’t have to do everything right away. Slowing the process down a little also gives you a chance to save up money. 
How To Leave The Stress Behind When Moving Home - hanging a picture frame image
Photo by HiveBoxx on Unsplash
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Home Loans: Your Options for Purchasing a Property

March 30th, 2018 Posted in Money Tips, Property Investment
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The vast majority of homebuyers in the UK will require some type of home loan to fund their property purchase. Yet many aren’t aware of how many loan options are available to them. Buyers don’t have to just rely on a mortgage from a high street lender if they wish to buy a home. There are a number of different loan types and government back schemes that can augment or completely replace the need for a mortgage. This guide will explore all of the different options available to you so that you’re in the best position possible when it comes to finding finance.

Home Loans: Your Options for Purchasing a Property - sold sign image

A private mortgage

For many, a mortgage will be the only loan they use to buy a home. Individuals can rarely pay for a house in cash, so banks and high street lenders will typically loan up to 95% of the cost of the home. In return, the mortgage provider will charge interest on the loan, which the homeowner must pay every month. Failure to keep up with payments will result in losing the home. Mortgages usually last 25 years, but they can be shortened to any length of time. Mortgages are the most common form of home loan, but they aren’t suitable for everyone. Banks have become increasingly cautious since the recession and it is much harder for people with small deposits, low incomes or bad credit histories to secure a mortgage.

Help to buy equity loan

First-time buyers have been hit particularly hard by high property prices, which have made it almost impossible for many young people to get on the property ladder. In response, the Government launched the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme to help first timers get a foot on the ladder. With a 5% deposit, first-time buyers can secure a 20% loan from the Government on the cost of a newly built home meaning they will only need a mortgage of 75% to complete the purchase. This will result in much more affordable repayments. The Government’s loan is interest free for five years and then charged at 1.75%, rising annually by any increase in the Retail Price Index plus 1%. To qualify you must be a first-time buyer, use the property as your permanent residence and be buying a home that costs under £600,000.

Shared ownership

Another Government-backed initiative is the Shared Ownership scheme. Rather than buy the entire property outright, this allows buyers to buy a share of the property and then pay rent on the remainder. As a result, you pay the mortgage payments you can afford to start off with, and then buy the remainder of the property over time as your finances allow. There are strict criteria that you must meet to become eligible for this scheme, however.

  • Your household income must be less than £80,000 (or £90,000 if you live in London)
  • You can’t own any other property
  • You can’t have outstanding credit issues

Only specific properties are available to buy under this scheme, too. They will typically be new builds and will be purchased from a Housing Association.

Right to buy

A final Government-backed initiative to help people get on the property ladder is the Right to Buy scheme. If you are council tenant who has been living at your property for at least five years, you could be eligible to purchase the property at a discount. Discounts can be as large as £104,900 in London and £78,600 outside of the capital. Not everyone is eligible, however, and you will need to check the Government website to confirm your eligibility.

Bridging loans

The problem with mortgages is that they can take up to six months to get approved. For many buyers, this delay can mean missing out on the property of their dreams. In cases where time is of the essence, a bridging mortgage specialist like Top 10 Finance Bridging Loans can help you find finance that’s an excellent alternative to traditional mortgages. A bridging loan is a short-term loan that aims to “bridge the gap” until more secure funding is obtained whereupon the loan is repaid in full with interest. A common scenario where a bridging loan is useful is where a family want to purchase a new home before their current property has sold. Getting a mortgage will take too long but a bridging loan can be approved in a fraction of the time. The bridging loan is used to buy the new home and is repaid when the previous family home has been sold. Bridging loans aren’t for everyone so it will be important to speak to a bridging mortgage specialist to decide if this is the right solution for you.

So there you have it, there are all of the types of funding available to you. But don’t forget to speak to a specialist before you apply for a home loan or government scheme. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi-next.html

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Your Guide To Purchasing And Moving Property

April 12th, 2017 Posted in Property Investment
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Moving home is a tough and complicated process – so when the time comes to move home, and your kids are demanding answers, it can be fairly easy to dumb down the process to buying and selling. We have this much money and bought this house is what you might say, and while it is true, it’s an extremely diluted process. While that knowledge is invaluable, any extra information that you can impart on your children will help them down the line – when the time comes for them to move home!

Your Guide To Purchasing And Moving Property - corner house image

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The first thing to do when moving home is to complete the purchase of a new home. This is usually done through a mortgage – money borrowed from the bank to be paid back over the course of time specifically with the home in mind. In some cases, properties are bought outright, but a mortgage is most common. You need to work out what you can afford and a good way of estimating is basing money off of the mortgage deposit. Ten percent is the usual borrowing limit so $10,000 dollars will likely give you the ability to borrow up to $90,000. This means that $100,000 is your range for buying. This will differ from lender to lender. Once you know how much you can spend, you’ll need to locate the perfect property. This is easily done thanks to estate agents and real estate websites which afford the buyer an in-depth look at their new home. You can get a better look at a home by arranging a visit, or viewing. After one, or multiple viewing of various properties, you might have identified the perfect property. This is a stage where you can feel free to negotiate a price. You could possibly get the seller to drop their asking price slightly to either bring the property into your price range – or you could simply do this to save cash and increase the power of your deposit/down payment to reduce your monthly mortgage repayments.  There are a number of things you need to think about when negotiating a price on the home. If you low-ball the buyer, you might insult the seller and miss out on a good home that you’ve taken the time out to identify. Of course, you also don’t want to pay more than you need to. Thankfully, there is plenty of data on hand… Look at sales in the same area as the potential new home. Is your offer in line with these sales? Did these sales go for an amount lower than the actual asking price? If the mean price of homes in the area matches the asking price, you don’t want to dip down on the offer much at all. It also depends on the market; some areas get snapped up quick, others don’t. If you’re on a high-interest market, a strong offer is going to be needed if you don’t want to lose out, but you’ll have a lot more leeway in other markets. Finally, consider how long the home has been on the market. If it has been up for a while, you’ll have a better chance of a lower offer being accepted.

Once your offer has been accepted, this is where things get a little bit tricky. Contracts need to be signed, and you can be caught out here by the seller or their legal team. Contracts need to have clauses inserted which mean that you can back out of the sale if there are issues with the home. These issues can also be used to leverage a price reduction on the home. This is the time for you to pay for a professional home inspection which can bring defects in the home to light. A price reduction can be asked for upon discovery of issues, while major problems can be a total dealbreaker. Now is the time to find out. Once this stage is over, you can submit your final mortgage application, go over the costs of closing and then sign the contract. It goes without saying that this part of buying a home is full of legal lingo – and if you don’t understand anything you need to find a conveyancing solicitor who can help. This is worth doing anyway as these professionals can sort out a lot of issues to save you the stress of doing so.

The closing stage of purchasing a home isn’t just about signing on the dotted line though. Firstly, you need to make sure nothing has changed within the property since your inspection. Then, all the money needed for the purchase needs to be paid into the seller’s account. This is now a good time to review the paperwork that needs to be signed so that you can triple check every clause in the contracts. You need to work out how much you’ll be paying each money and agree on your final mortgage deal. At this point, you’ll know exactly what is expected of you by your lender and you can now sign on the dotted line. A move in date will be discussed and that’s it, you’re a home owner!

Moving in is a big deal, so get everything boxed up well in advance. It’ll be worth your time to organize a professional cleaning of your new home so it is perfect upon your arrival. You might have already organized some contracted renovation, so this might delay your true moving in date. In any case, get all your stuff packed up and ready to be moved into the home. Book a removal company well in advance of the moving date and pack up. If you’re selling your current home, do a top to bottom sweep and rid yourself of everything you don’t need while leaving a clean house behind you.

Your Guide To Purchasing And Moving Property - packing up a house image

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That’s just about everything you need to know when moving home, it’s a complicated process and the more knowledgeable you are at the start, the better you’ll handle the inevitable curveballs that will come your way during the buying process.

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4 Tips To Help You Buy A Property ASAP

February 21st, 2017 Posted in Money Tips, Property Investment
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Buying a new property can be, well it can be difficult. It isn’t making a bid or having it accepted that is the hard part; the hard part is doing all the admin. Let’s just say it can take months before you are cleared to move into a property. A quick sale can take five weeks but many last so much longer. You clearly don’t want to wait this long before you get the keys so it is time to speed up the process.

Forget The Realtor

The days of using a realtor are over. There is no need for them because they only speed up the process. You need to find a property as quickly as possible but they will take weeks to help. Sure they want to sell you a property, but they want to sell the one that is right for them. Does commission ring any bells? With the help of an online letting agent like Heather Tibbetts you can cut out the middleman and find a property in no time. Plus you can call the seller and ask them for a private viewing. This is a much quicker way to get the deal over the line.

Go Easy On The Price

Before a seller accepts the price they have to agree to it which isn’t easy. Obviously you want to drive a hard bargain but you don’t have the time. The harder the bargain the more time you waste. So it is a good idea to not haggle over pennies especially if they are inconsequential. Offer them a fair price that you are willing to pay and negotiate. If they don’t play ball tell them that you offer is final and wait for their response. There is plenty more properties on the market with owners that will accept a fair price.

Find A Kindred Spirit

It is simple – the quickest way to finalise a deal is to find a seller who also wants a quick deal. If both of your interests are aligned you will sign on the dotted line as soon as possible because it suits both parties. So, all you have to do is find someone who needs the money which isn’t too hard. Those that desperately need the money will tell you from the beginning which is clue number one. Or you can pass on the information that you would like a quick sale and gauge their reaction. It is imperative to cut a deal as soon as you find someone with the same agenda.

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Pay Cash

Possibly the quickest way to get the deal done is to pay by cash. The reason property sales take so long is because of the banks. They have to finalise the mortgage and do background checks before they sign off. The result is that you have to wait months before everything is finalised. Paying cash means you don’t have to deal with the banks, and that in turn means you can cut a big chunk off of the timeline.

Follow these tips and you’ll have a new property in no time.

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Top Things to Consider When Buying a Property

January 27th, 2014 Posted in Property Investment, Uncategorized
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Buying a property is often one of the biggest decisions you can make in life, so it’s important to make the right choice. Christmas generally stalls the house-hunting process but now that 2014 has arrived you may be starting to think about recommencing your search. Here are a few top tips for choosing the perfect property.

Plan your budget

Once you start house hunting it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of finding your dream home.  You may love to be able to approach Mayfair estate agents or other exclusive areas but if the area is not within your budget then there’s no point in starting your search. It’s important to establish your budget before you do anything else. If you need to seek finance for your purchase, most banks will require a 10-15% deposit. You should also speak to your bank or a mortgage broker to find out how much you will be able to borrow. You need to take into account other expenses as well such as stamp duty, mortgage arrangement fees, the valuation, removal fees and the cost of furnishing or renovating your new home.

Think about the location

Location is everything when it comes to buying a home. You not only need to think about how suitable the location is for your needs (transport links, schools, local amenities etc) but also how the location may affect your property as an investment. Research up-and-coming areas which may give you a bigger return on your investment if you eventually come to sell.

Go on as many viewings as possible

Many people say that when they find their dream home they know as soon as they walk in through the door. Although house hunting can be exciting, it’s important not to rush into buying the first great house you see. Don’t feel pressurised by an estate agent telling you they’ve already had a lot of interest in the property. Move at your own pace so you can be sure you’re making the right decision.

Buying a new property can be a very fulfilling step to take but it can also be very stressful and be prepared for the fact that things might not move as quickly as you’d like. Complications can arise and you may be stuck in a chain which prevents the sale from moving forward. Remember to stay patient and make sure you go through all of the necessary protocols to ensure your sale goes through as smoothly as possible.

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