Choosing the right lender is crucial in a tough market June 3, 2010 HOUSES are selling like hotcakes thanks to fierce competition among buyers. The latest monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that houses are shifting quicker than new ones could come on to the market, despite the number of new sellers increasing. Even the dreaded gazumping is back. In such a market, [...]
Q&A: SELLING June 3, 2010 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROPERTY HUNT Q. Dear Russell, is it easier to get a mortgage now and what’s the best way for me to go about getting one? A.It is certainly still difficult for individuals to get a mortgage but lending is starting to pick up. However, mortgage lenders are tending to be more [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ROLLS-ROYCE SPIRITS BUOYED BY GHOST Rolls-Royce says it will at least double its sales this year, thanks to the launch of its new Ghost model and a resurgance in demand for its high-priced cars around the world. Sales of the BMW-owned brand’s cars in China, where Rolls-Royce has seven dealerships, will for the [...]
House prices dampened by the election May 31, 2010 UNCERTAINTY over the outcome of the general election put a dampener on house prices in May. May’s monthly house price growth held steady at April’s three-month low of 0.2 per cent, property data company Hometrack said yesterday. Increases in sales, new buyers and new properties were all the weakest since January, when unusually icy weather [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS May 27, 2010 MORTGAGES FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS The Yorkshire Building Society this week launched a new range of mortgages for first time buyers. The products have no up-front product fees and £500 cashback. You can also borrow up to 85 per cent of the value of the property. Borrowers will also get a free standard valuation and free [...]
Q&A: BUYING May 27, 2010 Camilla Dell MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, Hips were originally introduced to protect buyers, now that they have been abolished what protection do buyers have? A. HOME Information Packs (Hips) were initially put in place to help buyers find out important information about the properties they were buying and to stop sales falling [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 26, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES APPLE, HP AND DELL INVESTIGATE FOXCONN AFTER SPATE OF SUICIDES Apple, Dell and HP, three of the world’s largest IT companies, said yesterday they were investigating working conditions at Foxconn after a series of suicides at the huge factory in southern China where Foxconn makes electronic goods. Nine workers at Foxconn’s Shenzhen plant, [...]
Nationwidesuffers as profits halve May 26, 2010 NATIONWIDE, Britain’s largest building society, said it expected broad stability in the housing market over the next 6-12 months, when posting a near halving of full-year profit yesterday. House prices have recovered ground in recent months, though they fell in February and April, according to rival lender Halifax, raising questions over the strength of the [...]
CML sees fewer repossessions and arrears May 13, 2010 FEWER Britons saw their homes repossessed in the first quarter of 2010 and the number of mortgages in arrears also dropped, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. But it warned that there was no room for complacency in what remains a highly vulnerable housing market. The number of repossessions was 9,800, [...]
Model citizens can get the best deals May 13, 2010 THE turmoil of the past two years has been unforgiving for first time buyers. In the boom times they were falling over themselves to snap up properties before prices shot up further, fuelled by a plethora of mortgages that offered 100 per cent borrowing and sometimes even more than that (thank you, Northern Rock). By [...]