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Homeowners should safeguard property against weather damage
Property owners should protect their homes against severe weather, it has been advised. Halifax Home Insurance has issued guidance to help UK homeowners reduce the risk of weather-related damage to their properties. The advice follows recent Met Office warnings of severe gales in Wales, south west England, London and the south east. Halifax recommended that people prepare ...
31st Jan 2008
Borrowers pay the price for missed mortgage payments
Borrowers could be dispensing more money than they realise due to missing mortgage repayments and going into arrears, it has been claimed. Price comparison website MoneySupermarket has conducted a study of 18 leading mortgage lenders, which revealed great inconsistency in fees and charges. The site discovered, for example, that one month's grace was given by Northern Rock ...
31st Jan 2008
Property news archive
House purchase loan approvals down in December
The current housing slowdown was underlined today (January 30th) by the release of the Bank of England's latest mortgage approval figures. The data showed that 73,000 loans were approved for house purchase in December, representing a decrease on November's figure of 81,000. Commenting on the figures, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said: "These sharply ...
30th Jan 2008
First-time buyers 'unlikely' to be hampered by student debt
First-time buyers are unlikely to be restricted by their student loan debts. That is according to Firstrung, which responded to a recent claim that a greater number of first-time buyers would be turned down for loans. Mortgage website made the prediction last week, based on the news that student loans will be incorporated into credit files. Paul Holmes, chief executive ...
30th Jan 2008
UK housing market becoming less accessible
It is becoming increasingly difficult for first time buyers to get into the UK housing market. That is according to a recent accessibility index developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which revealed that the cost of home buying has increased by 351 per cent since 1996. The survey indicated that the London market was the least affordable, with ...
30th Jan 2008
Brighton property market hold great appeal for Londoners
Brighton is a particularly attractive location for home-seekers who have been forced out of the capital by high property prices. That is according to Brighton and Hove Family Homes, which highlighted a number of reasons for the seaside town's growing appeal. Charlie Snell, director of the company, identified good transport links with London as being a big plus for those ...
29th Jan 2008
January bonuses offer a chance to get ahead of mortgage repayments
The January payday represents a good time to get to grips with your mortgage repayments. That is according to Charcol, which said that the annual bonuses and pay increases that many people receive in January can be put to good use. Recent research conducted by the online broker revealed that consumers can take years off their repayment term with even minor mortgage ...
29th Jan 2008
Open plan living a popular trend
More and more UK homeowners are opting for open plan living by knocking down internal walls. That is according to a recent report from Halifax Home Insurance, which found that over the past five years 2.9 million rooms have "disappeared". Data indicated that 590,000 dining room walls are to be demolished in the next twelve months, making this the most popular room ...
29th Jan 2008
Broken property chains still a 'big issue'
Broken property chains are still a problem in the UK, it has been claimed. AA Legal Services said that aborted transactions in property chains remained a big issue, which could only be resolved by considerable reform of the house buying process. Property chains rely on the successful completion of a sequence of property sales, with each transaction allowing the seller to ...
28th Jan 2008
Half a million Brits have missed mortgage repayment
Almost half a million UK homeowners have failed to meet a monthly mortgage repayment in the last six months. That is according to recent research by MoneyExpert, which found that since July last year around 463,000 people have missed a mortgage payment deadline. The personal finance website said that those aged between 25 and 34 were the most likely to have missed payments. ...
28th Jan 2008