Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

Apparently we're all feeling a bit more confident about the property market, as four out of five of us believe property prices won't fall in the next 12 months, and eight out of ten of us think house prices will either be the same or even slightly higher this time next year. Just over a third think property prices will be higher in 12 months’ time, and this is the most optimistic forecast for a year and a half. However one fifth think prices will have dropped in a years’ time, but this is the lowest percentage since the end of...

Just a couple of weeks ago it was announced the government would try to force homeowners to spend money improving the energy efficiency of their home whenever they wanted to complete other home improvements such as fitting a new conservatory or boiler. Now it appears these plans have been completely scrapped, as they are seen as being an attack on people's aspirations to do better. Apparently the plan was extremely unpopular with Tory MPs, even though loans to pay for the energy measures will be available under the government's Green Deal scheme. Ministers were worried it would deter families from carrying...

Homeowners are being warned to check for faults outside their property, as though most of us are very good at spotting internal faults, far fewer of us take the time to inspect the outside of our homes. New research from insurance company Aviva has revealed failing to do so could lead to repair bills running into thousands of pounds. The advice comes just as many others are gearing up for a long weekend of DIY over the Easter bank holiday.Common problems to miss include blocked guttering, missing roof tiles or defective chimney stacks. Apparently just 15% of people check their chimney...

The Financial Services Authority is concerned over the number of interest only mortgages which are nearing the end of their life, as many of these homeowners may have no reasonable hope of paying off the loan. Around 4.5 million mortgages in the UK are interest only, and many were given during the boom years to people now well into their 50s. The FSA has estimated around 1.5 million interest only mortgages will be due for repayment between now and 2020, and are worth £120 billion. This would mean 150,000 interest only mortgages ending each year for the next few years.The trouble...

More than a third of homes for sale have had their price reduced at least once since being listed, with Glasgow, Blackpool and Maidstone being the worst affected. The average discount from the original selling price is £19,580, or 7.5% which is £1,000 more than price reductions seen this time last year. According to Zoopla, homeowners are slashing their prices in an effort to attract buyers, and apparently if all these reductions were added up they would total around £2.5 billion. The current levels of discounted properties are at a new high as sellers come to terms with the fact that...

At the moment homeowners need to be six months behind their mortgage payments before repossession proceedings can begin, but a new EU directive which is currently going through European Parliament could change all this. If it is brought into law, lenders in Britain would be forced to begin repossession proceedings once borrowers fall just three months behind their mortgage payments. This would increase the risk of default, which in turn would increase banks’ lending costs. These extra costs will of course be passed on to homeowners, and there is the worry that it could affect mortgage availability.The EU is keen to...

It’s estimated thousands of homeowners are trapped by their mortgage lenders refusal to transfer loans to a new property. Their alternative is to rearrange the new loan with a different lender, but this may run the risk of incurring early repayment penalties. While all borrowers should be fully aware of early repayment penalties on their mortgages, many will have thought they could simply transfer the mortgage to another property. However the terms for doing so are frequently quite ambiguous, and unfortunately lenders criteria has changed considerably over the last couple of years. A common problem faced by borrowers with interest only...

In the past homeowners have been able to bank on rising house prices as a means for releasing capital from their property which could then be used for home improvements, paying off debts or even going on holiday, but it now looks as if this will become more difficult  under new rules. These rules will be much stricter over who is allowed to take out equity and will ensure those doing so can afford to make the new repayments. These new measures are being introduced by the Financial Services Authority and will come into effect from 2013. Anyone applying for a...

A new report from Connells showed the number of valuations carried out last month increased by more than a third compared to August, and during the third quarter there were 11% more valuations than during the second quarter. If these figures are assessed annually, they appear far more impressive as the annual growth was 63% compared to September 2010, although during that month mortgage lending was at its lowest level since 2000.According to Connells the mortgage market has improved over the past few months in spite of continuing economic troubles, and it expects the remainder of the year to prove reasonably...