 
Quick Move Blog
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Financial confidence in the UK has been rocked recently by a downturn in the economy. Many leading economists are saying that we are on the brink of the first recession since the early nineties. Between 2000 and 2006 there was a 156 per cent increase in bankruptcies in the UK. To combat such trends and the effect it has on the economy as a whole, the government introduced Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) in 1986 as a very worthwhile alternative to bankruptcy.
An IVA is a formal agreement between you and your creditors where you will come to an arrangement with people you owe money to, to make reduced payments towards the total amount of your debt, in order to pay off a percentage of what you owe. Generally after 5 years your debt is classed as settled. Due to its formal nature, an IVA has to be set up by a licensed professional called an Insolvency Practitioner (IP)
Providing the majority of your creditors decide to agree with your proposal and approve the affordable settlement amount, this forms a legally binding agreement or contract that prevents any of the creditors, (regardless of whether they were for or against the decision) from pursuing you any further.
Despite being set up in 1986 IVA debt help and UK IVA advice has only really become mainstream and more popular over the last two to three years. In fact in 2006 alone, there were more than 15,000 UK IVA applications that were successfully negotiated by professional IVA advisers and IVA companies based throughout the country.
The figures show that there was a 400 per cent increase in IVAs between 2000 and 2006.
Many of the people who have either gone bankrupt or agreed to an IVA could have considered another option, one to take before things get out of hand: selling their home to Quick Move Now. Selling your house and freeing up valuable capital can often mitigate against or solve debt problems. But with the downturn in the housing market many people are struggling to sell their house. Quick Move Now can solve the problems of this slow market by guaranteeing to make an offer on your property.
Selling your house in this way can allow you to often pay off your debts without incurring the stigma and hardship of bankruptcy. IVAs can be an alternative, however they do have downsides: they are usually only suitable if the debtor has unsecured debts of at least £15,000; the home and assets of the debtor can still be at risk if the creditors decide not to exclude them; all IVAs are recorded in a public register and will almost automatically appear on your credit file. This could affect any future applications for credit. So a good option can often be to deal with debt problems before things get to the bankruptcy/IVA stage, and release the capital in your home with Quick Move Now before you credit record is affected.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
The growing liquidity and credit crisis has led to a large drop in the number and type of available mortgages.
Very few 100%+ mortgages are now available.
Halifax, the largest lender, increased the rates on some of its tracker mortgages by up to 0.3 percentage points.
Rates on fixed-rate deals have also been increased. Scottish Widows pulled its two- and three-year fixed rate mortgages and all of its buy-to-let range.
UCB, part of Nationwide, also pulled all its rates at a few hours' notice. Capital Home Loans stopped offering loans to buy-to-let investors wanting to buy newly built apartments.
Abbey also announced that investors would need a deposit of at least 35 per cent of the value of any new-build property before it would offer a mortgage.
This is another blow to the buy-to-let market, which has seen the value of some new apartment blocks in Leeds, Manchester and Norwich fall substantially.
The collpase of Bear Stearns has increased the cost of money on the wholesale markets, from where mortgage lenders raise their money for lending.
Melanie Bien, a director at the mortgage broker Savills Private Finance, said: "This is going to cause mortgage rates to keep on edging upwards. There is just no more money to lend."
Anyone with a £200,000 repayment mortgage, who took out a two-year fixed rate deal in March 2006 would have been paying £1,161 a month. The best equivalent deal now costs £146 more each month.
It has been reported that many more people will face higher mortgage costs this year, than previously reported.
According to John Charcol, almost 3 million mortgage holders will be coming off fixed rate mortgages this year, and consequently, we be facing significanlty higher mortgage repayments.
According to John Charcol, monthly payments will be increasing by anything up to £300 per month for many people.
The number of people affected is significantly more than the 1.5 million reported earlier this year by the FSA. Unlike the FSA's report, the Charcol figures also include those people coming off 3 and 5 year deals and also coming off Tracker mortgages.
This report comes on top of the latest developments in the credit crunch
Thursday, 13 March 2008
The issues surrounding people reaching the end of their fixed interest rate mortgages has been in the news for months, sources suggest that over a million deals will end this year.
We are finding these statistics are now turning into reality with many more clients approaching us who are experiencing difficulties with increasing payments.
A typical recent example was a couple in South Wales who had invested in a single buy to let property. They had a fixed rate mortgage upon which they were paying £400 a month-the rental they received just covered this amount. Their fixed rate ended in January and they now have to pay £570-an increase of £170 which the rental income just won’t cover. They are desperately shopping around but just can’t find a new deal anywhere close to original deal and they just can’t afford to contribute to the rental mortgage.
Unfortunately their options are limited. It isn’t possible to increase rent and selling on the open market in the current poor conditions is unlikely to be fruitful or quick, especially with a tenant living at the property. So they are left to struggle on financially until lending becomes more affordable or the market improves, both of which are probably a long way off.
Quick Move can provide another option to people in this or similar situations as we buy property quickly which can allow the mortgage to be cleared and the financial burden reduced.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
The mortgage market is shrinking under the impact of the continuing problems in the banking system, say lenders.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that new loans for home buyers fell to 50,300 in January, the lowest level for nine years.
That was 11,700 fewer than in December and 25,500 fewer than in January 2007.
The CML also said that lenders' tougher loan criteria were forcing borrowers to put down larger deposits and accept smaller mortgage offers than before.
"The wholesale funding markets remain largely closed and mortgage funding still remains constrained," said the CML's director general Michael Coogan.
The credit crunch is now having a meaningful impact on the availability of finance for home purchases
Simon Rubinsohn of RICS said: "This is now having a discernible impact on lending criteria and the ability of first-time buyers to get into the housing market."
The number of new loans being taken by house buyers is just under half that lent a few months ago in August 2007, when there were 103,000 such loans.
In the latest RICS survey for February, the number of surveyors reporting house price falls was close to levels not seen since June 1990.
64.1% more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in February - up from 54.7% in January. In June 1990 64.5% of surveyors reported falls, so we are now very close to record low levels.
This is the 7th consecutive month that more surveyors have reported falls than rises is this survey is seen as a good baromoeter of market sentiment, as it is reported by people actually on the ground, doing the valuations.
Enquiries from new buyers fell for the 15th month, suggesting a continued slowdown.
Many would-be-buyers are either struggling to raise the necessary finance to precipitate a move or are exercising caution in light of current economic uncertainty," said RICS.
"Confidence in the market is clearly having an effect on prices," said RICS spokesman Ian Perry.
The lack of buyers is causing a stockpile of houses on the market in some areas of the country. If you find yourself in this situation - you want to sell, but can't find a buyer - then call Quick Move Now. We are the UK's leading home purchase specialists and we can arrange to buy your house, for cash, in as little as 7 days.
Give us a call today on 0800 068 3366.
Thursday, 6 March 2008
If you listen in on conversations taking place in kitchens, pubs and workplaces around the country, property is always one of the hottest topics. With the slowing of the housing market, one aspect of the subject that is increasingly being discussed is the incentives offered by house building companies to tempt potential buyers.
The incentives are an attempt to lure in potential buyers who, with talk of an imminent dip in prices, are reluctant to splash out on a new home. House builders have responded to this with an array of sweetners to make the prospect of puchasing a new build property with firms like Barratt and Wimpey more alluring. Examples of this include: giving away free carpets and curtains with every house; paying the buyer's stamp duty and paying the buyer's mortgage for one year after moving in.
Some of these incentive ideas are relatively new, but one of the older ones is for the house builder to offer a property part-exchange. This is where someone who wants to move into a new build house buys a house from the builder but also sells their current house to him (or her), for a below market value amount, thus part-exchanging their property.
At first glance, this might seem similar to what Quick Move Now do. However, there are a number of advantages of part-exchanging your home with Quick Move Now over a house builder:
1. House builders will only buy certain types of house. For example, most will not buy ex-council or leasehold properties. Quick Move will guarantee to make an offer on any property.
2. Many house builders will not buy out of area; that is, not outside of the area where the customer is buying the new build property. Quick Move are a national company, and will make an offer on properties in any area.
3. House builders have a finite amount of part-exchanges they will do in a year: when their quota is full, they will not do any more, limiting the options of people wanting to part-exchange. Quick Move Now has an annual turnover exceeding £70 million and are always ready to buy homes.
4. In order to qualify for a house builder's part-exchange, movers need to move upmarket and buy a home that is worth at least 30% more than the value of their current home. There are no such restrictions with Quick Move.
Quick Move Now are one the market leaders in home part-exchange: call us today on 0800 068 3366 to find out more about what we can do for you.
The Bank of England today left interest rates unchanged at 5.25% held back by fears or rising inflationary pressure.
The BoE is expecting inflation to rise to 3% with rises in commodity prices and so has held rates constant.
Most economists do expect further rate cuts this year. Roger Bootle warned that whilst rates will be cut further, the delay in cutting them is likely make any economic downturn worse.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
According to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), 1 in 5 people (20%) is worried about meeting their monthly mortage repayments.
The FSA is particularly concerned with those mortgage holders coming off fixed rate deals this year, who are likely to face increases in their mortgage rates.
"Economic conditions are getting tougher, putting pressure on family finances," said Chris Pond, FSA director of financial capability.
Last month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said repossessions rose by 21% in 2007 to 27,100 homes, the highest figure since 1999.
It also said the numbers of mortgages behind on payments rose by 8.6% compared with 2006.
The CML expects the number of homes taken over by lenders to rise further in 2008, as the credit squeeze continues to tighten.
If you're having problems meeting your mortgage costs and need to sell your house quickly, contact Quick Move Now on 0800 068 3366 - we can help.
Monday, 3 March 2008
The number of properties actually being sold at auction has fallen to a 3 year low, as buyers become more cautious.
RICS reported that only 57% of houses put up for auction actually sold in the last quarter of 2007, compared with 69% in 2006.
7,732 properties were auctioned during the fourth quarter, close to historically high levels.
However, only 4,539 of these were actually bought, leaving 3,310 unsold - 50% more than a year earlier.
RICS blamed the drop on a combination of greater uncertainty about the housing market, as well as tighter mortgage lending conditions as a result of the credit crunch.
RICS also said there had been a 50% jump in the number of repossessed properties that went under auction, with repossessions increasing as a result of higher interest rates.
This underlines the value of the service offered by a quick house sale company such as Quick Move Now.
For those looking to sell their house, or who face repossession, we can act quickly & provide certainty:
- certainty that you will sell you house
- certainty of the timeframe for selling
- certainty of the price you will receive
Don't leave your house sale to the vagaries of a property auction - call Quick Move Now and sell your house with speed and certainty. Callus on 0800 068 3366.
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