January 13th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Improvements, Property Market | Comments Off on Extending your home? – points to consider
At present the housing market is undergoing a period of stagnation and the result has been a marked increase in the number of homeowners considering extending their homes rather than moving.
Extensions require careful consideration; however the following are some of the more important aspects to be investigated when considering an extension.
January 9th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Home Improvements, Property Market | 3 Comments »
The prevailing climate in the housing world has led to falling prices and difficulty in selling. For those who need to sell, there are a number of improvements that can aid the chances of success as well as those that are simply a waste of time and money.
Keeping things to economical levels is paramount in these difficult times, and the following ideas are not ones that will cost tens of thousands of pounds.
January 2nd, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market, Top Tips | Comments Off on How to deal with the mortgage minefield – 10 top tips
The hopes and dreams of millions of home-owners and first-time buyers have received a number of positive announcements from the Government recently. We have seen dramatic cuts in interest rates, an announcement of a stamp duty amnesty on properties worth £175,000 or less, a new shared equity scheme for families earning less than £60,000 and earlier financial support for people struggling with their mortgage repayments.
But the lack of readily available mortgages seems to be little sign of ending and lenders remain very cautious, whether they are assessing re-mortgages at the end of a fixed rate deals or when looking at new applications.
The good news is that it is possible to improve your chances of securing the mortgage you want. These steps could help improve your chances.
January 1st, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Saving | 1 Comment »
Water may seem like a never ending commodity to householders – after all, we turn on the tap and its there – but the truth is that a complicated procedure is needed to ensure that each and every home in the UK has a constant supply of usable, clean water.
It’s important, therefore, that we do our bit to keep consumption to less than excessive levels, and here we look at a few easy and recommended methods of saving water in the home.
December 28th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Property Market | 2 Comments »
A good amount of conflicting information has followed the recent worldwide economic crisis with regard to house prices, so here we have a look at what the industry sees for the year to come.
Will house prices continue to fall in 2009?
Undoubtedly they will; it bears remembering that the current trend of falling house prices did not begin this year, as the first signs of an impending crash were seen in many quarters in the latter part of 2007.
December 22nd, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC | 4 Comments »
With Commercial Energy Performance Certificate (CEPC) legislation now rolled out across the country there has proven to be some confusion in areas of the regulations, particularly with regard to what properties are exempt from needing a CEPC. The biggest area of contention seems to be based on the size of a property.
There is an urban myth that is gaining popularity within the market that non domestic properties of 50 square meters and below are exempt from needing a Commercial Energy Performance Certificate as required by law.
December 20th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Saving, EPC | 4 Comments »
The domestic energy assessor industry is deveolping from its fledgling existence with ambitious plans to utilise the skill base we have within the UK. The energy assessment industry has met numerous challenges since its inception, certainly during the past year.
Maybe due to the New Year approaching, maybe due to the frustration from the lack of progress made by the Government in certain areas, there has been a noticeable amount of reflection on goals achieved within our industry and future aspirations that would benefit our industry but more so the country and arguably the entire planet.
December 18th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products, Top Tips | Comments Off on Myths of Credit rating information – did you realise?
As the financial climate tightens knowledge becomes power when it comes to securing the credit deals you want. The best start is by understanding the impact your credit history and rating has on the type of offer you may receive and whether you will receive an offer for credit at all.
December 16th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Assessors, Home Information Packs, News | 4 Comments »
This week has seen news released about developments of Home Information Packs and has given rise to speculation about Home Condition Reports (HCR) making a suprise return. The main topics and news within Magaret Beckett’s statement; industry professionals and associated organisation had some expectation of though we were all unsure of the exact timing until recently.
December 16th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market | Comments Off on Tracker mortgages – the way to go?
The significant and dramatic reductions in the Bank of England interest rate in the past few weeks has seen a flurry of interest in the area of tracker mortgages, that is those that follow the base rate to at least some degree.
The average tracker mortgage, according to available data, has fallen from 6.27 percent in October of this year to only 3.27 percent now, in early December. So what does this mean for the consumer?
How much can be saved with a tracker mortgage?
December 15th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products, Property Market | 2 Comments »
Early December saw the UK Government promise a guarantee to homeowners that find themselves in trouble with their mortgage repayments in an effort to stem the expected tide of repossessions that many see as a result of the current economic crisis.
The scheme is aimed at those who find themselves redundant with a mortgage to pay, as such individuals are expected to become more numerous with companies going to the wall thanks to the ‘credit crunch’ that is sweeping the country.The details of the proposal are quite specific, and will only be available on mortgages below a £400,000 limit.