Papitogrande

I know it isn't what most people on this site want to here but activity IS picking up. From what I can see prices have come down a fair bit and 'investment' money is coming in to pick up what are perceived as bargains. http://www.mortgageintroducer.com/mortgage...r_in_London.htm That's just from an email I got today but I personally have seen the evidence and know lots of people who concur. I don't think prices will rise because of it but I think this may began to arrest the falls.

Beautifully presented, completely refurbished four bedroom townhouse, exceptionally well located within a short walk of Cowbridge High Street and amenities. The accommodation includes entrance hall, large living room, beautifully appointed hand made kitchen with marble tops and a full range of integrated appliances and rear conservatory. To the first floor three bedrooms and a luxury Jacuzzi bathroom with Jacuzzi bath and separate shower. To the second floor is a further double bedroom with extensive built in wardrobes as throughout. Outside parking is to the roadside with access via a wide pavement. The rear garden is laid to lawn, with decked sitting area and is enclosed by hedge, fence and natural stonewall. A tiled enclosed courtyard breakfast area can be accessed off French doors to living room. That makes me laugh - do they mean one of those pathetic jet things you can buy for about £600 from B&Q. I had one in a rented place, you use it once and then wonder why you are putting up with the horrendous noise just to feel a few sprays of cold water on your arris. Hardly a selling point.

"How the f@*k did we end up in a caption competition on hpc.co.uk, we don't seem relevant to that issue at all"

Have you switched it off and then back on again. Seems to be the advice I always get.

duplicate post

so that's what happens if you keep pressing submit

You don't have to have a mortgage in place to fulfill any mandatory or legal requirements, however in this climate most EAs would not advise clients to accept an offer unless it was financed. I think there has been a marked increase in activity. I've had four clients who have bought in the space of a week, more than in the whole of November and December combined. Put into context though, even a year ago 4 deals was a slow week. I'm not saying this is the green shoots of recovery but I spoke to several other brokers who all said things had got a hell of a lot busier. What may be of interest is that 3 of the 4 buyers had seen substantial price drops. £290k asking (6 months ago) now £230k asking, bought at asking price £425k asking (1 year ago) now £345k asking, offer accepted for £325k £160k asking (up until last week!) now £125k asking and hand bitten off. 2 in London and one in North West. There will be those of you that think they are fools for buying now and maybe you're right. I'm not offering the above as any sort of argument over what will happen to house prices.

I'm on the the record as saying I didn't think they would happen, but seems they are, after a fashion. I have a client who has an off-set mortgage with Abbey, he's a wealthy fellow and has £100k in the linked savings account, his original mortgage was 85% LTV. He received a letter from Abbey about 6 weeks ago saying they have 're-valued' housing stock and although he doesn't have to pay anything, should he wish to withdraw money from his Abbey account then he might face a bit of a problem and quite frankly they'd be a lot happier if he didn't try to. He then got another letter a few days ago saying they re-valued house again and that £100k should definitely stay put.

I doubt it's b, or a for that matter. I suspect the reason they've abandoned the plan to shrink the book is because it's either impossible or undesirable for those with NR mortgages to go anywhere else. The Rock's SVR is probably 3.5% right now (I know I could look it up but sod it) It must have reduced because the govt could hardly have not done so, given that they were telling all the other lenders to. So you're typical NR customer comes to the end of his 2/3 yr deal on the 125% mortgage he had. It's now a 150% mortgage, anyone doing them? At the other end of the scale it could be 50% LTV in todays money. The punter needs to ask himself if he wants a 3.5% interest rate with no ties, no fees, no forms to fill in etc. by staying put. Alternatively he can shop around and maybe get 4.5% fixed or tracker with a juicy fee, pay for a valuation and maybe still get turned down. I know that the consensus on this site thinks that average joe is a mug but he ain't that daft.

If you feel you were mis-led over aspects of the deal, you could use that angle

This whole thread is a bit pitiful as the OP is clearly trying to drum up business for a brokerage, however as the point has been raised I'd like to say that not only will they waive the fee they will also knock you a fair bit off the balance to leave. It's negotiable but I know of people who have had the balance reduced by about 20%. It makes sense for them to get the debt off the books, they can't shift it any other way.

www.bankrate.com has all this

Essentially the seller 'gifts' 10% in the conveyancing process. Certainly not the agent, they can't be so desperate that they are prepared to lose thousands per sale. PS - Surprised you haven't come across this, I thought it was a big ploy of agents these days

Look I agree entirely, I was a bit lazy with my language there. What I was think about was 'verge of being repossessed' sales which may be less than what might be expected otherwise. However I accept that can readily be defined as the 'market value' which itself is a term I've never put much store by. The main point I was trying to highlight was the second part of the post.

Just be mindful that the way this sale has transacted could give a misleading figure. The earlier sales could have been distressed sales which would mean that they were lower than market value. Also a number of estate agents offer 10% deposit paid etc because it's possible, legally, to sell a house flat for £236k on paper and refund the buyer £40k post sale. Before the cries of fraud go up I assure you it can be legally achieved (stamp duty is paid on the higher amount), although complex. I agree though that it clouds the issue and is bad practice.

Even if they have Ltd status, when lenders provide a BTL mortgage to a ltd company they very commonly ask for a personal guarantee from the directors, in fact almost always, unless below 60%LTV

I think we've got 12-18 months of low (less than 5%) interest rates before they start to rise. As mentioned on the thread though it won't have a massive bearing on your mortgage options.

Someone we know well and trust is a Teacher in Kent. She recently told the missus that there were lots of city types looking to re-train as teachers, looking for a safe-haven I guess, but teaching though?

I'll get right on to it Mike.

Not like that, just like this

because people keep posting replies I guess and it gets bumped

To quote the poster "I spoke to my BTL landlord hinting at a rent reduction, because his I/O BTL mortgage should be much cheaper." This reason for negotiating a reduction is flawed, citing a drop in comparable rents however is a different argument. To quote Bloo "that absolutely proves I am correct"

I haven't read any of the response so my apologies if it's already been said. I think you should spend a few weekends looking at new places to live that are about 25% more per month than you currently pay, then offer your current rent on any that you like, tell the LL or agent that you are very stable and looking for long term rent (you've lived in current place 8 years and always paid) and would welcome a 12 month tenancy. I think you'd hit on a reluctant LL who has rented out his lovely little house that he couldn't sell and they'll bite your arm off. Move in to the nicer place, feel less depressed by your surroundings and it can only be a benefit. It won't alleviate clinical depression though if you have reached that stage (but it could ease it if your current place is a root cause). If things are that bad you should see your GP and try to get some help. I was affected by this in my early 20s, I talked about it to the doc, decided I didn't want pills but just ate a bit better, got some exercise, went for long walks and stopped beating myself up about stuff. I won't say I'm Mr Cheery these days, I embrace my cynicism, but it can get much easier. Good luck

Not that I'm defending it Red, but their logic was that people will remortgage after the deal ends and by including a fat arrangement fee they have a profit margin over the course of 2 or 3 years. If they don't remortgage then they go on SVR which is profitable for the lender. The above works fine, with two important considerations. Base rates stay more or less stable (i.e don't fall by more than 1%) or the SVR isn't forcibly lowered by a government that is breathing down your neck whilst holding the purse strings. At the time it had a certain logic because no one really foresaw the drastic rate cuts, including most people on this site who thought they'd be on the up.

So fecking what? A landlord does not share the risk/reward of his investment with the tenant. Right now this is working largely in the tenant's favour