bob2

Rented through 5 different letting agencies over a number of years - never encountered a "checkout charge" with any of these agencies - so in my experience this is not common at all.

Errr..are you looking at the seasonally adjusted data? To see whether there were falls in the actual sale prices from Q3 to Q4 you need to look at the non-seasonally adjusted data. There was a fall in 2004

camem' is rather clutching at straws. Nationwide, Halifax and Rightmove are predicting year-on-year (YOY) rises of 5%, 5% and 8% respectively. However, because prices in summer are ahead of this prediction - they will need to fall back slightly by December for the YOY predictions to be correct. It's hardly unusual for the market to slow and prices to fall as we move into winter.

Notice normally must end on the last day of a rental period. So you would need to give notice by the 10th of August to terminate the tenancy on 10th September. So if you miss this deadline you wouldn't be able to terminate the tenancy until 10th October. Check your tenancy agreement to be sure.

Just had my deposit returned in full after vacating a rental property. This means that in the past 6 years or so I've rented 5 different properties from 5 different landlords managed by 5 different agencies. In every case I've had the deposit returned in full in a timely fashion. So have I just been lucky?

Planner - yes Andy's first post wasn't clear. As it turns out my guess was right - but your interpretation could have been correct (although it would not have been the typical arrangement). Anyway, he has made it clear in his second post "I pay rent from the 28th each month as I moved in on the 28th. Of August. 2004!"

I think it's misleading to use false origins (e.g. not starting the Y axis at zero). Here's the graph without a false origin (well there's one on the x-axis )

Andy, I was guessing about when your rental period ended - but it turns out I was right - the 27th. However I was not guessing about the standard rules regarding giving notice for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) that has become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. I have checked the facts. As I explained - normally if you have an AST that has become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy then the 1 months notice you give must expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy - i.e. the last day of a rental period. You wrote - "Nowhere in any tenancy agreement does it state that if you move in on e.g. the 28th, you can only end the tenancy on the 28th of a subsequent month. " I'm afraid you're wrong about this - AST agreements normally state exactly this. If this is not stated in your tenancy agreement - then your agreement has not been worded like a standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement so it is rather unusual. If you doubt this read the following information taken from here Personally, as a tenant I have given notice to end 4 ASTs and have never been permitted to do anything other than bring the tenancy to an end at the end of a full rent period.

Planner In his post Andy states... "our rent is paid from 28th to 27th of each month" Doesn't this seem to imply that this is the rental period for his (now) periodic tenancy? Although as you point out this might not be the case. It all depends when the tenancy originally started. If their tenancy did originally start on the 21st of a month - then what you say is relevant - but nowhere is his post does Andy indicate that it did indeed start on the 21st. So I'm not sure why you assumed this. He simply states "our rent is paid from 28th to 27th of each month" and in fact he also wrote... "The landlord didn't amend the direct debit and so took the full month's rent for the final month, when it should have been apportioned and thus reduced by 6 days." This seems to imply that a "full month" would end on the 27th. And he wants a reduction from the rent due for a "full month". As I have written - notice must on the last day of a period of the tenancy. So you can't have anything other than a "full month" at the end of a rental period. Bottom line - Andy - if you originally started your tenancy on the 21st of a month you should be able to get some money back - but if you originally started your tenancy on the 28th of a month you shouldn't be able to.

This is what was behind Thatcher pushing "right-to-buy" for council tenants in the 1980s. The idea was - when people risk eviction because of missed mortgage payments they will be less likely to strike than when council tenants.

If you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy - then the 1 months notice you give must expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy - i.e. the last day of a rental period. This is the day before your next rent payment is due (28th of a month). So you should have given notice prior to June 28th that you wanted your tenancy to expire on July 27th. Your landlord would be entitled to refuse to allow your tenancy to end on the 21st.

Are the Halifax figures not based on completions during June? If this is the case then any fall in the index during June must be due to falls in prices agreed back in May relative to those agreed during April. Events during June (e.g. World Cup) could delay completions, lead buyers to withdraw from purchases, or contribute to small changes in the agreed price as survey results come in. But on the whole - surely it is events in May (relative to April) that must be responsible for the apparent fall?

With most mortgage lenders only buildings insurance is compulsory. Not life insurance.

Compound interest is over-rated. Assuming 5% compounded monthly... £25 per month from aged 22 will leave you will £3882 after 10 years (aged 32). You will have paid £3000 to get this £3882. If you wait 5 years in order to get £3882 by aged 32 you will need to deposit £57 per month for 5 years. So it will cost you £3420 to get £3882. So the cost of waiting is £462. And of course the money would probably be (subjectively) worth more to you when you're younger and on a lower income.

I think it's likely that I'm well above average intelligence (it would be difficult to justify my current employment if I wasn't ). However, I will freely admit that I've found the "whether or not to buy" question very tricky. I can generate compelling arguments in favour, and compelling arguments against. Ultimately predicting the future is a risky business. Smart people can get it wrong, stupid people can get it right. People who have profited tremendously from HPI may not have bought for sophisticated and sensible reasons when they did.