More Wise Words From Sophie Allsopp

[OnionTerror]

http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/homeandgarden/home/propertyfirsttimebuyers/

Property expert Sofie Allsop is here with her guide on buying your first house. While existing home-owners have had the satisfaction of watching their house prices rise, first-time buyers have been locked out of the market. The average age of a first time buyer is now 37.

What does the new government mean for first-time buyers?

The Conservative - Liberal Democrat government means changes for first time buyers. In their new programme for change, the new government will be reviewing "the effectiveness" of increasing the stamp duty threshold to £250,000. The parties' manifestos originally said:

The Conservatives want to create local housing trusts to allow communities to build affordable homes. The £250,000 stamp duty threshold will be made permanent.

The Liberal Democrats proposed bringing back into use some 250,000 empty homes by giving owners or buyers cheap renovation loans.

Options for first-time buyers

1) HOMEBUY DIRECT: The government has numerous schemes available to help first-time buyers. HomeBuy direct is is good for people who don't have a big deposit but earn enough to get a mortgage on 70% of the property. It provides eligible applicants with an equity loan of 30% of the property value which can be used as a deposit. It is interest free for the first 3 years and after that the interest is 1.75%. If the property goes up in value the loan will also increase by the same percentage, but if the value drops so will the loan. The loan needs to be paid off in 25yrs or when you sell the property. Household income needs to be £60,000 or less. The loan is financed jointly by the government and 130 participating developers.

2) PRIVATE INITIATIVES: Developers are keen to sell properties meaning there are many incentives out there; from the not so great (gym membership) to the very helpful double your deposit.

Taylor Wimpey will double your deposit up to 10% of the property value and in some cases pay stamp duty and legal fees, by giving you an interest free 10 year loan. If you were purchasing a £150,000 house and you had a 10% deposit of £15,000 they would double that to £30,000 which would give you a much better interest rate on your mortgage deal.

Barratt Homes' 'Head start' allows you to buy 85% of the purchase price and defer paying the remaining 15% without interest for up to 10yrs or until sold.

Bovis homes' 'Jumpstart' scheme means you can own 100% of your home, for as little as 80% of the price upfront. You receive an equity loan from Bovis for the remaining 20%, and you pay no rent or interest on this for the first five years then a fixed rate of 3% APR for the remaining five years - it must be paid off within ten years.

3) A HELPING HAND: For a parent who wants to help but can't afford to give their child cash towards a deposit, the options available are:

Guarantor Mortgage: Someone promises to take responsibility for your mortgage repayments if you can no longer do so. They must prove that they have enough disposable income after paying their debts to afford your monthly repayments. Guarantors must usually be under 60, and becoming a guarantor may affect their ability to purchase other property.

Lending hand mortgage: The buyer provides a minimum of a 5% deposit and the parent/relative 20% of the property value which they put in a savings account with a 3.5% rate of interest which acts as additional security. The mortgage rate is fixed for 3 years; no money can be taken out of the savings account until the borrower has amassed a 10% deposit.

Sofie's top tips

1) Shop around for the right mortgage for you; don't just pick the first mortgage with a low interest rate you see. There are literally hundreds of mortgage offers out there, speak to a mortgage adviser, make sure you understand the terms, have read the small print and above all don't be afraid to ask questions.

2) Improve your credit score - make sure you are registered on the electoral role, don't miss rental payments, make sure cheques and direct debits don't bounce, pay off your credit card debts if possible, keep one credit card that you spend a bit on each month and pay off with a direct debit, have a landline not just a mobile.

3) Get an agreement in principle before you start house hunting - this will mean you know how much you can borrow and what you can afford. It will also make you look like a prepared and organised buyer.

4) Make sure your house is also a home i.e. somewhere you are happy to live for a number of years not just a property speculation. You can't guarantee property prices will go up so your property needs to be a home as well as an investment.

5) Take into account the cost associated with buying: stamp duty, land tax, solicitor's fees, land registry cost, survey fee, removals, setting up utilities in new home. You don't want to be left short so BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET!

[TheCountOfNowhere]

http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/homeandgarden/home/propertyfirsttimebuyers/

Strange advice...no mention that house prices are 100% over-valued so either waiting till they collapse and/or offering 50% less, which would be emminently sensible.

Her advice is....s**te.

[OnionTerror]

Strange advice...no mention that house prices are 100% over-valued so either waiting till they collapse and/or offering 50% less, which would be emminently sensible.

Her advice is....s**te.

4) Make sure your house is also a home i.e. somewhere you are happy to live for a number of years not just a property speculation. You can't guarantee property prices will go up so your property needs to be a home as well as an investment.

..so prices only ever go up then?

[TheEmperorHasNoClothes]

http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/homeandgarden/home/propertyfirsttimebuyers/

What to do when your big boat starts sinking:

1. Get the 3 deckchairs from the starboard side and move them to the port side.

2. Don't grab any bucket for bailing the water, get the one that has the biggest depth

3. An extra layer of clothing may help keep you warm from the freezing sea water temperature

4. Walk to a part of the boat that is highest above the water.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

I think we need a nickname for Sofie Allsop like we have for Krusty.

Krusty Lite ?

Krusty Clone

Given their constant 'house price only go up' mantra.....

Upper Krust

[eric pebble]

She is SO thick - it would be an insult to pigs to say

a - she is thick as pig sh*t;

b - she looks like a pig.

Edited May 24, 2010 by eric pebble

[lulu]

http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/homeandgarden/home/propertyfirsttimebuyers/

I want to see what her and her idiot sister would make of the realitly of a first time buyer on a below average salary looking for a home, there is no amount of budgeting or shopping around for a mortgage that is going to allow them to get 'onto the ladder'.

[ArthurHon]

Although I'm not a fan of hers, if you want to buy a house then her advice is perfectly reasonable.

If you don't want to buy a house because you think they are over priced then her advice is useless to you.

[babesagainstmachines]

You would think anybody advising on the largest purchase anyone makes would have some ideas about price contained withing that advice.

[LuckyOne]

My wife watched this show to-day.

She was amazed that I knew that the average age of a FTB was 37 even though she complains that I spend too much time on this site. The average age of a FTB was mentioned on the show.

My wife is not that interested in house prices but even she knows that houses here are overpriced. The "natural" age for a FTB should be somewhere between 27 and 32 depending on education, the type of job held etc.

37 is just way too old given the way that human physiology works.

My wife recognised that the only sustainable solution is for house prices to fall by about 40% to 50%. Everything else is really just fiddling while Rome burns.

[Dave Spart]

I think we need a nickname for Sofie Allsop like we have for Krusty.

Krusty Lite ?

Krusty Clone

Given their constant 'house price only go up' mantra.....

Upper Krust

Coco.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

She is SO thick - it would be an insult to pigs to say

a - she is thick as pig sh*t;

b - she looks like a pig.

You've inspired me on the nickname front with the pig thing Eric.

I'm thinking it's like 'Ground Hog Day' where time repeats itself with this ramping doppleganger spawn.

KrustHog

Then there's chubby 'Boss Hog' from the Dukes of Hazard springs to mind as they are 'honourable' bollaz

Pukes of Hazard

or sticking with the retro tv theme.. '

Duchess of Puke Street'

Getting personal..

Sophat

Troughy Wife

Edited May 24, 2010 by Saving For a Space Ship

[Kazuya]

Sofie Allsop (pictured) advising first time buyers

[erranta]

How about "See_sick Sofie"

I had a quick look for her middle name and came across this >

Is there something wrong with Sofie Allsopp (BBC's The Unsellables)?

She doesnt seem to be able to stand still, squirming around all the time, I get seasick when she is on screen!

http://uk.answers.ya...22043556AAu8li9

Edited May 24, 2010 by erranta

[1929crash]

I want to see what her and her idiot sister would make of the realitly of a first time buyer on a below average salary looking for a home, there is no amount of budgeting or shopping around for a mortgage that is going to allow them to get 'onto the ladder'.

Yes, there is - sub-prime, interest only self cert 155% loans.

[GordonBrownSpentMyFuture]

sofie and krusty must be looking forward to when they finally get their lucrative BBC gig ramping property as the Administrators enter the doors of fallen banks across the world,heralding the end of 30:1 leverage.

I'm trying to remember other famous propagandists who were successful.

Repossession Repossession Repossession.

[TheEmperorHasNoClothes]

Yes, there is - sub-prime, interest only self cert 155% loans.

Sorry that's not good enough, it has to be negatively amortised loan on 40% of the house, the other 60% rented using a government loan at the BoE base rate.

No thats not good enough, you will need a partner so 2 people on this loan get together.

No even that ain't good enough, two couples need to get together to share a house, both on neg amortised loans for 40% of their share of the purchase value.

No sorry still not good enough, the garage can be rented to a lodger too.

And the garden used as a site for a car boot sale every Sunday.

And the loft converted and used to house another lodger

And that is relying on future salary increases.

Now you are on the ladder!

[Tonkers]

Repossession Repossession Repossession.

I wouldn't be suprised though, the shameless fecks

[R K]

Sophist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophism

Plato is largely responsible for the modern view of the "sophist" as a greedy instructor who uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand and ambiguities of language in order to deceive, or to support fallacious reasoning. In this view, the sophist is not concerned with truth and justice, but instead seeks power. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all challenged the philosophical foundations of sophism.

In modern usage, sophism, sophist, and sophistry are derogatory terms, due to the influence of many past philosophers.

A sophism is taken as a specious argument used for deceiving someone. It might be crafted to seem logical while actually being wrong, or it might use difficult words and complicated sentences to intimidate the audience into agreeing, or it might appeal to the audience's prejudices and emotions rather than logic; e.g., raising doubts towards the one asserting, rather than his assertion. The goal of a sophism is often to make the audience believe the writer or speaker to be smarter than he or she actually is; e.g., accusing another of sophistry for using persuasion techniques.

A sophist is a user of sophisms, i.e., an insincere person trying to confuse or deceive people. Sophists will try to persuade the audience while paying little attention to whether their argument is logical and factual.

[lulu]

Yes, there is - sub-prime, interest only self cert 155% loans.

Sorry, silly me I forgot, that is where I have been going wrong. I dont fancy committing mortgage fraud but it seems to be the only way just now.

Of course what all these silly FTB's should also be doing is to go grovelling to Daddy who just so happens to be a Baron (or whatever) and magically come up with a deposit too.

[Pole]

Sofie Allsop (pictured) advising first time buyers

First, David Miliband then Ed MIliband...

Then, Kirsty Allsopp and now Sofie Allsopp...

What's wrong with younger siblings these days? Can't they pursue their own careers??

However, calling her a housing expert is just wrong. Let's be honest, you really can't be an expert at anything at the age of 29... (Unless you're Beethoven or another genius)