- How to Find Cheaper Properties - posted by Hottest Offers on Jun 20th 2010 00:15
The housing market has battled its way through the recession from late 2008 up until early 2010. The market is still not on its way to prosperity but in the last few months we have seen an increase in houses being put up for sale. No doubt one of the major reasons that the extra increase has come about is due to the removal of Home Information Pack (HIP) by the conservative government.
Speak to a Mortgage advisor first
Before you enter the premises of an estate agent make an appointment with a mortgage advisor. Your advisor will be able to let you know of the best mortgage products on the market. Make sure your advisor covers the whole of the market and not just a selective few. You could find that he or she may try and up sell you a product that benefits them financially rather than one that meets your needs. Once you have spoken to your advisor you will have an idea of your budget.
Estate Agents
With your budget set in stone it is now time for you to brave the unfair world of estate agents. There are thousands of estate agents around the UK for you to choose from but be aware that many of them are useless. Once you have found a few agents to speak to, you will find a common theme about them. Many will ask you to register with them and will try to up-sell you to their own mortgage advisors.
A great estate agent should want to know the following -
What your ideal home would look like Your ideal areas to live They should recommend areas to where your budget will fit best They should know the market well They should show you what they have on their books and book appointments with you a.s.a.p. They should remember you personally They should be an independent person and looking after your interests
Things to remember Estate agents are sales men and women They will always look for the highest price They never remember you specially but will call you randomly (which can be very annoying)
Auctions
If you’re looking to make sure your money goes further residential auctions could be the thing for you. Auctions happen throughout the UK all year round. It is free to sign up with an auction house and many will send their current auction catalogue to your home for free or have the catalogue available online. Auction houses do give you an opportunity to view the properties first. This tends to be two weeks before the auction date where you can view the property at least 4 times before the auction date. Most open houses will last for an hour at restricted times so you will have to be flexible in your approach. Auctions are really geared toward cash buyers as banks sometimes have restrictions on how fast they can move to offer a mortgage. However most banks will lend based on auction properties, apart from HSBC, so people dependant on a mortgage can still participate.
Before the Auction
Make sure you have viewed the property at least twice to ensure that you haven’t missed anything. Always aim to get your mortgage offer in place before the auction. This is manageable but again you will be working to tight deadlines so your offer may come in on the day of the auction. The bank will require their own surveyors to view the property to make a valuation so make sure you have the viewing times to hand. Most valuations will cost around £230 getting this done before hand could save you lots of money in the long run if things do go wrong.
Below Market Value Properties
These types of property may be found from repossessed properties or probate properties. You can find these properties through estate agents or specialist companies. The agent will allow you to view the property at selected times and it will be up to you on whether you would like to put down an offer. Again please be careful with this as many agents do try their luck by pushing up the price of the opposing offer. So have a budget in mind and place your top offer first time.
Why should you buy now
Land Registry Tax
Land registry tax was removed on the 25 March 2010 by the labour government for those buying a property less then £250K. This has been a great saving for many of around £2K. But this offer will not last forever and it is due to expire in 2012.
More properties on the market
Due to the removal of HIP packs this meaningless charge has encouraged sellers to see what their properties could fetch.
Most properties on auction or below market value are there for a reason, make sure you do a full survey on the property and think with your head rather than your heart.
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The housing market has battled its way through the recession from late 2008 up until early 2010. The market is still not on its way to prosperity but in the last few months we have seen an increase in houses being put up for sale. No doubt one of the major reasons that the extra increase has come about is due to the removal of Home Information Pack (HIP) by the conservative government.
Speak to a Mortgage advisor first
Before you enter the premises of an estate agent....
