house in london

Adding value to your property should be a constant concern for anybody wanting to sell in a more proximate or distant future. Here are some easy improvements that you can do by yourself:

  1. high end windows
  2. modern railing for the staircase
  3. farmhouse backslash
  4. faux expensive molding
  5. faux drop ceiling
  6. upscale garage door
  7. embellished bifold door
  8. framed bathroom mirror
  9. fresh up cabinets
  10. custom accent wall

How to increase your home's value

10 inexpensive ways to increase your home's value.

Posted by Hometalk on Sunday, 1 July 2018

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Buying a property for the first time can be a daunting process, but so long as you have the right knowledge and know the rules you have to follow, it’s a straightforward process. Below, we’ve consolidated the main things you need to prepare and consider, to make sure your home-buying journey goes as smoothly as possible.

1. Things to consider before the hunt begins

It’s definitely wise to find out how much mortgage lenders are willing to give to you before you start home hunting, so you know what price range you can be aiming for. Visit a few and they will give you a rough estimate, based on deposit size, income and other variables.

Explore a variety of different areas – not just with online research, such as crime rate, transport links and amenities, but by physically having a walk around local areas and getting a feel for them before you decide which works for you.

It’s also worth spending some time improving your credit report before you get to the home-hunting stage, as this will influence how much lenders are willing to give to you. Being on the electoral roll, having a credit card with safe spend amounts on it and steady, regular bill payments over the years will all improve your rating. The rating will also tell you what’s counting against you, so you can improve this before you get to buy your property.

2. Get your finances in order

Have you got all your finances in order? Costs you’ll need to consider are:

  • Deposit – this is usually 5% – 20% of the property price and the more you pay upfront, the better mortgage deal you can get.
  • Stamp duty – if you’re a first-time buyer, you will only pay stamp duty after the first £300,000 of your property on a property up to the value of £500,000.
  • Legal fees – ask friends or family for a trusted solicitor.
  • Service charges – if you’re moving into a leasehold development, make sure you can afford the annual service charges for maintenance of shared areas.
  • Survey cost – once you’ve picked a home and made an offer, you’ll pay for a survey to check there are no underlying issues you missed.
  • Removal costs – look into the level of removal help you need. If you have a lot of furniture and you need manpower, this can be quite expensive and something you haven’t accounted for in your budgeting.
  • Extras – it’s worth putting aside some funds for the cost of redecoration or furnishings you need immediately after moving into your new home.

3. Property particulars

Explore this blog of questions it’s important to ask when you’re viewing the property, but the most important one when you’re buying, is to ask how much lease is left on the property if it’s a leasehold. If it’s less than 75 years, you may struggle to get a mortgage. Other important questions to ask would be around the age of appliances, what work has been done on the property in recent years and what spaces are shared in a leasehold property and what the service charges are for these.

 

4. Mortgage time

You’ll need to get your paperwork in order next, so first stop is an approval in principle from your mortgage provider which lasts for 30 days. In this time, you must decide on a mortgage provider and can make an offer on a property.

When submitting paperwork for a mortgage, you’ll have to provide evidence of your income, and information about your outgoings, such as any debt, household bills and other costs, so that the mortgage provider can assess your situation and make sure you’re reliable before they agree to lend to you.

 

5. Offer, Exchange, Completion

Within a couple of days of submitting your claim for a mortgage, you will receive an offer which outlines the rules of your mortgage. You will then exchange paperwork with the home seller through your solicitor. Then, on the completion date you will officially take ownership of the property after you have made the payment to the seller.

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The Government announced a support of almost £23 million for communities. This budget is to be used to develop Neighbourhood Plans until 2022.

What should come out of this move after the entire period?! The type of local growth the British Government is encouraging targets new buildings and homes, parks and other type of green spaces, offices, and shops.

Details upon the outcomes in this article below on Property Wire.

£23 million announced to help communities have a say in new housing

The pro-active moves of the Government however do not compensate on the lack of active involvement until now on ‘abusive’ leaseholds. The officials are expected to ‘make a move’ on current leaseholds and ban these types of contracts in the future. Considering the plan to build and develop new homes, the actions taken now should be a ground for more reliable future leaseholds.

Calls for UK Government to urgently sort out ‘abusive’ residential leaseholds on new builds

 

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Photo source: Flickr http://bit.ly/2w1IB2K

There comes one point in every home owner’s life when a though crosses his/ her mind: I need a bigger place. Climbing up the property ladder is a natural thing to do when you have a family and the financial situation is in your favor.

The solution is either moving into a bigger apartment (considering you already own one) or switching for a house. And the decision might not be as easy to take as you might think. A spacious and well placed apartment can be almost as expensive as a house, so the financial reasons might not be enough to have a clear choice.

If this is the case, bear in mind a couple of decisive facts when choosing a new place to live:

  • Try to estimate as realistic as possible the necessities for the family space. How many bedrooms? How big should the living be? How many bathrooms?
  • The neighbors. You might be that type of a people person that doesn’t mind hearing neighbors through the walls or you might want some peace and quiet and more personal space. A house doesn’t guarantee sonic isolation, and you’ll still have neighbors looking over the fence, but it is clearly more isolated than an apartment.
  • Gardening. Decide fast how much do you like it and to which extent. If you find overwhelming watering the cactus, you will definitely hate mowing the lawn once every… let’s say ‘week’ to make you feel comfortable.
  • Future development. Do you think you’ll need a garage or some extra storage space in the years to come? Think about how flexible the surrounding space should be to meet all your needs.
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Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2eS3I0m

Property is a better investment for old age than pension, experts say! Even with the rising uncertainty over the property market, most specialists consider a rented property a reliable source of income.

Buy to let or simply investing in a property is a good decision according to this article in Property Divison:

More People Choosing Property Over Pensions

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A better supplied market does not seem to be the answer for forcing rental prices to go down. At least not around London. 

Latest data showed that in the second quarter of 2017 the rental offer increased by 7% in the areas around London. At the same time, the average rent per month reached £790 – going up by 2.8% in comparison with the previous quarter.

Supply of rental properties rises in UK, but rents still going up too

Inside London, rents dropped by 0.2%, however, with an average rent at £1,934 per month.

To get a clear view of the market, go to the Victor Michael website in the ‘Letting’ section.

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