The Nationwide Building Society claim that property Prices to level off in 2008. The slow down will be due to stricter lending conditions and less first time buyers being able to get on the property ladder.
Overall figures for the UK as a whole will see property prices fall by 5%, however if you live in Scotland they will rise by 4% and Northern Ireland’s increase will buck the trend of slowdown and rise by up to a third.
The mortgage rate was reduced this month to 5.5% down by 0.25%.
Get a full rundown on The Bank Of England Site.
Posted in News December 10th, 2007 by Kenny | 1 comment
More and more people are considering an Equity Release programme to release money locked up in the positive capital invested in their property. Living in a giant house can be less fun when you don’t have a comfortable cashflow situation. There are two basic plans you can get with pros and cons for each:
Lifetime Mortgages - A secured loan of not usually more than a third of the value of the property, interest adds up and is deducted from the value of the property when it is sold on death or when the owners move to a nursing home.
Home Reversion - A less popular option that allows the owners to get a large lump sum and the legal right to occupy a home untill death, at which time the property reverts to the lender.
Recent legislation changed the status of Home Reversion from property sale to lending and as such are now fall under more stringent regulation after claims of mis selling these plans.
Lifetime Mortgages are affected by interets rates and the rise in house prices, with a slow in the rise in house prices and lenders experiencing problems ( and subsequently passing high rates onto borrowers) these may be chosed with care. Home Reversion can result in the lender only paying 30% of the value of the property, so these need to be considered with care.
The offical regulatory and information body is Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP).
Posted in General December 3rd, 2007 by Kenny | No comments