My house is going to be repossessed Archives

29/01/2016 By property

Sell my home faster

. Many people find themselves with their home on the market for months at a time before any interest at all. Then when something seems promising it often doesn’t transpire. This makes you feel downhearted and anxious. However in many cases, it is simple things that can prevent you from getting a quick house sale or even managing to get prospective buyers through the door to view your home. From décor to the environment or outstanding repairs, there are many things can easily put buyers off and delay a quick sale of your home.

Evaluating your home and making changes to make your property more attractive, can be the difference between your property remaining on the market for months or achieving your full asking price. This allows you to move forward and potentially make a profit. Depending on your reasons for selling your home, it may seem pointless spending money on repairs or making your home look attractive to buyers as you’re leaving anyway. You could of course choose to sell your home as it is; but this is likely to take much longer and result in much less monetary value. You can first contact your local estate agents: mainly, to find out what the maximum potential value is of your home. The value will give you an idea of what you could achieve.

It is needless to spend thousands of pounds on your property and start building extensions. However, you can certainly make a huge difference with a relatively little effort. Begin by ensuring the exterior is inviting. That is, grass and shrubs are tidy, paintwork is fresh and windows are clean. Never turn up a property that is overgrown with the curtains drawn. It’s all about opening up your home and making it bright and welcoming. When it comes to the interior of your home, make sure small repairs are done, it is clean and tidy. Consider giving everywhere a lick of paint, and remove any clutter or excess furniture which will help to open up your home and make it appear spacious and inviting. Moreover, think about when to put your home on the market as certain times of the year are better than others. Often selling a property in spring happens faster than during winter. When you do get viewings booked, ensure the property is free of pets, there are no odd smells and everything is clean and tidy. It is also a good idea to get advice from friends or neighbours who can help point out anything that can be done to improve the appeal of your home. Before you know it you will have offers pouring in!

26/01/2016 By property

Handling empty homes

Being in charge of empty homes could be challenging. At times it costs thousands of pounds in repair bills; need a keep up with energy and utility bills, mortgage payments and much more. Occasionally, a property can remain empty for lengthy periods of time, owing to a number of reasons. Landlords may be struggling to find tenants, a property owner may have passed away or perhaps a property is in a bad state of repair and is too dangerous for anybody to reside in it unless major work is carried out to restore it. Whatever the reasons are, it is a good idea to try and bring it back to its original state particularly as there is such a housing shortage within the UK. So whether you look to invest in developing the property or aim to get a quick house sale, it is important to deal with your empty property as soon as possible to avoid further on-going costs.

Firstly, you will need to investigate the problems the property may have. Whether you are aware of existing problems or you have just inherited a property, a home survey is a good start which can help to identify any underlying issues that need resolving. This is a good idea whether you choose to live in the property yourself, rent it out or put your home on the market. If you are on a tight budget, there may be help you can get from government schemes as well as asking friends to help with general maintenance. If you own the property outright, it may be worth considering getting a re-mortgage to help pay for any major repairs, which in the long run may help to avoid making a loss due to the state of the property. Otherwise you could opt to get a secured loan, or enlist volunteers to help with heavier work. If you are unsure or need advice, you can contact your local council or speak with an independent property or financial advisor who can help advise you with regards to budgeting or any help that may be available to you. While your property is empty you may be entitled to a discount on your council tax, so it is also worth checking as this could be economical.

Once your property is in a good state of repair you can then opt to rent it out which can help to recover some of the cost of repairs through rental income or put your home on the market. You could also consider marketing the property yourself in order to get a fast house sale which could also help to avoid fees from estate agents. However if you feel you are unable to carry out any repairs at all, you can still opt to sell the property in the state it is in. You may obviously make less money but you can then invest that money into a savings scheme and begin earning interest on it rather than having your property stood empty for any length of time. Often, you could sell property quick within a matter of weeks.

22/01/2016 By property

Primary Steps to Sort out Repossession

With the recent adjustments in house pricing and the economy, many people have been faced with the possibility of repossession in the last few years. This owes to the inability to keep up repayments on property mortgage. With the rising cost of energy bills and many people struggling with increased mortgage payments, it has resorted to many homeowners falling behind with their mortgage payments. If you find yourself in this position, the mortgage companies will try and come to alternative arrangements before resorting to repossession but this doesn’t make the situation any easier as it can be incredibly stressful and cause many problems in other aspects of your life.

When facing financial problems, it is important to communicate with your mortgage lender immediately. Early communication and making them aware of your situation can help to avert a possibility of losing your home, through reaching a payment agreement. Several factors can lead to financial problems other than house prices or changes in the economy. The two main factors among them, being a broken up relationship or loss of a job leading to repossession. A sudden change of some factors can mean that what was once manageable suddenly becomes unaffordable.

When people take out their first mortgage, they often tend to opt for a fixed rate deal within a limited span of time. The deal serves as security for a short time span. However, once it has elapsed you will find yourself faced with a large rise in the monthly mortgage payment, specifically if the base rate increases. Luckily, this isn’t a problem lately as Standard Variable Rates have seen a continuous reduction due to the drop in the Bank of England base rate.

There are varied options to try when avoiding repossession or at least avoiding the various negative consequences of repossession. This can be done through re-mortgaging or even considering a quick house sale which will allow you to sell your home quickly and possibly downsize to save money. You can communicate to your bank or mortgage lender about deals on re-mortgaging or other options that may be available to you. You will be expected to provide financial details in order to help negotiate repayments. If you cannot come to terms with your mortgage provider or they refuse any offers you have put forward, you will be in a better position legally as long as you proof a communicated urge to effectively resolve the situation while in court.

Lastly, it is also important to get professional advice. There are lots of companies such as Citizens Advice or National Debt line that offer free information and advice for anyone struggling financially or on the verge of losing their home. Nevertheless, you can as well speak to a solicitor who can help to iron out a repayment plan or settlement as well as help negotiate with your bank or mortgage provider. You will have to incur some legal fees involved with instructing a solicitor to help however.

19/01/2016 By property

Inheriting property

When a family member owns a property, chances are that you may find yourself inheriting the property upon their death. Despite the sad loss of the relative (previous owner), the idea of inheriting property may seem an exciting expectation. Then again, it can come with some frustrating and nasty surprises. If the property has been left sorely to you, then this can make things a little easier as the responsibility lies entirely with you as the new owner. When you inherit the property jointly however (perhaps with another sibling); then you will all need to come to a mutual agreement regarding the future of the property. You could opt to get a fast house sale and split the profit. At times, one or both of you may wish to live in the property. Such an action may trigger disputes between the involved families. Even better, you could choose to live in the property or sell your home, you could choose to rent it out thus providing you with a long term rental income, among other available options.

Unfortunately, if there be any outstanding debts attached to the property, they will have to be settled before any assets such as property can be distributed to the heirs by the executor of the will. Once you have gained ownership of the property, there are potentially many obstacles. For instance, if the property inherited has been rented with existing tenants in it. The will may outline that the current occupants can remain in the property leaving you with a limited choice. In such a case, it is advisable then to talk to the tenant and come to an amicable agreement regarding the future tenancy or your wish to sell the property.

In other cases, the property may be in a state of disrepair. This may force you to make essential maintenance to it. If you cannot afford these repairs however, then you may be left with no alternative but to get a fast sale before it deteriorates further. Another alternative is to get a mortgage on the property to cover the cost of repairs. In this case, you will need to register yourself as the new owner with the land registry. If the owner who left you the property still had a mortgage outstanding on their home then unfortunately you will also inherit the debt that comes with it and be responsible for the remainder of the mortgage payments. You can however, look to change the type of mortgage held on the property, which may make it more affordable. If you cannot afford the repayments, you could be at risk of losing your home to repossession so it is important to get advice wherever possible. If you own it jointly with another person, you could opt to buy their share of the property, and likewise they could also buy your share making them the sole owner of the property.

24/12/2015 By property

3 ways to break the housing chain

Being stuck in a housing chain can be both stressful and expensive. That often means you won’t get the home you want. Imagine if just one person drops out in a property chain, the whole chain is likely to crumple; in that case, you and everyone else on it will be back to the drawing board. Luckily, there are things you can do to break housing chains though they all go at a price.

Why break the housing chain?

When you let it loose …

It makes house buying far more certain, as you will not be subject to events beyond your fingertips. That will enable you to curb the loss of thousands of pounds as you will be autonomous.
It puts you in a formidable position when buying. Most sellers would prefer to engage a buyer who has the cash in his/her bank than sign into a waiting game where their sale is dependent on finding a third party when buying their house.
You are less likely to be gazumped. If you settle on a decent offer the buyer is unlikely to take another when contrasted with a property chain.

Here are three main approaches to break the housing chain:

Sell before you buy.
Get a bridging loan.
Retaining it, but increase the mortgage on a different existing property to use as deposit.

Selling before you find a house to buy

Selling and then renting is often stressful; similarly, being gazumped or feeling undersold by a property chain is just as stressful. When you sell before you find a house to rent, you will enjoy the following:

PROs

You remain in control of the sale of your own house. That means, you will not be pressurized into selling cheaply as you won’t need to make a quick sale.
It gives you a strongest negotiating position if you have adequate time.
You may get a better price if you buy a new property and find a seller who is keen to move in quickly.
You will know exactly how much you can spend because you’ll have the money from your sale in the bank. Thus, buying your new home won’t be dependent on achieving the expected price on your existing one.
If prices are falling, then houses get more affordable as you wait.

CONs

If you sell first, expecting to be able to buy quickly after, you may be disappointed and instead have to rent for a time, which can prove very costly.
If prices are rising fast, by the time you’ve sold your house and sorted out somewhere to rent, a new house will be much less affordable. For instance, if you rent for a year, and shoot by 10% in that year, than you be able to afford 10% less.

Bridging loans

A bridging loan is often risky, and not cheap. But, if you have found that dream home and need to put down a deposit for the mortgage then it might just be worth temporarily getting a short-term loan secured against your property, and paying it off once you sell.

PROs

It breaks you out of the chain
Demonstrates to the buyer that you are serious about buying
Let’s you buy that dream house

CONs

They have high interest rates.
If you get one before you have exchanged contracts and then get gazumped, you will have wasted a lot of money can.
If you be unable to sell the house soon after taking the loan, you may struggle to pay back the loan as the interest builds up. Always have your property on the market and ensure that there is some interest in it before taking out a huge bridging loan.
If interest is not high, you may be under pressure to accept a lower price for your old house to pay off the loan as soon as possible.
If property prices are falling, you may be left without the means to pay off the loan. Thus, only get a bridging loan if you hold most of the equity in your current property.

Extending the mortgage on your existing home

The other way to break a chain is by extending the mortgage on your existing home and using that money as a deposit for the mortgage on the new property. You can then either:

Rent out your old home, and then use the rental income to pay the mortgage on that property. This can be a good investment property. This transaction is known in the trade as “let to buy” – you are letting out your old property to pay for a mortgage that helps you buy a new one.
Sell you old home at your own pace. You will have two mortgages for a while, but you will be able to use any profits from the sale of your old house to pay off some of your new mortgage.

NOTE:

Such is applicable to one with a low loan to value ratio (LTV ratio) on his/her existing mortgage. If not, one will not be able to prolong his/her mortgage enough to pay for a deposit on the new house.

PROs

Allows you to break the chain by making it more likely that you will get the house you want.

CONs

If you get gazumped before exchanging contracts, you will end up with lots of debt capital owing to the accumulating interest.
Mortgages with early repayment penalties may attract extra costs when you go to pay off the mortgage on your new house.
If you have trouble selling your house afterwards you may end up owing lenders more than you can afford monthly. Thus, have your property on the market beforehand.