Mortgage approvals are on a 14month high but the Market remains on it's knees...

According to new figures released today, the number of mortgages that have been approved for house purchases in July has risen to 49,239, an increase of 1.5%. The Bank of England stated that from a four month depression in April last year, the number of approved mortgages has continued to slowly increase over the past 14 months. However, this figure was not as high as the previous month, where the rate had an increase of 4%. Need conveyancing? Visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk for conveyancing of the highest quality at the most affordable prices!

Ulrika Jonsson completes her bespoke ideal home.

After a fifteen month build, Ulrika Jonsson and her art director husband, Brian Monet, and their four children have finally completed and moved in to a bespoke, five bedroom house in Oxfordshire.

While for many, building and moving into their dream home is a plan that is often never fulfilled, but the stress of building your own home can often take its toll, with Ulrika battling with depression through a portion on the build.

Are you planning to build your dream home? Or are you moving to the house of your dreams? If you need conveyancing then give us a call or visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk for your free quote today!

July's house prices rise by 1.3%...

According to the Land Registry, house prices in July have risen by 1.3%. This has taken the annual fall in prices to only 2.1% as well as taking the average price of properties in England and Wales to £163,049.

The results of the survey found that the south-west experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 2.2%. Where as the north-east experienced both the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 8.8%, and the most significant monthly price fall at -2.3%.

London was the only region in England and Wales to experience an increase in its average property value over the past 12 months with a rise of 1.3%.

Need conveyancing? Visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk for your free quote today!

Good Conveyancing is vital when buying or selling.

You will find many estate agents keen to recommend a conveyancing solicitor in return for a substantial referral fee upon completion. It is not unheard of referral fees in excel of £600.00 being paid for a simple 

introduction. Referral fees paid by the solicitor but added to your conveyancing costs.

Unfortunately estate agents do not recommend solicitors on their ability but on the size of their referral fee. Solicitors involved in these referrals are known to add fictitious disbursements to escalate their costs and can be ‘spotted a mile away’. Disbursements you need to watch out for are:

Completion of SDLT form: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is generally payable on the purchase or transfer of property or land in the UK where the amount paid is above a certain threshold. The solicitors need to complete a simple form to inform the HM Revenue & Customs, however, solicitors have been known to add up to £85.00 for this service even when there is no stamp duty to be paid.

Acting on behalf of the lender: This applies when a mortgage lender is involved with a purchase, the solicitor has a legal obligation to act on behalf of a lender. Charging for this as and additional service is simply a way of inflating costs.

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI): Solicitors have been known to charge up to £40.00 for this disbursement. PI is required by all solicitors to operate.

Receiving a quote with any of these disbursement listed is a clear sign that you need to obtain some quotes elsewhere. Some solicitors that specialise in property are turning to the internet to market their services. A simple search in Google for conveyancing will result in many firms promoting themselves. Again, watch out for the fictitious disbursements and check to see if the solicitor offers a “no completion no fee service”. You don’t want to be paying any fees for a failed transaction.

You can find the service from some of these solicitors’ very efficient and read reviews from past clients. Many will also offer the ability to log in and track the progress of your matter online. Using a solicitor you found on the internet is no different to finding one from the Yellow Pages. Conveyancing is now done remotely, you should not need to visit a solicitor’s office, if you do then you will be paying for the privilege.

Estate Agents will discourage you from using your own solicitor, whether it is one you found on the high street or via the internet. They will ‘pull out all the stops’ to encourage you to use theirs. Usual excuses are: Our solicitor will be much more efficient, Internet solicitors are slow and many result in the chain breaking down. Ignore these statements, this is a simple attempt to make a referral for a substantial fee to a solicitor they have an arrangement with.

To rent? or to buy? THAT is the question...

The rapid decrease in housing prices that we have seen in the most part of 2011 is predicted to continue for at least the rest of the year, if not into the most part of 2012. 

In the short term, those investing in residential property is likely to lose the homeowner money. However, Citibusiness is questioning whether those lucky enough to have the choice between renting or buying, should be making the investment in property or taking out a more short-term contract and rent?

According to Absa’s senior property analyst, Jacques du Toit, since 2004 the year-on-year house prices have increased by around 30%.

However, it will shock no one that housing prices saw their greatest declines after the financial crisis of 2008/9 with housing price growth staying firmly in the red for the majority of 2009.

While in the far future, and following previous trending in house prices, things are set to improve, the near future predicts a long road to recovery.

Are you moving house? do you need conveyancing? visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk

Mortgage lending by banks flat despite return of attractive deals | Mail Online

"Mortgage lending by banks was flat in July despite a return of better rates and the availability higher loan-to-value deals, according to British Bankers' Association figures.

Gross mortgage lending remained at £7.6billion last month, equal to the previous month's lending, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), after an 11% plunge between May and June.

Elsewhere, the number of mortgage approvals was up 4% month on month at 74,950, while remortgages increased 7% to 26,043. "

By Mail Online

are you moving house? need conveyancing? visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk for your free quote

Women take over men in the battle of DIY....

Gone are the days where men were the ones in the home who were called upon for every DIY job!

A recent survey has revealed that nearly three quarters of British women are claiming to be just as good as – if not better than – their male counterparts at DIY.

The survey reveals that over half of the females questioned spent between one and five hours a week doing little DIY jobs around the house, many of these women rating themselves as better at it than the men in their lives.

for the best quality affordable conveyancing, visit us at www.helpfulconveyancing.co.uk