A Didsbury based sale and rent back company has gone into administration leaving many tenants with the possibility of losing vast sums of money. Administrators Baker Tilly said that tenants could rent as normal but they did not want to give tenants “false hope” about the likelyhood of them getting their 30% payback.
UK Housing Alliance (North West) Ltd, bought properties off of 375 homeowners who then rented the property back, the deal was 70% of the price up front and the remaining 30% after renting for 10 years. But after only 4 years in business, the firm has gone bust leaving some tenants possibly out of pocket to the tune of £40,000.
Speaking at a community question and answer session yesterday in Brighton & Hove, the PM suggested council house reform by discussing the possibility of removing the ‘council house for life’ policy currently in existence. Instead he put forward the idea of a contract term of 5 or 10 years based on the fact that tenants circumstances may change and they may want to move into the private sector.
Any reform of this kind would echo that of Maggie Thatchers revolutionary decision to allow tenants to buy their council houses. If you missed the PM Direct session, you can catch the bit on housing here…
Great news, those thinking “I’d like to sell my house fast” will be pleased to know house prices rose again in June according to Nationwide building society figures, the rise comes after a 0.5% increase in May and puts the average UK property at just over £170,000. These figures contradict the Government research which puts the average house price at £207,000 but as we know, these surveys always offer different results.
The Government figures put inflation at 10.1% however Nationwide’s findings suggest a percentile closer to 8.3%, the building society also shows prices have risen by 3% since the start of the year. As for reasons behind the findings, Nationwide say the increase in prices is down to the rise in the number of properties on the market after the suspension of Home Information Packs (HIPs).
After blogging last week about the variety of results that the housing market surveys produce, this week it’s the turn of the Government to tell us how house prices are doing and according to their figures prices are rising at their fastest rate since the autumn of 2007.
Annual house price inflation has reached as the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said prices in April were 10.1% higher than a year ago. The figures also show that UK house prices rose by another 0.4% in April alone, putting the average UK property at just over £207,000. Despite the rise in prices, the number of loans granted to home buyers fell by 9% in April to 40,000, if you believe this survey that is.
At a time when houses are very affordable and mortgage deposits are so high, first time buyers (FTBs) are facing a veritable lock-out unless they can find 15% – 30% of the property value. So, how do you buy a house at a time like this? Well, maybe this can help…
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said UK mortgage lending remains subdued after the budget announcement last week. Despite the lack of noticable growth, the number of new home loans rose by 7% in month on month in May to £11.3bn.
The reasons for the stuttering mortgage market can be blamed on higher taxes and public spending cuts said the CML, commenting on the situation CML economist Paul Samter said: “The market will inevitably be affected by how policy impacts on the wider economy – particularly on household finances and confidence.” Whether the market will pick up will depend on whether lenders relax their restrictions on deposits from first time buyers, unlikely for some time.
According to a survey conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the suspension of Home Information Packs (HIPs) has resulted in more property being placed on the market in England and Wales. Despite the rise in homes on the market, a fast house sale is unlikely as the number of completed sales over the the 1st quarter months fell by 5%.
The suspension of HIPs and the abolition which is to follow was announced by the new coalition government in May and described as “needless red-tape” by housing minister Grant Shapps. Although the need for a HIP has been removed, sellers are still required to provide an energy performance certificate will remain. As for a HIP replacement (sorry, couldn’t resist), there are no signs this Government will be entertaining that idea throughout this Parliament.
House Price surveys – they’re like 4 suspected criminals that haven’t got their story straight, all giving different versions of the truth. Ok, that’s probably one of the worst similes you’re likely to see but it kind of gets the point across that the state of the housing market depends on who’s survey your looking at. So why are they always different? Well, maybe this can help explain…
So, you put your house on the market and waited for the calls to come flooding in, actually you were aware they probably wouldn’t come flooding in because a quick house sale in this market is hard to come by. But what’s the next step, where to from here? Well if you could do with some extra cash to cover the bills or mortgage, why not join the thousands of households across the UK that are letting out their spare rooms to lodgers.
There are an increasing number of websites what offer rooms with ‘hospitable hosts’ in houses up and down the country and across the globe. Often it’s parents who have seen their kids move away and have rooms going spare but sometimes it’s professionals who work away from home letting their flat out to guests. There are even flexible tax rules in the UK that make the idea even more attractive, those planning to rent out a furnished room in their main residence may be able to claim ‘rent-a-room’ relief. This relief allows a property owner to pay no tax if the gross rental income for the tax year does not exceed £4,250. So if you’re trying to sell, maybe you should rent!
It’s Monday, the start of another working week and here at the HousesForCashUK.co.uk blog we’re going to pick up were we left off on Friday. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) plan to shake up the online aspect of the estate agency industry by encouraging more ‘introducer’ businesses. These introducers are often websites where buyers and sellers can meet and conduct negotiations between themselves.
Introducer sales in the UK are currently in the minority, making up just 2% of the market, but across the pond such transactions are much more frequent, accounting for 15% of all property sales. Part of the plan from the OFT is to reduce the regulations applicable to introducers and therefore free them from the red-tape and costs associated with being classed as an estate agent. Of course this is great for competition and for consumer choice, but with deregulation can come issues of mis-selling with no rebuke. A workable balance is needed.
