Thursday, 13 December 2012
Surviving a Double Dip Recession
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Mortgage Glossary of Terms
A brief list of some of the most common Mortgage terms.
Adverse Credit
The term used if the borrower has a poor credit history. This could include previous mortgage or loan arrears, bankruptcy or CCJ's. Other terms used to describe an adverse credit mortgage include:
Bad credit mortgage
Poor credit mortgage
Non status mortgage
Credit impaired mortgage
No credit mortgage
Low credit score mortgage
APR (Annual Percentage Rate)
The interest rate reflecting the cost of a mortgage as a yearly rate. The APR provides home buyers with the ability to compare different types of mortgages based on the annual cost of each.
Arrangement Fee
The fee you pay your Lender in return for them providing you with a mortgage. Usually paid on completion or with your application, these fees usually apply when you take out a fixed rate, discount or cashback mortgage.
AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy)
A form of tenancy that gives the landlord the right to repossess their property after a set amount of time laid out in the tenancy agreement. New tenancies are automatically ASTs unless otherwise stated.
Assured tenancy
The landlord can charge a market rent (the current rate for similar property in that area) and take back the property under certain conditions, as set out in the Housing Acts of 1988 and 1996.
Bridging Loan/Finance
Short term loan to enable the purchase of one property before the sale of another essentially releasing funds that are required for the purchase. You should always consult a professional before considering any bridging finance as it could be a solution that is worse than the problem.
Brokers Fee
A fee charged by an intermediary or advisor for locating the most appropriate mortgage for the borrower.
Buildings insurance
Insurance you can take out when you buy a property that will cover the cost of any damage to the house and or contents..
Buy to Let
A mortgage meant for those who wish to purchase a property to rent out to others. The decision on whether you are able to repay this type of mortgage is often based up on the future rental income from the property rather than the personal income of you the borrower.
CCJ (County Court Judgment)
A judgement reached in the County Court generally realted to non payment of a loan, mortgage etc debt in general. If you pay off the debt, the CCJ will be satisfied and a note is put on your records that states this.
Chain
A housing 'chain' made up of a number of buyers and sellers, essentially the line of buyers and sellers involved in each house move.
Charge
Any right or interest, especially with a mortgage, to which a freehold or leasehold property may be held. Basically a charge is the claim the lender has on the property until the mortgage or loan is satisfied.
Completion
The term used when the seller and buyer exchange the finances required to buy a property through their respective solicitors. At exchange of contracts a deposit, usually 10%, will have been paid. At this point the buyer becomes legal owner of the property.
Conveyance
The legal process in which ownership of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. Generally undertaken by a solicitor, or licensed conveyancer.
Early redemption fee
If you decide that you want to sell your property or remortgage then you will be redeeming you mortgage early. Most lenders charge a penalty fee, especially during any period of a fixed, capped or discounted rate. Be sure you are clear about any potential penalties when you are about to take on a mortgage.
Equity and negative equity
The amount of value in a property that isn't covered by a mortgage - simply take the amount of the mortgage from the valuation to work out the equity. vThis is where the money you owe on the mortgage is greater than the value of your property.
Exchange of contracts
The contract is a written agreement that lays out the terms between the buyer and the seller. When both parties exchange contracts, usually weeks before completion, the deal becomes legally binding. Often a deposit of around 10%, is paid at this stage.
Fixed Rate
A set interest rate on a mortgage fixed for a period of time. This varies from lender to lender.
Freehold
If you are the property owner outright then your property is freehold. Most houses are freehold wheres many flats are leasehold, since you are not the owner of the whole building containing the flats.
Gazumping
If you are in the process of purchasing a property and your offer has been accepted but the seller gets a better offer, before you complete, and takes it then, you've just been 'Gazumped'.
Interest Only Mortgage
A mortgage whereby the borrower is only required to pay inerest on the amount borrowed during the mortgage term. It is the borrowers responsibility to ensure that enough funds will exist (either through an investment policy or other means) to repay the full mortgage at the end of the term.
Intermediary
A mortgage broker or advisor who finds the most suitable mortgage for a borrower and arranges the mortgage on their behalf.
Leasehold
If you buy a leasehold property you don't own the property rather the right to live there for a specified period of time, however much time remains on the lease. The owner of the property is called the freeholder or landlord.
Liability
This relates more to commercial mortgages. With a commercial mortgage liability for the repayment of the loan depends on the legal structure of the business:
A sole trader will be personally liable for the mortgage debt. Personal assets could be seized if the business defaults.
Partners are jointly liable for the debts of the partnership and their personal assets are at risk
With a limited-liability partnership and a limited company, the liability falls firstly on the business rather than on the individual partners and directors. The lender may take a floating charge on business assets in general, rather than simply on the current property being purchased.
The lender may also insist on personal guarantees as a condition of granting the loan, in which case the partners and directors may be held personally liable anyway.
Life insurance
If you have a joint mortgage, life insurance can be acquired that will see the mortgage paid of should one of you pass on.
LTV (Loan to Value)
The size of the mortgage as a percentage of the value of the property i.e. A £90k mortgage on a house valued at £100k would mean an LTV of 90%.
MIG (Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee)
A one off payment made when you set up a mortgage a kind of insurance policy for the lender. This
offers them protection against the value of the home falling to less than the mortgage. It is generally only charged to borrowers with a less than 10% deposit, but this can vary.
Mortgage
A loan to buy a property where the property is used as security against you paying back the loan.
Mortgagee
The company or organisation that lends you the money.
Mortgagor
The person taking out the mortgage.
Non-Status
Where a lender may not require income details from you or may accept some previous poor credit history i.e. CCJ's or previous mortgage arrears.
Payment Holiday
A period during which the borrower makes no mortgage payments.
Regulated tenancy
A legal right to live in your accommodation for a period of time. Your tenancy might be for a set period such as a year (this is known as a fixed term tenancy) or it might roll on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis (this is known as a periodic tenancy).You are a regulated tenant if you moved in before 15 January 1989, you pay rent to a private landlord and your landlord does not live in the same building as you.
Remortgage
The taking on of a second mortgage to pay off the first. The most common reasons for doing this are that another mortgage is available at a better rate or that the value of the property has gone up allowing for the opportunity to borrow more money against the property.
Right to Buy
For example, a tenant in a council owned property may purchase the property at a discount depending on length of their tenancy.
Self Certified
Generally when a borrower applies for a mortgage he or she will be asked to provide pay slips or company accounts to prove their income. If it is difficult or inconvenient for you to provide this evidence, you can choose to self-certify your income. This involves signing a declaration which states your income sources and amounts. Lenders will charge you higher rates than average and offer you a more limited range of mortgages if you choose to self-certify your income, in general it's not a good idea to self-certify just to avoid some paperwork.
Stamp Duty
Tax paid by the buyer of a property set at 1% for properties over £60k, 3% for properties over £250k and 4% for properties over £500k.
Structural survey
The most wide ranging check of the structure of a property. This is carried out by professional surveyor and should uncover any defects or faults with the building.
Tenancy
A legal written agreement between a landlord and tenant that sets out the terms of the rental.
Term
The period of years over which you take the mortgage and repay it.
Term Assurance
An insurance policy designed to repay the mortgage on the death of the insured person. Level Term Assurance covers a principal sum throughout the policy term and pays out the full amount on death.
Reducing Term Assurance is designed to repay the balance outstanding on a repayment type mortgage upon death. Term Assurance may also pay out early on the diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Underwriting
The process of evaluating a loan application to determine the risk involved for the lender. This involves an analysis of the borrower's creditworthiness and the quality of the property itself.
Unencumbered
Where the property is owned outright and no mortgages or loans are secured against it.
Valuation
A simple check of the property in order to find out how much it is worth and whether it is suitable to secure a mortgage against.
Valuation Fee
The fee paid by a borrower to cover the cost of the lender checking that the property is suitable security for the mortgage.
Variable Rate
A type of interest rate the lender can charge. It goes up and down and your repayments change accordingly.
Vendor
The person selling the property.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Don't Ignore Debt Collectors
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Effective Ways To Deal With Debt Collectors
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Timing The Market
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Why You Need to Think About Selling Investment Property, Long Before You Buy Investment Property
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Three Ways to Get Great Cashflow in Property Investment
- Single residential lets
- Multi-lets
- Flipping Property or Buy-To-Sell
Article Source:
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Unemployment - How Will It Affect The Real Estate Market?
Sunday, 16 September 2012
When Will The Mortgage Interest Rates Go Up?
The costs usually drop when the demand for a particular service or product is less, to encourage sales. The same could be said for loans and when the housing market isn't looking especially strong, mortgage rates tend to reduce to encourage potential home owners to purchase.
Furthermore, financial institutions look to market data like unemployment and the stock market performance when gauging their rates because they give an indication of how much people can afford to pay. Obviously, any lender or economic institution would wish to increase their profits but setting rates too high will deter prospective buyers which means that business is lost.
With markets all over the world still reeling from the global financial crisis, many indicators suggest individuals not being able to afford especially high rates, so mortgage rates are presently less to accommodate for the financial climate and promote sales. Those who are lucky enough to be able to take advantage can do so as not only are the actual house prices low, the repayment rates are also low. When mortgage rates are less it does not just assist the buyer during the period that the rates are low but also in the long term since more of the principal capital of the loan is paid off during that period.
Ultimately, the housing market will bottom out and prices would stabilize. Incentives like the first time home buyer tax credit can provide a boost however it has been shown that this boost is only temporary. Once house prices do become stable, then potential buyers are more likely to go ahead with a purchase since they are less likely to see their investment depreciate and more likely to see a profit. In addition, a stable housing market would indicate a more stable economy which would mean that more persons have enough confidence in their finances to go ahead with a purchase.
This improved liquidity and confidence will improve home sales and many people would look to get into the market when costs are less to maximize their future profits and get the best possible home for their money. With an improving housing market and more money being spent, economic institutions will recognize that individuals can afford more money once more and raise their rates accordingly.
What is more is that the government is currently striving to keep rates less in order to assist the housing market the best it can. When the government feels that the economy and housing market is strong enough then they will relax their influence on the markets, permitting rates to rise.
Several persons feel as though the housing market must simply be allowed to reach its bottom level if it is to eventually recover. It is considered that incentive programs like the first time home buyer tax credit are just prolonging the recovery rather than speeding it up. With house prices still falling and unemployment figures low, it's a while yet before we can expect to notice mortgage rates increase so those who are looking to make the most of the low rates still have some time to do so.
Sunday, 26 August 2012
You Can Sell Your House Fast Even If it Has a Short Lease
A short lease is a property lease that can be hard for you to be able to sell off through the use of a standard home sale process. This comes from how a short lease will work with a process that is very different from what you would normally have to deal with.
A short lease on a property is a good thing to take a look at when you are dealing with your home. A short lease is something that will last for a short period of time in that the lease will state that you can live in your property for a specified period of time. You will have to either leave your property or get a new lease handled in the event that the time on your lease runs out.
This is something that can be helpful to a typical homebuyer in that it can be more affordable in some cases. However, it can be tough to sell a home that is under a short lease. This comes from how the home will be one that is going to be listed under a plan where you will have to pay a varying amount of money when you are going to be getting your home lease renewed. This value will be something that is going to be worth the approximately decline in the value of your property. This value can easily change from one period of time to another.
It will be hard to get a property sold when you are not sure as to what the value of its lease will be later on. A short lease is not going to be accepted by a typical estate agency because of this. The fact that a company will want to deal with a long term type of property instead of something that is short term in its stature will be important for you to see as well. The problem with a short leases is that you will not be able to guarantee any certainty when you are looking to sell it off to some company.
An important concern to see about a short lease is that the value of the property in question will end up going down when the time that is left on the lease goes down. This comes from how a new lease is going to have to be handled in a shorter period of time. This is something that can make it very hard for you to be able to sell a property in the event that you have a lease that is quite short.
This is why a process to sell your house fast can help you to make sure that you do not have to worry about these problems. A quick sale company can work with your short lease home by picking it up from you. You will be able to get cash from your property with ease. You should not have to deal with the burden of a lease that could run out. You will instead be able to focus more on being able to get your property taken care of.
You should be able to sell your house fast even in the case that your property has a lease that is quite short. A process to sell you house fast should be used to help with making sure that you are going to be able to take care of a short lease regardless of how long that lease is going to last. The value of your home in the short lease will not be a concern either.