Move 2 You

In other articles we’ve spelled it out clearly – one of the biggest problems with today’s property market is mortgages. Specifically, how much harder it has now become to get a mortgage.

Especially hard for FTBs (First Time Buyers).

And as we all know, FTBs are SO important to the property market. Without them the whole system grinds to a juddering halt. As we can so clearly see right now.

We as we promised in this article we’re going to provide a lot of information that can help you get hold of a mortgage. Some of this info is common sense. Some of it is uncommon sense. And some of it is only known to a very few souls … so only they are benefiting from these secrets.

So do check back here as we reveal more of what you need to know. Our goal is to help people successfully move house (whether you’re selling, buying or both). And by helping you, we hope you’ll think of move2you as a really useful service, and you’ll recommend us to your friends and contacts.

Because the more people who use move2you the more that every single person benefits (not just from this information, but in the matching-people-and-properties-service that’s at the heart of how we help).

So, to start the ball rolling here’s the Option 1 for Raising the Deposit. (We’ll cover at least 7 fundamentally different methods in this series of articles).

Option 1 is in the “common sense” category. It won’t be a surprise to you, and it may be the only way you can think of to raise a deposit.

That’s right – we’ll start off gently and easily … we’ll save the more unusual methods (and certainly less well known ones) for later articles … because we would love you to come back here soon!

Option 1 is the most well-known method. It’s the first one most people try.

But … it’s also the slowest method, and, surprisingly, it’s the hardest method for most people.

And the method is …

… “Save It”.

Sorry to be so dull and predictable there! I did warn you that it wouldn’t be a surprise!

But let’s not just dismiss this as “yeah … of course I knew that … now tell me something I don’t know!” … because we’ll cover a whole variety of different methods, as we’ve promised.

Don’t just dismiss it … because it’s really important that you appreciate the pros and cons of this method. And remember … for many people, this is the only method they think is available to them!

So what are the pros?

- it’s easy to understand

- it’s personally “safe” (no risks involved)

- it’s easy to do (in theory)

- if you do it right, you’re guaranteed to get you to your target … eventually

Erm … any more pros to this method? (Please comment on this article to make any suggestions!)

Well, what about the cons?

- it’s not possible if your outgoings are higher than your income

- even if you’ve saved some money, it can still be tempting to spend it

- it’s easy not to save at any time … so you don’t progress

- it takes discipline

- interest rates on savings are, well, pathetic right now, so your savings won’t really benefit from compounding (By the way, you may be interested to know that Einstein called Compounding the Eighth Wonder of the World … do you realise its power?!)

- It’s. Soooooo. Slooooooowwww. Sure, you’re guaranteed to get there (if you’re disciplined) but it takes ages

Hmmm … a bit of a damp squib, do you think?

Sure, there are faster ways. And if you’re up for a challenge, there are ways that are certainly more fun!

But “Save It” is, nonetheless, a very real Option 1 for Raising the Deposit.

Simple rules:

(a) make sure your income is higher than your outgoings,

(b) be ruthless in minimising your outgoings,

(c) save the difference

(d) keep going until you reach your target.

Stick to those rules and you’ll get there.

Some time.

So there you have it – Option 1 for Raising the Deposit.

Options 2 – 7 will get you there faster. So come back soon to find out more.

(But don’t discard Option 1 – it certainly has its part to play … even if it’s one of many of the 7 Options that you use.)

Do let us know your views … we love to read your comments on these articles.

Speak soon.

Chris

Have you seen or heard the news about the housing market recently? Did you hear that famous phrase “green shoots” used to describe a slight upturn in house prices?

Well, don’t be fooled into thinking that everything’s suddenly going to turn round and be hunky-dory! As much as we’d all like there to be a swing to upward prices, that’s still some way off.

But there are signs of change … some estate agents are saying that there they’re getting more instructions now. Some are saying that sales volumes are rising.

All well and good.

But we all know that there are real, deep-rooted and fundamental reasons why it’s still going to be a while before it becomes easier to buy and sell your house – so moving house now is still going to be more difficult than it was a couple of years ago.

And one of the main things that’s holding back the market?

The massive reduction in the availability of mortgages.

Oh, and not only are there fewer mortgage options around than a couple of years ago, the banks are now so worried about the risk of lending that they’re making it about as hard as they can to qualify for a mortgage.

And if people can’t get mortgages then they can’t move house.

And the whole market slows up.

Well … over the last few months we’ve been on a fact-finding mission … we’ve been researching not only what’s really going on with house prices and with volumes, but also we’ve been uncovering ways that we can all beat the system … secrets that we’ve discovered that will raise your chances of getting the (right) mortgage you need (or anyone else in your housing chain needs – so it’ll be in your interest to spread this news around.)

Here’s the background:

(a) from 1997 – 2001 house prices were climbing steadily, and credit availability was carefully controlled, with interest rates at a consistent level;

(b) from 2002 – 2006 house prices started shooting upwards, and credit availability became much more freely available (fewer constraints) and interest rates were on a downwards path, and looking consistent;

(c) from 2007 the game changed – prices started declining and credit availability all but dried up … despite interest rates falling yet further.

So we have 3 factors – house prices, credit availability and interest rates. In the crazy years up until 2007 all 3 were working together to create – what is now clear to anyone who looks – a market that looked fantastic (if you were on the property ladder already), but that was built on sand … and heading for a fall.

The response to that fall is curious – properties are now cheaper than they’ve been for years, and interest rates are similarly cheap … normally these would be conditions that drive the market relentlessly upwards.

But here’s the rub – the availability of credit (i.e. mortgages) is sparse, and people’s confidence is low, so we have a bit of stagnation.

So with that background explanation we can now reveal what’s going to be coming up on this site – it’ll be packed with tools, tips, techniques and secrets that – at the very least – will arm you with what you need to know so you can buy the house you want … and make sure you’re selling to the right kind of buyer.

Because … despite what we all read in the press … people do still want to move house … they just lack some tools and ammunition to be able to do it.

Here’s a taste of what’s coming up:

• 7 different ways to raise the deposit you need (even if you think you can’t)
• How to give yourself the best chance of getting a mortgage (how to beat them at their own game)
• 11 mistakes to avoid that will stop you getting the right mortgage for you
• A secret way of moving into the house you want with no deposit
• The latest rates and deals – and conditions you need to be VERY wary of
• What the “clever people” (who are designing up & coming mortgage products) think will happen to mortgage rates – and it’s not what you think!

So, that’s a small sample of what’s coming up in the days and weeks ahead.

And there’s a whole lot more than just mortgages too. (More on that to follow!)

We’ve been researching what works … and now we’re ready to share it with you … so you can move house successfully.

We look forward to sharing this with you! See you back here tomorrow! (Don’t forget you can use the RSS facility so “we come to you”, it just makes it a bit easier for you to keep updated.)

And if you have any comments to add, please feel free in the forms attached here!

See you soon.

Chris

Sorry, did I say “house price UP”? That can’t be right can it?

Well take a look at this:

No, not the shocking news that Fern’s wore a Star Wars frock. It’s the other bit of shocking news that they’re shouting out.

Pretty authoritative don’t you think? What, you don’t believe the Daily Express?

Well, that’s the Express’s take on data released by Halifax yesterday, who report that house prices rose by 1.9% in January, compared with December’s figures.

So that’s it then … we’re all saved and everything’s going to be OK.

Well, err … it depends you believe, really. You see last week Nationwide reported that house prices for January fell a further 1.3%. They also said that fears about job losses were putting people off buying homes.

So there we have it – prices down by 1.3% or up by 1.9%. You choose!

Well, don’t be fooled by what you read in the papers. You see, they will report on “the market”, and they’ll be reporting on “the average” house, or on properties that sold “in January”.

But those aren’t your property. You’re not selling “the market”. You might be thinking of buying or selling A house in A street in A town / city. And what happens to the price of your property is only dependent on one thing.

The price that Your Buyer is willing to pay for it.

So what affects that price? Not surprisingly, it’s the amount of supply and demand for similar properties.

Now … how much demand is there for your property? How can you find out?

Two ways …

(a) pay £300-ish for a HIP and start to market your property (using an agent, or DIY), and wait and see if anyone takes the bait.

Or …

(b) have a look on www.move2you.co.uk to see the level of demand for your property, street, area or town/city, even if you’re not on the market.

It’s like finding a date for your property – move2you matches your property with what people have said they want. And you can contact those people safely, securely and anonymously to see if they’re really serious.

All before paying for a HIP or going to any marketing effort.

If you’ve already claimed your free account, see the latest demand for your place.

If you haven’t already looked, then claim your free account and see the demand straight away.

Go on … it’s free. What’s your place really worth?

All the best

Chris

Did anyone pick up on the fact that retail sales rose 3.5% in May, the largest percentage growth recorded since January 1986. It certainly surprised me and runs contrary to pretty much all other sentiment expressed about the economy and the market.

According to the report from the BBC apparently the Bank of England is even questioning the accuracy of these statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics.

So what is actually happening out there?

There can’t be much doubt that many of us are feeling the pinch with fuel and food prices rising, but perhaps we’re not as hard up as the media tells us we are?

One consequence of this continued growth in consumer spending however is that it makes an interest rate rise a little bit more likely. And this could cool the housing market a little further by making mortgages yet more expensive.

If this happens it will become even harder for sellers to find buyers as the number of buyers in the market continues to fall away.

This doesn’t mean the buyers aren’t out there.

It does mean that sellers will need to work harder if they want to find them however.

If as a seller you want to achieve a sale at a realistic price sticking your house in an estate agent’s window and hoping for the best is not going to be good enough. At the moment buyers are walking past the estate agents’ windows their heads filled with the doom and gloom of the reports they have read about the market.

Sellers will need to go out there and find their ideal buyer. Yes this will take effort, but if you want to sell your house in the current market being passive isn’t going to be enough.

It’s a competitive world we live in, and there isn’t a successful business in the world that just hopes customers will walk through their doors. Why should selling a house be any different?

 

 

Another big bank today went cap in hand to its shareholders asking them to dig into their pockets and help bail it out of trouble.

 

Barclays is the latest in a line of banks that has needed to raise capital – this time to the tune of £4.5bn ….. yes you heard that right, 4.5 billion pounds!

 

Am I the only person that finds all this just a little rich?

 

Don’t forget these are the same banks that risked your money and mine by investing in sub-prime mortgages. And now whilst they ask for more money to shore their finances up who suffers?

 

It’s the consumer – in other words you and me – that suffer the consequences of the bank’s greed and recklessness.

 

As the banks now stop lending each other money in reaction to the collapse in the sub-prime market we find that mortgages continue to become more expensive and the number of mortgages available has been drastically reduced. The effect of this is that there are fewer homes being sold and prices are starting to come down.

 

I don’t want to fall into the trap of talking the market down any further, after all we have our wonderful press to do that for us - how many headlines calling a housing market crash have you seen - but I can’t help but feel the likes of you and me, the honest home owner or aspiring home owner, have been the innocent victims in all of this.

 

We’ve had easy money thrown at us and now it’s all been taken away. Yes, some will say that we didn’t have to take the loans and spend the credit – and those people would be right.

 

But the banks have a responsibility too.

 

They make the assessments of who is eligible for a loan and who isn’t.

 

They send out the loan offers.

 

They authorise the money.

 

So it’s pretty galling to see the banks going out and begging for money to help them out of the hole they are in isn’t it?

 

It’s easy to feel that as an ordinary consumer we are completely at the mercy of the big institutions and companies that want to make money out of us.

 

But I don’t think it needs to be this way.

 

We should all look for ways of taking control back for ourselves and make the most of any opportunity that helps us do just that, especially when it comes to buying and selling our homes.