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Manning Stainton
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Dacres
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Castlehill
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Six central banks, including the Bank of England,
have cut interest rates by half a percentage point in an effort to steady the
faltering global economy.
No decision on UK rates had been expected until Thursday
- and the move puts the interest rate at 4.5% from 5%.
The US Federal Reserve has cut rates from 2% to 1.5% and
the European Central Bank (ECB) trimmed its rate from 4.25% to 3.75%.
The unprecedented, co-ordinated step came amid slumping
world stock markets.
The central banks of Canada and Sweden and Switzerland
all took similar action in the co-ordinated move.
China also cut its rate, but by 0.27 percentage points.
European financial markets reacted well, pulling back
some of the losses seen earlier on Wednesday.
The last time the Bank of England cut rates in a special
meeting was on 18 September 2001 - when rates came down from 5% to 4.75%.
In the UK, some mortgage lenders also immediately passed
on the rate cut to borrowers - trimming their variable rates.
In other major developments:
The UK government unveiled a package of measures aimed
at rescuing the banking system which could add up to £500bn ($880bn) European
stock markets - which had been heavily down - clawed back some of their losses
after the rate cut move All UK savers with accounts in the closed Icelandic
internet bank Icesave were told they would get all their money back. The
Treasury arranged for more than £3bn of UK savers' money held with Icelandic
banks Kaupthing Edge and Heritable Bank to be transferred to ING Direct UK.
Exploit The Housing Crash To Your Advantage
Homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, have spent a
long time feeling powerless in the property market. First it was a challenge
to save a deposit due to house price inflation, then there was the tricky
business of making an offer as the asking price was exactly what the seller
expected to get.
After that came gazumping, where a seller accepts an
offer but then later accepts a higher one from someone else. It's been going
on across the country in the last few years and many first-time buyers have
lost thousands of pounds in solicitors' fees.
The balance of power has shifted and the buyer -
particularly the first-time buyer - is now not priced out of the marketl.
According to The Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors, the gap between asking and selling prices is widening, with houses
selling at an average of 9% below the asking price.
Sellers in the North are being forced to accept 12.5%
off their advertised price. A massive 82% of chartered surveyors reported that
the gap had widened in the last two months between asking and selling prices
in the region
So how much should you offer below the asking price of a
property? It is possible to get more localised information by looking at the
records of other sales in your area. Hometrack is a property company that
provides statistics on the market as a whole, as well as specific data
relating to certain postcodes and even properties.
More information you can gain the better it is
invaluable when it comes to making an offer. But, as with any negotiation, it
all depends on how much you want a property and how much the seller needs to
sell.
Say you make an offer on a property that is more than
the asking price and that offer is accepted. Your seller is in a chain and is
holding up the sale, possibly through no fault of their own. In the meantime
average property prices in your area are falling, perhaps significantly.
Are you justified in gazundering, where you tell the
seller further down the line that you are reducing the offer they initially
accepted? They may have declined other offers or taken the property off the
market and have no choice but to accept your lower offer in order to stop
their chain collapsing.
According to a recent Fool.co.uk survey of 1,240 people,
58% of Fools think gazundering is unethical yet, if pushed, 94% would still
force the price of a house down at the last minute.
At the end of the day, whether or not you agree with the
practice of gazundering, it is not illegal - and it is certainly coming back
into fashion.
It's a postcode lottery in UK property prices
According to the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors' housing market survey housing conditions continue to deteriorate.
But there are regional differences, prices are falling the highest in
Yorkshire and in the East Midlands and lowest in London and Scotland. New
buyer inquiries are reported to be weakest in the North and Wales.
The Chesterton poll, compiled by the Centre for Economic
and Business Research from the Halifax, Nationwide and Land Registry indices,
shows how price falls of 15.9 per cent over a year in Northern Ireland, down
5.5 per cent in the West Midlands, but have fallen only 1.4 per cent in the
North East. The poll also shows how house prices are below the new stamp duty
threshold of £175,000 in all regions except London, the South East, South
West and East.
Reports from estate agents on the high street
Stuart Allan of Broadley & Coulson in Durham says
that increasing numbers of houses are being taken in part exchange by major
builders so that they can complete on their housing estates.
Edward Waterson of Carter Jones in York said the second
week of August proved the busiest of the year in terms of agreed sales. This
is the result of realistic pricing.
Ken Bird of Renton & Parr in West Yorkshire has seen
a slight upturn in activity, although offers are coming in 10 per cent to 15
per cent under asking prices.
John Halman of Gascoigne Halman in Cheshire says the
rental market is feverishly active. When the market improves, most of these
tenants will be looking to buy with the consequential increase this will cause
in demand.
John frost of the Frost Partnership in Berkshire said
buyers seemingly choose to ignore asking prices adjusted for market conditions
and expect further reductions.
Jeremy Leaf of Jeremy Leaf & Co in Finchley said
First-time buyers and investors, providing of course they can obtain mortgage
finance, are returning cautiously, encouraged by more realistic selling prices
and rising rents.
Aberdeen and its suburbs are still doing well owing to
the strength of the local economy. Well-priced houses are selling, but flats
and smaller properties for first-time buyers are difficult to shift. Gordon
Macdonald, Allied Surveyors, Aberdeen
Mortgage rates returning to pre credit crunch levels
Michelle Slade from Moneyfacts says that "the
average rate is a good indication of what is going on in the market, but what
is more telling is what the largest lenders have done with their rates, as the
top ten lenders make up 77.2% of the mortgage market."
All the main lenders have cut their two year fixed rates
since the peak of early July 2008. Bradford & Bingley and Cheltenham and
Gloucester have made significant cuts, but have a slight increase in their
fees. As of the start of the week the biggest cut comes from the Halifax where
the rate has gone from 7.27% to 5.99% offering one of the best rates. The
exception of this trend is Northern Rock which has put up its rate by 0.01%,
as well as increasing its arrangement fee by £500.
Michelle goes on to say that "the cost to lenders
in obtaining the funds for mortgages on the money markets has dropped
significantly in the last few months and we are now seeing some relief for
borrowers who are looking for a new deal. The increase in borrowers monthly
repayments should not be as much as it would have been had they remortgaged
two months ago, which will hopefully mean more borrowers can afford to remain
in their homes.
"I doubt we will see rates being cut to levels
similar to when base rate was last at 5%, but we should hopefully see further
cuts from the big lenders in the coming months. Only time will tell if we have
finally turned a corner, but this is the most prolonged period of cuts we have
seen since the credit crunch began."
Best possible taste: Link between top restaurants and
local house prices
How do you spot an up-and-coming area where property
prices may beat the national average? We all know that good schools and nearby
transport links favour some areas more than others. So what about top
restaurants?
Big city centres - especially those with large-scale
corporate hospitality can support good restaurants. But unassuming market
towns and villages that suddenly get a glut of entries in the The Good Food
Guide or a Michelin handbook show a more fundamental change.
Research by the estate agency Savills shows precisely
how much Rick Stein has done to push up prices in his native Padstow, a pretty
Cornish resort with 10,000 locals and plenty of Stein's restaurants, bed and
breakfasts, cafés and delis.
In 1997 Stein was still new to the South-west, an
average Padstow home cost £75,000, by 2002, Stein had three businesses in the
village, and average Padstow house prices had increased to £180,000, 32 per
cent above the Cornwall average of £136,000. By the end of 2007 - when
Stein's empire had expanded to four eating places, three shops and a cookery
school, plus bed-and-breakfast rooms - Padstow's typical home cost £342,000,
a whopping 44 per cent above the Cornwall average of £237,000.
The South-west seems to be hogging celebrity chefs (with
the exception of London) whose presence helps the local property market enter
the Michelin-star league. Jamie Oliver has opened a Fifteen in Newquay, Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall has opened a River Cottage canteen, cookery school and
shop in east Devon.
Richard Addington of Savills in Exeter states "I
always cite Ilfracombe as how this sort of thing can make a difference,"
says. "The artist Damien Hirst owns 11 the Quay restaurant there and he's
helped put the place on the map. There wasn't a lot going on there until he
and his wealthy friends moved in. The restaurant has a fantastic reputation
for food as well as style, so now Ilfracombe is sought after."
If Ilfracombe follows the pattern of other places,
expect to see more good restaurants moving in, and house prices moving up, as
a result. "Gastropubs and restaurants choose locations where clientele
will appreciate and afford fine dining," says Jo Aldridge of Stacks, a
buying agency. "Then the situation changes. Towns and villages where
pubs, bistros and smart restaurants are renowned become places for
second-homers from Notting Hill, raising property prices."
Another case in point is Bray. It is a semi-rural
location on the edge of Maidenhead in Berkshire, yet it has Heston
Blumenthal's the Fat Duck - which has been awarded a rare 10 out of 10 stars
in the The Good Food Guide 2009 (out tomorrow) and has previously been called
the world's best restaurant - as well as two other internationally renowned
eating places. Average Maidenhead prices are well below those of Bray, of
course.
Rob Middleton, a buying agent who seeks homes for
wealthy buyers in the Lake District comments on the downsides of living next
to a popular restaurant "Parking and occasional noise are obvious
examples, but in extreme cases, you can have paparazzi sitting on the kerb
waiting for stars to emerge after dinner. But on the whole, good restaurants
seal an area's popularity. At one time, buyers would want to know how far a
home was from a John Lewis or a Waitrose. Now it's different. You have to tell
them where the Michelin stars and farmers' markets are."
Avoiding a costly arrangement
In theory, this is levied to pay for administering and
reserving money for a specific mortgage, and it applies to re-mortgaging as
well as customers using a particular finance house for the first time.
Some lenders insist it is paid separately up front while
others allow the borrower to 'roll it up' and add it to the total loan. The
fee can be a flat sum or a percentage of the amount borrowed.
Most consumers understand the need for an administrative
cost but these fees have soared in recent years. Industry analysts say many
lenders now use the fee as a way of reducing the 'headline' interest rate to
make a mortgage appear cheaper than a similar product offered by a rival
company.
This means a borrower must carefully calculate the
impact of an arrangement fee on a loan. For example, if you borrow £100,000
at an interest rate of 4.5% that would cost £4,500 a year in interest. If the
borrower pays an arrangement fee of £1,000, that would be a total of £10,000
over two years. If the same lender offers a deal with no arrangement fee but a
slightly higher rate of 5%, then the borrower would pay £10,000 over two
years - no difference overall but no £1,000 fee to be paid up front.
Arrangement fees have the most significant impact on
small loans. Lenders often levy a flat charge (most are between £299 and
£699) irrespective of the size of the loan. If you add £299 to a £100,000
loan it is under 0.3% but if you add it to a £25,000 loan it represents well
over one percent of the amount to be repaid.
The duration of your repayment term is also important.
For example, a recent product by one lender had two options - a rate of 4.78%
with a £499 arrangement fee or a rate of 5.29% with no fee. If you had a 10
year £100,000 repayment mortgage and you chose the higher rate, you would pay
an extra £3,573.20 over the 10 year term, a high price to avoid a £499 fee.
] The lesson is clear. You have to: (a) Know how long your mortgage term will
be; (b) Calculate the total repayments on a mortgage, if the fee is 'rolled
up' against the total repayments or if you pay the fee 'up front.' (c) Compare
those figures with the total repayments on a mortgage without any fee at all.
Failure to do that may cost you literally thousands of pounds - and these
days, every penny counts.
Landlords: Watch Out For This £200 Fine!
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) detailing the energy efficiency of a
property become compulsory on rented property from 1st October . An EPC is
currently valid for 10 years and can be reused as many times as required
within that period.
Landlords do not have to commission a new EPC each time a new tenancy
starts but they are required to give a copy of the latest EPC to new tenants.
The bad news Any landlords renting out a property must provide prospective
tenants with one of these EPCs or face a fine of £200 and be unable to market
or rent out their property..
The good news Over a quarter of landlords (27%) surveyed by Paragon
Mortgages said they are planning to obtain an EPC before the 1st October
deadline.
EPC offer landlords an advantage over their peers that have less energy
efficient properties. Landlords with the most energy efficient homes could
result in more interest from tenants. Those whose properties rate badly could
face a lack of interested tenants and subsequent fall in rental income.
The EPC not only provides details of the energy efficiency and the
properties environmental impact, it also provides estimated running costs,
information which will now factor in tenants' decision making process, and
could be used as a bargaining tool if the home has received a poor rating.
In other words, if your property is energy-efficient, an EPC could give you
an advantage over other landlords.
What is the point of an EPC?
While measures which could be taken to improve the property's energy
efficiency and environmental impact rating are highlighted in the certificate,
landlords are not obliged to make any of the changes suggested on the EPC.
How much does an EPC cost?
This can vary - the Nationwide subsidiary The Mortgage Works announced last
week that it is offering free EPCs to landlords to help them comply with
legislation.
The Lender, in conjunction with Energy Reports and Surveys Limited, will
offer landlords who are remortgaging on selected products a free energy
performance certificate (EPC). The package also includes free legal fees and a
free valuation.
The National Landlords Association will provide landlords with EPCs for
£69 including VAT per certificate.
And Paragon Mortgages, which is offering the certificates for £85 each,
has produced an interactive guide for landlords on EPCs: 'The Landlords' Guide
to EPCs'.
Wait and see
Like the majority of landlords, you may intend to wait until your existing
tenant leaves before you get an EPC however you may not be allowed to market
your property. The only way to be in a position to move quickly is to have the
EPC already in place. And remember the £200 fine can be issued an unlimited
number of times, not just once.
Risky and reckless
Finally, Paragon Mortgages' survey also noted that with just one week to
go, 81% of landlords hadn't obtained an EPC for any of their rental
properties, with only 5% having obtained the certificates for all of the
properties in their portfolio. The National Landlords Association (NLA) has
said that the total amount of fines for UK landlords could exceed £500m.
A further 8% of landlords are prepared to take the risk and wait until an
enforcement officer contacts them before obtaining the EPC, and a reckless 11%
of respondents said they had no intention of obtaining an EPC for any of their
properties.
Getting a good rating with low running costs will make your property stand
out to cash-strapped tenants and that could mean the difference between
letting the property quickly or facing a lengthy void period. In other words,
the certificate could pay for itself.
Independent Estate Agent and Letting Agent Leeds Morfitt
Shaw
Manning Stainton
Alan Cooke
Linley & Simpson
Hendys
Jump Estate Agent
Dacres
Dacres Son & Hartley
Castlehill
David Moor
Walker Smale
Street Lane properties
Park Lane properties
Shaftesbury Avenue properties
Devonshire Avenue properties
Roundhay properties
Selectahome
Streets Ahead

80 Street Lane, Roundhay, Leeds, LS8 2AL
Tel: 0113 393 0113 Fax: 0870 220 3169
info@morfittshaw.co.uk
Estate agent covering North Leeds, Shadwell,
Scarcroft, Harewood, Thorner and other
villages around Leeds. If you are looking for a home in Leeds, you can search our
Leeds property database to find the house you want. You can also register on
our Leeds mailing list to receive instant email alerts of houses that meet your
specifications. We also provide letting services for
landlords and tenants throughout the Leeds area. Manning Stainton Alan
Cooke Linley & Simpson Hendys
Jump Estate Agent Dacres Dacre Son & Hartley Castlehill
David Moor Walker Smale Street Lane
properties Park Lane properties Shaftesbury Avenue properties Devonshire
Avenue properties Roundhay properties Selectahome
Streets Ahead.
As one of the largest estate agencies in Leeds, we aim to offer a level of service and
value beyond that offered by our competitors. Both owner managers, Guy Morfitt
and Graeme Shaw have lived and worked in Leeds all their lives, and between
them have years of experience as estate agents.
Some of the recent properties we have handled are
shown below: