GOVERNMENT PLANS TO STREAMLINE HOUSE SALES
The government has committed to making the home buying and selling process quicker, cheaper and less stressful. In April, the former housing secretary Sajid Javid announced a programme of measures designed to streamline property sales.
Under the proposals, estate agents will be required to obtain professional qualifications, and the practice of gazumping, where higher offers are accepted after a sale has already been agreed, will be actively discouraged by the introduction of voluntary reservation agreements. (The existing process in Scotland already makes gazumping less likely.)
Local authority searches will be subject to a time limit, meaning that solicitors acting for buyers should be able to obtain the information they need within 10 days. Managing agents and freeholders will be required to provide lease information for a set fee within an agreed timescale.
To ensure that buyers and sellers are better informed about the property process, a series of guides will be published that will cover the key facts about the stages involved. These will also set out pertinent questions that anyone buying or selling should ask to help ensure their property transaction proceeds smoothly.
As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments.
MORTGAGE OPTIONS FOR THE OVER 55s
Following the Mortgage Market Review in 2014, banks and building societies were required to adopt stricter lending criteria and affordability checks, and as a result many lenders restricted both their maximum borrowing and repayment age. Read more about mortgage options for the over 55s here.
TAKING ADVICE IS KEY
Getting advice from a mortgage adviser can really help. We know the lenders in the marketplace and the criteria they operate under, and so are able to ensure that your application goes to one that caters for your specific mortgage needs.
As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments.
Clifford Osborne are Independent Financial Advisors (IFA) based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, offering early retirement advice, pension advice, mortgage advice and more. Our clients often come from Uckfield, Lewes, Brighton, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Bexhill, Newhaven, Seaford, Crowborough and further afield.
Please read our VoucherFor reviews here.
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.
It is important to take professional advice before making any decision relating to your personal finances. Information within this blog is based on our current understanding of taxation and can be subject to change in future.
It does not provide individual tailored investment advice and is for guidance only. Some rules may vary in different parts of the UK; please ask for details. We cannot assume legal liability for any errors or omissions it might contain. Levels and bases of, and reliefs from, taxation are those currently applying or proposed and are subject to change; their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.
The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.
If you withdraw from an investment in the early years, you may not get back the full amount you invested. Changes in the rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value or price of an investment in sterling terms if it is denominated in a foreign currency. Taxation depends on individual circumstances as well as tax law and HMRC practice which can change.
The information contained within the blog is for information purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
The purpose of the blog is to provide technical and general guidance and should not be interpreted as a personal recommendation or advice.
