For many years we have seen consumers place great trust in the so called “Best Buy†tables in many of the financial magazines. While they do offer a summary of the best offers available at the time, many in the industry have great reservations. Do all companies have the same access to these lists? Maybe not….
Insiders in the industry claim that :-
In an alarming U-turn, the UK Government have been forced to “delay†the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) although they have also relaxed the requirements - paving the way for a total withdrawal in due course?
Originally due to be introduced in England and Wales on the 1 June, the packs will now be available from the 1 August, but there is only a requirement to show a pack has been initiated, not produced, prior to marketing any property. Under new rules, many smaller properties will not require a HIPs at all, although the details have yet to be clarified by the Government.
As we approach the 1st June, the day when Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be introduced, the Conservative Party have failed in a bid to have the project cancelled. They lost a recent Commons vote, where they argued that the packs we too expensive (costing upwards of £300), would delay movement in the housing market and were badly thought out with some areas of information for the HIPs not available as at 1 June.
While they have been popular in other areas of the world for some time, it is only over the last few years that “offset mortgages†are becoming more widely available in the UK. As with any new financial product it is taking some time to educate the public about the pros and cons of these mortgages, but there are signs that the message is starting to get through.
What Are Offset Mortgages?
While it is common knowledge that first time buyers are the life blood of the housing market, there are signs that this stream of business may be drying up - with many being priced out of the market completely.
A report today has shown that on average first time buyers are spending more and more of their monthly income on mortgage repayments, with the figure standing at 18.3% of income in March 2007 (the highest since 1992), against only 16% a year ago. While this may not sound like an awfully large rise, imagine if interest rates rise further (as expected), energy costs rise again and the employment market comes under pressure - the results could be catastrophic!
It has been reported that the Ombudsman for Estate Agents received a massive 8,000 complaints in 2006, up by over one third on the numbers for 2005. While this has risen in line with the buoyant property market, there are concerns that it may only be the tip of the iceberg.
