How To Purchase House

The investment quandary as to the best method for acquiring foreclosed property at heavily discounted prices inevitably surfaces at the same stage in the real estate cycle every ten to twenty years. After housing booms and home prices correct back to affordable levels, real estate investors are suddenly inundated with an almost overwhelming supply of potential homes to choose from. These prospective buyers peruse city blocks searching for evidence of distressed properties that might lead to investment opportunity by taking dead lawns, unpaid utility notices, and default notices all into account. They investigate “For Sale” signs with “Bank Owned” or “Foreclosure” riders attached. Technologically savvy bargain hunters browse websites online to identify properties in default. These opportunists also compare notes with one another at various social functions, water coolers, chat rooms, and anywhere else real estate is spoken. Here they may learn that in order to obtain the most lucrative price, investors are best served to purchase property directly at a foreclosure sale on the court house steps. Regardless of the preferred method for locating distressed properties, it is imperative to thoroughly comprehend the different foreclosure processes in order to develop and implement a successful investment strategy. If a homeowner fails to make prescribed loan payments to the bank, the borrower is deemed to have defaulted on the loan. If the delinquent payments are not cured in a timely fashion, the lender is permitted to foreclose on the property to acquire title to the home as security for the unpaid debt. For national investors it is important to understand that lending practices and foreclosure procedures vary from state to state. For example, some states are considered “mortgage” states while other states prefer the “deed of trust” method of lending and holding title as security for the loan.MORTGAGES Mortgage states utilize a two party security system where a mortgagor (or borrower) provides a promissory note to a mortgagee (or lender), along with a voluntary lien called a mortgage that serves as security for the borrower’s promise to make the loan payments described in the promissory note. Since title to the property resides with the borrower when the mortgage is created, foreclosures in mortgage states can be relatively lengthy and costly for banks to pursue. Further, mortgages also provide borrowers redemption rights that allow borrowers a specified period of time after the foreclosure and ultimate sale to a third party to pay off the original loan amount and regain title to the property. As a result, buyers at foreclosure sales in mortgage states must be aware that they will often be unable to obtain clear title to foreclosed homes as the previous owner will likely be afforded the opportunity to pay off the original promissory note and reclaim the property.DEEDS OF TRUST A minority of states that include California favor the three party deed of trust system due to the relative cost efficiency and expediency provided to lenders in the foreclosure process. Additionally, lenders are often able to provide buyers of foreclosed property clear title as no right of redemption exists for borrowers. The Deed of Trust process involves a trustor (or borrower) that gives a promissory note to the beneficiary (or lender), and the trustor also gives title through a trust deed to a trustee (neutral third party) as security for the note. The important difference here is that title to the property is held by the trustee rather than the borrower. The trustee is typically a neutral third party designated by the lender to hold the deed of trust during the loan period with the power to more easily administer a foreclosure sale in case of default by the borrower. It is clearly important to determine whether one is bidding on a property that was subject to a mortgage or a trust deed at a foreclosure sale. This differentiation can often be confusing as many real estate professionals and experts in deed of trust states will often casually refer to home loans as mortgages. Many lenders in these states will refer to themselves as mortgage brokers or mortgage companies when they actually originate promissory notes secured by deeds of trust. Deed of Trust states also refer to foreclosure sales as trustee’s sales, where the highest bidder purchases the property in an auction setting. However, purchasing a home at a trustee’s sale can be a risky proposition as the buyer has little or no opportunity to inspect the home prior to purchase. Further, the buyer must pay with all cash as financing is typically not permitted at trustee’s sales. There is also no guarantee that the property is not currently occupied by tenants or a previous owner. Finally, purchasers at a trustee’s sale are not protected against clouds on the property’s title like tax liens from a previous owner’s unpaid property taxes, so title insurance is often unattainable for buyers at trustee’s sales.REAL ESTATE OWNED (REO) If a home is not sold to a new buyer through the foreclosure process, the lender holding the promissory note will often acquire the property and attempt to sell it on the open market to a new buyer. Once title to the home that once served as security for the unpaid promissory note is transferred to the bank, the property is deemed real estate owned (REO) by the bank. The bank will then typically retain a REALTOR® to market the property for sale at a price below market value, remedy any defects on title, remove any tenants or squatters occupying the property, and often retain contractors to repair any major physical defects in existence on the property. Although the typical price paid for an REO property may in theory be slightly higher than buying at a foreclosure sale, purchasing an REO property is clearly a much less risky proposition. REO sales also provide investors adequate opportunity to inspect homes prior to making offers to purchase, and buyers are permitted to utilize financing when purchasing these bank-owned properties. Whether purchasing foreclosed or REO properties, the various risks and rewards associated with an investment may not only depend on the characteristics of the home itself, but also the type of security the home provided to the previous owner’s lender. In order to avoid the displeasure of telling foreclosure horror stories in real estate investment circles, an ounce of diligent research into a property’s financial history can prevent a pound of investment headaches.

It is a subject which splits opinion on a daily, weekly and monthly basis – the housing market. The sector is pored over in minute detail, with many lenders, bodies and other organisations publishing figures at the end of each month, detailing average house prices, annual changes, monthly changes, regional breakdowns, discrepancies between asking and selling prices, and so on.Data released recently by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says that house prices are showing their most pronounced rise for more than two years. This, in part, has been caused by a lack of supply, but should not take away from the fact that the proportion of surveyors reporting price increases is at its highest point since May 2007 – well before the outset of the credit crisis.It is difficult to ascertain just how accurate or reliable these surveys – and there are a great many – actually are. Most are released by groups or organisations that have a vested interest in the value of property going up. One of the more reliable reports comes from the Land Registry, which bases its figures on the prices houses are actually sold for, not what they are deemed to be worth by the owners or agents. After all, a house is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.That being said, there does seem to be evidence that an appetite for entering the housing market is returning. Reporting its figures for September, the National Association of Estate Agents said that the average number of house hunters registered at its agents had jumped from 238 to 294 in the month. Furthermore, a survey has found that it is cheaper to buy a home in the UK than it is to rent in all regions apart from London, although this assumes that first time buyers have sizeable deposits in place.What is certain is that at the end of September, there were more mortgage products to choose from than there have been for almost a year, with a shade over 1,400 on the market. There are still just a handful of products that offer buyers a loan worth the total value of the property, or even 95 per cent, but the 90 per cent loan-to-value market is now comprised of more than 100 products, which has not been the case for most of 2009.A number of new trackers have also been launched by providers and, with some predicting that the base rate of interest will remain low for some years to come, the more daring of potential homeowners have a number of competitive deals to choose from. There is still some way to go before the housing market can be considered in good health, but a number of providers have decreased their rates lately as well as launching new products that look competitive. Those who had given up designs on owning their own homes could do worse than giving the mortgage best buys a cursory glance once more.

A dwindling house market in the UK could stretch the financial situation for some mortgage lenders according to credit ratings agency, Fitch.

Their research has uncovered that the British housing market is set to see the trend of lower prices continue, but they do not expect to see a collapse of house prices.

Director of Fitch’s London-based Financial Institutions Group, Alexander Birry, warned that a weakening housing market could place added pressure on UK mortgage lenders who may see a downgrading of their credit ratings, making it more expensive for them to borrow on the money markets. However, a rebalancing act of the market is likely to offer opportunities to those with the best access to funding.

Birry said, “Rating actions may occur if a lender shows more vulnerability to a weakening housing market than is currently anticipated. In particular, the performance of certain non-conforming residential loans in a more difficult market represents a key uncertainty.”

Banks are set to find it increasingly difficult to offer competitive mortgage rates if they are forced to spend more money on their borrowing, which will in turn worsen the squeeze on credit; but downgrades are not expected across the board from UK lenders.

Alliance and Leicester have announced though, that they are set to stop writing the vast majority of new mortgages after they suffered losses of £150 million as a result of a recent credit crunch. Their shares also suffered with a reported fall of 2.5 per cent to a record low of 479.5 pence.

The lender also revealed that they were to end the offer of 125 per cent mortgages as a result of the falling house prices leaving many borrowers who relied on their house value increasing, facing financial difficulty.

The packages that usually saw a mortgage with a loan to the value of 95 per cent, with a further 30 per cent as a personal loan had been abandoned because “Alliance and Leicester is a prudent and responsible lender, with PlusMortgage successfully targeting high quality applicants” according to their spokesman, Stephen Leonard.

Elsewhere on the continent the weakening Irish housing market has also affected their mortgage lenders as Irish banks are more exposed to real estate than most others in Western Europe. This has made them susceptible to any significant frailties in the sector. Fitch analyst Matthew Taylor warned, “If the Irish economy achieves a soft landing, which we regards as the most likely scenario, then most Irish institutions should be capable of rising to the challenge without the need for rating action. In the case of a more severe contraction in economic growth, a wider range of rating actions on Irish banks may be required.”

In Spain property prices had fallen dramatically after a housing boom in recent years. This has left mortgage lenders especially weak when banks have significantly increased their exposure to real estate. However, Fitch has concluded that they see more pressure falling on some of the savings banks, rather than the larger, more expansive lenders.

Are you thinking of investing in a buy-to-let property? A great number of people have done so already and according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, individuals taking out buy to let mortgages rose by 483 per cent in the five years to 2005.

The vast majority of these landlords probably have no trouble at all with their tenants, either by luck or careful vetting, but you may need strong nerves to watch a new television series entitled “Tenants From Hell”, featuring real-life horror stories regarding the misfortunes of some landlords.

There’s the east London property let out in all innocence to a Chinese couple – they turned out to be running a cannabis farm. Then there’s the £250.000 home, let out to a tenant. There was a disagreement over the rent and the tenant demolished the house with a 14-ton digger.

Need we go on?

Newsworthy though these stories may be, it doesn’t have to be like that.
There are some steps you can take to increase your chances of successfully finding a good tenant.

You should always obtain and follow up references. If the potential tenant is wary of providing a reference it well be sign that all is not what it should be. A credit agency will investigate the tenant’s references for you for around £25.

You are quite justified in asking to be shown at least three months bank statements. Ask where the tenant works and find out from their employer how long they have been in employment there. Find out from their previous landlords if there have been any problems with the tenancies.

It may be possible for the potential tenant to find a guarantor. In the case of a student or tenant away from home for the first time they may be able to ask a parent to back them by guaranteeing the rental amount or payment for damage. This would obviously offer you some peace of mind and be an incentive for them to keep an eye on the situation.

Don’t be hasty in choosing someone to let your property to. When you’ve completed the above steps and you’re ready to proceed with letting the property, make sure you get the tenant to sign a contract prior to moving in, together with collecting at least one month’s deposit or even more. You are entitled to ask for up to 12 months rental in advance, but this is probably over optimistic, depending on your tenant’s circumstances. A copy of the tenant’s passport and details of their NI number are a good precaution, should there be trouble in the future, as these would be a help in tracing the person if necessary.

With the wrong choice of tenant, should things go awry, it is not easy to evict your tenant or to collect outstanding rental. The court system in Britain is overstretched and repossession cases can take up to five months to process. Obviously this is a frustrating process, not to mention the financial worry involved.

There is another option; you could employ a letting agent. Obviously there will be expense involved but you may be better off overall as they’re experienced in handling the whole business. They will take over the vetting of potential tenants and if things don’t go as planned they will take action to protect your interests. Our advice would be to make sure you choose a reputable agent and you could ask to be put in touch with some of the agent’s other clients, to check that they are satisfied with the service. It’s advisable to choose an agent registered with ARLA (Residential Lettings Agents) or NAEA, which stands for the National Association of Estate Agents.

There’s a good choice of agents out there. Just log on to the Internet and you’ll find all the help you need.

Are you becoming wealthy on your house? Is your home your best performing investment? Is your house the only area that of your investments in which you are making money?
Red danger signals should be appearing in your mind. The housing market has gone up, up and up. Many people believe that they “have made x dollars from their house”. Is this true? Is this realistic? Will they ever be able to see or use their new found wealth?
It is true that. Even in 2004 it was said that housing prices had risen the most in 2004 in the past 25 years – that the OFHEO price increase was 13.4 %. Prices have been double digit and seemed to be able to go up and up forever. Indeed the price run-up from 1997 to 2006 was the largest in history.
What fueled this seemingly endless run-up in housing prices? The answer in 3 words was “low interest rates. China it seems wanted to maintain high employment figures for political and economic reasons. In order to maintain high employment levels the price of Chinese goods – at Wal-Mart or wherever had to remain low. If the Chinese currency remained low relative to the U.S. dollar or if the U.S. dollar remained at relatively high levels in relation to the Chinese currency this would be accomplished. It amazing that in our small global world decisions made by someone or a group of people in China can affect yours and mine economic position and future so greatly.
As a result China chose to pump money back into the U.S. buying U.S. treasury bills enmasse. The Amerian dollar remained high , the Chinese currency low. You could buy Chinese made goods cheaply at Walmart or Target stores. And interest and mortgage interest rates were at historically low levels.
As a result you could now purchase a house , upgrade your house or purchase a much larger and expensive house than you could of previously. Your banker or mortgage lender was only too happy to loan you the money for the mortgage – after all the loan , or mortgage was secured by good old fashioned real estate as collateral.
The housing market soared. People who could never of afforded to buy a home , condo or land could now afford one. So many new and additional buyers were entering the real estate market that not only did the demand for homes and other real estate increase but there were bidding wars for properties and sale and the supply for more and more houses and other forms of real estate diminished and housing prices soared. You may well of heard stories of people putting the proverbaial shingle on their home one morning and having it sold for unbelievable sale prices by the end of the day.
Along with this home builders were building scads of homes and selling them at these high sale prices. Mortgage lenders and banks were facilitating the process by selling and marketing low priced mortgages called “subprime” mortgages which offered an initial period of lower rates, the rate charged reverted to regular rates after the introductory period.
The key to all of this was that prices kept going up, up and up. There was no end in site. Not only that but what fueled the boom further was the fear that if you did not get in that you would be locked out in the future. The same house had risen from say $ 200,000 a number of years ago to $ 400,000 to $ 500,000 in one year, if I do not get in the market now; the reasoning went that home could be $ 600,000 or $ 750,000 next year. By getting in now I will get equity and be in the game. If I stay out – my family and I may be locked out of owning a home ever.
So went the logic. As well it seemed that the only place the family could make money in their investments was in the value of their home. One could not seem to “make money “in other traditional investments such as the stock market or their retirement plans.
Which brings us to the basic question? How is money being made? Can you ever spend this money for enjoyment or other goods? At coffee a Mr. Brown may tell you “I made $ 250,000 on my house.” It is true that profits on the sale of your home are treated different and better than other moneys made but the question is how did Brown come out ahead? He will be purchasing another property in the same market. As is said you “have to live somewhere”. If your house sold for a good dollar, that it was desirable, and was a nice home located in a nice neighborhood. It is highly unlikely that you are going to move to a much less desirable, more dangerous neighborhood where housing is much cheaper. You may be going to downsize somewhat but you are not going to move to a slum after enjoying luxury. So it goes this is not liquid profit that you can easily cash out. Even if you or wife decides that it is now time to sell the house since you can get a good price and “We can live in an apartment. So what!” you may well find out in a year that apartment living is not all it is cracked up to be. It was no accident in the past that you scrimped and saved to buy a house and move away from that noisy small, cramped apartment to a house. So it goes that after being reminded of your lesson that you find out that being out of the house and into an apartment for a year that it will cost you substantially for being out of your home for a year.
This all brings us back to our first question. Are you becoming wealthy on your house?

Are you familiar with the different types of housing that you can purchase?
Read this article to find out!
If you are on the market for a new home, it is important that you know the difference between a single family home, a townhouse, and a condominium.
Familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of each so that you make a wise decision about your home purchase.
Single Family Homes
The single family house is the most common type of housing in the United States. This type of housing dwelling designed for a single family and has its own land.
The house and the land are purchased and sold together. Unlike townhouses and condominiums, single family types of housing are not attached to other homes. Aside from regulations from your neighborhood or subdivision, you are free to do whatever you would like with your home.
With a single family home, you are responsible for the cost of maintaining and repairing the home, whether you do it yourself or pay someone else to do it.
In addition, landscaping and lawn maintenance are also your responsibility. If you want to have a pool or playground in your backyard, you will have to provide such amenities.
The good thing about single family homes is that you have the freedom to make whatever changes you with. Improvements to your home can greatly increase the resale value, which is already higher than that of other types of housing.
Townhouses
A townhouse is the middle-ground type of housing between a single family home and a condominium. They share characteristics with both types of housing.
In most cases, a townhouse is attached to at least one other house. When you own a townhouse you own the home as well as the property on which the home sits.
Since townhouses are a part of a larger community, you can usually find many of the amenities that you might find with an apartment.
This includes swimming pools, fitness centers, tennis courts, etc.
While you are responsible for some of the maintenance and repairs, it will not be to the extent of that of a single family dwelling.
Townhouses are often part of a Home Owner’s Association, to which you are required to be a member.
Condominiums
A condominium, condo, for short, is a type of housing that is best described as an apartment that you are able to own. When you purchase a condo, you own everything inside your walls and share ownership of common areas with your neighbors.
Often condo ownership requires you to pay a monthly fee that covers repairs and maintenance to the common area. The condo association handles exterior maintenance and repairs, but in many cases, you contribute to the cost through dues or assessments.
Condo prices are often more affordable that those of single family homes and townhouses. There are often a number of amenities available for you to use. You have a minimal responsibility for exterior maintenance and repairs.
It can be hard to resell a condo. They are known to spend a longer time on the market than other types of housing.

Buying a home for the first time is an exciting process.
At the same time, it is one that is filled with steps and details.
Deciding which home to purchase and which mortgage to borrow are decisions that have lasting consequences.
As you embark upon your home buying excursion, keep in mind these common mistakes of first time home buyers.
Purchasing a home too fast. Perhaps it’s the excitement of purchasing the first time.
Or maybe it’s a fear that the “perfect” home will be purchased by another borrower. Whatever the reason, many first time home buyers make the mistake of rushing through the home purchasing process.
They tend to spend too little time searching for the right home. Often first time homebuyers end up dissatisfied with the home they’ve purchased.
Buying too much home. Another mistake made by first time home buyers is purchasing a home that’s right at, or even a little beyond, their limits.
Many times this leaves the new homeowner with little or no disposable income. What good is a large home if you are unable to furnish it? None at all. Purchasing a smaller home and leaving yourself some wiggle room is much better than eating up your monthly income with mortgage payment.
Holding out for the dream home. First time home buyers might pass up several houses they like because they believe that there is a better house out there for them – one that is complete with everything they want and need.
In the meantime, houses that have most of the items they are looking for are being taken off the market by other buyers.
If a significant period of time passes, market prices could go up and the first time home buyer ends up paying more for a home than expected. Even worse, the buyer ends up so worn out from house shopping that he, or she, ends up settling.
Not getting mortgage pre-approval. A pre-approval will do wonders for the first time home buyer’s shopping experience. Being pre-approved for a mortgage gives you an idea of what you will be able to pay for a home.
Some first time home buyers, not realizing the value, forgo pre-approval to get a head start on home shopping. What’s the worst that could happen? You could find a home you absolutely love and fail to obtain financing for it.
Not comparing mortgages. Shopping around for a mortgage is just as important as shopping around for the home.
Many first time home buyers do not realize that mortgages from different lenders have different costs and different terms.
There are so many cost factors of a mortgage that can vary from one lender to the next. It only makes sense to shop around for the best deal.
Be informed of the steps that you must take and the decisions you must make as a first time home buyer. Information and education are the best tools to equip you in the process of purchasing your first home.

Land Registry figures show that despite the credit crunch and the threat of a recession some areas in the United Kingdom have been performing well.

Just in the last quarter some areas have seen prices rise considerable, this comes as a surprise to many in such a difficult property market. Especially when you see the top performing region – Kingston Upon Hull!

Yes Kingston Upon Hull has seen average prices rise by 15.1% in the last quarter, now reaching £109,907. Behind this city are Windsor and Maidenhead with strong gains to reach an average price of £451,540 per property. This makes Windsor and Maidenhead the area with the highest priced homes in the country. In third place for quarter rises was Poole, were prices rose 12.7% to a new average price now of £308,684. There were other areas of the country experiencing impressive quarterly rises. Darwen, average price is now £120,703 and in Northumberland homes are going for £189,906.

Annual increases were led by Windsor and Maidenhead where prices have risen by 13.8%. Northumberland came in second place with 11.4 % and coming in third with a bumper third quarter was Hull with an annual increase of 8.8%.

The areas experiencing the greatest increase in sales, (which you probably would have guessed!) was Greater London coming in at 21,701. This was followed by Greater Manchester boasting sales of 8,303, West Midlands had 7,732 and fourth was West Yorkshire with 7,119 sales respectively.

The Land Registry figures show the average house price for the country now sits at £219,262 after a quarterly increase of 0.48%, giving an annual increase of 1.37%. Breaking it down the average for detached houses was £338,378; semi-detached came in at £196,539; terraced houses prices are £174,332 and flats are now on average £204,003. Total sales were £179,141.

Where ever you are looking to buy your new home or looking to remortgage your existing home it is worth using a mortgage broker who will search the whole market to ensure they find the best deal for you. Remortgages are an area more mortgage lenders are offering more than to first time buyers who pose more of a risk. It is very possible that you can find a good mortgage deal and depending on when you took out your current mortgage you can save hundreds on your repayments. Why not search mortgage deals now to see if you can save yourself some money.

Attempts by Federal and State governments in the first quarter of 2009 to stimulate home sales have resulted in the creation of significant incentives for buyers seeking to take advantage of attractive housing prices across the United States. In order to reduce the large inventories of available homes for sale and thereby stabilize housing values that serve as security for loans held by financial institutions and investors around the world, an irresistible environment for real estate investment has been established that deserves closer examination.American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Included in what has become otherwise known as the Federal Economic Stimulus Plan, the United States federal government increased the first-time home buyer tax credit previously implemented by The Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (Summer 2008) from $7,500 to $8,000, and removed the requirement that the credit be paid back in the future. The expiration date for receipt of the credit has also been extended from July 1, 2008 to Dec. 1, 2009. Consequently, homebuyers must have purchased a home after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009 to be eligible for the $8,000 credit. This credit only applies to first-time home buyers purchasing owner-occupied homes and not investment properties.State Tax IncentivesMany state governments are also independently attempting to address housing market distress within their own state lines by enacting legislation that provides further tax incentives for prospective home buyers. For example, the California state legislature passed a new-home buyer tax incentive as a portion of the state’s 2009-2010 budget. According to this incentive, purchasers of new single-family homes, that have never been previously occupied, as their principal residence between March 1, 2009 and March 1, 2010 will receive a tax credit equal to the lower of 5% of the purchase price or $10,000. Therefore, first-time home buyers in California who purchase a new home as their single family residence between March 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 should qualify for both the Federal $8,000 tax credit and the State of California $10,000 tax credit at the same time, resulting in a combined $18,000 tax savings.FNMA Lending Requirements Relaxed for InvestorsFederal government sponsored enterprises have also reached out to real estate investors by providing them with increased ability to leverage funds and purchase more investment properties. Fannie Mae (FNMA) has announced that on March 1, 2009 it will increase the maximum number of permissible financed properties from 4 home loans to 10 home loans for borrowers seeking to purchase non-owner occupied properties. Investors attempting to take advantage of this policy revision must: have a 720 FICO score or higher, show funds in reserve to cover six months of future payments, pay a 25% down payment, have no history of foreclosure or bankruptcy, have no delinquent payments within twelve months, and provide full documentation of all rental income.Time will only tell as to whether these bold incentives will serve to generate the requisite number of home sales to effectively stabilize housing prices and the economy as a whole. Regardless of whether these enticements will succeed on a macro-economic level, the cumulative effect of astonishing low housing prices and interest rates combined with these new measures has clearly created a housing market ripe for prospective buyers.

Estate Agents

Moving home is one of the most stressful things that we go through, and one of the most expensive.

Whilst moving home will always be expensive, here are a few ways in which you could save money. With some planning you can cut hundreds or even thousands of pounds off the bill.

One of the biggest costs associated with moving is estate agent fees. A typical fee you can expect to be charged will be in excess of 1.5% of your sale price, plus VAT, this will often be higher if you use more than one agent to market your property. Before committing to an agent do a bit of research about commission levels. Some agents may offer free HIPs (Home Information Pack) but the cost is likely to be offset by higher commission, so double check as to whether you are actually saving.

One way to get away from these fees is to sell your property online there are a number of sites that charge no commission like houseladder.co.uk, others charge as little as £9.99. Do some research. The added benefit is you don’t have to deal with an estate agent!

Mortgage

The best mortgage deal is not necessarily the one with the lowest rate. Getting the best mortgage deal is an easy way to cut costs when moving. Check out our article The guide to a better mortgage – Part 1.

At the time this article was written the Bank of England base rates are 5.25 %. It is believed that a cut in interest rates in order to mitigate the effects of the global credit crunch and the threat of recession from the US is imminent. Inflation is running at 2.5%, half a percentage point higher than the Bank’s inflationary target of 2%.

One way you could save is to consider timing your move with the expiration of your current mortgage deal. If you move while still tied in, you may have to pay an exit penalty to redeem your mortgage.

Solicitor Fees

Solicitor fees for selling and buying can escalate to over £1,000. But there are cheaper deals to be found on the internet. Be aware though that the cheapest firms usually take on more business than they can manage, and may be slow and inefficient.

The best way to find a reliable solicitor is to get a recommendation from someone you know. But if you can’t get a recommendation then do your own research, one way to save is choose a solicitor from outside of the South-east as it will be cheaper, however doing all your paperwork by post could take longer, and means you can’t pop in to the office to sign a document if you need to.

One tip when choosing a solicitor is go to the office if you hear the phone ringing constantly it’s a sign that one day that could be you.

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is usually the biggest single cost of moving, and if you’re buying an expensive property, the bill can run into tens of thousands of pounds. One piece of advice that could save you is if you’re looking to buy a property valued at around any of the stamp duty thresholds of £125,000, £250,000 or £500,000 – you could save thousands in tax by buying a slightly cheaper property, or negotiate the price down.

When a property jumps up to £250,000 the rate jumps from 1 to 3 %. This means you will end up paying £5,000 more in tax, simply because you bought a house for £251,000 as opposed to £249,000.

The next jump at £500,000 is where the rate goes up from 3 to 4 %. But if you’re spending that much on a house, then the extra few thousand pounds may is not much in the grand scheme of things.

Stamp duty is not payable on properties under £125,000 – although there are increasingly less properties in this price bracket. Particularly in London where fewer properties are below this level making it difficult for first time buyers to avoid the tax.

Since the government came in power in 1997 they have made £31.5 billion in stamp duty revenue. This is why there are calls for them to raise the stamp duty bottom threshold to £200,000.

Survey

A basic survey will cost you around £250, a full structural survey can cost upwards of £600. If money is an issue, and your property is new, you could probably get away with just the basic survey.

You may be able to find the right mortgage provider that will offer this for free, or give cash-back for a basic survey. If the property is older, it’s essential to get the full survey done. Which, could save you money in the long run.

Moving Day

If you use a removal company to pack and move your possessions this could cost in excess of £500. You can save money by packing and moving yourself. Hiring a van for the day would be a much cheaper option. If you do use a removal company, again as with anything research the firm that gives the best value for money.

Changing Address

One of the most tedious things about moving is letting the numerous companies that you deal with your change of address forgetting to do this could cost you money. Website iammoving.com will email all the companies you deal with in one go. A fantastic service as forgetting to change your address with credit card and utility companies means you won’t get your bills and could result in late fees.