Posts with tag: home movers

10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Home Movers

Published On: December 16, 2016 at 10:19 am

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Categories: Property News

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Moving home at Christmas can be an extremely stressful experience; the buying process slows down more than usual and many businesses are closed over the festive period. If you know some home movers this year, treat them to one of these Christmas gift ideas to brighten the process!

It’s probably the last time of year that most of us would choose to move home, but many buyers and renters will be packing up and moving on this Christmas. Whether it’s a family member, friend or former tenant that you got on with particularly well, spread some of the festive cheer with these gift ideas from Rightmove (which coincidentally double-up as housewarming presents)…

  1. A doormat

One of the easiest and most effective ways to bring some personality and style to a new property is with an inviting doormat. It’s also one of the first things that visitors will notice, so your home movers will appreciate it instantly.

  1. House plants 

House plants are essential when it comes to adding softness and nature to a new home. Treat them to something attractive and easy to maintain.

  1. A new coffee pot
10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Home Movers

10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Home Movers

One of the first things a home mover will look for when they get all their boxes into a new property is a cup of coffee! Prevent them rummaging through unmarked boxes by picking up a new coffee pot and a nice bag of freshly ground coffee.

  1. Spices 

It’s all too common to spend your first week in a new home eating dodgy-looking takeaways and microwave meals. Help them feel homely and healthy with a new spice rack and spices, which they’ll be able to make use of instantly.

  1. Gardening must-haves 

If your home movers’ new property has a garden, it’s likely that they’ll want to do some work to it to create their dream space. Put together a starter pack of gardening tools to inspire them.

  1. A bunch of flowers 

No home mover will be disappointed if you take round a bunch of flowers to brighten up their new property. It’s also a good idea to buy them a vase too, as theirs will likely be packed deep into a jungle of boxes.

  1. Essential DIY tools 

If you like going for practical gifts, then a nice box of essential DIY tools will go down a treat with your recipients – they’ll probably have lots of small jobs to do as soon as they move in, so make sure they have everything they need.

  1. Scented candles

New homes lack that familiar smell that we all have in our properties. Help to create a homely and comfortable feel with your buyer’s or renter’s favourite scented candles.

  1. Homemade treats

If you’re a dab hand in the kitchen, whip up some festive homemade treats – such as a walnut and cinnamon loaf, or some cute gingerbread biscuits – for your movers to enjoy as they settle into their new home.

  1. A food hamper

We all know that one of the best things about Christmas is the food. Impress your loved ones with a hamper full of their favourite festive treats for them to tuck into while they unpack boxes (they’ll also have something to offer visitors!).

If you’re moving home this festive period, we hope you have a stress-free and relaxing Christmas in your new property.

Home Movers Postponing Plans Until After EU Referendum

Published On: March 4, 2016 at 3:25 pm

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Categories: Property News

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Home movers are postponing their plans until after the EU referendum on 23rd June, according to new research from removals firm Bishop’s Move.

The company surveyed 1,000 people in the UK, with a number of buyers and vendors in every region saying they will wait until after the poll.

Home Movers Postponing Plans Until After EU Referendum

Home Movers Postponing Plans Until After EU Referendum

Those living in London are the most likely to wait until after the referendum result to move house, with 47% saying they will not buy or sell until after 23rd June.

Just 20% of Londoners said the referendum would not make a difference to their plans.

The Sales and Marketing Director at Bishop’s Move, Chris Marshall, says the study “does paint a picture of both the attitude towards the EU referendum amongst London homeowners and also their approach towards the price of property in the capital”.

The latest house price figures show that the average property in the capital is now worth a huge £526,085. It is believed that Londoners will need a 266% pay rise to get onto the property ladder.

In other parts of the UK, between 11-15% of home movers are deferring their plans ahead of the poll.

Marshall explains the results: “It’s actually a very similar situation we found in Scotland during its 2014 independence referendum.”

He continues: “Significant policy decisions can severely impact the UK housing market, and our own research last year also found almost a quarter of those looking to buy and sell a property delayed their move by one to four months in order to wait for the outcome of the general election.

“However, whilst these results point to a slowdown in the build up to June, we fully anticipate business to resume as usual, particularly when the school holidays arrive and everyone wants to get their moves completed during the break.”1

1 http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eu-referendum-london-property-market-faces-slowdown-ahead-brexit-vote-june-1546881

Homebuyers Stretching Their Mortgages to Get on Property Ladder

Published On: February 23, 2016 at 12:42 pm

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Categories: Finance News

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A record number of first time buyers and home movers took out mortgages for over 25 years in 2015, as soaring house prices make it harder to get onto, or move up, the property ladder.

Affordability issues have also increased the amount of borrowers taking on mortgages worth more than 4.5 times their income, causing the Chief Economist at the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Bob Pannell, to warn that a “potential problem is building under the noses” of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC).

Statistics from the CML found that in the second half of last year, 58% of first time buyers took out mortgages for longer than the typical 25-year term. At the peak of the last housing boom in 2007, this was just 42%.

Homebuyers Stretching Their Mortgages to Get on Property Ladder

Homebuyers Stretching Their Mortgages to Get on Property Ladder

Meanwhile, 36% of home movers took out mortgages over the traditional 25 years – double the proportion before the housing crash.

Higher retirement ages and pension freedoms may have encouraged these buyers to borrow for longer, but the CML believes it is mainly a result of the need to stretch incomes to get onto the property ladder.

The CML’s data also shows a sharp rise in the proportion of borrowers taking out mortgages worth over 4.5 times their income.

Around two years ago, this type of lending was cracked down on, due to fears of a housing bubble. Banks and building societies are now only permitted to approve 15% of lending at that level.

After the clampdown from the FPC, the proportion of borrowers taking on such large loans fell, but in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, the number of first time buyers and movers borrowing high amounts almost returned to 2014 levels. Over the quarter, 11% of first time buyers and 9.8% of movers borrowed more than 4.5 times their earnings to purchase a home.

Pannell explains how the mortgage market has changed: “After peaking at 10% just ahead of the FPC action in mid-2014, the proportion of high income multiple lending eased back considerably over the following year, to just below 7%.

“But the picture has changed a lot over the past six months or so. [It] has increased sharply, especially for movers, and retraced a good chunk of the previous year’s reduction.”

Pannell notes that there may have been “a precautionary ‘knee-jerk’ response from lenders” to the new rules when they were first announced, which is now unravelling as they get used to working within the guidelines.

However, he says that lending at all levels above 3.5 times earnings has risen and there are signs “that borrowers are now stretching their incomes more than in mid-2014”.

He adds that the 15% cap on 4.5 times lending means “we should expect to see a build-up of lending just below the 4.5 times threshold”.

At present, the FPC is monitoring the buy-to-let mortgage market, following a boom in borrowing by landlords.

However, Pannell believes: “A potential problem is building under the noses of FPC policymakers, and it has nothing to do with buy-to-let lending.”1

As buy-to-let investors seek to rush through rental property purchases ahead of the 1st April Stamp Duty deadline, it appears that the mortgage market across all sectors will see vast change in the coming months.

The latest information for landlords on property and finance can be found at LandlordNews.co.uk.

1 https://www.cml.org.uk/news/news-and-views/affordability-bites/

Half of All Home Sales Could be Without a Mortgage

Published On: August 11, 2015 at 3:52 pm

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Categories: Finance News

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Half of all property transactions this year could be made without a mortgage.

Lloyds Bank has found that just 155,000 households moved home using a mortgage in the first half of this year. This is 9% fewer than the 171,700 in the first six months of last year.

The latest number of mortgaged home movers – those moving from one owned property to another – is under half the 327,600 recorded at the market peak in the first half of 2007. However, it is around a

Half of All Home Sales Could be Without a Mortgage

Half of All Home Sales Could be Without a Mortgage

third higher than in the worst part of the recession in 2009.

The figure for mortgaged first time buyers has also dropped, at 135,000 in the first six months of the year, down 10% on the same period of 2014. First time buyer numbers peaked at 190,000 in 2006.

If Lloyds Banks’ data is accurate, just 290,000 home moves using a mortgage were made in total in the first half of this year.

If this figure is the same in the second half, there would be less than 600,000 mortgages granted overall for home purchase this year.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) expects just over 1.2m transactions this year. This means that around half of all buyers would not need a mortgage to move.

Andrew Mason, Lloyds Mortgages Director, states: “While the number of home movers has risen significantly since 2009, it remains well below previous levels and has recovered less strongly than first time buyer numbers.

“This is likely to partly reflect the high costs associated with moving home, as well as highlighting the difficulties that homeowners can face in finding somewhere suitable to move to due to the shortage of properties available for sale.”1 

Separate data from Land Registry reveals that sales of homes costing over £1.5m totalled 2,026 in the first six months of the year, down from 3,044 in the same period last year.

This is partly due to December 2014’s Stamp Duty reform, which saw buyers of more expensive properties paying more.

Additionally, Experian has found that moving from a starter home to a family property is becoming more difficult. In 265 out of 276 UK towns, the price of the average three or four-bedroom house costs the average price of a starter home plus half again.

The gap is widest in Scotland and the South East. In Farnham, Surrey and High Wycombe a one or two-bedroom home costs about £225,000 and a three or four-bed house costs around double.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/half-of-all-transactions-this-year-could-be-without-a-mortgage/