Like the rest of the UK, first time buyers in Camberley are responsible for driving the mortgage market presently.

According to the Council Of Mortgage Lenders…First-time buyers continue to account for a large chunk of the UK mortgage market, lenders’ data suggests.

This group of house buyers took 42% of all home loans for house purchases during January, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said.

The rate has been unchanged for three months, but it is still higher than the average rate seen over the past decade.

In general, UK mortgage lending was down on December, but higher than in January 2012, the figures show.

The number of mortgages advanced for house purchases in January stood at 38,300, down nearly 17% on December, but up nearly 11% on a year earlier.
‘Favourable’ market

Mortgage interest rates are at a very low level at present, as lenders scramble for custom.

The Funding for Lending scheme, which is aimed at encouraging lending by offering cheap funds to mortgage and loan providers, has helped to push down these costs for first-time buyers.

Recent Bank of England figures showed that lending by banks across the board remained conservative.

The CML said that the market was “more favourable” for first-time buyers at present.

In the past decade, first-time buyers have tended to make up about a third of mortgage activity for house purchases. Before 2002, it was typically about 50%.

However, on average first-time buyers still have to find a deposit of 20% of the value of a home to secure a mortgage.

The industry has welcomed the interest from first-time buyers.

“Life is becoming easier for first-time buyers,” said Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors.

“Although deposit requirements are still high, rates are lower and banks are more willing to lend to lower income borrowers.

“Funding for Lending can take some of the credit: it is plugging the punctures in the mortgage market and stopping it from falling flat.”

Ashley Brown, director of mortgage broker Moneysprite, said: “The return of the first-time buyer relative to January last year is particularly welcome. Without the first-time buyer, the market cannot improve.”

But David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business, said: “Although rates have fallen to historic lows, the big deposits lenders require from borrowers in order to access them means plenty of potential buyers are still being left high and dry.”

Story from BBC business News

It can be cheaper to buy a home than to rent. Sure there are some places in the UK where its cheaper to rent, but overall, in fact 86% of cities in the UK its cheaper to buy…

Take a look at this article in the Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/9925073/Buying-vs-renting-Five-cities-where-renting-is-still-cheaper.html

Great news for home owners in Surrey and Hampshire as another bank cuts its rates!!!

How Can Parents Provide Mortgage Help for Their Children

As a mortgage broker based in Surrey, I was intrigued by this article by Mark Johnston, which certain has some important info.

by Mark Johnston July 5, 2012

With the tightening of mortgage lending criteria, rising mortgage costs and the credit crunch, getting on to the property ladder in the UK is an increasingly difficult task for many first time buyers.

The Office of National statistics recently revealed that there are approximately 3 million adults between the ages of 20 to 34 still living with their parents, this figure is up 20% from figures in 1997.
Therefore life still remains tough for first time buyers and only those with a squeaky clean credit history and enough savings to put down a deposit can hope to get on to the ladder.

The struggles first time buyers face mean that more and more are turning to their parents for help in raising a deposit or to even qualify for a mortgage in the first place.

According to the Council of Mortgage lenders (CML) 80% of would be first time buyers aged under 30 are already receiving financial help in some form from their parents.

Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Barclays, states “many parents have already realised the return from buying their homes and want to give their children this important step towards independence”.

Fortunately, there are still several financial products on the market at the moment that allows parents to help their children buy their own property.

Since the credit crunch lenders are unwilling to lend to people with out a deposit and now most of them save their best rates for those borrowers who can stump up a deposit of at least 30%, therefore it is little wonder that deposits are the main barrier for first time buyers.

In light of this recent research has shown that the most common way a parent helps their child on to the property ladder is by way of a ‘money gift’ in order to provide them with a deposit.

David Hollingworth, mortgage expert at Londonand Country, states “deposits are crucial at the moment, so this is the most popular way a parent can lend a helping hand”.

Generally, lenders do not mind if a parent provides the deposit that is as long as it is not in the form of a parental loan which has a specific date on which it is to be repaid. Therefore the parent may be required to provide a letter confirming that the deposit has been given as a gift.

If parents choose the make the deposit in the form of a gift they are able to do so in any amount and tax free, but they should also take inheritance tax advice.

Many other parents choose to help their children with the provision of an interest free loan for the deposit amount. If this is the case then it is always a good idea to set down a repayment schedule from the start.

It is worth also noting that if parents are not keen in either of the other options they can reflect their contribution in the form of a ‘declaration of trust’ or ‘deed of trust’. This is a private legal document which is separate from but also runs alongside the property deeds and usually states that they will receive their loan amount back on the sale of the property.

Mark Johnston, is a reporter for http://www.mortgagerates.org.uk

Affordable housing on Camberley, should be a thing of the past. according to our Prime Minister David Cameron.

In fact he has pledged 200,000 in a ‘right-to-buy’ revamp. this will be great news for people living in council houses that really want to buy the home they currently live in.

I borrowed this from www.yourmortgage.co.uk

David Cameron has promised up to 200,000 extra affordable homes as he unveiled plans to extend Margaret Thatcher’s ‘right-to-buy’ programme.

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, the Prime Minister said the government is to increase the discounts available to council housing tenants in England who want to buy their own homes.

The move is an extension of the right-to-buy policy, which proved a vote winner for Margaret Thatcher, but critics said crippled the stock of social housing and fuelled a house price bubble.

Cash raised by the sale of council housing will be spent on buying further homes, which will then be rented out at a reduced rate.

Cameron told the BBC: “There are over two million homes that are still available to be bought.

“So this is something that will make a big difference. And again that could provide another 100,000 homes, another 200,000 jobs.

“So taking those two policies together that could be 200,000 extra homes, 400,000 extra jobs.”

The government’s aim is to build one new home – to be let at up to 80% of the market rent – for each property sold. On proposed changes to the planning laws, Cameron said changes needed to be made to give communities a greater say on the extra housing they need to keep their shops, pubs and post offices alive.