The government announced in the budget a new proposal which could help first time buyers.

Although we are not sure of what the criteria will be and if it will be postcode allocated, I thought it best to try and give you the facts as we know them.

Whether this will be good for Camberley people looking for their first mortgage, we’ll have to wait and see.

£250 million has been allocated to the ‘First Buy scheme’, this means that this is only available to real first time buyers. Those that do qualify, will be eligible for a loan of up to 20% of the property’s value.

But buyers will still have to find 5% from their own savings, there fore there will be 75% mortgage.

The 20% loan will be shared by the government and house builders.

The scheme is also only open to couples who have a combined salary is no more than £60,000.

This scheme will available for 10,000 new homes, which is just a drop in the ocean, considering the number of young people that want new properties.

Will this scheme be operated locally, well have to wait and see, but rest assured I will have my finger firmly on the pulse and keep you updated.

It may surprise you to know that in a survey of more than 1500 UK home owners, 25% believe current interest rates are either higher or the same that they have been in the past,  or simply don’t know.

Of course if you read this blog you will know that I have been talking about interest rates going up for quite some time. And I have mentioned that the current bank rate of 0.5% has been an historic low for exactly two years this month. So you’ll be a pretty savvy person knowing all this as a regular to this blog.

So here’s a headline for you:

Rise in interest rates could take millions of homeowners by surprise – Shelter

One in four mortgage holders is not aware interest rates are at a historic low, research highlighted by Shelter shows.
Read more »

I came acrosss some great mortgage advice recently and wanted to share it.

If you want to buy a house in Camberley, then heed the advice.

I am always here to offer mortgage advice, so please call me for a chat to see if we can take things any futher.

This advice came from the BBC’s watchdog programme. Read more »

We can never get a true picture locally of house price’s gains or losses, because there is not enough data from the local agents.

But of course, if I was really keen, I could to the land registry, but that far too much work.

However, if you want to do some digging around, check this out http://www.landreg.gov.uk/houseprices/

Here is the latest information from the NationWide building society in relation to house prices nationally.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:

“House prices increased by 0.3% month-on-month in February, leaving prices 0.1% lower than the same month a year ago. The overall picture is still one of a market treading water. Indeed, the three month on three month measure of house prices, a better measure of the underlying trend, was basically flat in February at -0.1%.

“This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Housing market trends are closely linked to wider economic prospects. Given that the recovery hit a soft patch at the turn of the year and looks set to remain sluggish in the year ahead, the property market is likely to follow suit, with relatively low transaction levels and prices moving sideways or modestly lower through 2011.

Living in Surrey without a fixed rate mortgage?

If you haven’t got a fixed rate mortgage, then maybe you ought to consider changing soon.

The next Bank Of England Monetary Policy Committee Meeting will be on the Thursday 10th March.

Now, they may decide to increase the base rate by 0.25% then or hold it off for a month or two.

But as I have mentioned before on this blog, the city experts are predicting that rates will go up by 0.5% by the summer. But then, you probably know this because of all the news coverage.

What you may not know is that the banks and the building societies are already raising their rates, quietly, but slowly.

Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring….(see reference below)There’s still time to fix your mortgage, but don’t leave it too long..

There still are some great deals out there and  all I ask is that if you are considering fixing your mortgage give me a call..

Below, for a bit of fun, is the reference to “Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring” from the TV series Dad’s Army…Have s chuckle with me, but don’ panic

So the Halifax is going to make payments up to £500m to 300,000 of its customers.

Here at Michael Usher Mortgage Services We ask, is this the new way that these banking corporations are going to operate. In a spirit of openness and fairness…We’ll see.

The reason why the Halifax, now part of the Lloyds group is being so generous is because they were found out and may have eventually had to given the money back any way.

Lloyds have said it was an agreement that was “voluntary” and “proactive”.

It was back in January 2009 when Halifax raised the margin on some of there mortgages from 2% to 3% above base rate. This caused an outcry in the papers, but the Halifax did nothing then.

This was the age of greedy bankers, which as we know is all over now, in this spirit of openness and fairness LOL

Of course as always, there technical reasons why the Halifax felt they could charge you more, (to do with the cap rate), but I wont bore you with details here.

About 600,000 customers will be contacted by the Halifax, however, about 300,000 customers will not receive a payment as they were not paying the SVR on their mortgage during the period affected.

Those who were affected and who are still with the Halifax will have their mortgage accounts credited in April this year.

If they have left the Halifax they will be traced and offered a cheque. Halifax said that some customers would receive a flat-rate payment of £250.

So all’s well that ends well I suppose

Reference; www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12524732

Yikes…Inflation has gone up in January.

The Consumer Price Index (the CPI) has gone up from 3.7% to 4%. This is mostly to due with the VAT increase at the Beginning of January.

Also the retail price index (the RPI) has also gone up 0.3% from 4.8% to 5.1% (which includes mortgage payments).

This does not bode well for home owners in Surrey with mortgages, unless of course they have fixed mortgages.

According to most of the money experts out there, there will now be huge pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates at the next MPC (monetary policy committee) meeting.

Here is an extract from a report from the BBC:

The CPI figure is the highest since November 2008, and will put pressure on the Bank of England to lift interest rates to curb accelerating inflation.

The CPI measure has now been one percentage point or more above target for 14 months.

Read more »

Here at our mortgage offices in Frimley, we tend not to get too excited at the latest Sky news headlines.

“The Value Of Your Home Is Decreasing” or “Money Experts Believe This is The Start Of a Slippery Slope” etc

Every month there are many experts and organisations, who get wheeled before the media for their “Expert” opinion.

If they asked me, I’d say the same thing every time, buying property is for the long term, so in the words of Big Tony from the Sopranos, “Don’t worry ’bout it”…Now back on TV by the way starting from episode 1.

Of course every month, the Nationwide Building Society, bring out their figures too and they have a history of being a little more sensible, without sensationalism.

However they did report that two months ago, house prices were the same in Dec 2009 as in Dec 2010.

But now, they are down 1.1% lower than in January 2010

*Seasonally adjusted..

Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:

“The property market entered 2011 with a whimper rather than a bang, with house prices edging down slightly in January. Prices fell by 0.1% month-on-month, leaving prices 1.1% lower than January 2010.

“January’s data does little to alter the picture of a sluggish market that has been evident since the summer. Indeed, the three month on three month measure of house prices, which is a better measure of the underlying trend, showed a fall of 0.5%, consistent with the gradual moderation in prices that has been in place since the summer of 2010.

“The outlook is still highly uncertain, but the most likely outcome is that the pattern of low transaction levels and prices moving sideways or modestly lower will continue through 2011.

“Demand for homes looks to have stabilised, albeit well below the levels prevailing before the crisis. Interest rates remain at historic lows, and labour market conditions have stabilised – both factors that will provide support to the market. However, the continued uncertain outlook for the economy will probably continue to keep many buyers on the sidelines.

“At the same time, there are few signs of a glut of unsold homes building up on the market that would lead to a sharper price correction. Indeed, there are tentative signs that the volume of homes coming onto the market may be slowing.”

If you need any advice on whether you should sell, buy emigrate….anything to do with property and mortgages, don’t hesitate to call.

Michael Usher

01276 670777

email:Michael@mumsltd.co.uk

The big banks and building societies are starting to gear up for an interest rise from the Bank of England, already I have seen a number of product (mortgage deals/offers) dissapear from the market.

The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, meet again next week on 9th and 10th February. Will they raise interest rates then, maybe, maybe not.

But rates are rising at the moment and now is the time to get a fixed mortage.

Here is a short peice written by By Victoria Ward of the Telegraph newspaper, which I concur with..

“Banks have been accused of squeezing their customers at a time when the housing market is already suffering and consumer confidence is low.

The cost of a two-year fixed rate home loan in jumped from 3.84% to 4.09% and then again to 4.34%.

Its three year fixed loan increased from 4.64% to 4.79% and then again to 4.99% for buyers who have a 25% deposit.

And as mortgage lenders re-price their products, home owners are rushing to secure dwindling fixed-rate deals”.

Base rates are on the way up, so if you have a tracker mortgage, talk to me.

You can read the whole telegraph piece here

Michael

Sorry to keep banging on, but now is the time to fix your mortage  for the next 2-3 years.

I have been saying it for a while and I’ve just grabbed a piece from The Independent Newspaper. A piece written by Hamish McRae.

Named Business and Finance Journalist of the Year at the 2006 British Press Awards, The Independent’s associate editor  is one of the country’s most respected financial journalists and commentators.

“Interest rates are going to go up. Few economic forecasts an be made with 100-per-cent certainty, but this is surely one.

On the other hand, people who were astute enough or lucky enough to get a tracker mortgage three years ago are doing well, with monthly repayments far below anything that seemed possible at the time. So we have a combination that tends to favour the strong and damage the weak, which is troubling. It is merely a question of time before rates revert to something more normal. Read more »