First Time Buyer

Barratt Developments Headline Sponsor – FTB Show Saturday 28th April 2012

2011-06-30T23:10:02

Skipton introduces mortgage with only 5% deposit

2011-06-24T01:47:50

Skipton introduces mortgage with only 5% deposit

Skipton Building Society has introduced a 95% Loan-To-Value (LTV) mortgage. The two-year fixed-rate deal is offered to first time buyers for loans of up to £250,000. Interest is charged at 5.99% and application fee is £195. At the end of the two-years the interest reverts to the Bank of England Base Rate (currently 0.5%) plus 4.45%. The mortgage is available through Skipton branches (www.skipton.co.uk), at Skipton Direct by phone on 0845 850 1711 or at selected intermediaries including estate agency Connells (www.connells.co.uk/).

Be part of a brand new TV series

2011-06-15T19:32:53

Be part of a brand new TV series helping first time buyers get their foot on the property Ladder

We will then help the property novices find their dream home, showing them three of the best homes that match their budget and criteria. Finally we will follow the emotional roller coaster as they exchange keys, move in and transform their first house into their very first home.

The production company are desperately keen to feature first time buyers and cities/towns in the North of England/the Midlands/Scotland/Wales.

So why not let them take the hassle out of house hunting.

If you would have a mortgage agreed in principle and would like to take part or know anybody that would be interested please email asap apply@rockaboxmedia.com. The initial property searches will be filmed up until the first week of August, so don't delay!!!!

More FTBS Are Buying Homes

2011-05-16T12:49:36

The latest figures from e.surv who are responsible for around 40% of house valuations in the UK, suggest that more first time buyers are purchasing homes with 27% of all mortgage approvals in April being for properties costing less than £125,000. The figure is 7% higher than in April last year.

Property Asking Prices On The Up

2011-05-16T15:15:37

Property asking prices rose 0.8% last month, the fourth monthly increase in a row, according to the latest house price index from FindaProperty.com based on data from over 400,000 homes across the country.

First Come, First Served

2011-05-11T14:46:02

First time buyers wanting to take advantage of the Government's FirstBuy initiative to get a foothold on the property ladder are being advised to register their interest in the new loan equity scheme now to avoid disappointment.

Nationwide Launch New Account

2011-05-05T12:39:10

Nationwide building society is launching a new saving account, which will help first time buyers to apply for a mortgage with just a 5% deposit.

House Prices Fall

2011-05-12T17:04:33

According to the latest figures from Halifax, house prices fell at their fastest rate for 18 months during April with the average cost of a home falling by 1.4%, during the month to £160,395, which is the lowest level since July 2009.

New Legal Scheme

2011-05-04T15:22:57

Buying a new home is a very expensive purchase and so using a firm of solicitors that has proved its commitment to excellence in this field, to handle the complex aspects of home buying, makes good sense.

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) recognises high quality legal services in the residential property market. Anyone buying or selling a home in England and Wales can look for a CQS accredited firm to handle the legal aspects of buying and selling a home.

Firms who have gained the new CQS status have all undergone a robust and lengthy application process, which is followed up by ongoing monitoring to ensure the highest standards are maintained.

The 100 firms with CQS accreditation are spread across England and Wales and many more are in the pipeline.

To find a CQS law firm in your area go to

www.lawsocietyapproved.com/Conveyancing.aspx

MORTGAGE APPROVALS UP

2011-05-03T12:13:38

The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose to an eight month high during March, when 31,660 new mortgage loans were granted according to data released by the British Bankers' Association. This is a slight increase on the February figure of 30,178. However, approvals are still down 9.9% year on year and the March figure is well below the monthly average of 57,824 approved since 1997.

ASKING PRICES UP

2011-05-03T12:17:15

According to the latest house price index from FindaProperty.com, property asking prices rose 0.7% last month, the third monthly increase in a row. The average property in March was on the market for £218,522, up over £1,500 on the previous month. Prices rose 0.3% in January and by 0.5% in February suggesting the market is picking up. Unusually every region across the country saw increases in asking prices.

BUY-TO-LET SQUEEZING FTBs

2011-05-03T12:15:32

With the current market conditions and strong rental growth, buy-to-let investors are doing very well with a strong demand for rented property. But, this isn't good news for first time buyers because buy-to-let investors are usually able to put down a 25-40% deposit and are therefore a much more attractive prospect to lenders. They require lower loan-to-value loans and have a proven track record of repaying mortgages. On the other hand, a typical first time buyer will be looking for a high loan-to-value mortgage and with the current lending criteria, lenders would rather allocate the limited funds they have, to the lower risk option. As interest rates have remained so low, landlords have not been hit by the recession as much as they feared and find themselves in a fairly comfortable position. With more cashflow than they originally thought they would have and the prospect of any future rate rises to be covered by rental increases.

Boost for Housing Market

2011-05-04T15:37:40

THE housing market in Peterborough recently received a boost when the housebuilder Barratt's announced it would be opening 11 new sites this year across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire and Peterborough.

Barratt Northampton plans to start work on 11 new developments comprising 1,435 new homes before the end of 2011.

"Many househunters in Peterborough think that now is a good time to buy because prices are lower than in 2007 and interest rates are rock bottom. We believe that this will help sustain the local housing market whatever happens to the national economy. We would not be making this significant commitment to the market in this area unless we were confident about its prospects in the medium-term." said Paul Walker, Sales Director at Barratt Northampton

For more information on Barratt Northampton call 0844 811 3399 or go to www.barratthomes.co.uk

Fancy Being on TV?

2011-04-26T12:34:55

A brand new prime time property series is looking for first time buyers. If you are a first timer with an interesting story and finances in place they want to hear from you. If you are a couple, going it alone, pooled your money with friends or even tapped the bank of mum and dad they are keen for you to get in touch. Anyone interested should email apply@rockaboxmedia.com

MORTGAGE RATES SLASHED

2011-04-26T13:32:00

Good news for first time buyers with large enough deposits as lenders is slashing rates on fixed rate and tracker mortgages. Woolwich, part of Barclays, has cut the rate on tracker and fixed rate mortgages by up to 0.32% whilst Skipton has lowered its rate by up to 0.5% on its two, three and five year fixed rate products. Recently Halifax and Northern Rock cut their rates on but-to-let mortgages by up to 0.4%.

Skipton's rate cuts could benefit first time buyers as they include fixed rate mortgages at 90% loan to value. They are offering a two year fix at 5.09%, which was previously 5.49%; a three year fix at 5.79%, which was 6.09% and a five year fix at 5.99%, which was 6.29%.

North South Divide

2011-04-26T12:40:55

The gap in the wealth between the north and south of the UK showed signs of closing, as top end properties rose in value in the north and fell in the south, according to the latest figures released from property website PrimeLocation.com. Outside London, the fastest rising area for prime properties was Yorkshire, where the typical asking prices rose by 0.6%, or £2,200 over the past month. The North East followed closely, with monthly gains of 0.5%, increasing the asking price of £1,600 to £306,417. South West England saw the most dramatic fall with the average price dropping by £3,700 or 0.8%. In the South East, they fell by 0.1%, taking the average down to £550,340.

Cheaper to buy than rent

2011-03-04T12:29:04

Milton Keynes is one of twelve cities in Britain where it is now cheaper to buy a home than to rent one, according to property portal www.zoopla.com. Recent figures found that the average monthly rent for a two or three bedroom house in Milton Keynes would be £764. However, if a buyer were to take out an interest-only mortgage to buy the same property, then the average monthly repayments would be just £752.12.

Housing Supply Falls

2011-03-04T12:49:46

Recent figures from the Home Builders Federation revealed that the number of new homes completed in the UK during 2010 fell to a record low, down 13% on 2009. Overall, a total number of 102,570 new homes were built; the lowest number since 1923, highlighting that housing shortage is becoming a growing concern. Figures were released on the same day that the government published details of the New Homes Bonus. Commencing in April 2011, the scheme is set to encourage Local Authorities to build more homes by match funding their additional council tax raised for new homes and supplying an additional amount for affordable homes over the next 6 years.

Free mortgage advice

2011-03-04T12:02:33

Leading property company, Assetz, has recently launched its homebuyer agency division, Assetz Homes. Registered homebuyers can use the unique service to source up and coming properties for sale in their preferred areas and receive free finance workshops. Its sister business, Assetz Finance also provides free of charge mortgage advice.