Negative interest rates are when the Bank of England charges banks for holding their deposits. The idea is that these charges will filter through into the banks’ customer-facing products and ultimately encourage spending rather than saving. Negative interest rates have never been used in the UK, but then they haven’t been ruled out either. Here […]
Mortgage
How to Speed up Your Mortgage Application
Mortgage application documents tend to be long, detailed and, frankly, very tedious to complete. It is, however, very advisable to take the time to complete them properly. This will allow the potential lender to go through the checking process in the shortest possible time. When completing the application, remember that there are five key questions […]
Boosting your chance of a winter sale
In a normal year, the housing market slows down significantly over the winter months. This year, however, is definitely not a normal year. This year, buyers will be racing to beat the clock as it ticks down on the Stamp Duty holiday. Sellers, therefore, have an excellent chance of making a sale, if they take […]
The Lockdown And Home Improvements
The UK has long been a famously home-loving nation. Under the current circumstances, that’s probably just as well. One of the many and varied consequences of COVID19 is that it has led to people reassessing their homes. In many cases, they have taken, or intend to take, steps to improve them. Unsurprisingly, budget-friendly changes seem […]
The Stamp Duty holiday, who wins, who loses?
With the UK now, finally, moving out of lockdown, a lot of questions will inevitably be asked about it. Some will be largely academic while others will be purely practical. Arguably one of the most pressing questions of all is the question of how we cover the bill for the last few months. Could the […]
New 5% Deposits for First Time Buyers?
It’s four years until the UK is next due to have a general election, but it seems like campaigning is starting early. Speaking at the annual Conservative conference, Boris Johnson announced the introduction of 5% deposits for first-time buyers. He did not, however, given any details of how this would work. A new name for […]