It takes a lot to bring the UK’s housing market to a halt, but COVID19 managed it. With lockdown in place, mortgage approvals slowed to a trickle. May was the worst-hit month with just over 9,000 approvals. Fortunately, the housing market has been picking up since then with just under 40,000 approvals in June and 66,300 in July, but can it continue? July saw the Chancellor dish up a Stamp Duty holiday July could have been a tough time for the housing market. The furlough scheme was reaching its final stages. There was continued uncertainty in the job market and Brexit was heading ever closer. It would have been entirely understandable if people had decided to sit tight where they were unless they were actually forced to move. It would also have been catastrophic. Fortunately, the chancellor understood how much of the UK’s economy depended on a functional housing market. He, therefore, decided to do whatever was necessary to get it moving, even though it meant a short-term sacrifice of much-needed tax revenue. The mortgage-approvals figures suggest that his gamble is working, for now. They do, however, raise the question of what happens next. Eight months to find a “new normal” in the housing market The Stamp Duty holiday came into effect in July and is scheduled to last until 31st March 2021. This gives the housing market eight months to find a new normal and reach a point where it can function without state support. This may sound like a long time, but the property market is not the stock market. It often moves at a notoriously slow pace. That said, some of the changes brought in during the pandemic may help to speed it up. Virtual viewings, virtual valuations and, possibly above all, the legalization of the use of esignatures, could all help to simplify and hence streamline housing transactions. This could prove very useful, if not vital, to the process of getting the housing market back on its feet. Estate agents can now tempt hesitant sellers with the prospect of an easy sale, potentially at a better price than they would have achieved if buyers had to think about paying Stamp Duty as well. The more sellers enter the market, the more sellers are encouraged to enter the market. This may seem counterintuitive, but the key point to note is that most sellers need somewhere else to live. Barring forced sales, they will only put their current property on the market if they are confident that they can find another property which will suit their needs. Getting more properties on the market helps to engage buyer interest and hence promotes a virtuous circle rather than a vicious one. What does 2021 have in store for the housing market? Some people might argue that Brexit notwithstanding, 2021 has to be a better year than 2020. Hopefully, they are right. Early signs are at least moderately encouraging. For all the concerns about the approach of cold and flu season, the UK has managed to avoid another national lockdown. Local lockdowns have been imposed, but are not as severe as the initial lockdown. Most business sectors have either adapted to the pandemic environment or are in the process of doing so. In many cases, this has meant an increased emphasis on using the internet effectively. This could stand them in good stead post-Brexit. Admittedly, some sectors could face brutal restructuring and may even need some form of state support, travel, for example, is an obvious candidate here. These should, however, be the exceptions rather than the rule. A stable economy, even if it’s not thriving, should be enough to underpin the UK’s famously robust housing market. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

One of the benefits of being a homeowner is that you have complete control over your home. You can put this to good use to save yourself some money. In some cases, you may need to spend to save, but overall it will be worth it. Here are some ideas. Max out your insulation The arrival of autumn is a great time to make sure that your home’s insulation is as good as it can possibly be. You may have already dealt with the “big ticket” items like double-glazing, jackets for water tanks and loft insulation. It may, however, be very much worth your while to deal with small issues like your letterbox, gaps under internal doors, especially near exterior doors, and loose glass in windows. This may only make a small difference to your energy bills each month, but over time, that small difference will add up. Try to heat small areas instead of big ones How practical this will be will depend on your lifestyle, but it’s worth considering, especially if you’re working from home over the winter. Using central heating is practical and convenient either when the whole house is in use or when the whole house needs to be warmed up, for example, first thing in the morning. It is, however, neither economical nor environmentally-friendly to heat a whole house when only a small part of it is being used. You can deal with this by switching off radiators when rooms are empty (and keeping doors closed). This can, however, be a bit of a pain. Another option is to leave the central heating off and use localised sources of heating. These can be anything from plug-in heaters to blankets to extra clothes. The key point is to get the heat exactly where you need it and only where you need it. Check your radiators are working at their best First of all, check if your radiators are heating consistently from top to bottom and side to side. If they’re not, try bleeding them. If that doesn’t work, then you may want to get a professional to investigate. Assuming your radiators are working, make sure that you’re benefiting from all the heat they produce. Consider putting reflective material behind your radiator to try to encourage the heat into the room rather than into the wall. Also, make sure that the heat can travel upwards and outwards freely. Avoid blocking your radiator, for example with curtains or furniture. Use sensor-activated outdoor lighting Sensor-activated outdoor lighting scores for both convenience and cost-effectiveness. If you use solar-powered and/or battery-powered lighting, you can avoid the dreaded cable clutter and still have lighting whenever you need it. Having lighting which is activated “on-demand” and which automatically goes off after a certain time means that you only pay for what you use. Switch to LED bulbs This is definitely an example of “spend to save”, but you don’t have to make the change all at once. Think about which lights in your home get the most use and then replace those bulbs with LEDs as the original bulbs wear out. Use natural light as much as you can Days may get shorter in winter, but you can and should still do what you can to use free sunlight instead of paid electric light, even if you have LEDs. If you don’t like the glare and/or want extra privacy, then consider using privacy film and/or a net curtain. Only boil as much hot water as you need for hot drinks You might want to consider buying a travel kettle so you’re effectively forced to use smaller quantities of water. If not, at least remember to fill your kettle with the minimum amount of water you need for your hot drink.

If you’re a manager in the Bank of Mum and Dad, then you may have some serious thinking to do if one (or more) of your children wants to buy a property and needs your help. Harsh as it may sound, it may be in everyone’s best interests for you to consider the situation in much the same way as a commercial lender. Loan or gift? That said, the first question is one which is unlikely to be considered by any commercial lender. Are you making a loan or are you giving a gift? If you give your children a gift and live for another seven years, then (under current rules) it will be discounted from the value of your estate when IHT is calculated. On the other hand, if you give your children a gift of money now, you will not be able to use that money yourself if you need it later. You should therefore only give a gift if you are sure you can afford it. You should only give a loan if you are sure you can afford to do without the money for the relevant length of time and you are confident your child can pay back the money. Family credit checks If you’re considering making a loan to a family member, then you need to be very clear about one of the realities of lending. You only get repaid if the borrower has money to repay you. In principle, if the borrower owns an asset, like a house, you may be able to secure the loan against it. In practice, there are complications with this. First of all, asset prices can go down as well as up. This means that, at any given point in time, the borrower’s home might not be worth enough to pay back the amount borrowed against it. Secondly, if the homeowner is a family member, are you really going to take any action which might cause them to lose their home? Are prepared to risk ending up on seriously bad terms with them? Could there be repercussions with other people to whom you are close? What are you going to do if the borrower’s circumstances change through no fault of their own? The obvious example here is redundancy, but even younger people can get ill and/or have accidents. In short, before you even consider making a loan to a family member (or anyone else), think long and hard about the practicalities of repayments. Using your own home equity to help your children Be very careful about either using equity release or increasing your own mortgage to help your children with a property purchase. Either of these approaches could lead to complications with your own retirement. Similarly, be careful with downsizing. If you’re downsizing purely to release equity in your home without taking on debt, then you may come to regret the decision. If you’re downsizing because you want a smaller property anyway, then be careful not to overestimate how much you will save by doing so. The safest approach would be to downsize yourself first, see what profit you made and then decide what to do with it. That way, you’re dealing with a known situation. If this is not possible, then it’s highly advisable to err on the side of caution when creating your estimates. Keep in mind that overestimating how much you will make on your current property and/or underestimating the cost of a new home could leave you financially stretched even without financing your children. You also need to consider the transaction and moving costs. In particular, think about what will happen if you buy after the current Stamp Duty freeze has come to an end. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

It probably comes as a surprise to nobody that taxes are under review. While the Coronavirus-relief measures were often welcomed, it was clear, even at the time, that they were almost certainly going to work out to be very expensive. Now, the physical effects of the virus are, broadly, under control. That means it’s time to deal with the economic ones. The only question is how to go about it. Cut spending or raise taxes When governments want (or need) to pay down debt, they only have two options. They can cut public spending and/or they can raise taxes. Currently, however, cutting public spending could be very problematic for several reasons. Firstly, the Conservatives’ “austerity programme” is still a very recent, and very controversial, memory. Admittedly, the pandemic is a very different set of circumstances. It is, however, impossible to overlook that the government’s decision to impose an extended lockdown triggered massive profits for some, very large, companies (like Amazon) while being catastrophic for many smaller ones. Secondly, with Brexit on the way, the government is going to need to hire certain public-sector workers to deal with the change. Probably the most obvious example of this is the need for customs officials. Thirdly, the government has reiterated its commitment to certain public-spending plans, notably HS2. Only time will tell whether or not this is a wise move, but it is clearly on the cards. Choosing the taxes to raise Realistically, it should probably be taken as red that tax rises are going to happen. The real questions are “which taxes are going to be raised?” and, of course, “by how much?”. The answers to these questions will probably be determined by a combination of financial necessity and political expediency. Financial necessity means that the government is going to have to find the money at least to pay its bills, including servicing its debt. Ideally, it needs to take steps to reduce the debt, otherwise, it will, literally never go away. Political expediency means that it needs to think about how tax rises will be viewed by the electorate in general. Making even small increases in broad-based taxes such as National Insurance, Income Tax and Value Added Tax could, potentially, raise a lot of money. It could, however, also upset a lot of people. “Sin” taxes can be presented as being taxes on unhealthy behaviours. They do, however, present two problems. Firstly, they can be controversial (think of the reaction to the sugar tax). Secondly, they can be avoided by giving up the unhealthy behaviour. This might be good news over the long term but it won’t help the public finances in the short term. This leaves rises in “wealth” taxes, especially those related to savings and investment such as taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains. These would impact a much smaller number of people and hence might not raise that much money. They would, however, send out a signal that the government was expecting the better-off to pay their “fair share”. What does this mean for savers and investors? Currently, interest rates are so low that Savings Interest is likely to be a minor issue for most people. Dividend Tax may be more of a concern, but right now it remains to be seen how many companies will be in a position to pay dividends. That leaves Capital Gains Tax. Assuming the government sticks to the current rules, Capital Gains Tax is only payable when an asset is sold. This means that investors could be well advised to think about what assets they are holding and whether or not they want to hold them over the long term. If they do, they may then want to think about how they hold them, e.g. directly or via a limited company or trust. The FCA does not regulate some forms of tax planning and we act as introducers for it

If you’re a (potential) first-time buyer, you might be feeling rather confused about your place in the housing market right now. Here is a quick rundown of the key housing-market news for first-time buyers and what it might mean. The Stamp Duty holiday Whether or not the Stamp Duty holiday is good news for first-time buyers probably depends on what sort of property you were looking to buy (and where). If you were looking at properties priced up to £300K then you may not be particularly thrilled at finding yourself (back) on a level playing field with people moving up the property ladder and only slightly ahead of investment buyers. On the other hand, if you’re looking at properties priced between £300K and £500K, you might be very happy about the change. The return of the 90% mortgage Officially, the 90% mortgage is back and available to first-time buyers. Unofficially, it very much remains to be seen how many first-time buyers will actually qualify for one. Nationwide, for example, has a rule in place that a buyer can only be gifted 25% of the deposit, the rest must have been raised through savings. It’s not clear what other rules are in place at Nationwide or what rules exist at other lenders. It also has to be said that there is a difference between available deals and attractive deals. The simple fact of the matter is that mortgage lenders, like all other businesses, are going to offer the best deals to the best customers. When it comes to mortgage lending, the best customers are typically going to be the ones with the largest deposits (and the most stable incomes). The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme is extended Currently, the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme is open to all buyers. From April 2021, it will only be open to first-time buyers. Although the existing scheme runs to March 2021, it was supposed to be used to purchase homes which were finished on or before 31st December 2020. It is this deadline which has now been extended to 28th February 2021 to give builders some breathing space after construction sites were forced to close for COVID19. The official final date for purchases to be completed is still March 31st 2021 but the government has indicated that there could be some scope for flexibility here on a case-by-case basis. This news about the extension may be good for any first-time buyers who are using the current scheme, at worst it will be indifferent. The change to make the scheme open only to first-time buyers doesn’t really qualify as news any more but is likely still to be welcomed. Some first-time buyers may regret the fact that the change to the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme only happens after the Stamp Duty holiday is scheduled to end. This may, however, be a positive. In short, come April 2021 first-time buyers will have two advantages over those moving up on the property ladder. Remember the Lifetime ISA The Lifetime ISA hit the headlines at the start of the pandemic when the government announced that people would be able to withdraw funds from it without a penalty even if they didn’t use them to buy a property or pay for their retirement. Other than that, it’s essentially been business as usual for Lifetime ISAs and their holders. Obviously, the question of whether or not the Lifetime ISA is a good product for you will depend on your own situation. It is, however, worth noting as another possibility for helping first-time buyers get on the housing ladder. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Regular home insurance may not cover you for DIY disasters. You probably need specific accidental damage cover and even if you have it, you should do your best to avoid claiming it since this can push up your premiums. In the case of DIY, it can also require a visit to A&E. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to DIY safely. Call in a pro The best way to do DIY safely is to call in a pro. Make sure you pick a reputable tradesperson and you’ll get your job done by someone who has the right skills, experience and tools as well as the right insurance. You’ll also get paperwork to show that the job was done by a professional and that can be very valuable when you come to sell your home. In fact, it may be very valuable if you need to claim your home insurance for another reason. Do your preparation as though you were a pro If you employ a professional tradesperson, then they’re going to want to know the exact scope of the job and the exact environment in which they’ll be doing the work. In fact, they may well need to see the site in person and make their own assessment of it. Remember that most DIY jobs are going to have at least some potential to damage the infrastructure of your home. This is particularly likely if you need to lift up floorboards or drill into the floor (or do so by accident). That could bring you into contact with live electrical cabling, gas pipes and water pipes. Damaging walls or ceilings could have implications for the structural integrity of your home. Damaging a window could leave you exposed to weather damage (and cold) and security threats until it is fixed. Doing any of the above could work out very expensive, more expensive (and inconvenient) than it would have been just to call out a pro in the first place. You can treat your job scope and site assessment as a way to get a real feel for whether or not the job really is within your capabilities. If it is, then you will have benefitted from the time you spent doing your preparatory work. If it isn’t, then you will be a (large) step ahead when it comes to hiring a pro. Follow pro-standard health-and-safety protocols Assuming you’ve worked out how to do the job without demolishing your home, it’s time to think about how to do the job without demolishing yourself. You will never see a pro take on even an apparently minor job without appropriate safety gear and there is a very good reason for this. Small hazards can do major damage, especially if they get into a delicate part of your body, like your eye. In this sort of situation, the best you can hope for is a trip to A&E. The worst possible outcome is a life-changing injury (or even a fatality). Keep other people out of your work area unless they really are helping Young children and pets should never be allowed anywhere near a DIY project. This is unlikely to stop them from trying (and both can be very determined) so you may need to enlist a helper to keep them out. Older children and adults should also be kept out of the work zone unless they are genuinely helping. If they are genuinely helping then they need appropriate safety gear too. They also need to know exactly what is expected of them to avoid mistakes which could be expensive and/or painful.

It’s perfectly understandable if you just want 2020 to be over already. The fact is that there are still five months of it left to go. What’s more, some of those months cover what is traditionally peak home-buying season. The good news is that the housing market has now adjusted to the COVID19 situation and all the usual services are still very much active, albeit possibly with some changes. Here is a quick guide to what that could mean in practice. Getting mortgage advice All the established reasons for getting mortgage advice still apply in the post-COVID19 environment. In fact, they have become even more significant. With COVID19 looking set to linger for quite some time to come (at least economically) and Brexit on its way, it’s arguably never been more important to make sure that you get the best, possible value out of every financial decision you make. For most people, taking out a mortgage is one of life’s biggest financial decisions so getting the best product for your situation can make a huge difference to your finances. What’s more, getting preapproved for a mortgage not only lets you know exactly how much you can afford but also demonstrates to sellers that you are a serious buyer. This is important at the best of times and right now can make a massive difference to the likelihood of having an offer accepted. Remember, most sellers also have to move. Their ability to move may very well depend on the buyer’s ability to complete. That’s why sellers need to know that they’re dealing with serious buyers. Right now, sellers not only have to deal with the usual upheaval of moving, but they have to do so while adhering to the health-and-safety measures required to keep safe from COVID19. For this reason, sellers are likely to want to do everything they can to make their home-moving process as simple as possible and that includes choosing the right buyer for their current property. Finding a property One of the interesting trends to emerge from COVID19 is that sellers and their agents are now putting even more information online. Given that detailed floor plans and plenty of photographs were already standard before COVID19, that means a lot more emphasis on video. In fact, there is at least one known instance of a property being sold after just a virtual viewing. This might be a bit much for some people, at least for now, but you should expect to see more (and more detailed) video footage of properties on the market. You should also feel comfortable asking for video footage (or more pictures) before deciding whether or not you want to see a property in real life. After all, it’s in everyone’s interests to limit home views to buyers who have a strong interest in it. Viewing a property This is probably the part of the housing market which has struggled the most to adapt to the COVID19 situation. For the time being, you should expect not only to have to social-distance and probably wear a mask but also to adhere to very strict hygiene requirements as set by the seller. Sometimes you may see the sense in these, at other times, you might not. The key point to remember is that none of these are personal. Nobody is making a tacit comment on your standards of hygiene. The seller is just trying to keep themselves and everyone else safe. Try to avoid touching anything unless you absolutely have to and be prepared to see homes in a state which prioritises safety over presentation, for example, covering furniture in plastic coatings. Ignore these distractions. Focus on “the bones” of the house and think about how well it would suit your intended lifestyle. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Powers of attorney come in two forms. Ordinary Power of Attorney is used when you are mentally competent, but still need some level of help (perhaps after an accident). Lasting Power of Attorney (formerly Enduring Power of Attorney) allows people to make decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. LPAs themselves come in two forms: Health and Welfare and Property and Financial Affairs. All three kinds of PoA are important and need to be drawn up with care. Here are some points you should consider. How many attorneys do you want? You can give Power of Attorney to more than one person and it can be very sensible to do so. This can ensure that no single person becomes over-burdened (given that they will presumably have other commitments). It can also give you access to a wider range of knowledge and expertise. This can all help to ensure that your affairs are managed as capably as possible. At the same time, however, you want to ensure that decisions can still be taken smoothly, especially since some of them may need to be taken quickly. This means that you will need to think carefully about whether or not you always want the attorneys to take action together or if you’re going to allow them to take decisions individually. Either way, you’ll have to set the ground rules on which these decisions are to be taken. How will you choose your attorney(s)? Only you can decide this. When you do, however, there are three key points it's advisable to consider very carefully. Firstly, how well do your attorneys know you? Their job is to make the choices you would have wanted them to make. This means that they have to know you well enough to be able to take at least an educated guess on what you would like them to do in any given situation. While this may seem like stating the obvious, the key point to notes is that your wishes may change over time in line with your life events. This means that your attorneys have to be in regular enough contact with you to know your current views, not the ones you held previously. Secondly, how well do your attorneys know the subject area? They don’t necessarily have to be experts in it. They do, however, have to be able to grasp what could be complex information and process it quickly so that they can make important decisions. It might, therefore, be helpful if they had at least some knowledge of it or, as a minimum, some interest in it. Thirdly, how well do your attorneys know (and get on with) each other? You are, effectively, putting together a work team. This means that, not only do you have to get on at least reasonably well with your employees, they have to get on reasonably well with each other. Remember that any PoA is a living document Like wills, PoAs are not “set and forget” documents. They need to be updated as your circumstances change. They may also need to be updated as other people’s circumstances change. For example, someone who was quite happy to be one of your attorneys before they had children might not be able to manage the responsibility while their family is young. They may, however, be perfectly happy to join your team again when their children are a bit older. It’s advisable to have a PoA drawn up by a lawyer These days, many organizations have to be very careful about making sure that they only act on the wishes of their customer or their customer’s legally-appointed representative(s). It’s therefore highly advisable to have a lawyer draw up your PoA to ensure it meets all relevant requirements.

Estate agents are now open for business and able to conduct home viewings. Property professionals are also able to visit homes for “non-essential work” (such as building surveys). In short, the housing market is now, officially, open for business. Unofficially, it remains to be seen how long it will take to find its feet (or foundations?) in the post-COVID19 environment. Finding a home to buy It will be interesting to see whether the Coronavirus influences the process by which people find homes. Online property portals can already show photos and floorplans and have quite generous space for descriptions. Could the next step be video tours? It’s an open question as to whether or not the property portals would be happy to host bulky video files, but if they’re not then there is nothing to stop estate agents from opening their own YouTube channel and hosting them there. This approach could make it feasible to reduce the number of in-person visits made, ideally limiting them to the most serious buyers. It would, however, have obvious safety implications. These would not, however, necessarily be insurmountable. For example, if estate agents did use YouTube, they could keep the videos unlisted. Alternatively, they could simply store the videos offline and use standard file-transfer applications to send them directly to pre-vetted buyers. Alternatively, an estate agent might live-stream a tour in the same way as they might conduct a regular viewing. The issue of supply and demand Will the Coronavirus deter sellers from moving in order to limit the number of people they let into their home. If people are forced to move, will they increasingly opt to buy a new property and move themselves first to avoid contact with people who are viewing their old one? If either of these scenarios does occur then it could have unexpected ramifications for the overall dynamics of the housing market. Life in the city versus life in the country Working from home is nothing new but the lockdown gave it a whole new impetus. This has raised the question of whether it will become part of the “new normal”. Only time will tell, but if it does, or if it even just becomes more widespread, then existing city and “commuter-belt” properties may be passed over in favour of properties in less commuter-friendly locations. Even if a person still has to go into the office, a commute which would have been unbearable five days out of seven can be tolerable if it’s just one or two days out of seven and the less frequently the person has to go into the office, the more feasible it becomes. If the demand for less urban properties increases, then so may prices. It will, however, be interesting to see if a reduction in demand for city properties causes prices to fall or if there is a standoff between sellers and buyers with the former holding out until they are either forced to sell or receive an offer which meets their minimum expectations. Financing a property purchase Right now, the UK is caught between the aftermath of the Coronavirus and the arrival of Brexit. Both of these are highly unusual situations, which makes it difficult to predict what is going to happen. This could pose a massive challenge for mortgage lenders whose business depends on them being able to assess risk with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In such an uncertain environment, mortgage lenders may opt to err on the side of caution and restrict lending to all but the very safest of borrowers, such as those with stable jobs in recession-proof industries and/or with sizeable deposits. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. ‘The FCA does not regulate Estate agents & Building Surveys’ ‘For Estate Agents & Building surveys we act as introducers only’

Even though there are a lot of jokes made about health and safety, there’s no disputing the fact that modern workplaces are much safer than their historical counterparts. Admittedly, that’s not all due to health and safety, technology has also helped a lot. It does, however, illustrate the importance of keeping health and safety in mind when performing tasks. In the workplace, there are people who insist on this. At home, it’s down to everyone to manage their own self-discipline. DIY can be dangerous Even basic DIY tools can deliver serious injuries. Hammers are heavy, screwdrivers can be sharp, utility knives are very sharp and drills can go through more than just plaster and wood. Power tools can do even more damage. Then add in ladders and you have a further hazard. People of all ages need to take these risks seriously, but older people are particularly at risk. This is because the ageing process makes our bodies more susceptible to injury, for example, our bones become more brittle. We also need longer to recover from injuries. This doesn’t mean that you have to stop doing DIY as you get older. It does, however, mean that you need to take its risks seriously and either address them or pay someone else to do the task for you. Risk number one - inappropriate tools If you’re going to do DIY then you need the right tools for the job. These need to be up to the task but still manageable. The nature of hand tools means that it’s basically impossible for them to go out of control (although you can mishandle them). Power tools, however, are another matter. Even though many of them do have useful safety features, for example making you keep your finger on a power button while you work, it is still very easy to have accidents with them, especially if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Basically, if you don’t have the right tools for the job, then it’s probably a good sign that you should be calling in a professional. If you don’t have them, you probably don’t know how to use them. Unless you’re prepared to learn how to use them and keep using them over the long term, then they’re probably a waste of money anyway, so you’d be better off all round just using a professional. Risk number two - not using appropriate safety equipment You need proper safety goggles (not swimming goggles) and gloves for most DIY jobs and for some safety trousers, boots and/or helmets are also a very good idea (if not essential). Even something as apparently harmless as sawdust can give you serious problems, for example, if it gets in your eyes and/or nose. Risk number three - overestimating your skill level Watching a YouTube video may get you through simple jobs, but it won’t give you the hands-on experience you need for more complex ones. Just call a professional. Risk number four - overestimating your physical abilities In addition to overestimating your physical abilities, there’s also the risk of being complacent, or just plain lazy, about using equipment properly. For example, it may seem easier just to keep stretching from a ladder than to get down, move it, and get up it again. Risk number five - ignoring environmental hazards When doing DIY, you need to be able to see properly and you need adequate hearing (e.g. to pick up on fire alarms). You need to think about whether there is any water present or any power lines (or, worse still, both). You need to check for slipping and tripping hazards. Last but not least, you need to make sure that any people around to help you are actually helping you and not just disturbing your focus.

Hopefully, the worst of the COVID19 pandemic is now over and those who have survived it can now get on with rebuilding their lives and their livelihoods. Part of the transition to the “new normal” will have to involve dealing with the financial consequences of the Coronavirus. The financial-services sector will have a role to play in this and mortgage-lenders in particular will need to think carefully about how they balance flexibility with risk management. The challenge of managing the UK’s flexible workforce Flexibility may be great for many employers and it can work well for many individuals, but it can pose a huge challenge to risk assessors. The basic issue is that flexibility is effectively the opposite of predictability. This makes it much harder for risk assessors to do their job of making educated guesses of what the future might hold for someone. In these situations, the cautious approach is to play safe and either refuse to lend at all or lend on very strict terms. To a certain extent, this protects both lenders and (potential) borrowers. The problem is that lenders need to lend to stay in business and borrowers often need to borrow to buy key assets such as houses. This means that being over cautious can actually wind up harming both parties. The growing number of flexible workers There has been growth both in the number of self-employed workers and in the number of workers on zero-hours contracts. Putting the two together they account for almost a fifth of the UK’s workforce. Additionally, there are occupations where people may earn a baseline salary, but have the opportunity to earn extra money as a part of their job. For example, people in sales roles may earn commission, people in leisure roles may earn tips and people paid on an hourly wage rather than a salary may work overtime. Depending on the nature of the job, these extra payments could be anything from a “nice to have” to a significant source of extra income. While some of these people may be happy to rent, others may want to buy. Mortgage lenders will therefore need to work out a fair way to deal with them. Options for helping flexible workers Possibly the single, biggest step mortgage lenders could take to help flexible workers is to take the time to understand each person’s situation on an individual basis, rather than relying on broad-based rules. One way to implement this could be to have applicants initially go through a standard screening process to see if they can meet the usual acceptance criteria.  If they cannot, however, then applications from flexible workers could be referred to humans for further analysis rather than being rejected outright.  This would not mean that the application would necessarily be accepted.  It would just be a recognition that standardised processes do not always do justice to people in non-standard situations. Another option would be to offer products which had some degree of in-built flexibility, albeit with reasonable safeguards. For example, lenders could look to offer offset mortgages which allowed borrowers to make overpayments during “feast” periods, knowing that they could withdraw some of them money if they needed access to it during the “famine” periods. Lenders could place limits on how much could be withdrawn to ensure that a minimum level of repayment was met. These measures could entail both extra work and some degree of extra risk for lenders. To counterbalance this, lenders could look at insisting on larger deposits and/or charging higher interest rates. Lenders might also want to place restrictions on the type of property which could be bought with these mortgages and focus on properties which have clear potential to be sold on (relatively) quickly and easily, even in slow markets. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. The FCA does not regulate some forms of buy to let mortgages

There are basically two reasons to live in a city. The first is because it’s where you want to be and the second is because it’s where you need to be for your work. Similar comments apply to “commuter-belt” areas. For people in the second category, the COVID19 pandemic may have served to push companies into offering home working as standard, at least for part of the time. If this did happen, then it could open the door to a mass “escape to the country”. Will companies offer home-working as standard? Arguably this is the key question and it's harder to answer than it may sound. In the short term, companies may have very little option if they are to manage safety in a post-Coronavirus environment. If workers needing to be socially-distanced becomes part of the "new normal" then economic and practical realities may force companies to use home-working to make that happen. Even if it doesn't, companies might still be interested in promoting home-working to reduce the amount of office space they need and hence reduce their costs. On the other hand, companies have a duty of care towards their employees. This includes providing them with a safe working environment. If/when companies can enforce social-distancing in an on-site environment (or if the social-distancing requirements are removed), they might feel more comfortable having employees on-site. This allows the company to take direct care of all practicalities and provide supervision. If, however, companies start cutting back on their direct employees and making greater use of freelancers, then remote working could basically emerge as, if not a standard, then at least a common practice. What would an upswing in home-working mean for the housing market? An upswing in home-working might not necessarily mean that everyone would immediately rush out and look for a home in the remotest area they could find. It would, however, mean that anyone who worked from home regularly would need to find an appropriate workspace. Some people might be willing and able to make existing rooms do double-duty, especially if they were rooms which were used fairly infrequently (e.g. dining rooms and guest bedrooms). Other people, however, might want or need a dedicated home office. In fact, this might even be a requirement for working from home to meet standards in background noise (or lack thereof) and data security. These requirements might favour moving further out from the city centre. If, however, people also need a robust broadband internet connection, then a truly rural area might not be the best option, at least not yet. The government has committed to improving the availability of high-speed broadband. It is, however, arguably, very hard to predict how quickly improvements will be made, given that the UK is still dealing with the turmoil of the COVID19 pandemic while also heading into what should be the final stages of the Brexit process (assuming the government and the EU stick to the established timetable). What does this mean for the mortgage market? Mortgage lenders need to be able to assess the market value of a property to make an accurate judgement of the risk of a potential loan. If consumer sentiment moves away from prioritizing location with the result that people are less willing to pay a price premium for homes in certain areas, then mortgage lenders may have to rethink their traditional valuation models, at least to some extent. It will be interesting to see if the “remote” trend takes hold and if so to what extent. For example, in addition to home-working, there’s also the prospect of home-schooling right up to university level. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.