Now that people have recovered from the financial (and other) excesses of Christmas, thoughts often turn to plans for the rest of year, and, for many, that may include buying a property. Experts agree that the most popular time to buy is early to mid-Spring…
Blog
Manchester v London: is the North-South house price divide narrowing?
According to a recent table produced by Hometrack, house price growth in six of our regional cities is outstripping London, with Manchester (8.9% growth) vying for top spot with Bristol (9.6%). For Manchester, the rate price inflation is at its highest since July 2005. But…
Thinking of remortgaging?
When your fixed rate mortgage deal is coming to an end, it may be time to think about switching to another product. With interest rates still low, remortgaging to a better deal could potentially save you £100s or even £1000s over the long term. Remortgaging…
Buy to let in Manchester and Salford
Mark Lloyd of the Property Mastery Academy has recently identified Manchester/ Salford as one of the top five property investment locations in the UK So what makes Manchester and Salford such good places to consider buy-to-let ? As Mark notes, there is a very healthy…
Should I make overpayments on my mortgage?
You’ve bought your house – great! And as the memory of stamp duty and legal costs starts (thankfully) to fade, you might find yourself wondering what to do if you have an extra bit of money left over each month. Well, there are lots of…
Becoming 'mortgage-ready'
At this time of year, many of us are planning major life changes – and for some of us this means becoming a home owner. But how can you give yourself the best chance of passing a lender’s affordability test? Lenders use the test to…
The North-South Divide
Myself and my partner come from Lancashire but due to work had moved to just outside London. We originally rented a one-bedroom studio flat at a cost of £925 per month and then in 2013 due to an inheritance decided it was time to buy.…
Getting a mortgage as a foster carer
Myself and my husband have been foster carers for 17 years and have always rented our home from the council. So we decided to find out if we were able to buy our council house. We were told that we could buy our home and…
My First Time Buyer Experience
This week I’ve been considering how difficult it is for first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder. I got my first mortgage in 1991 and at the time the house I was buying was for sale at around £35000. I needed…
Buy to Let - Back in the Day
There was a time, some 10 years or so ago that I was considering becoming a buy-to-let landlord. I had amassed sufficient money to have some surplus cash and also my cash flow was good. The difficulty was house prices in the whole of the…