Essentially Mortgages – Quarter One 2019

Overview

THE UK HOUSING MARKET WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Right now, many people are understandably asking themselves what Brexit might mean for the housing market. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has predicted that the market will stagnate during 2019, and it expects the number of properties changing hands to fall back to around 1.5m, a drop of 5% on the figure for 2018.

HOW TO AVOID BUYING A MONEY PIT

It’s important not to let your heart rule your head when buying a home. It’s easy to overlook a few potential problems, when you’ve found a property that seems to be ticking all the right boxes.

DOWNSIZING – A CHECKLIST OF POINTS TO CONSIDER

It’s traditionally viewed as a step that people take once their family has flown the nest, or when the task of maintaining, repairing and heating a large home becomes too onerous.

ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY PROPERLY PROTECTED IN 2019?

We’d all like to think that our loved ones are properly protected for the future. Do you have life cover? If you have people around you who depend on you financially, you should really think about taking out a protection policy. After all, no-one would want to leave those they love dealing with money worries as well as coping with grief if they weren’t able to provide for them.

HOW THE BANK OF MUM AND DAD CAN HELP FIRST-TIME BUYERS

Nowadays, the only way many young people can afford a home of their own is by turning to the Bank of Mum and Dad for some additional financial help. The challenge facing parents prepared to lend or gift money to their children is to decide quite how best to do so.

TOP TIPS ON BEING MORTGAGE READY

If you’re thinking of applying for a mortgage sometime soon, it pays to be as prepared as possible. Simple steps like checking out your credit score, getting on the electoral register so that your name and address can be verified, and ensuring that you make regular repayments on your credit card or other loan, can all help put you in a good position when you make an application.