Essentially Mortgages – Quarter Three 2019

With the summer months now upon us, could this be a good time of year to sell your house?

Conventional wisdom dictates that marketing your property through the summer months can optimise your chances of securing a sale. Once the warmer weather and lighter evenings arrive, people seem more inclined to consider moving home, particularly those with school-age children who would prefer to relocate over the summer holidays.

A recent survey indicates a more stable picture is emerging in the housing market, with new buyer enquiries remaining steady in May and the negative trend in new instructions, agreed sales and prices diminishing to an extent.

Nothing in life ever stays the same. And it is likely that any change to your personal circumstances will affect your insurance requirements, necessitating a review to ensure you still have the most appropriate products for your new situation.

Research by Santander has found half of first-time buyers would consider taking out a 40-year mortgage to get onto the property ladder. And, according to Moneyfacts, over half of all residential mortgages on the market now have a maximum 40-year term, up from just over a third five years ago.

Paying off a mortgage as early as possible is a common ambition among homeowners and is a major step on the way to a financially secure retirement.

Setting goals and keeping a note of where your money goes each month are important in helping to set a budget and allow you to consider whether specific purchases are important or just something you would like to have.

Although the past couple of decades have witnessed a surge in demand for self-storage facilities, many people who use them still fail to shop around when taking out the required insurance cover.

During an average lifetime, people accumulate a substantial quantity of personal possessions and self-storage units have become a popular way of housing some of these belongings. The service is particularly useful when people are between house moves or getting renovation work completed on their property but can also help when there simply isn’t sufficient space at someone’s home for all of their belongings.

Good news for homeowners in England wishing to extend their home, rather than face the expense and upheaval of moving to a larger property. Temporary rules, introduced in 2013, allowing larger single-storey rear extensions to be built without the need for a full planning application, are now being made permanent.