Houses For Cash UK Blog

At the end of last year the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned repossessions would jump 50% to levels not seen since the early 1990s housing slump. The CML said it expected 45,000 repossessions in 2008 - up from 30,000 in 2007.

These figures are now proving right as the Credit Crunch continues to hit throughout the Uk, and it is widely expected that house prices will stall during 2008. The number of home owners trying to avoid repossession continues to increase as mortgage banks such as Northern Rock face tremendous difficulties as a result of the crunch.

"Can you sell my house fast?" I was asked today by a weary home owner.
She had previously had her house on the market for the past 11 months but had just took it off as she told me she was tired of all the viewings but no offers. She had seen the next property she wanted to move to however was unable to put in an offer until she had sold her current house. She was moving area as she wanted her child to attend a certain school. "I thought I would put it on the market last year so we had time to move and my child had time to settle into the area before he starts school this year"

However after 11 months she had still not had any offers on her property and was now in a position where she was in desperate need of a quick house sale. After taking it off the market she gave us a call to see if we could help her achieve this. She has agreed to the offer we made her and we have sent her out the details in the post. She told me that she felt like she was finally getting somewhere with the sale of her house and was already feeling a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

I spoke to a gentleman today who asked " Can I buy my house back after selling it to you?"
He was looking to sell and rent back his house to release the equity he had in it to put into a new business he was setting up. He wanted to rent it back until he felt more financialy stable and then buy his house back.
I took his details and spoke with him about various options available to him, all of which he said worked in his favour. He is going to talk it through with his partner and we are going to see him on Friday to discuss it further with both of them face to face.

An increase in unsecured personal borrowing shown in the recent Bank of England figures may result in an increase in the number of home owners looking to avoid repossession.

In a recent survey of UK mortgage lenders,it was found that 16% of repossession cases were due to borrowing from other sources and home owners becoming over committed financialy by taking out personal loans and increasing their overdrafts.

With unsecured personal borrowing up £2.4bn in February, the biggest rise for more than five years, many homeowners may be looking to avoid repossession. With all the additional borrowing 96% of Mortgage lenders believe that all borrowing should carry a mandatory risk warning as it was felt many people were not aware of the risks associated with unsecured borrowing.

Confidence in the UK housing market fell in March to its lowest point in 30 years, according to a closely watched survey of property surveyors.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (Rics) said that 78.5% more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in March.

Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax said last week that house prices fell in March at their sharpest pace since the recession of the early 1990s as the credit crunch forces banks to toughen up mortgage terms and begins to hurt consumers.

More home owners and especially owners of buy to let properties are now looking for a quick house sale as the housing market continues to take a downwards spiral.

I am hearing more than ever from vendors who tell me "I am desperate to sell my house" after having their property on the market for considerable lengths of time and still no sign of a sale.

The British housing market deteriorated in March by the most in at least 30 years, a survey of real estate professionals showed Tuesday, suggesting the property downturn is accelerating as mortgage financing dries up.

A country-wide estate agency has blamed the credit crunch for the closure of two branches in South Wales.

Darlows is shutting its Llanelli and Neath branches and a third is being downsized. Decisions on redundancies are now being considered.

Robin King, who runs the firm said sales of homes had fallen by between 30% and 50% between January and March compared with the same months last year.

It has also been reported that the balance of buyers registering with realtors fell to minus 49, the lowest since March 2003.

It has been estimated that around 4,000 estate agents in the UK could be forced to close because of the downturn in housing sales.
The Bank of England, in trying to restore order to the housing market, has told mortgage lenders they will be able to pass on interest-rate cuts to their customers in return for easier and longer loans.
This is just another blow to the confidence in the UK housing market which is already at an all time low. As house prices continue to fall and mortgage lenders tighten their lending criteria vendors looking for a quick house sale are finding this harder to achieve.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said 78.5 per cent more of its members reported a fall rather than a rise in prices in March. This marked the eighth consecutive monthly drop and made for the gloomiest reading since the survey began in 1978.

I had a call from a vendor today who asked me "Can I sell and rent back my house till I emigrate next year"

He had plans to emigrate to America next year however wanted to deal with the sale of his property now so he could rest assured it was sold and he could definitely move when he wanted to next year. He didnt want to put it on the market as with house prices and sales dropping he did not feel confident in this option even with a year to spare. So he decided that the sell and rent back option would work for him.

He was made an offer on his property which he was more than pleased with. I have sent him out a copy of this offer in the post for him to read and sign and then we shall start the proceedings of buying his house which he can rent back till his move next year.

It has been reported that mortgage arrears are growing at one of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders, the Bradford & Bingley (B&B).

In a statement to investors ahead of its shareholders' AGM, the bank said some borrowers were finding it harder to repay their loans.
More than half of the bank's home loans have been made to buy-to-let landlords.

"Arrears levels have continued to rise in the first quarter, reflecting increasing payment strain," it added.
The bank had previously revealed that at the end of last December the number of people trying to avoid repossession for arrears of three months or more amounted to 1.85% of its mortgage loans.