Own your home from the moment you move in, without needing to qualify for a bank loan today.

No Stamp Duty if you’re a first time buyer.

Do you wish you could get on the housing ladder but can’t get a mortgage, or save for a big deposit?

Fed up of paying dead rent? We have the answer you’ve been looking for!

A super 2 bedroom, ground floor flat with its own private entrance and 2 off street parking spaces.

Lounge * Kitchen * 2 Double Bedrooms * Bathroom * Off Street Parking

This is how it works

The purchase price is £168,000

There is a minimum deposit of £8,000

You will pay instalments of £261 per week, using a loan that works exactly like a bank mortgage.
You can then refinance to any other bank loan later, when you are ready. This method lets you get on the property ladder NOW, without the huge deposit banks are currently demanding.

The purchase price is fixed, but you gain from any price growth! Also, any improvements you make to the property you get the benefit, and if the value of the property increases you also get the benefit, the same as any other home owner.

Redecorate, carry out home DIY – YOU benefit from any added value by enhancing YOUR home.

This is 100% home ownership, and not shared equity or a Housing Association scheme.

You could move into your new home in as little as 7 days, with fully approved solicitor contracts.

Perfect if you are;
- A first time buyer struggling to get onto the housing market
- Struggling to raise a large deposit
- Currently renting but want to own your own home
- Have impaired credit and can’t raise finance
- Have recently moved to the UK

Interested? … You should be! Just fill in the contact form, or call Les or Angela on 07766 470386

I found this brilliant article on the web recently, and thought about all the conversations I have with potential new home owners who can’t decide if Rent to Own is for them. For many the choice seems simple – either you want to carry on renting, or you want to become a home owner TODAY. Read on… and please let me know your thoughts.

After many hours walking along a path through a dense forest, most of which passed by without you seeing a solitary soul, you finally accept you’re very, very lost.

Your map appears to have been one that Columbus decided was out of date, your compass really didn’t like being left in your bag with your trusty magnet and the bears appear to have eaten your bread crumbs that would have guided you back to the highway and the sanctuary of your car.

You’re probably feeling anxious and vulnerable, but wait a second, isn’t that a clearing up ahead?

Yes, yes, it is, there’s a break in the trees because you can see shafts of sunlight streaming down and lighting up the forest floor. Hopefully an unobscured sight of the sun should give you a clue as to which way you are heading.

As you approach the opening you can see the path in front of you splits into two. At this point you suddenly recall the conversation with the wiry, tousled, one-toothed nut-job that tried to sell you a map at the gas station the previous evening.

In between cackling, chugging on a bottle of some liquid that looked suspiciously like urine and eying you up and down mockingly, you remember him mentioning an ancient clearing, but what exactly was it he said?

Suddenly you remembered something about the Fork of Indecision. At the time you disregarded it as the ramblings of an old loon trying to scare the tourists into buying maps and provisions.

Damn, you wish you’d bought the map now and those old tins of spam seem oddly enticing as your last sandwich disappeared hours ago.

For the next half an hour you stand in the clearing trying in vain to recall exactly what words of wisdom the the slack jawed yokel had imparted.  You seem to remember he said one route would deliver an imminent and gruesome death, but surely he wasn’t being serious?

What are you going to do?

My guess is you wont stand there until you starve to death. Even if one path really does lead straight into a den of evil giant badgers waiting to hack you to death just for kicks, standing in one place for the next week will yield the same net effect i.e. death.

At least moving in one direction will increase your chances of living to 50%. Not the kind of odds you were looking for when you set off hours earlier with a spring in your step and a smile on your face, but better than the alternative.

Millions of people every day land up at their own personal fork of indecision and many of them stay there staring at the alternatives, for years, sometimes decades, and never make their mind up.*

Some people are brilliant decisions makers, but there is a secret to their skill that a lot of people don’t know about, and it’s this:

They are good at it because they practice it.

Profound stuff eh?

If you have a fear or even a  more modest dislike of something, there are basically two options open to you.

The first method is to face up to it knowing that it’s only a fear, a projection in your mind. And the second option is to do your utmost to avoid whatever it is for the rest of your life.

Amazingly, most people take the latter option, the one designed to make them even more fearful.

If they have a fear of flying they don’t fly, if they have a fear of public speaking they don’t volunteer to speak and if they get uncomfortable making decisions, they don’t decide.

Imagine two friends who are complete novices at the game decide to take up golf. Both are male, both 40 years old and both of a similar build. Neither play any other sports and have never considered themselves as sporty types.

One of the guys decides he’s going to hit practice range balls every day for two hours before spending another hour on the putting green. The other chap thinks he’ll look like a total assclown hacking the ball all over the range and goes home for a nap.

A week later both guys meet on the tee for their first round together. Who do you think will win?

I once read an interview with a women who was the editor for one of the major New York magazines. Don’t ask me which one because I can’t remember or even what her name was. In fact this is probably a false memory that I’m making up unconsciously to drive home my point.

Half way through the interview the personal assistant of the editor came in carrying two dresses, one black and one white. She wanted to know which one she wanted to wear for the forthcoming photo shoot.

Without seemingly drawing breath the women pointed to one of the dresses and said, “that one”

After the assistant left the room, the interviewer amazed by her unearthly decision making powers, asked her how she did it?

Her reply was, she guessed. She then went on to explain that she adopted this policy when it came to minor decisions the vast majority of the time. It saved her time,  prevented decision paralysis and on the whole was just as likely to be effective as hours of careful deliberation.

Not only that, but it also trained her for making larger decisions and since she had adopted the ‘fake it till you make it’ approach her ability to make major decisions had improved exponentially.

Making decisions is a skill just like playing golf and the more you do it the easier it becomes, the less stressful it is and the better you get at it. Successful people get this and therefore they don’t shy away from making decisions and they certainly don’t beat themselves up when they get it wrong.

And yes, I do mean when, because everybody screws up and get’s it wrong from time to time.

You won’t get better at making decisions by making less of them any more than you’re golf game will improve whilst your down the pub getting hammered. So bearing that in mind, maybe today is the day to decide that from now on you will decide quickly, confidently and without any drama because after all, you’re only guessing.

Now decide to leave me a comment and tell me about any cool decision making tips you have or even which decision that you’ve been procrastinating on that you’re now prepared to push through with.

Source: A Daring Adventure

It also gives an insight into the decisions landlords are making in terms of financial arrangements and the rise in ’one in, one out’ property substitution transactions.

The decline in buy-to-let remortgaging is likely to continue for some time. Of course, remortgaging is difficult at the moment, and for those on reversion rates it’s unappetising because of rate differentials and the fact they will lose their current SVR should they remortgage.

Also, for those on higher LTVs there are few deals available over 80% LTV.

But we are seeing an increase in the number of first-time landlords. Some may be surprised by this but demand for investment property has not gone away since the credit crunch and there are still bargains to be had.

The difficulty has been the lack of finance but for first-timers who can put together the 25%-plus deposit and choose investments wisely there are profitable opportunities.

It is to be hoped that this growing demand will be partly met by more lenders entering the buy-to-let fray as Aldermore and Precise Mortgages have done.

While the environment is tough it’s clear that investors are seeing the strength of the buy-to-let market and we anticipate further forays from lenders soon.

Liam Bailey head of residential research at Knight Frank commented: ‘CGT was the main story, as the proposed increase was heavily trailed in advance. In reality the rise to 28% for high-rate tax payers is a non-issue for the housing market.

‘The rise is coming into play overnight – so there will be no sudden sell-off of second homes or investment properties. The new rate takes us back to a similar rate to where we were under the pre-2008 rules, when taper relief was able to reduce a 40% headline rate of CGT to 24%. With higher-rate CGT at 28% the argument for property investment still looks strong, and capital gains still compare very favourably with income tax at 40%.

‘The other issue of note is that with strong GDP growth forecasts for 2011 and 2012 – the inference is that the Bank of England will be encouraged to maintain a very loose monetary policy for longer than recently expected, suggesting interest rates at current levels could be maintained for longer. This would underpin house prices and also contribute to ongoing low supply in the market,’ Mr Bailey concluded.

David Adams, Chesterton Humberts‘ head of Residential, added: ‘This is a brilliant budget for UK Inc.  Prime property in London and the South East and South West should see now see stable prices while the effect on northern areas with high public sector employment is less rosy.  Some asking prices will need to be reduced in the south, but this is simply because of agent overpricing during the first half of the year, when property was in short supply.

‘It will be interesting to see how long it takes people to realise that the cost of renovating and furnishing a property will be increasing through VAT and that a considerable savings could be made by moving and refurbishing before the end of December.’

Source: http://www.countrylife.co.uk

Banks and building societies grew during the 1990`s and 2000`s on lending to people without checking their income sufficiently and by relying on the surge in property values to cover any defaulting customers. All was fine when the economy was flying, but it came to a shuddering halt once many of the `sub prime` borrowers in the US started to default and property prices there began to tumble. Since much of this type of lending had been syndicated globally, the vast majority of lenders began to write down their security values and prepare for the worst. And the worst came.

Those that have survived now have a much stricter set of criteria for the customers they seek so as to ensure that both the risk and reward of their portfolio are in better balance. With property prices in the UK seeming to have stabilised and gained some ground in the last year on the substantial losses in values during 2008/9, lenders are becoming more proactive in growing their books and offering a wider range of fixed and variable rate mortgages.

In addition, the government has sought to stimulate demand by extending the stamp duty free property purchase to £250,000 for first time buyers. That can mean a saving of up to £2,500 which can be used to boost deposits or pay for fees.

Many experts are now encouraging borrowers to fix their mortgage interest rate for as long a period as possible. Others counter by saying that the outlook for inflation, which drives interest rate policy, is more favourable and that it is too early to fix. As ever, the advice is conflicting and it is best to look at a mortgage that suits your personal needs. Fixing gives certainty of expenditure for the period of the fix. A tracker or variable rate mortgage means that you will gain from any falls in interest rates but pay a higher price if they fall.

What has changed in recent years is the need for a substantial deposit. Finding 100% mortgages is virtually impossible and a starting point for any would be borrowers must be to have a 10% or 15% deposit before many lenders will even consider the application.

But deposit is not everything. A good credit history is essential too so if you have had any indiscretions during the past five years you may need to either wait until you build a good recent track record or be prepared to pay a significant interest rate premium on your loan. In the meantime, there are a good range of affordable 2 person tents to at least move out of the family home and in with your prospective partner or friends!

Move in Now – Buy Later with our ‘Rent to Buy’ Scheme.

Do you wish you could get on the housing ladder but can’t get a mortgage, or save for a big deposit? Fed up of paying dead rent?

Our Rent to Buy scheme is the answer!

A super 2 bedroom character cottage, with brand new kitchen and bathroom, in a central Bournemouth location, close to the main railway station and road networks.

Lounge * Kitchen * 2 Bedrooms * Bathroom * Garden * Off Street Parking

This is how it works

The purchase price is £187,250

Minimum deposit of £10,000

You will pay a minimum of £218 per week

Every week we will add £40 of that towards your deposit for buying the property.

End of year one

The purchase price is £187,250

-£10,000 deposit paid

-£2,080 (extra you have paid)

At the end of year one you would owe £175,170

At the end of year two you would owe £173,090

At the end of year three you would owe £171,010

During that time you have saved up a deposit of £16,240 (9% approx)

Any improvements you make to the property you get the benefit.

If the value of the property has increased you also get the benefit.

Now lets have a look if you pay a bigger deposit and £10 more per week.

The purchase price is still £187,250

-£15,000 deposit paid

-£ 2,600 (extra you have paid)

At the end of year one you would owe £169,650

At the end of year two you would owe £167,050

At the end of year three you would owe £164,450

During that time you have saved up a deposit of £22,800 (12% approx)

The more you pay the quicker and bigger your deposit grows.

No mortgage is required until you buy in 2013. (but can buy at any time)

Price growth and rent deposit payments provide your deposit for final purchase

The purchase price is fixed at the outset. You gain from any price growth!

Redecorate, carry out home DIY – YOU benefit from any added value by enhancing YOUR home

This is not a shared ownership or Housing Association scheme

You could move into your new home in as little as 7 days!

Legally approved solicitor contracts

We can help you get advice on your mortgage in 2013, or sooner, with your deposit fund.

Move in, and buy later – or walk away! You do not have to buy if you change your mind.

This is perfect if you are;

- A first time buyer struggling to get onto the housing market

- Struggling to raise a large deposit

- Currently renting but want to own your own home

- Have impaired credit and can’t raise finance

- Have recently moved to the UK

No mortgage is required whilst renting/buying

Interested? … You should be! Just fill in this contact form, and I’ll call you back to start your journey to home ownership.

Move in Now – Buy Later with our ‘Rent to Buy’ Scheme.

Do you wish you could get on the housing ladder but can’t get a mortgage, or save for a big deposit? Fed up of paying dead rent?

Our Rent to Buy scheme is the answer!

A super 3 bedroom terraced house, with massive potential for modernisation, in Grenville Road, St Jude’s, close to Mutley Plain & Plymouth town centre.

Note: Rooms are very large and spacious, and the current owner is elderly & doesn’t use the upper floor.

Lounge * Kitchen * 3 Bedrooms * Bathroom * Courtyard Garden * Off Street Parking / Car Port / Workshop

This is how it works:

The purchase price is £159,950

Minimum deposit of £5,000

You will pay a minimum of £202 per week

Every week we will add £50 of that towards your deposit for buying the property.

End of year one

£159,950

-£5,000 deposit paid

-£2,600 (extra you have paid)

At the end of year one you would owe £152,350

At the end of year two you would owe £149,750

At the end of year three you would owe £147,150

During that time you have saved up a deposit of £12,800 (8% approx)

Any improvements you make to the property you get the benefit.

If the value of the property has increased you also get the benefit.

Now lets have a look if you pay a bigger deposit and £25 more per week.

£159,950

-£7,500 deposit paid

-£3,900 (extra you have paid)

At the end of year one you would owe £148,550

At the end of year two you would owe £144,650

At the end of year three you would owe £140,750

During that time you have saved up a deposit of £19,200 (12% approx)

sThe more you pay the quicker and bigger your deposit grows.

No mortgage is required until you buy in 2013. (but can buy at any time)

Price growth and rent deposit payments provide your deposit for final purchase

The purchase price is fixed at the outset. You gain from any price growth!

Redecorate, carry out home DIY – YOU benefit from any added value by enhancing YOUR home

This is not a shared ownership or Housing Association scheme

You could move into your new home in as little as 7 days!

Legally approved solicitor contracts

We can help you get advice on your mortgage in 2013, or sooner, with your deposit fund.

Move in, and buy later – or walk away! You do not have to buy if you change your mind.

Perfect if you are;

- A first time buyer struggling to get onto the housing market

- Struggling to raise a large deposit

- Currently renting but want to own your own home

- Have impaired credit and can’t raise finance

- Have recently moved to the UK

No mortgage is required whilst renting/buying

Interested? … You should be! Just call Angela on 07766 470386

All too often, individuals start right out of school or college with his or her first credit cards, and get carried away spending money on material things of little real value. Many times, young adults are better at looking the part than they are of actually playing the game. They land a high paying job in the corporate world, only to frivolously spend all the money that they make on things like designer clothes, high tech gadgets and many other must-have items.

These young people continue with poorly managed spending habits and find themselves soon sinking in consumer debt in a pool of things they really cannot afford.

You do not have to fall into the cliché of overextended young adults. You can take control of your life by taking the time to become financially literate. You can begin by paying a visit to your local library or searching online for material to read that relates to saving money and budgeting your finances. Bookstores, workshops, webinars are all great ways to learn more about proper financial management techniques.

Another great way to learn about becoming financially literate is by finding a mentor to guide you. Once you determine the field of wealth creation that works best for you, be it selling items through online auctions or writing eBooks about cats and dogs, you need to begin looking for other successful people in your field of choice.

Building a relationship with a mentor who has been through the ropes is an incredible advantage like no other. He or she will be able to point out mistakes to avoid and help you to move along with your plan with efficiency and great success. Not to mention, a great mentor will also provide you with the additional support and motivation that you may need to keep moving toward your goals.

Clear goals, a bias for action and a Top 1%  mindset will result in you experiencing  success way  beyond what the general population or “the herd” can even imagine.

The idea of the Top 1%  is primarily discussed in reference to the development of business revenue and profits. If you pay attention to the Top 1%, you will see a balance in the areas of health and relationships.  It may seem obvious, but if your health fails  monetary success is meaningless. Valuable business coaching and self development programs  provide  guidance on balance.

Attributes of the Top 1%

There are no common traits. The Top 1% includes men, women, all nationalities, all age groups all professions.  The one common attribute is mindset.  The Top 1% has a dream and they take action in a rational way that brings the intended results.

I have worked with very large companies and smaller ones.  These experiences have given me the opportunity to evaluate the difference between eagles and ducks.  Of course eagles soar and ducks waddle and quack.  Eagles have a laser beam focus on those elements of their business that make the most difference.  They avoid flying into the side of a cliff.

The Top 1% invest in self development. J.T. Foxx, a successful entrepreneur, radio host in 18 markets, and author tells his audiences he invested $60,000 in business coaching and consulting  for himself in 2009.  He has budgeted  $100,000 in 2010 for business coaching and consulting.  He is also investing in  focused training and development program for his organization.

J.T. openly discusses his vision and goal of creating a $100 million coaching and consulting company.  I know he will and that goal is likely to be achieved within the  next 12-18 months.  Note the  mindset.  Less than five years ago J.T. was homeless and he  just turned 30.

Source: Steve Polhit

Given that it is the very customer base who most want to use interest only this is quite a big deal.

They have also gone further with loans below £500,000 in that applicants can no longer just say they will pay the loan off via the sale of the property, their buy-to-let portfolio or general bonus payments, but must have either a pension or some kind of savings plan. Is the return of the Endowment nigh?

On the face of it this seems to be unfair on those who have a legitimate reason for taking out a mortgage on an interest only basis, however when looked at a bit more carefully there are some sound reasons.

Unfortunately many people have used interest only as a way of making sure they can actually afford the mortgage in the first place and deferred worrying about how they are going to pay it back.

Is there really anything wrong with a lender insisting, as they always used to a decade or so ago, that they can see a structured plan in place to repay their debt?

Also, is it really right that someone can borrow 90% LTV and say they will pay the loan back by selling in a few years time? This does not happen with smaller personal loans so why with large ones?

For me, whilst I do see where Lloyds are coming from and they are perfectly within their rights to do so I would rather see underwriters employed to make a case-by-case, sensible,  judgment rather than a one-size fits all approach.

There are many wealthy individuals for whom interest-only is the correct method and gives them the flexibility they require. In fact for those of you who are in any doubt, I had an interesting presentation from a broker just the other week, Frank Jurga who I am sure will be delighted to share his thoughts on the issue.

It is a topic that is being discussed within every lending institution and it will be interesting to see if other lenders do follow suit.

For me, something does need to be done to limit the scale of interest only borrowing and borrowers need to be much more aware of how realistically they are going to pay the loan back.

Pensions and savings plans are underutilised, as for that matter is life insurance to protect the mortgage that is written into trust.

Too many applicants do tend to ignore brokers advice on these points as they are so focussed on buying the house of their dreams and choose to save money on the very things that can help keep them in the property.

The move by Lloyds shows that lenders are not going to allow the blasé attitude of the past decade to continue and, to be fair, there is a lot of merit in this. However, as with anything, sensible advice and a sensible underwriting policy could give us all the best of both worlds.