Category: industry news

Earlier this year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced Stamp Duty cuts that will remain in place until 2025. Finance experts and professionals are split on whether this cut will be beneficial to the housing Industry.

What is Stamp Duty?
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a property transaction tax, that is applied to any property purchased over a certain threshold. The tax is paid by the person buying the property and can depend on the location, the amount you are paying for the property, and whether this is your sole property. The tax percentage will range between 0-12%, depending on the price of the property.

What are Stamp Duty Cuts?
Stamp Duty Cuts raise the thresholds on which tax needs to be paid. They often occur to boost the property market’s growth, during cost-of-living crises and inflation.

What is Changing?
In September, Jeremy Hunt stated that the threshold would be increased to £250,000 from £125,000, with the first-time buyer’s threshold also being increased to £425,000 from £300,000. These cuts will remain in place until March 2025.

What does this mean for you?
The stamp duty cut is beneficial for those who are in the process of, or thinking about buying a house. The amount of tax you need to pay on the property will be massively decreased, or even completely reduced to nothing. This will make the process much more affordable for many. With this in mind, first-time buyers can therefore have a much easier time getting onto the property ladder.

There is some concern that the lowering of stamp duty may drive up the price of housing. This would then make purchasing properties unaffordable for many people. Despite this, for potential buyers and especially first-time buyers, the SDLT cut should be taken advantage of!

What are interest rates?

The Bank of England is in control of the ‘Bank Rate,’ which is more commonly known as interest rate. An interest rate indicated the cost of borrowing or saving. As a borrower, interest rates will indicate the percentage you are being charged for borrowing money. As a saver, interest rates show the percentage that your money will earn. It is important to keep an eye on interest rates, in order to help you make smart, financial decisions.

Why are they rising?

The Bank of England uses interest rates as a tool to control inflation. In the current financial situation, interest rates have increased, in an attempt to decrease the rate of inflation. A low, and stable interest rate is essential to a healthy economy. Therefore if interest rates are not moderated, there could be negative economic implications in the future.

How do rising interest rates affect mortgages?

There are two main types of interest rates in the UK. These are Fixed-rate mortgages and variable mortgages. Fixed-rate mortgages have a set interest rate throughout the agreed duration – no matter the changes in the economy, you will always pay the same monthly amount. With a variable mortgage, the interest rate changes, meaning that monthly payments can go up and down. Therefore, the only people that will be affected by the rising interest rates, are those with variable mortgages. There are three variable-rate mortgages; tracker mortgages, discount mortgages and standard variable-rate mortgages. The only mortgage that will be affected by the changing interest rates is the tracker mortgage. Tracker Mortgages follow a base rate. This base rate is usually the Bank of England’s interest rate. If the rate is low, or likely to be low, Tracker Mortgages can be very appealing. However, whilst interest rates are high – the amount that you’ll need to pay back each month will increase. Therefore, as the current rate of inflation increases, so will your mortgage payments. If you are concerned about your mortgage payments, contact your mortgage broker, or solicitor, for more financial advice. See 8 Ways to Make Your Home More Desirable – Energy Efficiency on other ways to save money during a financial crisis.

Presentation is key!

First impressions count.

Emphasise space. Try and de-clutter as much as possible.

Maximise light. Open curtains/blinds and doors.

Minimise buyer worries – There’s no need to spend a fortune, but do carry out necessary minor repairs beforehand.

Viewings – Be as flexible as possible, and keep your agent informed if there are specific times to avoid. Leave the viewings to the agent, we’re experts at dealing with potential buyers!

Buying a home, whilst an exciting time, can also be one full of stress and dread, no matter if your dream home is waiting at the other side. But, announcements this weekend could make the process of buying a house far less stressful. Morris Armitage are here to tell you the top 5 reasons why!

If you are looking to achieve the best price for your property, you need to pick the perfect estate agent. So what makes the perfect estate agent? Is that even a thing?

Any estate agent can display a photograph of your property on Rightmove and in their window and wait for the phone to ring. However, a professional estate agent will have already considered possible purchasers as soon as they visit your property. Therefor it is important to select an agent that has sold similar properties to yours. They will already have contact details of buyers likely to be interested.

Time Management

A good agent is able to balance their time efficiently. If an agent has lots of properties available this may mean they cannot concentrate their time effectively on selling your property. On the other hand, if they have very little on the market this means they probably do not sell many either! Find the right balance.

Does the agent have a dedicated negotiator, valuer and sales progressor? The last thing you want is nobody giving you regular updates through the sales process because they are too busy doing other things.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!!!

You are relying on your agent to advertise your house so you need to be sure they can do this to the best of their ability. Ensuring their marketing is top-notch is extremely important as this will have a huge effect on the interest levels your property receives. Are their photographs bright and bold? Check through their current properties for sale. Would you want your property marketed like this? Do they offer virtual tours? Professional floorplans Make sure they check all the boxes!

Research their performance

What percentage of the properties that the estate agent list actually sell?

Are they proactive when it comes to updating the advertising?

How quickly do the properties that they list sell?

How many properties have they actually sold recently?

Reviews/Testimonials

What better way is there to get a good idea of how an agent performs than to check their reviews? Google is a great place for this. Search the estate agent and see what their reviews are like. Be aware that some agents offer both sales and lettings so check the reviews carefully. You don’t want to go with an agent who’s reviews look good and then find out the majority are referring to lettings. Obviously the higher the rating the better and the more reviews the better!

Once you have gone through all of the above you are well on your way to picking the right agent for you. After this it is just the tricky part of seeing the sale through, but we will cover that another day!

Did you know burglaries increase by up to 20% over the winter months?

With Christmas coming up, homes are often left vacant for events with family and friends, shopping trips and winter breaks. You’ve also probably starting filling your home with the latest gadgets and gifts. If this sounds familiar, we’ve created a guide to keeping your property safe this winter.

Jewellery, electrical devices and cash are the most common stolen items in burglaries. Make sure these items are locked away in a home safe that is secured to the floor or wall. Alternatively make sure all expensive items cannot be seen from windows or doors, for easy access for burglars.

As obvious as it may seem, make sure you lock all doors and windows when leaving your property, and double check you’ve done so! Research has found a huge 20% of us admit to leaving our front doors unlocked.

Did you know thousands of burglaries are committed using poorly hidden spare keys? If you have to leave a spare key outside your property, invest in a smart lock with a PIN code. Never leave your key under a plant pot!

When investing in a new door lock, make sure the lock meets the British Standard BS3621. Or if you have a PVCu or composite door, consider upgrading the cylinder to a British Standard, TS007 Kitemarked model.

If you’re going away for a few days or longer, look to purchase a light timer that will switch on lights for some time in the evening. Switching on lights for a few hours in the evening will trick thieves in thinking you’re at home.

When going away on holiday, don’t share information on social media until you are back home safely. Some thieves look for opportunities online and social media is the first place they’ll look to find out where you are.

Smart home security is growing in popularity, and for good reason. Invest in a smart lock with a secure access PIN code or an integrated alarm system so you can view who’s at your home and when, via your mobile device.

Invest in a letter-plate restrictor to stop criminals from hanging keys through your letterbox and getting to your door lock.

If 24 hour CCTV protection is too expensive, we would recommend investing in security lighting to increase visibility around your property. Lights are a good deterrent for thieves.

As the dark nights approach, you are unlikely to be spending time in the garden. Make sure you don’t leave tools or garden furniture lying around your garden. Place expensive items in locked garages and sheds using a heavy-duty, weatherproof padlock.

If you would like to know more about keeping your property safe throughout the winter, or if you’d like to know if a property you rent or a property you’re looking to buy may feature some of these security elements, get in touch with our expert team.

If you’re looking to ensure that your investment strategy is strong, then it’s essential to diversify your assets. Diversification within your investment portfolio means that the risk you carry within investments is lessened. It stops you from putting all your money into one opportunity, and potentially losing it all if the worst were to happen.

Property can be a strong investment opportunity for investors, especially in hotspots or developing communities around the UK. Cambridge was recently named one of the top places in the UK, outside of London, to invest in property, therefore opportunity is on the doorstep.

With a new railway station planned from 2017, over 100 companies in the city and an abundant student population, Cambridge, and the surrounding areas are ripe for savvy property investors. Of any location in Britain, houses in Cambridge spend the shortest time on the market, an average of 27 days, against a national average of 65. Property prices in the region have seen a rise, a huge 20% in the last year alone, perfect for those investors looking to develop and sell-on in the area.

With an increasing number of people choosing to rent rather than buy, you can look to diversify your investments even further, perhaps buying a property for development, as well as a property to rent.

Get in touch

Here at Morris Armitage we pride ourselves on being the agency of choice for those who require a high-quality service that will get them the home, or investment of their choosing. We’re specialists within the region and can help you with your property search, as well as helping with investment opportunities. For more information get in touch here.