However, those that are planning to sell their homes may face a number of issues that could get in the way of them selling up and moving on, and it is important to consider the possible hurdles and ensure that you know what you need to do to overcome them.

Many people assume that the existing mortgage that they have is portable and that if they move home they can take the mortgage with them. For instance those that move mid-way through a fixed rate mortgage may think that they can take the mortgage to the new property until the deal comes to an end, but this is not always the case these days.

Lenders will often only allow you to take the mortgage in the event that you meet up to date criteria as opposed to the criteria that you met when you first took out the mortgage. It is therefore important that you look into the portability of your mortgage before you make any decision on moving to a new home, as otherwise you may face crippling costs and may struggle to move to your new home.

Another problem that you will need to consider is that over the past couple of year mortgage lending has become extremely restricted, and this means that if you need to borrow additional money you may find that it is impossible to do so. In the past lenders may have taken into account things such as overtime, bonuses, etc, and may have ignored the odd credit card debt or loan.

However, with lending criteria now so tough lenders will be extremely strict over lending extra money, and therefore this may prove to be your downfall. To ensure that you do not come across this problem make sure that you check with the lender prior to making any offers on a property to see whether you meet the criteria for borrowing the extra cash that you need.

Something else to bear in mind is the valuation of your new home. The value that you put on the home and the value that the bank puts on it can vary widely, and with banks demanding large deposit levels you may find that you are struggling to get the amount that you need to buy the property. It is best to be as down to earth as possible with the valuation of the property, and you can do this by looking at the value of similar properties in the area as well as by getting valuations done.

Bear in mind that at present the number of homes on the market is far outstripped by the number of people that are interested in buying a home, and this means that at least for the moment property prices could continue to gain strength.

However, if and when you do put your property on the market you need to remember that it is important to be realistic with regards to your asking price, as otherwise your property could be left festering on the market because buyers simply cannot afford to go for a property that is not priced realistically and within their reach.

Are you thinking of selling your home? is a post from: Glitec Loans

Not only have property prices been tumbling but the level of property sales has gone through the floor, and many estate agents were forced to close their doors for good last year because they simply weren’t selling any properties.

Many people thought that the drop in house prices would mean that more properties would be selling, as first time buyers took advantage of the lower property prices. However, this particular group, which normally keeps the housing market buoyant, was unable to keep things afloat because many could not get the finance needed to purchase a property. The global credit crunch led to lenders really tightening up on their lending criteria, and with lenders not prepared to take unnecessary risks many first time buyers were unable to get finance.

In addition to this lenders hiked up the amount of deposit required to get a competitive mortgage, and with many first time buyers having little in the way of savings and nothing by way of equity this was another problem that affected the ability of first time buyers to get onto the property ladder, resulting in many homes being left festering on the market. However, one bit of light at the end of the tunnel is the startling reduction in the base rate over recent months, which industry officials say has resulted in renewed interest in the housing market.

Officials from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have claimed that a higher number of enquiries from would be buyers has indicated that there has been renewed interest in the housing market, and this is largely down to the fact that in addition to house prices being far lower than a year ago the interest rate is now at its lowest in the three hundred and fifteen year history of the Bank of England, encouraging buyers to take more of an interest in the market. However, RICS did also state that the majority of interest was from those that already had a flat or house, and that first time buyers were still struggling to try and get on the property ladder because of the ongoing restrictions in the mortgage market.

RICS has high hopes for the property market on the back of the increased interest in the market, and thinks that over the coming months the number of property sales could continue to rise. Some lenders are offering some very competitive deals on mortgages, but in most cases these are only made available to those that have a deposit of at least 25 percent and more often than not 40 percent, which means that only those with plenty of cash or those with high levels of equity in their existing property can access these deals.

An economist from RICS stated: “Interest from owner-occupiers is likely to persist over the comings months as those with large deposits look to capitalise on the drop in house prices.”

He also said: “Our suspicion is that this improvement in activity levels is likely to be sustained over the coming months; mortgage approvals could climb above 35,000 [per month] on the back of the higher level of buyer interest. However, this would still be well down on the high for the cycle as well as being significantly below the long run average. By no means could this relatively small pick-up in transactions be seen as representing a move back to a more orderly housing market.”

Will property sales rise over coming months? is a post from: Glitec Loans

McKay said that had he known that the property was being sold to Mr Morris he would have increased the asking price by around £3 million. McKay claims that the estate agent knew the true identity of the buyer when selling the property to Morris. He said that he had been told by the estate agent that the offer had come from a wealthy investor, and he asked the estate agent if it was Mr Morris that had put the offer in but was told that it was somebody of another name that had made the offer.

McKay is now demanding £2.5 million damages from the estate agent, Savills, as well as the £50,000 that he paid the estate agent by way of commission.

In his court papers McKay claims: ‘Ball knew throughout that Morris was the real purchaser of Tresanton. Ball lied about Newman to conceal the fact that Morris wanted to buy Tresanton.’

However, Savills stated: ‘Savills are satisfied on the evidence now available to them that the price paid on the sale was a fair reflection of the value of Tresanton.’

The property in the wealth area of Sunningdale has an onsite health spa and even its own resident air traffic controllers to help land residents’ helicopters.

Man sues estate agent over £2.9 million sale is a post from: Glitec Loans

The tighter credit conditions that have stemmed from the global credit crunch have resulted in fewer people being able to get an affordable mortgage. This means that fewer people are able to purchase a property, which is impacting upon house sales levels. Also, many would be buyers are nervous about the ongoing falls in house prices, with many fearing that prices could continue to fall even after they have purchased a home, which is also putting some people off.

On top of this the government has suggested that there may be a suspension placed on stamp duty for first time buyers, but have failed to confirm this. As a result many people are putting off buying a property in case they get to save thousands of pounds in stamp duty just a few weeks or months down the line. This is another factor that is seriously affecting house sales in the UK.

An official from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors stated: ‘The lack of mortgage finance has brought the market to a virtual standstill, with first-time buyers rapidly becoming an endangered species.’

He continued: ‘The current confused messages from the Government risk damaging any returning confidence and may discourage mobility.’

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House sales slump by 40% according to report is a post from: Glitec Loans

Officials from Right Move, the property specialist, have stated that the average estate agent now has around 64 properties up for sale compared to 54 one year ago. The timescale for shifting these properties has increased from an average 78 days one year ago to an average of 93 days, which reflects a rise of almost two weeks.

One official from Right Move stated: ‘Most sellers obviously want to achieve as much as possible for their property, and traditionally they have chosen to test the market at an ambitious price in February, as they have plenty of time to adjust it down later. This is normally compounded by estate agents being eager to have fresh property on their books and sellers tempted to try a higher figure.’

He added: ‘Yet the current concerns in the capital’s financial sector appear to be restraining the traditionally high levels of seller and agent optimism normally seen at this time of year.’

Experts have been warning homeowners to expect a rocky year in terms of the housing market, with house price inflation set to continue falling and with affordability for most buyers still causing problems due to higher living costs even through interest rates have come down.

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Home sellers struggling to sell their properties is a post from: Glitec Loans