A new-build home You often see news in the press moaning that not enough new homes are being built in the UK and that theres a vast shortage of  housing. In fact, government figures show 162,180 were built last year (2018). That isn’t enough to fix the housing shortage but it does mean most of us will come across a brand-new property when we are out house hunting. Here are some pros and cons of buying a brand sparkly UK investment property new home straight from the developer against an existing home already built and for sale on the market. Pro’s of buying a new build property in the UK Unpack and go – A new home is a blank canvas with fresh tiling, paintwork, kitchens and bathrooms. This means there should be very little, if anything, you need to do to it. You can simply unpack your belongings and […]

Getting A Mortgage With Foreign Income If you are a British expat living and working overseas and you are paid in a non sterling currency, you may experience difficulty securing a mortgage on a UK property or remortgaging with an existing lender. The positive news is that there are lender options for UK expats and foreign nationals when it comes to remortgaging or purchasing property in the UK. It is possible to get a UK mortgage from abroad using foreign currency or a combination of Sterling and a foreign currency, typically US Dollar or Euro. Foreign currency mortgages are available Despite the seemingly overly restrictive regulations and the influence they have over traditional lenders’ appetite for lending to those with foreign currency income, it is still possible to access the funds you need to purchase a property in the UK. The lenders who are willing to provide mortgage of this […]

What is life insurance? Life insurance can pay your dependents money as a lump sum or as regular payments if you die early whilst you are working and in employment. It’s designed to provide you with the reassurance that your dependents will be looked after if you’re no longer there to provide for them. The amount of money paid out depends on the level of cover you buy. You decide how it is paid out and whether it will cover specific payments, such as mortgage or rent. You may need to think about whether receiving a payout will affect any means tested benefits your dependents might otherwise be eligible for. There are two main types of life insurance: Term life insurance policies: run for a fixed period of time (known as the ‘term’ of your policy) – such as 5, 10 or 25 years. Some policies can run longer upon […]

Why Invest in Property in the UK? Bricks and mortar have long been seen as a prudent way to invest with the phrase ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’ revealing just how deeply entrenched in the British psyche investment property is. The UK investment property business is a financially rewarding and exciting business which can produce great rewards. It can produce a consistent income, even once you have retired. Historically, property prices have been on a strong upward trend since the 1970’s despite some volatility during the recession and credit crunch . New research has revealed that houses prices have grown faster in the UK than any other Europeans country. In fact, since 1988 house prices have gone up by a staggering 333%. This represents an average rise of 12.3% per year. Many home owners have benefited from the rising housing market and have seen their property increasing in value […]

Secured Loan A secured loan requires you to pledge an asset, such as your home, as collateral for the secured loan. In the event of missing a payment or defaulting on the loan, your bank or lender can then collect the collateral and repossess the property as a matter of last resort . This type of loan generally has a lower interest rate because the bank has less risk since it can easily collect the collateral if you default on payments. On the positive side, a secured loan can be a good way to build credit if you go through a reputable lender like a mainstream high street bank. Types of Secured Loans Mortgages are secured because your home acts as collateral for the loan. If you miss payments, you can go into forfeiture and lose your home. Car loans are also secured loans. Similar to a mortgage, the car […]

The continued weakening of the Sterling Pound is creating massive buying opportunities but most of these are from overseas investors. Right after the Brexit vote, the value of the pound significantly plummeted and most overseas investors snatched this opportunity to secure properties in Britain to make significant investment savings. Since 2018, as much as 57 percent of homes located in the prime central London area were bought by foreign investors according to the data provided by Hamptons International. Similarly, EU investors were among the largest group of foreign buyers investing in the said area. EU investors bought as much as 19 percent of properties in the second half of 2018, up from 10 percent during the same period in 2017. Overseas investors now own as much as 36 percent of properties in the Greater London area. In the past year alone, foreign investors from India rose by 3 percent while […]

Student numbers may be declining but foreign investors are lining up to buy Plymouth’s student flats with one block already being snapped up by a Middle Eastern consortium in a multi-million pound deal. The Coombestone House block, in Hastings Street, was bought by Qatari investors, according to industry insiders, earlier this year and other investors from the oil-rich nation are investigating opportunities in the city. Meanwhile a company from Singapore paid £180million for five huge Plymouth student apartment blocks which were offloaded by Unite. And two other blocks are said to have been gobbled up for “more than £1million” according to industry sources. Other properties are owned by businesses from Malaysia and South Africa, among others, and delegations from Kuwait, Israel, Spain and China are sniffing around the city. Nationally wealth funds and investors are snaffling property left, right and centre, despite Brexit uncertainty and global trade wars. But the […]

Oliver du Sautoy, head of research at LSH, believes what we have seen this year will be a tough act to follow, but is optimistic for future growth. “Healthy levels of active demand and an analysis of forthcoming lease events point to another year of above-trend activity and take-up across the region in 2018,” he said. “Investors and developers must therefore take heed of the rapidly changing dynamics within the Northern Powerhouse office markets if we are to continue to support home-grown businesses and attract greater inward investment. “Solid asset management strategies and refurbishment of poorer quality stock will be key to securing the best occupiers and boosting returns in the coming 12-18 months.” There is a lack of supply in the regions – total availability has shrunk by 12% since the start of this year – and this has encouraged “steep increases in rental levels for existing space in […]

Property’s reputation as a diversifier is as strong as ever. We were reminded of this late last year. We asked 500 investors why they were drawn to property investment – and the benefit of this asset class as a safety net was one of the most popular reasons cited. The responses revealed how property is seen as a go-to diversifier; investors are looking for options that are above the fray of other asset classes and indices – to bring an added level of security to their portfolios. There is, of course, much more to property than simply a second canopy in case your stocks and bonds go into free-fall. Whether your aims are long-term capital growth, or income generation (or a combination of the two), the right property investments can certainly add real value. But specifically when it comes to risk-balancing, evidence certainly suggests that property deserves its reputation as a lynchpin of […]

Central to this is housing, which the Government has seen as essential to both its political and policy agenda. While housing has played a key role in the Budget formulation, this has predominantly been focused on the domestic market, looking for new ways in which to boost home ownership, particularly amongst young people, rather than focusing on overseas investors in UK property. The most eye catching announcement was the cut in stamp duty for first time buyers. Philip Hammond said he would abolish stamp duty on homes priced up to GBP300,000. This is very much restricted to first-time owner-occupiers who reside in the UK, which, although seen as a positive move to aid younger people getting on to the first rung on the property ladder, is also seen as a potential catalyst for rises in prices by some analysts. In full, the key announcements by the Chancellor consisted of a […]