mortgages – T E Shepherd

Mortgage Approval

Thomas — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:44:00 +0000

Our mortgage is approved!

Itâs tight, we are lucky that we can put up a 25% deposit to get the repayment rate we can afford but weâve done it. Now, how long it going to take for the sale to go through?

Rest Day

Thomas — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:35:00 +0000

We had a little bit of a rest today. I took some time in the morning to phone and engage the services of solicitors â deciding in the end to go with the bods at Wantage who came recommended by Natasha. I also completed some necessary admin with Ian Smith over my mortgage application.

With jobs done, we went for a bike ride round the neighbourhood, picked up some food at the farm shop and returned home to curl up in front of the tennis. Rediculous I know, but I brought my TV on holiday with me so as to make use of the considerably bigger screen to the one that my parents have (and mine is only a 21 inch LCD…). Well, at least you can see the ball!! *grins*

May Day

Thomas — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:43:00 +0000

So the Bank of England are saying that the credit crunch may be over? Well hears hoping. Maybe, just maybe, this kind of news will start to filter down through the housing market and things will start moving again.

The housing market conundrum

Thomas — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:42:00 +0000

The housing market does seem to be a bit stuffed just at the moment. This is not ideal, particularly if one is trying to sell one’s house in order to buy something bigger with your girlfriend and wife-to-be. So wouldn’t it be great if the pressure could be released; if they could find some way to gently bring the cost of buying a house down?

I have absolutely no idea if this is feasible but what if they could introduce differential stamp duty. If they lowered the stamp duty for first-time buyers/owner-occupiers, but then whacked it up second-homes and buy-to-lets (levying a windfall tax on existing properties â possibly in a staged introduction) then might it not be possible to: a) make the cost of buying your first home cheaper, and b) releasing said homes onto the market through owners who want to avoid the windfall tax, selling their homes into a market that is most-attractive and affordable to first-time buyers.

Would this work? Or am I failing to understand the basic principles of business (as usual)?

Of Things Financial…

Thomas — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:29:00 +0000

Before Christmas I had a letter from my mortgage brokers advising me that the guy who has sorted me out four times over the last six years when most companies wouldn’t be interested had left ‘to pursue his career elsewhere in the finance industry’. Pretty funny wording, you have to admit. I figured that there can’t be that many Ian Smith’s in finance and in Lowestoft, and a quick google through him up at the top of the pile. I sent him an email, and this morning he phoned me, glad that I had tracked him down and more than happy to discuss my plans. And now Emma and I have a ball-park figure of what size and value of house we can afford – which is scarily a lot.

And you know what, after quickly trawling rightmove there’s quite a bit out there without going to the maximum.