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Home buyers who need mortgage help may be forced repay state

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
renting

By Ian Cowie Your Money Last updated: December 7th, 2011 Home buyers who lose their job and need state help with mortgage interest may have to repay this or give up some or all of the proceeds of their property’s sale in future, if new rules being considered by the Government pass into law. As unemployment rises and the house prices fall, is this another attack on the squeezed middle or an overdue reform to cut spending and improve public finances? Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform, said “The current system of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments does not … [Read more...]

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Housebuilders must rise to the challenge of climate change

July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
New Homes - Midas Property Consultants

Chris Goodier and Wei Pan outline the challenges that housebuilders face in helping to meet the UK government's goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 The UK house building industry is facing significant challenges, some longstanding and others triggered by the economic downturn. Future house construction will be driven by evolving government policy on sustainability, demographical changes, land supply, planning, and the fast evolution of innovative technology. It is widely acknowledged that climate change will have an impact on the future house building sector, … [Read more...]

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Banks under fire for hiking rates on FirstBuy loans

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Banks have come under fire for charging FirstBuy applicants hefty premiums. The scheme, launched at the beginning of the month, aims to provide 10,000 loans to first-time buyers helped by equity being pumped in by developers and the Government. FirstBuy borrowers then take out a mortgage on 75% of the value of the property. However, Halifax is charging FirstBuy borrowers 4.49% for a two-year fixed rate deal, compared with 3.59% for those outside the scheme. It means that FirstBuy borrowers with a £150,000 loan would be paying £890 more a year than non-FirstBuy … [Read more...]

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Action plan to boost self build in UK unveiled

July 22, 2011 By 1 Comment
self build 1

The UK government has pledged to bring in the biggest changes for 50 years to boost the self build industry and make building a home open to the masses. Housing minister Grant Shapps has unveiled a new action plan for the self build industry that he says could be the turning point in terms of reducing obstacles that have led to the UK having one of the lowest proportions of new homes built by self builders in Europe, and that he wanted to see the self build industry become a mainstream housing option. Earlier this year, Shapps asked the National Self Build Association and other industry … [Read more...]

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‘Private housebuilders sitting on prime land to meet housing targets’

July 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Public sector land sell off welcomed, but private housebuilders also have role to play Recent news that the Government plans to sell enough land to accommodate 100,000 homes by 2015, released first by the Homes and Communities Agency and then hopefully by the Ministry of Defence and Defra, should be warmly welcomed.  This should, however, also come with the caveat that the land is made available to both private and affordable housing landlords at a range of prices, so as not to price affordable housing developers out of the market. However, freeing up public land over the next four years … [Read more...]

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Government has managed to mess up its own great property conversion plan

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
UK Housing

When it comes to the property market, governments are usually part of the problem, not the solution. With the noblest of motives, but ignoring the law of unintended consequences, their interventions often do little good yet manage to gum up the works. So, it was with great joy that I heard of the current government's proposal to withdraw the public sector from one bit of property market interference. I refer to the proposal to allow conversions of commercial property to residential use without having to seek planning permission. This is just the sort of policy that the Government … [Read more...]

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Government plans to kickstart the self-build sector to bring it in line with Europe

July 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The House Builders Associations welcomes NewBuy mortgages but warned it could create further barriers for smaller house builders.

Government plans to kickstart the self-build sector to bring it in line with Europe, reports Rachael Adams, but many in the industry say it is losing the plot if it believes lenders will ever see the market as anything other than risky and niche Self-builds make up one-fifth of Britain’s new homes each year but, compared with Europe, where 50 per cent of homes are self-built, the UK has been lagging behind. This has prompted housing minister Grant Shapps to call for “a self-build revolution”, pledging 100,000 homes by 2015. But with mortgage lenders already operating in … [Read more...]

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A vision for the future

March 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
21718_A_VISION_FOR_THE_FUTURE

The Scottish Government has published its new housing strategy. Kicking off our regional special, Clare Harris cranks up the time machine to see whether the future’s bright. Illustration by Barry Downard When it comes to housing, the Scottish Government has certainly had its thinking cap on. Early last month, ministers published their strategy and action plan for affordable housing. Homes fit for the 21st century follows the Fresh thinking, new ideas discussion paper, published last May. As the Scottish housing sector faces unprecedented demand for homes - at the same time as … [Read more...]

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