mypropertyadvice.com

13/07/2021

Our founder and CEO in is HELLO! this week talking about insta trends and how they can impact your house prices.

Did you know that being 'on trend' can help your house price by as much as 6% 🥳

Home interior trends 2021: Research from Dulux Weathershield found painting your home pink could increase its value on the property market.

15/06/2021

Hertfordshire is fast becoming one of the hottest spots for young people in the South East. ⁠⁠
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It's got gorgeous greenery, with stunning parks on the outskirts of St Albans and rolling fields in the rural areas but you're also less than half an hour from London! ⁠⁠
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Have the best of both worlds. On our Help to Buy Hertfordshire page, we break down how you can have it all, the greenery and calm of the country, and the cultural highlights of London. ⁠⁠
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With Help to Buy Hertfordshire you can get your hands on a property worth up to £407,400 so there are LOTs of options. ⁠⁠
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Want to find out more about how you can get on the property ladder in dreamy Hertfordshire? DM or book a call with a property expert today. ⁠⁠
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08/06/2021

A jewel in the North West - everything you ever wanted to know about Help to Buy Manchester. ⁠⁠
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This beautiful and vibrant city has got some absolutely insane opportunities to get on the ladder with the Help to Buy scheme. Plus, it just has incredible job and culture opportunities so this is unmissable.⁠⁠
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In our overview we cover everything on how you get onto the scheme in Manchester including:⁠⁠
🏠 The regional maximum budget⁠⁠
🏠 How much deposit you need⁠⁠
🏠 What your budget can get you in the city⁠⁠
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04/06/2021

100% House 50% Off!⁠⁠
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Today the government launched yet another scheme that helps First Time Buyers to get on the ladder. The new scheme gives up to £100k savings on new build properties to first time buyers across the UK. ⁠⁠
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When the properties are sold on again, they are supposed to give the same level of saving to first time buyers again to protect the properties from being used as investment. So first timers can continue to save for generations. ⁠⁠
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Who's eligible? ⁠⁠
- You can't own or have bought a house before⁠⁠
- You must have a combined earning of £80k (£90k in London)⁠⁠
- It's only available on new build properties that are part of the scheme⁠⁠
- There are price caps of £250k, or £420k in Greater London⁠⁠
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Want to know more about the scheme and how it can benefit you? Get in touch with our experts today and we can talk you through it. ⁠⁠
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25/05/2021

How to get on the ladder? Want to join the ranks of young people buying a home this year? We broke down everything you need to know about how to get your foot on the first rung of the property ladder. ⁠⁠
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Luckily, there are lots of brilliant opportunities for young people and first time buyers to take advantage of government schemes allowing purchases with low deposits. For the lowdown on all those opportunities check out the 'Help to Buy Hub' on the website and for everything else head to the blog for our take on How to get on the Ladder.⁠⁠
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We cover:⁠⁠
🏠 How much deposit you need to buy a house⁠⁠
🏠 The mortgage application process ⁠⁠
🏠 Budgeting⁠⁠
🏠 Getting a solicitor and surveyor ⁠⁠
🏠 Making an offer⁠⁠
🏠 Exchange and completion⁠⁠
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20/05/2021

We simplified Help to Buy and have broken it down by region. The first in our series Help to Buy London is here! ⁠⁠
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On the Help to Buy Hub we cover all the basics and if you head to the 'London' drop down you will find out:⁠⁠
🏠 Maximum house value in the region⁠⁠
🏠 How much deposit you need⁠⁠
🏠 How the equity loan can help⁠⁠
🏠 Finding eligible properties ⁠⁠
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11/05/2021

Suns out, pints in! Who's buzzing for the world opening up next week?? 🙋‍♂️🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏼‍♂️🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏾‍♂️🙋🏿‍♂️⁠⁠
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As we get back to a bit of normality, keep yourselves and everyone safe. 💙

06/05/2021

We've broken down the process of buying a house into the basic steps. Of course you may have some issues arise along the way when dealing with contracts or in the survey but if all goes well, this is what your house buying journey will look like:⁠⁠
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1. Find a Property⁠⁠
This is the fun bit! House hunting can be really enjoyable if you know how to do it. Make sure you know your budget and your non-negotiables so you don't waste time. ⁠⁠
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2. Get a Mortgage ⁠⁠
We highly recommend getting a mortgage broker for this part rather than going direct to a bank. A broker will have access to deals that aren't publicly available. Not sure how to get a broker? We can help! ⁠⁠
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3. Make an Offer⁠⁠
Once you've found your dream home and you know you can borrow what you need, make an offer. Whether you go higher or lower depends on the market situation so feel free to ask us if you want help. ⁠⁠
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4. Get a Survey⁠⁠
This will tell you that everything is structurally sound and there aren't any hidden issues with the property. ⁠⁠
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5. Complete!⁠⁠
When everything is in place, you can exchange contracts and get the keys. Congratulations you've just bought a house! ⁠⁠
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This is a really simplified version of the process, to find out more we have detailed instructions on our website or you can chat to a property expert today. ⁠⁠
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27/04/2021

OK so you've bought but you want to shift your property QUICKLY - what can you do to get it over the line asap?⁠
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We outlined all the most productive things you can do to help get your house sold fast. It's more than just putting it on for a low price so, how does it work? You can find the full article on our site but here are the top tips:⁠
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1. Consider using a purchase property company - they buy any house but will often give below market value⁠
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2. Go multi-agency - just make sure you don't allow everyone to list on every portal. It will make you look like you're desperate for a sale!⁠
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3. Use all the portals - having said that, make sure each of your agents cover a different portal so you get the most reach⁠
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4. Speak to your neighbours - you'd be surprised how many people want to buy houses on their road or flats in their building either for themselves or family members ⁠
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5. Have a sale board - they look a bit tacky but they really help! For point 4 but also because potential buyers often scout an area and will see your board!⁠
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6. Get the asking price right - this doesn't mean low! This means making sure your price sits in the right brackets on the portals ⁠
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7. Consider a virtual tour - even if your agent isn't willing to pay for it, if you want a quick sale they're a must have particularly in this climate ⁠
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8. Think about fixtures - consider including the fixtures and white goods in the sale to help get the offer over the line. ⁠
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9. Sort out your paperwork - to get a sale moving quickly, make sure all your legal and financial paperwork is sorted before your house is even online⁠
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10. Sort out the leasehold - make sure your lease (if you have one) is intact and has a good length on it⁠
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11. Avoid a chain - don't hold up your sale by trying to also buy a property at the same time. Get yourself in a hotel or a short term rental to keep things moving fast!⁠
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There are more tips on the website or if you want to chat with an expert you can book a free call today!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

20/04/2021

We broke down everything you need to know about buying a New Home.⁠
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This doesn't mean buying yourself a new home but buying a house or flat that you'll be the first occupant of. New Homes have a different process to ones already built and use a range of alternative terminology so it's important to get up to speed before you decide if a New Home is right for you!⁠
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Here are some of the main differences when buying a property like this:⁠
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Buying Off Plan - this means you buy the house or flat based on the drawings and by looking at a 'model home' or 'marketing suite' of the development. You're literally buying off the architectural plans ⁠
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Incentives - the government provides a ton of brilliant incentives to help people get on the ladder and into a new home. From shared ownership to the equity loan Help to Buy scheme, there are lots of ways you can get on the ladder! ⁠
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No chains - being the first person in the property you never have to deal with a chain! You do have to wait for it to be built of course, and occasionally there will be delays but these will be factored into your timeline⁠
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Less maintenance - often new build homes come with a warranty and everything is brand new anyway so you shouldn't find yourself with a surprise leak or breakage. ⁠
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Low running costs - new build homes have the most high tech materials so are often considerably more fuel efficient, especially if you're in a block of flats, so your running costs will be much lower than a breezy old house. ⁠
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More space - yes really! Modern homes have got national minimum space requirements so you will usually find you get more square footage than older period properties. ⁠
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More choice - you can often choose the final fixtures and fittings of your property before you move in so you really get to decide the final look and feel of the place.⁠
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09/04/2021

How long does a mortgage in principle last?

In our previous blogs we've talked about how to get a mortgage and how to get yourself ready to buy. If you take our advice (which, of course, we highly recommend!) then that will entail getting a mortgage in principle - but how long do they last?

We go through everything you need to know right here 🤓

A common question for many seeking to buy property is how long does a mortgage in principle last? We answer this and more in our property blog

08/04/2021

How to get on the property ladder??⁠⁠
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Want to feel what it's like to walk through your very own front door? Want to go nuts on the decor? Here are our top tips for getting on the ladder:⁠⁠
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Step 1 – Understand your budget by obtaining a mortgage in principle. If you want some advice on getting this sorted we can help! ⁠⁠
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Step 2 – Arrange a solicitor and surveyor. This means you can be sure the property you're buying is structurally intact and has all the right paperwork associated with it. ⁠⁠
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Step 3 – Find a property. The fun part! We recommend searching across the portals , , , and the newbie . They can list different properties so make sure to check them all. ⁠⁠
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Step 4 – Make an offer. But how much? Not sure what the right offer price is? Send us the listing and we can help!⁠⁠
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Step 5 – Finalise offer & mortgage. Your solicitor and broker will help you work through all these elements. ⁠⁠
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Step 6 – Exchange contracts. Exchange and completion can sometimes land on the same day but if not, you'll exchange contracts first then decide the actual move in date. ⁠⁠
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Step 7 – Completion. It yours! Congratulations! Now you can celebrate with a housewarming 💥⁠⁠
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