| Anyone who is brave enough to be thinking about getting on the property ladder at the moment needs know what they are doing as prices continue to fall. In the present state of the property market, and in the next year or so at least, homebuyers must be very careful not to overpay for homes. Statistics show us that house prices are still dropping and will continue doing so. Theoretically, if you are have a place to sell as well and you are prepared to risk the falling prices, you may have an opportunity to reduce your home buying costs. So how do you find a good value home to buy? Here are some tips to help save you some money. Look out for price reductions - You can see how much properties have sold for over the last 7 years by looking on the Land Registry or on free house price websites and you can now see reduced houses by saving them in property search engines or on the website 'propertysnake' - they show reduced properties. And you need to keep any eye on your estate agents windows.If you are genuine about buying, do your homework and watch some properties and see how long they are on the market. You can use this information to help you negotiate on the price.Do not be afraid to negotiate - The present 'soft market' does create opportunities. An estate agent will always try to get the best price but their business relies on sales and they cannot afford to have properties sitting on their books for ever. A genuine buyer is in a strong position to negotiate and agents want to sell. Auction prices can be lower - Auctioneers are holding out for realistic reserves on auctioned properties, or, are simply not selling them. It is difficult to get a mortgage to buy at auction you must have the funds in place to purchase, and, prices are still dropping, so no-one is in a hurry assuming that waiting may save them money. According to auction specialists, EIG, 54 per cent of homes auctioned in August were sold. If you manage to buy at auction you could possibly save 20-30 per cent off what you might have to pay an estate agent for the same property but you should still have it surveyed. Stamp Duty Threshold - The Government have raised the stamp duty threshold to 175,000 pounds, up 50,000 pounds, to give the property market a lift. Although, only a temporary measure, buyers could capitalise on it now and save up to 1750 pounds.In many areas this threshold is less than the price anyone would expect to pay for a property so look in cheaper areas and you may get under the limit. Also, property developers are offering deals on new builds as they are very 'sticky' and not moving at the moment, which include paying the stamp duty; but you do not have to settle for just that, you should be able to negotiate a further 10 per cent discount on top.'Sell Your Own Home' Websites - As there are more websites from where you can sell your home the choice is quite good although there is still not as much choice as from an estate agent. However, the advantage is that the buyer can deal directly with the vendor to negotiate and as there is no agents' commission to factor in, there is more scope for accepting a lower offer. Buying a new house? You will probably want a Mortgage, have a look at Brokers Online, we provide information and quotes on all the different types of Mortgages available. Brokers Online also supplies its clients with Life Insurance, Mortgage Life Insurance, Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance and many more financial products. |
