TheExtenders

Home Insurance in UK Counties – How You Can Tell Your Policy is Working for You

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Buying home insurance in UK counties needn’t be a pain. Avoid the hassle and stick to a simple checklist for cover that lets you get on with using your home for living in!

1: Is your insurance buildings, contents or both? Generally speaking you will save time and money when you buy a combined buildings and contents insurance. Aviva home insurance, for example, provides a combination that covers most normal building and contents claims. When your home insurance in UK is covering the walls you live in and the things you own you don’t have to worry that you have missed anything out...

2: Can you easily add items to your home insurance policy? Again Aviva home insurance provides a nice example here. Their policy delivers special cover for religious festivals and wedding parties. Look for home insurance policies that have added flexibility and you’ll never have to worry about temporarily increased value in your contents insurance.

3: What about moving? Some policies may not cover the contents of your house when you move to a new location. Effectively the moment you put your stuff in a van it stops being covered. Make sure that your home insurance in UK policy is clear about when and how the contents of your home are insured.

4: Always ask your potential insurance provider to be clear about the exceptions in your policy. For most home owners, the devil is in the details – what your policy doesn’t insure is a lot more important than what it does. Be sure that you know exactly what you can’t claim for before you sign on the dotted line.

Remember, when you’ve had your home refurbished, remodelled or extended, you should always contact your home insurance in UK provider.

Shaking it up – using attractive home extension styles to improve your property

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When considering a home extension, a lot of people fall into the trap of enlarging on what was there before. They commission extensions that use the same materials and look of an existing home to make it bigger.

Don’t be afraid to do something different. There are hundreds of home extension styles out there – and often local authorities are more likely to look kindly on an extension project if it adds something new and interesting to the look of the neighbourhood. Think about what you really want, and talk to us about making that dream a reality. Our outstanding home extension team can realise any idea in any number of home extension styles – making your enlarged home an attractive and interesting part of its surroundings.

For inspiration or a free consultation, visit us at www.london-builders-pro.co.uk. We’ve got the home extension styles to make your house unique, eye catching and valuable.

What would a Double Dip Recession mean for the Property Market?

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There has been much talk about the possible effects of a ‘double dip’ recession in the UK since the end of the last recession that was triggered by the financial crisis of 2008.  The effects of any recession are always complex, and felt throughout the economy.  As a nation of home owners, property in the UK is a central part of our economy, and so the effects of economic downturn on the property market are always the subject of speculation.  For the general public, a common question is: will I be able to get a mortgage?  While online tools like the mortgage calculator that you’ll find on the Santander website can provide an indication of the current scope and cost of mortgage loans there are of course wider questions to be answered.  How will the parameters programmed into the mortgage calculator change if we hit a double dip recession?  Obviously, the answer to this question is a beyond the powers of a tool like a mortgage calculator, but before we look at some likely predictions we should perhaps start with some basic definitions.

A recession is officially declared when two successive quarters (that is, quarters of a year) show negative economic growth, as measured by GDP (Gross Domestic Product).  The definition of a ‘double dip’ is when the economy slides back into recession before growth has reversed the effects of the previous recession.  This means that there is no set time limit on the arrival of a double dip recession.  If the weak growth that the UK economy has displayed over the last couple of years continues, the threat of a double dip recession can potentially stay with us for a few years more.

And it is this weak growth that has been a contributing factor to depressing the housing market.  Weak growth has increased unemployment, reduced wage rises and caused pay cuts.  Both factors hit demand in the property market. 

Just as importantly, the ongoing effects of the Credit Crunch – a result of the financial crisis that triggered the recession which began in 2008 - have made it harder to get a mortgage.  Quite simply, the banks are much more cautious about lending.

Even as we technically left recession in the summer of 2009, these problems continued to dent demand in the housing market, although the effect on property prices that this would logically cause was offset by another factor.  The initial slump in housing prices caused an increase in by to let investment.  This was because investors could pick up property at a low price, and then find a ready market for rental.  This rental market was in a large part fuelled by all the people who lost jobs, suffered repossessions, and then needed to rent a place in which to live.  Thus, the slump in property prices was not as deep or long lived as some predicated, as the buy to let sector stimulated demand.

As we look forwards, the weak growth of the last few years could actually mean that a swing to what is technically recession will not make the huge difference to unemployment and consumer spending that the recession of 2008 – 2009 caused; things are pretty bad already, and a mild recession will not be that much worse.   This means that property prices may not fall too far.  However, mortgage lending criteria may get tougher.  

Credit Options for Property Improvements

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Property improvements can transform your home, turning it into your ideal living space while also adding value.  However, securing the credit needed to finance property improvements can be challenging in the present climate, and so you need to make sure that you are in the best possible position to successfully apply for the best deals with the lowest interest rates.  Using a credit report online it is possible to get a look at the information held by credit reference agencies concerning your use of credit products.  In fact, credit reference files are such an important factor in determining the likelihood of securing credit that checking your credit report online should be seen as a standard precursor to making any applications for credit products, especially for the kind of sums often involved in property improvement.  The Credit Expert Service offered by the biggest credit reference agency in the UK, Experian, can swiftly provide a credit report online which can allow you to check for any for factual inaccuracies in your file, errors which can lead to problems with your application.  But just what are the best options for financing property improvements?    

Personal loans offer a steady option thanks to fixed repayments, which makes the cost of the loan transparent and makes financial planning easier.  Since personal loan applications are unsecured, you will need a reasonable credit history to get a hold of this kind of credit – hence the need to prepare by looking at a credit report.  The rate of interest that you will be offered will depend on your circumstances, and this largely means the impression that your finances give the lender of the risk involved in offering you a loan. 

Credit cards can potentially offer the most affordable credit of all, with many introductory deals offering a specified period of zero percent interest on purchases.  When used in conjunction with the balance transfer facility on another card, expenditure that you have yet to pay off when the free or low interest deal on purchases ends can be balance transferred to the special offer on the other card.  At the time of writing, the average balance transfer deal will again provide an interest free period, which extends the total time that you have to pay off the debt cost effectively.  While there is usually a fee charged for arranging the balance transfer – typically a percentage of the balance – this source of credit is still the cheapest available option for the average home owner; that is if you are successful in applying for the cards you need.  For more information on credit and credit scoring, try looking at: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/credit.aspx.    

If your credit report simply contains what you already know – that you have been late with a couple of credit card payments in the past, for example – you may find that your estimated credit score is quite low, which can indicate that you will have difficulty securing the best personal loan rates and credit card deals.  In this case, home owners with equity always have the option of remortgaging to release some of this equity and finance the property improvement, although as with all credit products the cost of this borrowing will be largely influenced by the health of your credit history.