Are you planning to buy a new house in the UK rose dramatically. The huge price rise puts the UK among the top five European countries to have the highest house prices. The increase in the house prices has turned the real estate into a feeding frenzy for foreign investors. If you want to invest in the UK real estate, it will be a good idea to a take lesson from the Dubai real estate bubble collapse incident. Make sure you do not carry away and put all the eggs in the same basket.

According to the experts, the prices will not go down in the near future and they are likely to remain the same in the next few months. The increase in the prices has prompted a lot of property investors to buy houses in the Luxury designer bedding to tide you over until then. If you are a little short on money, there is nothing to worry about you should try to save the money for the future and wait until the house prices take a plunge.

The house prices rose by 1.2% in January this year despite the decision of the government to reduce the stamp duty on house acquisitions. The prices have increased by 8.65% since January last year and it is unlikely that the price will rise too much further than that.

But since it is difficult to truthfully predict what housing prices will do in the near or distant future, it is best to keep abreast of what is happening in the marketplace. Though prices may be tending upwards anything can occur to reverse this trend.

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Last summer the FSA came across problems with the manner in which persons who were having difficulties making their mortgage payments were deal with. It specifically looked at third party administrators and specialist lenders.

Lenders have had a lot of criticism concerning the charges they impart on homeowners who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments. Some lenders charge as much as £150 for any visit debt counsellors have to make, and £300 for engaging the services of a solicitor.

To add more pain, those with arrears may also have to pay a fee of £60 each month by lenders even if they reach some sort of arrangement concerning the repayment of the existing arrears. The new proposal tries to eliminate this fee hence giving those with repayment difficulties extra breathing space.

The proposals also aim to stop lenders from adding arrears charges on to early repayment charges. Lenders will also not be allowed to charge interest on any outstanding fees, and if customers with arrears make a payment it must be used to satisfy any arrears first prior to being used to pay the fees.

Firms have also been called on to keep a record of all telephonic conversations about what is owing on a mortgage between them and the borrower. They will also need to keep these records for at least three years.

Currently there are close to 200,000 people who have arrears of over 2.5% of what is left on their mortgage, according to the latest figures of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The proposals also set out the obligations of lenders to their customers. These are to be quite clear and easily understood. It also sets out certain standards firms will need to meet to guarantee homeowners fair treatment when they find themselves in financial difficulties.

In other news, as most of you know it was this recent weekend that we moved down south, and I cannot even begin to tell you what a disaster it truly was. Other then the rainstorm when we were loading the truck, half of my things being forgotten at the old flat, and the loss of just about all the fasteners for my flat pack furniture, it was seamless! Oh well, the point is that it is done now, Dan and Mia I can’t begin to thank you enough for all the help.

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The Christmas and New Year period can often bring vital momentum to the housing market as people choose the start of January to finally make the move that they have been mulling over throughout the previous months. A brighter than expected January 2010 has exceeded expectations however and the buoyant start to the year has seen house prices rise by 1.2%.

There has been a string of positive, if quirky, stories about the propery market this week with news that a house boat in Chelsea is for sale at a cool million pounds and that a rather ramshackle beach hut, sans door, has sold for £40,000. Taken in themselves they could be an indicator that the silly season of news has arrived early but when seen as part of a wider picture they indicate a growing optimism that there is light at the end of the recessionary tunnel.

The 1.2% rise occurred in the first week of January 2010 and the five weeks leading up to January 9th revealed a healthy overall increase of 0.4% in the price of housing, giving a UK average house price of £222,261.

Estate Agents and property websites across the country have been surprised by the rise that has bucked the trend of gloomy predictions and less bright economic indicators from other sectors.

Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of the property site Rightmove talking to The Telegraph today, said: “This rise in asking prices is an early indicator that new sellers in 2010 have the confidence to try for a higher price, as the index was lined up for a fall until the turn of the year.” Mr Shipside went on to explain that the optimism of these January buyers had helped to reverse a predicted 1% fall in house prices.

It seems that this is the first ray of light, a possible silver lining, peeking out but there are still two large, dark clouds looming threateningly overhead. The recession is holding onto the UK for longer than expected and rising inflation and unemployment could prolong the fiscal malaise. The General Election, due in Spring or Summer 2010, is also casting a pall of uncertainty over the medium term future of the market as potential buyers may wait to see what impact a new government has on their wallet before committing to any significant spending. In these times, however, we must be thankful for all good news and I for one believe that these encouraging January figures are the precursor for a year of sustained, and better than expected, growth for the housing market.

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Its funny how Sunday will often bring the most telling news stories to bear when sitting at the dinner table on what is usually an otherwise uneventful day.

Yesterday was just one such Sunday for, when flicking through yesterday’s Observer, I came upon an article by one Lisa Bachelor entitled ‘Nationwide woos first-time buyers with 90% loan-to-value mortgage’ that is now available for those that may have missed it at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/nov/01/90-per-cent-mortgage-nationwide.

I have to admit I was somewhat surprised at this turn of events in view of the problems that have arisen in and around the global financial crisis and its impact upon the mortgage market in this country with the collapse of Northern Rock and its eventual government takeover as a result of the speculatory activities of banks and other financial institutions.

Now, however, Nationwide has launched mortgages that only need a 10% deposit with fixed rates starting at 5.98% for two years with a £495 fee which is quite a turnaround from the fact recent research by Moneyfacts.com had shown a 75% fall in the number of loans that are available to potential customers in the past year to those with only enough for a 10% deposit.

Therefore, on the face of it, Nationwide’s move seems to signal a marked turnaround.

However, the reality is somewhat different in view of the fact that Nationwide would only offer these deals to those with its ‘Flexaccount’ where customers pay at least £750 a month into their account. Moreover, a little over two years after its virtual collapse, Northern Rock has made an aggressive re-entrance into the mortgage best-buy tables having reduced interest rates on its home loans three times so that it now offers a market-leading two-year fixed rate at 3.65% for people buying a home.

As a result, there seems to be some significant scope for advancement of the economic recovery in this country impacting upon customers ability to take out mortgages at cheaper and more consumer friendly rates. However, I feel that we are still some way away from the approach of financial institutions prior to the global financial collapse and the resulting impact of the recession that followed.

In related news about the house before I forget! After hours of scouring webpages, looking through endless home information packs, and talking to so many estate agents on the phone everyone has agreed. Move in date is the first of next month, and I am going to need deposits on tuesday from everyone who is moving in. And before you ask Matthew, no you can’t borrow money…

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Wow. Robbie Williams is so desperate to get back to Los Angeles for Christmas that he is willing to lose a million pounds on his Wiltshire home. When he bought it in February, he paid almost eight and a half million.

The seven bedroom house near Calne is so big that it requires its very own substation for electricity. It has temples, fountains and a personal helicopter hanger.

Robbie has decided that he wants a quick sale on the property and has reduced the price to ensure that he gets one. He had originally bought the house to use for the promotion of his new record, ‘Reality Killed the Radio Star’, but has now changed his mind… It would appear that Mr. Williams only bought the place impulsively and he now regrets his decision. Now the wet weather in Britain is getting him down and he wants to head back to the US.

Apparently, there are already a few different people who are interested in buying Robbie’s mansion. The Sun has reported that; ‘Robbie is desperate to get things moving quickly rather than hang around just to get a bit more money. Being settled back in the States quickly with Ayda is more important to him.’

It is also rumored that Robbie is ‘struggling’ to afford the upkeep of the enormous property. He has said, ‘I can’t really afford to keep it. Maintenance is a lot. I’ve done a few impulse buys and it leaves you no money.’

So, it is not just ‘ordinary’ home owners who are feeling the pinch at the moment. This may make people feel a bit better when it comes to struggling with mortgage payments but it will not make things any easier.

Robbie Williams has sold an estimated fifty-five million albums during his career. Since 1997 he has released a total of eight studio albums, four compilations and one live performance that was recorded at Knebworth. He recently told the press that his differences with Gary Barlow had now ‘been settled’ and said that a Take That reunion concert would not be out of the question.

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If you are after a good deal on house insurance then this blog has got some really good links on it.

We all have a concern that our home could get broken into. Taking out house insurance does not make you ‘burglar-proof’ and, if you are robbed, it will not make the experience any less painful. It will, however, give you added peace of mind that if it ever did happen then you would be covered for any of your expensive belongings.

Hopefully though, you will never find yourself in a position where you do have to make a claim on anything.

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Property auctions in the UK are held in a number of towns and city locations, each auction company holding two or three auctions per month and advertising them extensively beforehand in the local press and on the many property auction websites now available. The advantage of purchasing a property by auction is that the property is often sold well below market value. The properties sold are quite often ripe for property developing, providing the buyer with the opportunity to get onto the property ladder or increase their property portfolio, often making substantial profits when they later come to sell the property they bought at auction. Estimates suggest that around 30,000 properties are auctioned each year in the UK and, at the end of each auction; it is unusual for a property not to be sold.

Properties which are most often sold at auctions include dwellings which have been repossessed by lenders from mortgagees who have failed to keep up their payments. Other properties come to auction due to a deceased resident’s estate having to be wound up. Other properties need extensive renovation or building work done to make them habitable, resulting in an auction being the only way to successfully dispose of a property for sale. Many types of property come onto the auction market, both in the commercial and residential sector, including parcels of land and tracts of farmland. Flats, freehold dwellings, leasehold properties, fixed site caravans, office blocks, farms; individual auctions are often dedicated to specific property criteria, although some are mixed auctions.

There are various advantages to buying property in an auction in the UK, apart from a competitive purchase price. Property auctions in the UK provide an opportunity for all interested parties to bid fairly in an open market. Where a bid is successful the vendor is unable to withdraw the property from market and the purchaser can be confident their successful bid will result in a successful acquisition once legal completion has taken place.

Naturally, if you are purchasing a property at auction it is often not possible to view the potential purchase beforehand, although this is sometimes possible. However, if you manage to obtain a property well below market value this is often a risk well worth taking just to obtain a desirable property.

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House swapping in the UK covers more than one eventuality. In the UK, house swapping generally refers to people in rental properties applying to exchange a home of similar quality and type in a different location; permanently. In other words, a family of four might live in Scotland in a socially rented property such as council housing and need to move to another location in England or Wales. They advertise for the kind of home they are seeking and their details are made available so that people who might want to move to Scotland are able to touch base with each other and eventually relocate to the other person’s home.

On the other hand, house swapping in the UK can be interpreted in a completely different way. This relates to a person usually joining a home-swap website which advertises the fact that they might want to holiday in, say Scotland – and they live in England as an example. So the two families arrange to swap homes for the duration of a holiday period. Most people who take part in this scheme acknowledge that this arrangement works well, although problems can always arise. House swapping is often referred to as mutual exchange; it can also be referred to as home swapping. In the interest of clarity, this article refers to the activity of mutual exchange, otherwise known as house swapping in the UK.

From the information available on house swapping, whether in the UK or anywhere else, it does not seem to be a process free of all difficulties and issues. What is a “house” is sometimes the first quesiton. Some people put up their touring caravan houses up for swap, and whilst for them they consider it a house and home, other people might have different standards. House swapping in the UK can get even more difficult if a three-way or even a four-way swap is involved. As an example, somebody could be advertising a four bedroom council house in North London which turns out to be a three-bedroom property with the dining room currently being used as a fourth bedroom. This is a matter of interpretation, certainly, but misleading connotations can inadvertently lead to all sorts of other misconceptions. On the whole, house swapping in the UK seems to be quite successful with one particular website dedicated to house swapping in the UK being very popular, with more than 86,000 members and many successful swaps.

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If you are looking around for property in the UK, you will be able to find homes that are the single family type and also those with multiple rooms for students. For students, these homes can generally house 7 students or more so they can live near or on campus. For families or couples, you would probably be more interested in a 2 or 3 bedroom home.

Many of the properties that are available in the UK are for investors as well. You can speak with someone who is an overseas specialist. This is a person who will be able to help you with the purchase and paperwork that needs to be done if you find a property that you like and would like to purchase it.

If you are new to the UK and you are looking for a place to rent, you will find that there are certain ways to do this. One of these is called letting. This is when you have a lease for 3 months at a time. This is great if you are not sure if you are going to stay or if you are just passing through on a temporary assignment or a meeting of some sort. There are also holiday lets. You will need to book these far in advance to ensure there is one available. Of course, these properties are for renting and not for purchasing. There are of course properties that are for sale as well.

You need to determine if you are looking for a home that is detached, a bungalow, semi-detached or even with a terrace. All of these things are important to specify to a realtor when you are house shopping. This can make narrowing down the search much easier for you and for the person who is helping you to find your home. There is also now the additional problem of getting a home information pack done before being able to finish buying a house, however this is not the buyers problem. It is the sellers responsibility to pay for and provide a Home information pack or Hip for the buyer, however this is a cost that is sometimes tacked onto the price of the house.

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A cozy comfortable home is a necessity for the middle income group, but a luxurious home is a must for the upper class, business class and bureaucrats. The latter more than the former sometimes have to live up to a stressful sometimes unpredictable business or official life and an over dose of anxiety driven problems that come with the territory. They are expected more than most to be happy, healthy and look good all of the time - it’s no wonder so many of them resort to cosmetic surgery in order to alter their appearence. Here, the only way a person can cope up with the undue strains unleashed by a nerve breaking responsible life is to own a luxurious home and give his thoughts and body much needed rest. This is made possible with extra large space provided both for recreation, entertainment and physical exercise and other extras that one can find in luxury UK homes.

The very idea of owning a luxury home in UK is the inherent urge to forget the unpredictability of ones investments and the demands of the future. The owner of a luxury home in UK has to feel freshened up for the next day of mental exertion and demands of his profession or business. Likewise, he finds it to be of utmost priority to loosen up his head full of unsolved business riddles. For this, he may want to relax in his indoor swimming pool, ride his steed up the mountain pass, and call up a few guests for an instant partying and drinking session or for many other ways of entertainment and relaxation.

For the best selection of luxury homes in the UK one can browse through websites where the details of the builders, agents and land brokers are given along with their addresses and phone number and of course present real estate rates. Most sought after luxury homes in the UK are those with unheard of luxuries and facilities. Many luxury homes have two to six garages, large outdoor and indoor swimming pools, stables for their favorite steeds, sprawling gardens and exotic scenery all around. Inside the homes there are wine cellars, large kitchen and huge dining areas for entertaining and organizing planned social events. Besides, many also have indoor spas, gyms, theatres and indoor games rooms designed to perfection.

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