semmyk:
Placeholder 7 [Home Builders]
_______________
They are property developers that typically build off-plan. That is from architectural plan to physical completion.

Homebuilders vary in size and reputation. Here's an attempt at compilation. We shall update the list as need be.
Thanks @Lolo for the initial 'list'.

Source: Ranked by the highest number of homes sold
Developer #homes sold / completions Ave selling price
Barratt | 17,579 |£288,900
Persimmon | 16,449 | £215,563
Taylor Wimpey | 14,933 |£263,900
Bellway | 10,307 | £284,937
Redrow | 5,718 | £332,300
Countryside | 4,295 | £252,820
Galliford Try | 4,193 | £235,250
Bovis | 3,759 | £273,200
Berkeley | 3,678 | £725,000
Crest Nicholson | 3,020 | £393,000
McCarthy & Stone | 2,134 | £300,000

_________________________________________




Nov 2020 Post from part 1 of living in the UK. See pp 431-432

Ogbeni Semmyk, there is a special place for you in heaven!!!

🎹🎤 Amin, Amin, AaaAmin
And to @Solumtoya for requesting persistently, and Ma Ticha for insights, and everyone for inputs.

Pending when we enter the 'city' made of unending #gold and precious stone, make we hit 'gold' with properties on earth and glorify God here on earth 😉

Santa2:
Ogbeni Semmyk, there is a special place for you in heaven!!!

5th April is around the corner. If you want to benefit from LISA in the Tax year, shake body before April to maximize the bonus

semmyk, you have done noble. God bless you

What can those of us above 40 years do bayi?

semmyk:
I can't authoritatively provide one.
See updated placeholder 3 on first page of this thread - link .
Seemly, Save the students guide on LISA - link has a write-up with a list of LISA.
1. AJ Bell Youinvest stocks and shares Lifetime ISA
2. Hargreaves Lansdown stocks and shares Lifetime ISA
3. Nutmeg stocks and shares Lifetime ISA
4. Moneybox stocks and shares Lifetime ISA
_{PS: This is not an endorsement}

bigtt76:
What can those of us above 40 years do bayi?

There is Stock & Shares ISA . Which is CGT free for approximately 20k a year.

Solumtoya:
5th April is around the corner. If you want to benefit from LISA in the Tax year, shake body before April to maximize the bonus

When I got the £1000 bonus from last year. It felt so so good. Make I start to dey gather this year own .

YouKay gov: Stock & Share ISA can include
- shares in companies
- unit trusts and investment funds
- corporate bonds
- government bonds

[See extract from HSBC ] PS: this is not an endorsement
A stocks & shares ISA – also known as an investment ISA – is a tax-efficient investment account. This means you don't have to pay UK income tax or capital gains tax (CGT) on money you earn from your investments made through the ISA. ISA stands for Individual Savings Account

Tolzeal:
There is Stock & Shares ISA . Which is CGT free for approximately 20k a year.

bigtt76:
What can those of us above 40 years do bayi?

semmyk:
... ... See updated placeholder 3 on first page of this thread - link .
... ...

Santa2:


When I got the £1000 bonus from last year. It felt so so good. Make I start to dey gather this year own .

Probably would hit that too before March ends . 😅😅Wish I started last October.

Solumtoya:
5th April is around the corner. If you want to benefit from LISA in the Tax year, shake body before April to maximize the bonus

what does this mean

arthurwillia:
what does this mean

With LISA you get 25% of money deposited at every Tax year which usually April 6th.

With maximum allowed deposit for LISA been 4000 pounds you would get extra 1000 pounds if maxed out before Tax year.

Tolzeal:



With LISA you get 25% of money deposited at every Tax year which usually April 6th.

With maximum allowed deposit for LISA been 4000 pounds you would get extra 1000 pounds if maxed out before Tax year.

1000pounds ohh nice but everything goes to buying a house right? You can’t spend it as I heard

arthurwillia:

1000pounds ohh nice but everything goes to buying a house right? You can’t spend it as I heard

That’s correct.
It’s need to go to your house as a first time home buyer or pay 25% fine on penalty .

Santa2:


When I got the £1000 bonus from last year. It felt so so good. Make I start to dey gather this year own .

Sweeter when it's Husband and wife. £2k!

Crosspost

Akorkor:
My two cent on this car buying. Car no be investment. Do not join bad wangon in buying and pay small small. Always check if you have chest for gbese and how much will remain in your income if all gbese are removed at the end of the month. As for me, I believe in pay once. Only thing I go do gbese for in this oyinbo land na House. A word is enough for the wise.
#Ire o

Property search and offer negotiation: the water factor
Apparently, in most of Scotland, water 💦 bills 💵 are integrated into Council rate.
For those in England, water bill varies from Councils to Council, from size of property to property, and most importantly usage per household.
Before putting in that offer, give thought to post mortgage cost regarding water bills.
You might have the dreaded estimated billing that makes your £ 💸 fly away or you have water meter that watches you like a hawk.
Water bills are wide apart from £150 to £750 per year.

[Extracts] discussions from Living in the UK thread

Lexusgs430: What about if a water meter was installed, after you bought the property...........😂😜💰

chrisnwaa123: It can't be installed without the owner's consent lol. The flat I bought doesn't have water meter, and was even adviced by d customer rep not to request for one.

Lexusgs430: You would have no choice, if your utility company is rolling out water meter to every property they supply......

They have legal protection/provisions to install water metres.......
Can a water customer refuse smart meter).

Go and verify.......😂🤣⏫⏫⏫⏫⏫

🚿With or without water bill, keep calm and let's use water responsibly🚿
#Responsibly is subjective 😉

Thank you Semmyk. I want to ask, can students buy a house on mortgage?

Regex:
Thank you Semmyk. I want to ask, can students buy a house on mortgage?

Does that student have a wage/income to cover the calculations.........


Very possible, if that student ticks all the right financial boxes ..........

Gem from (old) Living in the UK thread page 15
Building insurance is essential when taking out mortgage. Content insurance on the other hand is optional.

shaybebaby:
... ...
You MUST have buildings insurance if you are taking out a mortgage. This covers the structure of the property and anything which cannot be detached from the house.
The optional bit is having contents insurance

Mortgage Redemption / Early Settlement, Early Repayment: paying off mortgage amount earlier. Be weary of penalty, however it's worth it.
#Wealth 🤑 #Equity #Asset

Taken from (old) Living in the UK thread page 15

lexusgs430:
... Mortgage redemption comes in 2 variations ...

shaybebaby:
... ...
mortgage redemption is just that, paying off the outstanding loan whether it prior to term of the mortgage or not.

The redemption amount is the amount required to settle the debt in full. Where you are paying it off before the end of the mortgage term, that is called early repayment and as such may incur additional charges in addition to the outstanding amount.

You can redeem your mortgage before the end of the mortgage without incurring additional if you make no more than an additional 10 percent payment of the outstanding loan amount in a year.
Eg if you take out a mortgage for 200,000. In the first year of the mortgage, you can pay an additional 20k of repayment in addition to your monthly payments (I'm ignoring the capital you are paying for if on a repayment mortgage and not interest only,however banks will calculate that).

Year two, assuming the outstanding amount is 180k,you can pay off an additional 18k. Etc

Doing it this way, one can be mortgage free in less than the term of the mortgage without incurring early repayment charges.

Second

semmyk:
Placeholder 5
_______________
[Mortgage Brokers]
{Vouch Level: 0 - 10] Depends on the number of mentions, references, feedback,s testimonies ...} PS: Vouch level is not an endorsement!
1. Moneybox - @Tshoboy | unverified | Vouch level: 1 | app | www.moneyboxapp.com/
2. Mojo - @SemmyK | unverified | Vouch level: 0 | online | https://mojomortgages.com/
3. London & Country - @Ticha| unverified| Vouch level: 1 | online | www.landc.co.uk/
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

London and Country are fee free so worth using as they make their money from the banks directly.

Haysto- you pay a fee however their specialty is those with adverse credit.

Pearlyfaze:


Good evening Dear Ancestors.

I am reporting back on my finding with the above links.
None of them have a different advice to Tier 2 holders.
Its still drop 25%. Or wait until you are two years old in the UK.

So we wait till November.

Might not be a bad idea to wait, in the mean time, continue saving to increase your deposit. House prices are projected to stagnate (at best in 2023) whilst others forecast falls of between 10-30% in nominal terms.
Also it is a buyers market as interest rates are the highest they've been since 2010, so overall affordability has reduced hence not much competition from buyers.
So I reckon good deals to be had this year compared to the covid years.

I'll add my two cents here.

BUYING COSTS.

All well and good, you have your offer accepted, deposit sorted but there are other things you need to have cash ready for.

1) FIRST TIME BUYER (FTB)
a) Solicitor/ Conveyancer- They deal with the legal aspects related to your purchase. You will need to instruct them as soon as your offer is accepted.

They will run searches on the property, liaise with the estate agent and your sellers solicitor to make sure all necessary paperwork is completed. They will also register the property purchase with Land Registry once the transaction is complete and will also be the ones to liaise with your mortgage lender on the release of funds. Expect to pay north of £1000+ which includes their fees.

b) Surveyor- As it's the biggest purchase of your life, it makes sense to ensure that the property is as described when viewed. At a minimum, get a Level 2 survey where the surveyor will be access the property and provide a general report on the condition of the house. They will also flag up any issues based on severity that either require immediate attention, such as damp, poor electrics.
A level 3 survey is more detailed and will include detailed reports on structure of the property ( imagine them lifting up floorboards and the likes)

For level 2, budget around £600- £800, level 3 will be more.

3) Mortgage application fee- Whilst lenders have fee free products, their rates are usually a teensy bit higher. Fee paying products have slightly lower rates so you may choose to go with that option. You can either pay it upfront when applying , in most cases it's around £1000, or you can choose to add it to the mortgage. This means you don't have to fork out for it but with the trade off being, you'll ve paying interest on it because it is effectively a loan.

4) Stamp Duty

This is tax you pay based on the purchase price of the property. As a FTB, you pay zero on properties of £425,000 or less. Anything over that, you pay 5% on the portion above £425k threshold.

Total- Circa £3000 in additional costs excluding stamp duty.

2) HOME MOVER

You already own a property and selling that to purchase a new property.

a) Solicitor/ Conveyancer- unlike a FTB, you have two transactions, your sale and your purchase. You'll pay for both transactions so minimum £2000.

B) Estate Agent Fees- You'll most likely have to engage one to list and sell your property on your behalf. The upside is for most, if your property doesn't sell, you pay nothing. So whilst not an upfront cost, it will be paid upon completion of sale and purchase. Some charge a percentage of the sale price, average of 1-3%, some charge a fixed fee.

C) Suveyor: Same as FTB
D) Mortgage Application Fee- Same as FTB
E) Stamp Duty- As long as the purchased property is your only home, no stamp duty is payable on properties up to £250,000. Over this threshold, You'll pay 5% on every pound over up to £675,000 I.e you pay 5% stamp duty on properties worth between £250,001 to £925,000. Gov.uk has the remaining tax bands for reference.

If its a second property i.e you'll have more than one property, you'll pay an additional 3% on the rates mentioned above.

What's the difference between fixed and variable rates

shaybebaby:
London and Country are fee free so worth using as they make their money from the banks directly.
Haysto- you pay a fee however their specialty is those with adverse credit.

Thanks. #Updated. Haysto

semmyk:
Placeholder 5
_______________
[Mortgage Brokers]
{Vouch Level: 0 - 10] Depends on the number of mentions, references, feedback,s testimonies ...} PS: Vouch level is not an endorsement!
1. Moneybox - @Tshoboy | unverified | Vouch level: 1 | app | www.moneyboxapp.com/
2. Mojo - @SemmyK | unverified | Vouch level: 0 | online | https://mojomortgages.com/
3. London & Country - @Ticha| unverified| Vouch level: 2 | online | www.landc.co.uk/
4. Haysto - shaybebaby| unverified | Vouch level: 1 | online , hybrid | https://haysto.com/
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Phayie:
What's the difference between fixed and variable rates

By fixed and variable rates, one assume you're referring to mortgage rate.
In a nutshell, the common denominator is the Bank of England base rate
For variable, your mortgage repayment varies (fluctuates) according to the BoE base rate. When the rate increases, your mortgage rate and consequentially, you repayment amount increases. Vice versa, when BoE base rate decreases.
Fixed rate on the other hand doesn't fluctuates as BoE base. You pay a fixed (predetermined) amount for the contractual period: 2yrs, 3yrs, 5yrs, 7 yrs, 10 yrs. Getting the right fixed rate (percentage, timing) comes with skills and/or deep research.

semmyk:

By fixed and variable rates, one assume you're referring to mortgage rate.
In a nutshell, the common denominator is the Bank of England base rate
For variable, your mortgage repayment varies (fluctuates) according to the BoE base rate. When the rate increases, your mortgage rate and consequentially, you repayment amount increases. Vice versa, when BoE base rate decreases.
Fixed rate on the other hand doesn't fluctuates as BoE base. You pay a fixed (predetermined) amount for the contractual period: 2yrs, 3yrs, 5yrs, 7 yrs, 10 yrs. Getting the right fixed rate (percentage, timing) comes with skills and/or deep research.

Thank you for your response.
What is the best fixed rate one should look out for

Phayie:


Thank you for your response.
What is the best fixed rate one should look out for

It depends on your circumstances.l, how much deposit you have and how much you are looking to borrow, your credit history and also your outgoings
Lower borrowings relative to the property value attract lower fixed rates. Also fixing for a longer term will be lower than short term.

But ultimately it depends on you, if you are looking to upsize soon, then go for a shorter fixed term, if it's a forever home, you might want to fix for longer as you'll have peace of mind knowing what your repayments are for that duration.

It also depends on the economy, I've recently fixed but only for two years because I'm betting on a recession in 2023 due to inflation, and central banks generally cut rates to get people spending during a recession. I could be right or wrong, ultimately like I mentioned, it depends on you and your circumstances, and also your risk appetite.

Phayie:
... ...
What is the best fixed rate one should look out for

I can't categorically say. Your risk level will also play a part. Rule of thumb though will be, the closer to BoE base rate (currently hovering around 4%) the better. Seems, lenders are dropping their fixed rate. Some coming down from 5?7 to 4.3!!!
Caveats: perhaps, it's an indicator of possible decreasing of BoE base rate in the next 1 to 2 years!
You may want to give this a read ... HomeOwners Alliance - mortgage fixed rates February 2023

semmyk:
Placeholder 5
_______________
[Mortgage Brokers]
{Vouch Level: 0 - 10] Depends on the number of mentions, references, feedback,s testimonies ...} PS: Vouch level is not an endorsement!
1. Moneybox - @Tshoboy | unverified | Vouch level: 1 | app | www.moneyboxapp.com/
2. Mojo - @SemmyK | unverified | Vouch level: 0 | online | https://mojomortgages.com/
3. London & Country - @Ticha| unverified| Vouch level: 2 | online | www.landc.co.uk/
4. Haysto - shaybebaby| unverified | Vouch level: 1 | online , hybrid | https://haysto.com/
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

I have an appointment with moneybox on Friday to discuss their services.

UPDATE: They were able to get 2 Lenders willing to lend to Tier 2 folks. One was normal 25% deposit and was willing to lend with only 6 months UK Address History. The second was willing to accept 10% deposit but minimum 2 year UK Address history; They were also gonna lend as much as 4 times my family income.

Moneybox were able to get 2 Lenders willing to lend to Tier 2 folks. One was normal 25% deposit and was willing to lend with only 6 months UK Address History. The second was willing to accept 10% deposit but minimum 2 year UK Address history; They were also gonna lend as much as 4 times my family income.

Thanks for the feedback

Solumtoya:
I have an appointment with moneybox on Friday to discuss their services.

UPDATE: They were able to get 2 Lenders willing to lend to Tier 2 folks. One was normal 25% deposit and was willing to lend with only 6 months UK Address History. The second was willing to accept 10% deposit but minimum 2 year UK Address history;
They were also gonna lend as much as 4 times my family income.