Sell your home by Christmas and beat the VAT increase!

From the 4th of January 2011, VAT will rise from 17.5% to 20%. The change will significantly affect both a buyer’s and a seller’s costs to move, with increased VAT impacting not only estate agency fees and conveyancing costs, but also potentially the cost of surveys, land registry and search fees. Moving costs too are likely to increase, as are the price of redecoration and furnishing and these increases are not far away.

It takes on average 13 weeks to complete a house move, once a sale has been agreed. So sellers putting their home for sale at the end of August / beginning of September still have time to beat the VAT increase if they act quickly! It is also worth bearing in mind that many companies will not increase their prices immediately following the change in the law, so even if your move does not complete until January or February you may still save money on certain aspects.

The market is still very buoyant so there really is, no better time to sell. And from a buyers viewpoint, if you act quickly, with a bit of luck you could still be in your new home by Christmas.

Contact Jonathan Waters Estate Agents today to sell your Ipswich or Clacton property

Mortgage Interest Rates Still Competitive

Jonathan Waters Estate Agents comment on the recent Bank Base Rate decision:-

“Yet another month has gone by with no change to the Bank Base Rate (BBR). Once again the Bank of England (BOE) have taken the view that the economy is still too fragile to start to raise rates back towards more normal levels.

This is now unlikely to change in the short term with the Governor of the Bank of England recently commenting that he could see rates remain low for the foreseeable future.

This provides further support to the housing and mortgage markets and should help ensure that both borrowers looking to move home and those who want to remortgage, continue to see very competitive mortgage interest rates.

Mortgage product availability remains at close to the highest levels seen this year in spite of the seasonal dip in activity that generally takes place over the summer months, with many high street lenders continuing to review their products to attract borrowers.

Borrower preferences have seen a further move towards fixed rates with 6 out of 10 borrowers choosing fixed rates in July, which is something of a shift from several months ago when variable rates were more popular.

Interest rates are often a topic of conversation and differences of opinion have always existed amongst economists, bankers and politicians in relation to interest rate setting policy. However, interest rates are unlikely to fall any further and those buyers and borrowers that want to move either their home or their mortgage currently have access to some excellent products.

For further information on how the latest base rate decision affects you please call Jonathan Waters Estate Agency in Ipswich on 01473 721133.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

A fee of up to 1% of the mortgage amount may be charged depending on individual circumstances. A typical fee is £95. (or insert fee statement)

Sell your Ipswich Property – contact us now for a free valuation and to discuss your move!

Sell your Clacton Property – contact us now for a free valuation and to discuss your move!