Home insurance warning over break-ins - Published:03/09/07
Many Britons could be putting more than their home cover policies at risk by failing to take sufficient security measures at home, one expert has warnedUK inhabitants are leaving a collective £188 billion worth of merchandise visible through their windows, Halifax Home Insurance claimedas well, the home insurance provider noted that 365,000 Britons leave up to £25,000 worth of merchandise on displayMeasures such as closing the curtains to obscure valuable substance - particularly when the property is unoccupied - could decrease the danger of theft and subsequent home insurance claims, the company said Vicky Emmott, older underwriter at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "populace can take practical precautions to protect their homes, by obscuring their windows when the property is unoccupied and keeping high value substance out of the view of people walking history"Ms Emmott also advised UK residents to ensure that they have adequate home insurance to wrap any losses, should they be hit by burglarsThese sentiments reverberation those of Cornhill Direct, which recently urged Britons to make sure that their home insurance adequately covers any extra items acquired over the festive.
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Get a top two-year fixed loan - Published:23/02/07
Colder winter weather will not be the only obsession nipping homeowners over the next few weeks – the bite of this month's interest rate go up will also be feltTOP MORTGAGES: The store rate may have risen but it's not too late to grab a high-quality two-year fixed rateWith Christmas and bigger winter household bills on the method, borrowers on variable rate mortgages will be strike by a triple whammy as more expensive monthly mortgage expenditure arriveBut while fixed rates have also risen lately, it's not too late for those looking to cut their expenses to seek out a good dealA number of lenders are still contribution the nation's favourite homeloan – the two year fixed speed mortgage - at under 5%, so it could be worth looking for one outFollowing the Bank of England's decision to raise the bank speed to 5%, a raft of lenders have followed suit and upped their standard variable rates accordingly, usually by 025%Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax has raised its standard changeable rate to 7%, meaning that someone with a £150,000 mortgage would be paying £1,060 per month in repayments, almost £50 more than the £1,012 they would have paid a year before when the speed was 65%If that same borrower grabbed a fixed speed at 5% or below, the most they would be paying monthly is £877Many of the two-year set mortgage deals with the top rates do come with heavy fees, but for those with larger loans it could still be worth snapping up a bargain rateTo find out if the fee is value it, borrowers should weigh up the full cost of the mortgage over the two-year period, add the cost and divide by 24 to see what the monthly cost will beRemember some deals, such as Yorkshire structure Society's 439% offer, come with percentage based fees, which will always show expensive unless you have a very small loan Otherwise the general rule is that the bigger your mortgage the more beneficial opting for a senior fee but lower rate will beFor instance, Alliance & Leicester has launched a trio of new two-year fixed speed mortgages at 484%, 499% and 539% The two below 5% deals have cost of £999 and £599 respectively, while the 539% present is fee-free As a rough guide, on a 25-year mortgage, you would need a loan of around £130,000 to make it valuable choosing A&L's highest fee over the fee-free optionIt is also important to stand in mind that if you are the kind of person who may not get round to remortgaging when the two-year speed runs out, then take into account the overall APR which includes the normal variable rate it will revert toTo work out the relative costs of different interest tax, use This is cash's monthly interest mortgage calculatorSelect a loan term 12 months (1 year) 24 months (2 existence 36 months (3 existence 48 months (4 existence 60 months (5 existence 72 months (6 existence 84 months (7 existence 96 months (8 existence 108 months (9 existence 120 months (10 existencePlease select a type of insurance Life insurance house and contents automobile Breakdown services Health - medical Health - dental Travel.
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House price surveys explained - Published:02/11/06
Every other day seems to bring a fresh home price survey, but each often appears to contradict the lastThis survey, which comes out once every three months, is the most comprehensive of the lot, and is extensively considered to be the most authoritativeThe proceeds of all the transactions are totted up, and then alienated by the total number of sales to reach an average sale costHowever, repossessions and property transfers next a divorce are excluded to avoid skewing the sampleBut because it takes virtually all housing property sales into account, the Land Registry's info can provide a unique insight into not only national but local pricesHowever, since the review comes out only once every three months, the figures are out of date by the time they are publishedThe government has its own periodical house price index, issued by the Department for Communities and restricted Government (DCLG)It uses lending information from about fifty lenders, which is composed through the Survey of Mortgage LendersUnlike the Land Registry survey the novel government index does not hold information on cash purchases, which account for about a quarter of the marketBut the review offers indexes for the whole UK, the major regions and one for first-time buyersdifferent the Nationwide and Halifax surveys which are weighted according to dealings, the new survey depends much more on the total amount of money exhaustedRelying on expenditure in this way will denote that London and the South East, where house prices are uppermost, will have a greater influence on the government's indexPerhaps the best known snapshots of the possessions market are provided by Britain's two main mortgage lenders, Nationwide and HalifaxTheir figures are often very similar, as they are both based on the cost agreed after a survey by their mortgage customersHowever, similar to the new government survey, they are based only on property sales financed by mortgage lending, ignoring sales which are transacted on a cash basisPut simply, this survey reflects confidence in the property marketplace rather than what is actually happening to home pricesThree hundred surveyors and estate agents in England & Wales are asked if they sense prices are falling or increasingRespondents are also quizzed on a host of other connected issues, such as whether the number of buyers and sellers are rising or decliningHometrack was first in on the act in 1999, and has established its review as a very useful guide to current pricesData is composed from 3,500 estate agent offices from all 2,200 postcode districts in England and Wales The estate agents report whether asking prices are rising or fallingRightmove's review operates in a totally different way to the Hometrack survey, collating asking prices for houses placed on its own website over the preceding monthThe sample size is quite wide, as Rightmove claims to show around 35% of all homes for sale Over half the UK's largest estate organization chains choose to list their properties on its placeWatchdog replies FOS replies 1 CA replies Pre-1988 sales 1 FOS replies 2 Shortfalls duty Pre-1988 sales 2Region East AngliaEast MidlandsGreater LondonNorthNorthern IrelandNorth WestScotlandSouth EastSouth WestWalesWest MidlandsYorks.
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