Everything But The Weed

Approved by:
Linda Maze, a Wedding photography Gainesville FL in Gainesville Florida

Although last year was an absolute economic mess, in the UK we have see evidence that the “green shoots” of recovery are making an appearance. According to data the job market is slowly but surely getting itself back together, interest rates are still at all time lows and the property market holds firm, the question for house buyers is whether or not now is a prudent time to buy?

Well, for those who have between 20% and 100% of the value of the property they intend to buy in cash, then it is a good time to buy — in some respects anyway.

On one hand, interest rates are as low as they’re going to go and thousands of homeowners are expected to suffer from mortgage arrears this year, and countless thousands more distressed sellers needing to stop repossession fast, now is the time to pick-up a real bargain and fund the purchase with cheap finance.

On the other hand, as we all know, the government and the Bank of England has had to spend heavily in order to pull us out of the financial quagmire we were left in when things turned sour. As has been seen in the news, our new coalition government is planning  drastic cutbacks in public spending. The Conservatives have hinted at job losses in the public sector, which may or may not be swallowed up by the private sector. Therefore it may not be the best time for people in these areas to borrow for a mortgage.

The current wisdom dictates that no one that would be financially stretched by taking on a mortgage should attempt to do so within the next 12 months. The consensus of opinion is that interest rates will not be raised until at least next year, but no one knows for sure.

For anyone who doesn’t have at least a 20% deposit now is probably not a good time to buy. Though things have approved slightly, in that people are far more likely to get a mortgage with a 10% deposit, any loan given of more than 80% LTV will likely be an expensive one.

In general now may not be the best time to buy a property in the UK, because of the factors mentioned above. Though affordability improved throughout the crash, the increases since largely canceled that out, and, due to that and the requirement for a deposit houses are still over valued for the most part. Many analysts think that this will combine with the mortgage situation as well as the economical anxiety to bring another correction, so now might not be a good time for anyone to buy a property or look for property investment deals that may yield effectively in the short to medium term.