A Few Starting Points to Help You Increase Your Properties Valuation to the Maximum
- By Howard Ogollegos
- Published 10/7/2011
- Selling
- Unrated
New figures have been littering newspapers, magazines and websites recently showing that the house buying market appears to be back on the rise, which is extremely welcome news for many people who have wanted to relocate or move house and been unable in recent months due to the financial crisis.
The RICS research found that whilst the property market remained subdued, a small majority of estate agents did report a rise in new instructions in April. In addition, more surveyors reported a rise in the number of enquiries from potential buyers.
Whilst instructions and enquiries may be up, the market still remains difficult for many. Thanks to falling house prices, many homeowners are in a position where their home is worth less than they paid for it and many people are in negative equity - where the outstanding mortgage is higher than the value of the property. If this is the case, improving your home can be one way of increasing the value of your home.
With news on the back of that, that lenders are loosening up their lending criteria again, now would appear the perfect time to remortgage your home in order to release funds for home improvements or to buy additional properties.
Many home improvement projects do not need to be costly, such as updating the kitchen or replacing the bathrooms suite to make the house more marketable. New kitchens and bathrooms can add a decent amount of value to your home, which will be important when you come to sell in years to come.
Increasing the living space in your home also ad
ds value which is why loft conversions are increasingly popular, particularly if you can fit an additional bathroom as well as an extra bedroom.
With this in mind, it's best to be crystal clear on a solicitor's payment structure as it can vary with every firm you approach. Some will take a fixed fee, per hour or a commission at the end of the transaction that is usually 1-3% of the mortgage value. A solicitor is obliged to offer an estimate of what their services will cost; if they begin charging over the initial estimate you are well within your right to challenge them. So always make sure the costs and estimates are down on paper to avoid arguments at mortgage completion.
Experience: Many firms and solicitors will be experts in niche areas, even within the commercial property sector, so find out what experience they have and if it will be major benefit to you and your transaction. Doing background research yourself should be simple enough, either through the SRA or Law Society for qualifications and experience, even LinkedIn might have the answers you seek.
It's always a good idea to use labourers who have been recommended, either by some sort of watchdog or by your friends and family. This will avoid the potential pitfall of the jobs being done to a poor standard or left unfinished, which can be extremely expensive to fix and put right. Of course, this would defeat the object of borrowing additional funds.
You should also ensure that you take all costs, fees and charges into account when looking for a remortgage. Don't just compare the interest rates. Make sure you get quotes and also look at the overall cost which is detailed on every mortgage quote.
The RICS research found that whilst the property market remained subdued, a small majority of estate agents did report a rise in new instructions in April. In addition, more surveyors reported a rise in the number of enquiries from potential buyers.
Whilst instructions and enquiries may be up, the market still remains difficult for many. Thanks to falling house prices, many homeowners are in a position where their home is worth less than they paid for it and many people are in negative equity - where the outstanding mortgage is higher than the value of the property. If this is the case, improving your home can be one way of increasing the value of your home.
With news on the back of that, that lenders are loosening up their lending criteria again, now would appear the perfect time to remortgage your home in order to release funds for home improvements or to buy additional properties.
Many home improvement projects do not need to be costly, such as updating the kitchen or replacing the bathrooms suite to make the house more marketable. New kitchens and bathrooms can add a decent amount of value to your home, which will be important when you come to sell in years to come.
Increasing the living space in your home also ad
With this in mind, it's best to be crystal clear on a solicitor's payment structure as it can vary with every firm you approach. Some will take a fixed fee, per hour or a commission at the end of the transaction that is usually 1-3% of the mortgage value. A solicitor is obliged to offer an estimate of what their services will cost; if they begin charging over the initial estimate you are well within your right to challenge them. So always make sure the costs and estimates are down on paper to avoid arguments at mortgage completion.
Experience: Many firms and solicitors will be experts in niche areas, even within the commercial property sector, so find out what experience they have and if it will be major benefit to you and your transaction. Doing background research yourself should be simple enough, either through the SRA or Law Society for qualifications and experience, even LinkedIn might have the answers you seek.
It's always a good idea to use labourers who have been recommended, either by some sort of watchdog or by your friends and family. This will avoid the potential pitfall of the jobs being done to a poor standard or left unfinished, which can be extremely expensive to fix and put right. Of course, this would defeat the object of borrowing additional funds.
You should also ensure that you take all costs, fees and charges into account when looking for a remortgage. Don't just compare the interest rates. Make sure you get quotes and also look at the overall cost which is detailed on every mortgage quote.
Howard Ogollegos
Howard O'Gollegos writes for Just Commercial Mortgages.com the UK's No.1 site for the latest commercial mortgage rates and commercial property finance news.
View all articles by Howard Ogollegos