Mortgage news
Best home improvements to boost your home’s value
Do not spend a fortune doing up your home - you will not get your money back.
As house prices continue to fall, research from Abbey shows that previously
profitable improvements, such as extensions and new kitchens, can leave you
out of pocket by many thousands of pounds.
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Why are banks suddenly so pious?
The dodgy decisions of bankers residing in fabulous properties in New York,
the Hamptons, London and the Home Counties - bought with bonuses earned from
trading in toxic mortgage-backed securities or from reckless lending to the
financially embarrassed - have made it even trickier for the owners of a
terrace in Tooting to get a home loan. That was [...]
Are these the UK's greenest flats?
Forget the Royal Pavilion and the Palace Pier; the most important building in
Brighton is One Brighton. It may not be the most beautiful structure but it
is the most sustainable in the country and has a much-coveted EcoHomes
“Excellent” rating, rooftop allotments and a biomass boiler. And you won’t
have to show tourists round. The show flat opened [...]
Country property succumbs to the crunch
Graphic:
Price slides by a country mile
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I was the prince of Sissinghurst
I have lived at Sissinghurst, on and off, for the past 45 years. For my entire
conscious life it has been what I have thought of as home, even when living
away, in London or abroad. I still live with my family now in the southern
half of the long pink brick front range, built in the 16th [...]
Home loans on borrowed time
Graphic:
Best mortgage deals
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Mortgage lending hits three year low
Mortgage lending sunk to a three year low during August with just £21.8
billion advanced, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said today.
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Upwardly mobile: Jemima Khan
London's most glamorous socialites are trying to outwit the housing market - with varying degrees of success. Jemina Khan has just completed the refurbishment of a townhouse in Chelsea, but she's been left in the lurch by a buyer who had offered £35 million. The ex-girlfriend of Hugh Grant was let down just four hours [...]
Hobbit house saved from demolition as winds of change blow in pioneer’s favour
Tony Wrench was toasting victory over the planners yesterday with a glass of
wine made from the vines that grow on the turf roof of his wooden
roundhouse.
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The Mortgage Clinic: ‘How long can we hold out for the best deal?’
Our current two-year fixed deal runs out on 5 December but, with many mortgage rates seemingly dropping fast, what’s the absolute latest we can apply for a remortgage? We really don’t want to miss out on any rate cuts – obviously it’s a risk they might rise again, but we’re happy to take the chance. [...]
