Investing in UK property?

If you need a home in Bishop’s Stortford or Saffron Walden Enable’s IFAs think that any time is right to buy.  If you are looking to invest in property it is not so easy, you might try to second guess the property market but that’s a hard thing to do despite a myriad of advice.

According to Hometrack UK Cities Index, overall the annual rate of house price growth across 20 of the largest UK cities has slowed to 8.2% in August, from 9.5% in July, taking the average house price to £239,400. Many say that the slowing of house price growth reflects the increasing difficulties in purchasing a home as prices continue to increase more quickly than earnings.  But many estate agents are saying that despite the slowing of house price growth, there are clear signs that the housing market is beginning to settle down after Brexit demonstrating the underlying strength of the residential property market which should stand it in good stead for the long-term.

Some like the director of LsLi say- “The unsustainable rate at which property values have been rising has meant that many potential homebuyers have been priced out of the market – especially in areas like London and the South East. “The truth is, now is a great time to buy a home. The fundamentals of the housing market remain strong, with record low interest rates and lenders maintaining their appetite to lend.” Enable’s IFAs can help talk you through property investment.

Source: https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/9/now-is-a-great-time-to-invest-in-property-says-lsli-director

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE   

Avoiding financial scams

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden know only too well how damaging falling victim to a financial scam can be. Falling victim to any type of fraud is a traumatic experience.  One of the best ways to combat this rising crime it to make sure people are forearmed with the knowledge to beat fraudsters at their own game.

Alongside the rise in this kind of crime is the problem of the banks and police being under resources and therefore are struggling to cope, and in many cases the blame can end up with the person who fell victim, often ‘negligence’ is cited. Refunds from banks are becoming an increasingly grey area and they seem to get more and murkier, whether you're a victim of vishing, smishing or phishing.

There has been a flood of fraud in Britain in the past few years, some of it originates here, but some of it from gangs in areas such as Eastern Europe, Russia and the US. Last year, online fraud losses were up 64 per cent annually, reaching £133.5million according to Financial Fraud UK.  At the same time, phone banking fraud was up 92 per cent. A recent survey by Nationwide Building Society found that one in three people would be trusting enough to transfer cash to an unknown account if they were called by someone posing as their bank, showing a knowledge gap when it comes to fraud. The rise of this kind of fraud is not showing any signs of stopping and it is difficult to know what to do but at least when you hear about a new fraud, the tricks of the conmen can be revealed. 

This is Money has created a Beat the Scammers hub page. It might be worth your while reading up on it and telling your friends and relatives about.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-3774226/Fight-rush-financial-scams-new-Beat-Scammers-page.html

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE  

Pensions and property

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford and Saffron Walden have long suggested that for long term financial planning, rather than putting all your eggs in one basket savers should have a balanced portfolio of investments, of which property of course should form a part.  In a speech delivered recently by the City watchdog's (FCA) boss, Andrew Bailey, cautioned the idea of investing too much of one’s retirement fund in property.

His comment seem to directly challenge some of the more recent calls made by Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, who has suggested that property is a better option for funding retirement than a pension. Mr Haldane had previously also admitted he could not make "the remotest sense of pensions" because they are too complicated.

Fresh data reveals the property wealth of over 65s in Britain has surpassed £1 trillion for the first time.  Key Retirement’s Pensioner Property Index reveals pensioners who have paid off their mortgages have gained on average £19,120 tax-free in the past three months taking their property wealth to a new record high.  Jon Greer, a pension’s technical expert, at Old Mutual Wealth, says “Housing wealth can be an important part of the mix when it comes to retirement income. But treating your house as your pension is a major risk. “Putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea, particularly when you consider that unlocking value in property is not straightforward.

Interestingly Halifax data shows the average home has risen in value by 231pc over the past two decades, while ABI data shows a typical pension fund has made 211pc investment growth over the same period. Enable’s IFA's in Bishop's Stortford can try and help you get the balance right.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/16/city-watchdog-chief-warns-against-using-property-as-a-pension/

Mortgage rates come and go…

Enable’s experienced IFA’s in Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden know that mortgage interest rates can go up as well as down.  At the moment the average variable and fixed mortgage products rates have fallen to record lows. According to the latest Moneyfacts UK Mortgage Trends report, the Bank of England’s move to drop the base rate to 0.25 per cent in August meant two-year tracker’s fell by 0.19 per cent from 2.13 per cent in July to the lowest point on record of 1.94 per cent. The fixed rates have also hit record lows, with two-year products dropping 0.4 per cent to 2.44 per cent and five-year fixes falling 0.03 per cent to another record of 3.05 per cent.

But according to Bovill’s mortgage specialist interest-only mortgages could be less of a “ticking time bomb” and more a “firecracker”.  Five years ago Martin Wheatley described interest-only mortgages as a ticking time bomb” and Darcy Tallon, a mortgage specialist at regulatory consultancy Bovill thinks the fuse still hasn’t been lit on the former Financial Conduct Authority chief executive’s warning, and only time will tell if Wheatly was right. Tallon says “The market has moved on, maybe due to his proclamation, but that time bomb is looking more like a firecracker at the moment.”

Citizens Advice research last year estimated that nearly 1 million people had interest only mortgages with no arrangements to pay them off at the end of the term. Mr Tallon says the “real test” will come after 2020 when a surge of interest-only mortgages mature. But perhaps these people still won’t struggle to pay off their outstanding balance, said Mr Tallon assuming house price growth and low LTVs.

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

http://www.ftadviser.com/2016/09/16/mortgages/interest-only-mortgage-firecracker-rather-than-time-bomb-L2VQ73I3F1h2GanhIqMZsK/article.html

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Should I Buy-to-let?

Enables’ IFA’s in bishops Stortford have been following the Buy-to-Let market post Brexit with interest. Some market analysis by Mortgage Brain has revealed recently that that the costs of buy-to-let mortgages have actually fallen by as much as 8% over the past six months. Meaning many buy-to-let landlords have been benefitting from the continuing reductions of mortgage costs, as lenders across the board have been shaving percentage points off their best deals in an effort to attract greater business from those buying or re-mortgaging property, including buy-to-let landlords.

Part of the analysis of Mortgage Brain’s latest product data shows that the cost of a five-year fixed buy-to-let loan with a 70% loan-to-value (LTV) is now 8% less than it was in March 2016. With the current rate of 2.8%, as of 1 September 2016 there is a potential annualised saving of £738 on a £150,000 mortgage.

Many economists are predicting that the Bank of England will announce another cut to the base rate in November taking it from 0.25% to just 0.1%. If that is the case then there is every chance that mortgage costs could fall even further in the closing months of 2016. Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain said: “With further interest rate cuts predicted by the Bank of England it will be interesting to see what happens to mortgage rates and costs over the next few months.
“There’s no doubt though that on the whole borrowers and potential buy-to-let investors are in a great position to take advantage of the low rates and cost reductions that we’re seeing.” 

https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/9/buy-to-let-mortgage-costs-down-by-as-much-as-8

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Keeping on top of your NI payments

Enable’s IFA’s in Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden are keen to make sure their clients stay ahead of any changes in the financial landscape.  Another of the elements of the new state pension changes introduced in April, requires that workers must have at least 35 years of NI contributions.  This is five years more than under the previous system if you are to receive the full payment, which currently stands at £155.65 a week.

One pension provider Aegon recently conducted some research that revealed that eight out of ten Britons don't know how many years of National Insurance (NI) contributions are needed to qualify for the full welfare payment. In addition a third of people had no idea that a career break could harm their state pension payments. Six in 10 women have a taken a career break of at least a year at some point in their life

Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon UK, said: “The fact that 80 per cent of people don’t understand the potential implications of career breaks on their state pension just highlights the sheer scale of the task ahead to properly educate people about the new state pension.  Ms Smith added: "To ensure no-one loses out, every individual in the UK should be contacted and provided with an estimate of the state pension they are on target to receive. "This approach will not only force people to engage with their pension more often, it may also prompt them to review their private provision and in doing so, take stock on whether they are on course for the retirement they aspire to."

http://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/701094/state-pension-confusion-over-national-insurance-contributions
 
Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE 

Helping the next generation

Enables’ experienced IFA’s in Bishops Stortford and Saffron Walden know that the reported cost of bring up a teenager can amount to more than the average UK salary. The Cost of Youth report put together by Aviva found that the money spent providing for  teenagers aged from 13 – 19 topped the average salary which is just £26,104, and that  ‘Sweet 16’ was the most expensive year, seeing parents forking out over £4,800 a year.

These costs did not include household expenses, like food and utility bills, but were related to birthdays and special occasions, holidays, gap year travel, food and drink outside of household groceries, including school meals, essential clothing and shoes, pocket money, additional education or tutoring and technology (mobile contracts and handsets, computers, tablets).

Over a third of parents said they have sacrificed retirement savings to meet these costs and 37% said they have stopped going out so that they could give money to their teenagers. Half of the parents said they have dipped into savings or relied on credit cards or loans for their teens. But only half of the parents surveyed said they have taught their children about budgeting, banking or how savings accounts work. At Enable our IFA’s know it is never too early to start teaching your children about managing their money.

http://www.mummymoneymatters.com/2016/08/teens-cost-parents-more-than-the-average-uk-salary/

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE