How to help your children get onto the property ladder

In this month's edition, we offer guidance on how best to help your children get onto the property ladder. 

We also answer what tenants are looking for in a rental property, offer top tips to help sell your home this autumn and look at why buyers are taking longer to decide on a new home. 

How to help your children onto the property ladder

 

Most parents will tell you that you never stop worrying about your children, even after they’ve long flown the nest. Given how difficult it can be to get started on the property ladder for most people in their 20s or 30s, the Bank of Mum and Dad are increasingly getting involved to give their children the best possible chance of buying that important first home. But with the average deposit for a house in Britain currently standing at a dizzying &51,000, parents need to simultaneously make sure that they protect themselves financially before committing their own futures for the sake of their offspring. With that in mind, here are our top tips for helping your kids to get onto the property ladder:

Bring your children back home (briefly!)
It can be very difficult to save up enough cash for that first home when living in a rented property, purely because the cost of living in Britain can be difficult to manage even if you’re a couple who are both in full-time work. One easy way to help your child and their partner to save some money is to welcome them home for a period. Of course, we can’t help you draw up a washing-up rota, but taking away big costs such as rent, bills and even food expenditure will instantly help them start putting away the money required to get them started.

Gifting or lending them the money
If you’re able to, the benefits of gifting or lending your children money can be huge, as a large sum of money could mean the difference between being able to secure deals with lower interest rates.
However, this option can be potentially difficult to navigate on a personal level and comes with a strong recommendation of confirming your agreement with your children and their partner prior to any money changing hands. Make sure you confirm that you’re either gifting or lending them the money beforehand, and if it’s the latter, then set up a repayment plan for your own piece of mind.

A Declaration of Trust document is a good way of confirming this, and it can clearly state who owns what part of the property in the event that your child separates from their partner and the home is sold.

Buy the home with your child
If you’re concerned about the long-term implications of giving your child a lump sum or are unable to make that sort of financial commitment, then a joint mortgage is a good way of sharing the responsibility. In this case, you and your child are both liable for paying for the loan made to purchase your home, and you can come up with a financial plan for repayment that suits you.

Remortgage your own home
This is another option open to you in order to provide you with a lump sum of cash, which can be a huge help when it comes to putting down that all-important deposit. Again, it’s one that comes with strings attached, given that you will have an increased number of payments to consider, including arrangement fees and interest on a higher mortgage rate.

Whichever route you choose when trying to help your children get onto the property ladder, gaining independent financial advice is strongly advised to make sure that you’re making the correct decision for everyone. Helping your children to buy their first home is an important, personal experience, and one that deserves to be as stress-free as possible.

What are UK tenants looking for in a rental property?

 

As renting becomes more and more common in today’s market, tenants will undoubtedly become more and more selective if they’re planning on renting long-term.

We all have our own idea of what features would be included in our perfect home, but which perks and features top the list for tenants today?

Go Compare has conducted a survey with the aim of finding this out and has questioned renters of all ages up and down the country to discover what’s most important to them.

According to their findings, and what may come as a surprise to some landlords, is that a huge 60.29% of survey participants would prefer a property that is unfurnished, allowing them to put their own stamp on the home.

Another priority for tenants of today is the number of bedrooms, the more the better of course, but almost half (49.95%) of respondents stated that a good number of bedrooms is of high importance to them.

Taking 3rd place by a small margin was the 23.16% that chose ‘Distance To Schools’ as a priority, which comes as no surprise as making the notoriously hectic school run easier is always a bonus.

Some of the other features that were somewhat predictable included the 22.72% of participants that wanted a parking space, the 22.64% that wanted a garden/roof terrace and the 17% that place an area’s aesthetics near the top of their priority list.

There were some less predictable features that also made the list such as the 18.28% that wanted a gym/pool in the same building as their apartment, the 16.21% that desired a cleaning service included in their rental agreement and there was also 6.54% that noted a concierge as a priority.

Overall, there is a lot to take from these findings if you’re an investor or a developer as there are clear signs of demand for rental properties of high quality that tenants can settle down in for the long-term.

 

Unfurnished	60.29%
Number Of Bedrooms	49.95%
Distance To Schools	23.16%
Parking Space	22.72%
Garden/Roof Terrace	22.64%
Gym/Pool	18.28%
Quality Aesthetic Of Area	17%
Close To Work University	16.88%
Cleaning Service	16.21%
En Suite	15.78%
Furnished	12.78%
Both Either Furnished	11%
Concierge Serviced Accommodation	6.54%

 

Top tips to help sell your home this Autumn

 

It didn’t take long for Autumn to take hold, did it? It seems like only a few weeks ago, we were enjoying the blazing sunshine and moaning about the heat, but with October in full swing, it’s time to start wondering if it’s time to stir the heating into life and get those jumpers out of hibernation.

Autumn can be a great time to sell your home; the colours and relatively early sunsets can certainly help to offset your property, but there are several things that you can do to help show your home in the best light when you’re trying to find a buyer. Here are our top tips:

Have a tidy, inside and out
It might seem obvious, but de-cluttering and tidying your property before you start viewings, both inside and out can have a huge effect. Remember, you’re trying to show your home off, and attempting to get visitors to envisage themselves living there; making sure the entrance to your home, your living area and any garden space that you might have looks organised and tidy can have a huge effect on that. That means toys, shoes, papers and the like need to be put away.

Bulky items that take up space need to be temporarily removed, too. Remember, buyers want to see how they would fit in your home, and a lack of available space can make that difficult whilst simultaneously making the property seem smaller than it is.

Conduct viewings before it gets dark
It might not always be possible due to your schedule, but when possible, make sure to schedule viewings before it gets dark. With the sun going down earlier and earlier as the year draws to a close, it’s important to take advantage of natural daylight so that your property looks brighter and cleaner. Even if you are busy working during the day, it’s possible to organise a viewing agent who can show your property off for you.

Air your home
With no sunshine in the day to dry your clothes during the day, many of us dry our wet washing indoors at this time of year, meaning more moisture gets into the air around your home. Make sure to open your windows to alleviate this, and get some fresh air around your home.

Don’t be afraid to turn the heating on
You may be hesitant to turn on the heating before the real cold sets in, but making your property nice and warm before each viewing can be a great advantage when trying to get people interested in your home. It’s always nice to return to a warm house, and small touches like that, aswell as lighting a scented candle can help to make people feel relaxed.

Buyers are taking longer to decide on a new home

 

Buying a home is arguably the biggest purchase you will ever make so it is understandable that many of us like to take our time on such an important decision.

It’s common knowledge to be as thorough as possible when viewing a home to make sure that it’s right for you, but how long does it take on average for a buyer to make a decision?

New data from eMoov has looked into the average number of viewings and viewing time and discovered that buyers are actually taking 23% longer to make a decision than they were two years ago.

According to research conducted in 2016, it took buyers 53 minutes on average during the viewing process to come to a decision and just over half (53%) came to this decision after an average of two viewings.

In comparison, the same research conducted in 2018 revealed that this process has increased to 65 minutes and 2.4 viewings on average.
There are a number of factors that could play into this, but one of the strongest theories from property experts is that it is Brexit related.

When looking into individual regions it appears that Northern Ireland requires the most time to decide on a home at an average of 78 minutes, which was closely followed by the region of the North West at 77 minutes and East Anglia at 70 minutes.

On the other end of the scale, the region that is the quickest to buy a home is Scotland, only needing 55 minutes to make a decision and the only area taking less than one hour.

In terms of viewings, 56% of buyers only need to view a home twice, 27% required three viewings, 8% needed to see the property four times and 1% even wanted to see a home five times or more. The research also revealed a brave 7% that were happy to submit an offer after just one viewing.

So, what does this mean if you’re selling your home? Well, it appears that buyers are taking their time to scrutinise each property in more detail. While it is common sense to present your home in its best light at all times, it may be worth putting in a little extra work to ensure your home is in tip-top shape.