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LOCATION , Morgan Beddoe Office, 147 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2QT Full details on line Ward & Partners, Maidstone,
Kent Mixed Property Auction held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel (formerly known as the Great Danes Hotel), Hollingbourne, Maidstone, Kent and commence at 12 Noon. Andrews & Robinson, London Mixed Property Auction, London Details available on line Nerja Property Auctions (Andalucia) , Spain Property & Land Registration begins 5pm January 27th, 2006 At The Hotel Balcon de Europa, NERJA Full details and bidding available on line Pugh & Company Ltd We are delighted to inform you of our updated interactive website which can be accessed via the link provided below. Please view the new site at www.pugh-company.co.uk , clicking on the AUCTIONS menu and then on Current Auction. The Auction will be held at Terminal 2 Manchester International Airport and includes 178 lots. We are acting on behalf of clients such as St Helens Council, Calderdale Council, Lancashire County Council, Salford City Council, Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Sefton Council, Telereal, British Waterways, and United Utilities. The online brochure is complete with individual pages for each lot, the Guide Price List and a regularly updated copy of The Addendum. In order to access each individual lot page, simply click on the Lot Number. Thank you for your interest and please e-mailauctions@pugh-company.co.uk with your comments. STEVE SWAINSON BSc (Hons) MRICS Barber & Sons, Shropshire. 20th December 2005 - Heathfield, Hatherton - Farmhouse + 34.48 Acres available in 6 lots Land at Flash Lane, Market Drayton - Pasture land 6.13 Acres Bond Wolfe, West Bromwich, West Midlands 64 lot auction will include disposals on behalf of Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton Council, British Waterways, and W & D Brewery. The Holt Suite, Aston Villa FC, Villa Park, Birmingham commencing at 1.00 p.m. Catalogue now on line Boultons Estate Agents, Huddersfield 16th February, 2006 44 lots ˆ many of interest to builders, speculators and developers ˆ some just requiring a quick sale at a discounted price. Instructions from Kirklees MC, Barnsley Building Society, Executors, Trustees, Building companies and private individuals. Covering West Yorkshire areas. Details of the properties will be available approximately 3 weeks before the date of the auction. FULL LIST OF HUNDREDS OF AUCTIONS ACROSS THE UK AVAILABLE AT THE HOT PROPERTY SITE WE ADVISE YOU TO CONFIRM ABOVE DETAILS WITH AUCTIONEER BEFORE TRAVELLING News Government increases house-building targets The government has decided to increase the rate of house-building from 150,000 per year to 200,000 over the next decade, largely in line with the Barker review and has begun consultation on introducing the Barker proposal for a so-called Planning Gain Supplement (PGS). Under proposals now out for consultation the PGS - a new levy to capture a portion of the land value uplift created at the grant of planning permission - would be paid on both residential and non-residential development, probably starting in 2008. PGS would be payable under a self-assessment regime administered by HM Revenue and Customs and would become liable once development is started. Most of PGS revenue would be dedicated to local communities and the provision of infrastructure. Some of this revenue is likely to go to support regional or sub-regional infrastructure needs. Meanwhile, the planning obligations regime is likely to be scaled back to deal with matters wholly relevant to the environment of the development site and affordable housing. As well as these responses to the Barker review, announced as the Chancellor published his 2005 pre-Budget report, the government has unveiled a considerable tranche of important planning-related material. It has published two pieces of widely anticipated new planning guidance: Planning Policy Statement 3 (housing) and PPS 25 (flooding), both in draft for consultation. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also issued its Green Belt Direction circular and a consultation document introducing a Code for sustainable homes. Included in a far-reaching package to help housing provision, are measures to make it easier to buy a full or part-share of a home, as well as improving access to high-quality, rented social housing. A shake-up of planning rules, already semaphored, will help ensure a better response to different housing markets and local need, ministers have insisted. Scope for additional housing growth points and growth areas beyond south-east England are now in prospect. Planning minister Yvette Cooper said: "We have to respond to our aging and growing population. That means providing more support for affordable housing and building more homes to meet the needs of the next generation. "We need more social housing as well as new shared ownership schemes and private housing too." Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said: "Providing more homes at more affordable prices must mean building to high design and environmental standards, supported by the right infrastructure - transport, hospitals, schools, parks and leisure facilities. "We are in the business of creating sustainable communities - not just bricks and mortar". ODPM pledges £135m to reward planning performance Local planning authorities have been provisionally
allocated figures for the first phase of £135m Planning
Delivery Grant (PDG), which rewards improvement in planning
performance. It also acts as an incentive to drive further improvements in these areas. Baroness Andrews said: "A well-resourced local planning system is vital to delivering sustainable communities. The £135m this year will have a major impact on planning services both in improving their performance and in raising the profile of planning departments within local authorities." She added: "Since 2003 we have now allocated some £350m and independent research has shown that the grant is delivering real improvements in performance on the ground and is being invested in vital services." This research found that some 97 pr cent of PDG was invested in planning services, even though the funds are not ring-fenced, and that PDG has been invested in planning staff and new IT systems. Last year 30 per cent more local planning authorities dealt with applications within government targets than in 2001/02, before PDG was introduced, despite an 18 per cent increase in the number of applications. Today's provisional allocation of £80.2m is for the development control and enterprise area elements of the grant. Some of the £78m allocated for development control is expected to be used by the Planning Advisory Service and Advisory Team on Large Applications to assist authorities whose performance is not improving. The highest award to an individual authority for development control this year is for the London Borough of Camden which has been allocated over £500,000 for meeting all three government targets and making improvements in performance from last year. There are 188 authorities this year that are likely to receive a £50,000 bonus for meeting all three development control targets. Some authorities in this group have made very strong improvements, for example, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council who will be awarded over £390,000 this year compared with less than £73,000 in 2005/6. The remaining allocations of PDG, for housing, plan making and e-planning, will be announced early next year. In total, £16m is planned to be awarded for housing delivery in areas of high demand, £2.5m to recognise issues of low demand, £5.7m for e-planning and £20.8m for plan-making, along with proposed top slices to support the Regional Planning Bodies, Planning Inspectorate and provide postgraduate bursaries. The 25 authorities in low demand pathfinder areas have been provisionally allocated £100,000 each, and the proposed allocation of £20.8m for plan-making would mean that any authority that submits an Annual Monitoring Report by the deadline of 31 December 2005 would receive a minimum allocation of £52,525. This year's allocation of £135m follows £170m for 2005/06, and precedes £120m for 2007/08. On 1 April 2005 the ODPM also increased planning fees, which are expected to contribute an extra £68m to planning department budgets this year. ODPM is examining a number of options for future resources for planning as part of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. Full details here http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1143674 Planning system under scrutiny in new energy policy review Ministers have made it clear that the recently launched energy policy review will put the planning system under scrutiny and will almost certainly prompt proposals to make the planning system for new power stations and other infrastructure faster and less obstructive. The review, the terms of which have just been announced by the Prime Minister, may well conclude that a major programme of new-build nuclear reactors is needed to help the country meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets and improve security of energy supply. Energy minister Malcolm Wicks stressed that the review would be looking at the planning process and made it plain that the government was keen to find ways of reducing the time major energy projects spent obtaining regulatory and planning consents. Planning is increasingly seen as an inhibitor to vital energy schemes like wind farms and gas storage proposals. At present, around 10 major gas storage schemes are currently making slow progress through the planning system. Acute lack of gas storage capacity in the UK has been cited as one of the contributory factors to record gas prices. Tom Crotty, managing director of Ineos Chlor, a major chemicals company based in Cheshire, has complained that a storage scheme involving worked out salt mine in which his company has a stake took twice as long as it should have because of the planning system. He said: "We have had an eight-year period of planning inquiries. Had our project secured more rapid planning permission it would have been up and running for four years now". Meanwhile, MPs have highlighted growing frustration because planning authorities don't know whether rooftop installations of solar panels and small wind turbines require planning permission or not. During a recent Commons debate on climate change, this issue was raised by Tory backbencher Boris Johnston MP. Environment minister Elliot Morley agreed there was confusion over the planning regulations. "I understand that rooftop installations do not necessarily need planning permission, but there is confusion among local authorities about whether or not they do". (Commons Hansard 22 Nov col 1466). In a related development, Npower Renewables has applied to the Department of Trade and industry and the National Assembly for Wales to build a huge offshore wind farm between 12 and 15 kilometres off the North Wales coast near Prestatyn. If the scheme goes ahead it could have as many as 200 wind turbines and generate up to 750 megawatts of electricity. Meanwhile, a major conservation body has released a series of images showing the scale of the world's largest onshore wind farm, planned for the Hebridean island of Lewis. The scheme for up to 234 turbines has been backed by the local planning authority but has yet to be consented by the Scottish Executive. However, the scheme is opposed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which has produced maps showing how much land would be affected in the Scottish mainland if an equivalent scheme was proposed. The maps showed the wind farm would stretch north from Edinburgh Zoo to beyond Methel on the other side of the Firth of Forth and west to Dunfermline. Complex regeneration gets underway in East Wales Work has started on one of the most complex reclamation and regeneration schemes ever undertaken in the UK. More than two million tonnes of material will be excavated and replaced during a phased programme of reclamation on the 200-acre site of the former Ebbw Vale steelworks. The land will be transformed into a new community complete with employment opportunities for 1,500 people, schools, new housing, a hospital and a new railway station. The reclamation works are costing £15m while the regeneration schemes have a price tag of around £150m. The reclamation process will include treating 11 old mineshafts, tackling huge, empty "basements" – equal in total to 10 football pitches – under the site, recycling 110,000 cubic metres of aggregate and enough steel reinforcements to make more than 60 million tin cans – and installing more than a mile of new drainage. Andrew Davies, minister for economic development and transport, said: "This major project is an outstanding example of public and private sector organisations working together to reclaim derelict land and regenerate a community." Councillor John Hopkins, leader of Blaenau Gwent Council, said: "This project is unique in terms of its scale, ambition and the speed with which it has been implemented. The regeneration of the steelworks site will drive forward the development of the whole region, and will be a beacon to the whole country as an example of how partnership working can create a genuinely transforming project." Community planning needs less jargon and more commitment Community involvement in urban regeneration is being undermined by off-putting jargon, insufficient resources, insensitive or poor master-planning and a lack of co-operation between different tiers of government and related departments, according to two reports just published. A study part supported by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has concluded that "vague and vacuous" jargon has replaced meaning and the need to address environmental and sustainability concerns often reduced to a bureaucratic requirement. This work, which represents the findings of 30 leading European urbanists, insisted that community consultation was not enough. Communities needed to feel a sense of ownership of local change and to be encourage to participate much more in its implementation. A similar message has emerged from the Royal Town Planning Institute which has published a guide designed to foster a new sense of professionalism in way the profession deals with community involvement. The guide stresses that the amount of jargon used by planners must be cut back and more efforts made to reach so-called "hard to reach" groups. Planning departments will need to spend more of the resources to ensure that the new statements of community involvement reflect a broader view of public engagement. NEW PROJECT TO INCREASE LAND OPEN TO ALL Defra has given the go-ahead for £1.2 million in funding to encourage landowners to voluntarily dedicate land for public access. While it is widely understood that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act gives a statutory right of access on foot to 935,000 of hectares of mapped open country and common land in England, it is less well-known that the law also means willing landowners can voluntarily dedicate their land for public access. Rural Affairs Minister, Jim Knight, said it would fund a Countryside Agency research project looking at steps that can be taken, nationally and locally, to promote and encourage dedication. The three-year project will also investigate landowner motivations and concerns and secure a number of actual dedications of land by working with local authorities, landowners, and other local partners. Mr Jim Knight said the Countryside Agency's project would help raise awareness and understanding of the dedication of land. "Dedication can make a real difference to access opportunities in places where there is little mapped access land, and it can ease the pressure on land already open to the public. "Defra is giving full backing to efforts to encourage more and more organisations and private landowners to dedicate land for access, which will ultimately mean more opportunities for people to enjoy a more active lifestyle in our countryside." Mr Knight said the process of dedicating land for public access had been made very simple, reducing liability for landowners and making it possible to grant "higher rights" for activities like horse riding and cycling. "By helping to raise awareness and understanding, this project will mean that landowners are aware of their options and are able to dedicate land for the wider public good with confidence. "We should all be grateful to those public-spirited landowners who have already dedicated land for access. It's early days, but they have set a strong example that shows how voluntarily dedicating land can make a real, permanent difference to the countryside." Dr Tayo Adebowale, board member of the Countryside Agency, said: "This project could open up even more of the countryside for people to enjoy - whether it's for walking, cycling, learning about wildlife, horse-riding or canoeing. "The Countryside Agency looks forward to working closely with landowners and local partners to make the dedication process work for everybody, bringing greater opportunities to get out into the English countryside." So far 127,000 hectares have been dedicated by landowners in England. Most of this land is owned by the Forestry Commission, but a range of other landowners have dedicated land or are expecting to do so, including Shropshire County Council, Yorkshire Water Ltd, English Nature, the Environment Agency, Butterfly Conservation, several golf courses and a number of private individuals. The RSPB will also consider dedicating land where targeted dedications will enhance access to wider areas of access land. Rates on hold at 4.5% THE Bank of England kept the base rate on hold at 4.5% today for the fourth month in a row. Rates were last cut by a quarter-point in August after a series of increases last year. The news will be a disappointment to borrowers hoping for an early Christmas present in the form of a cut in mortgage rates. But the decision to keep rates on hold will come as no surprise, having been widely expected by economists. Howard Archer from Global Insight said: 'The Bank has made it absolutely clear that it is firmly in 'wait and see' mode for now, given the particularly high uncertainties and risks currently surrounding both the growth and inflation outlooks.' On the whole, economic news over the past month has been grim. Inflation is still at 2.3%, which is above the Government target of 2%. And while Halifax reckoned house prices jumped by 1.2% in November, Nationwide said they remained at a standstill. The High Street is still struggling with disastrous Christmas sales figures, with the CBI saying retailers are having their worst season in 22 years. The economy grew by only 0.4% in the third quarter – the fifth quarter of below-trend growth. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King recently blamed rising taxes for driving shoppers from the High Street while his deputy, Sir Andrew Large, said pension concerns had contributed to the spending slowdown. Committee member David Walton had signalled in several interviews that the MPC is in no hurry to change rates. Sipps U-turn fury boils over THE financial services and property industries today put the cost of Gordon Brown's 'outrageous' U-turn over tax breaks for personal pension investors at hundreds of millions of pounds. The Chancellor announced in Monday's Pre-Budget Report that new rules on Self-Invested Personal Pensions (Sipps) would exclude all residential investment properties along with other assets, such as antiques. Evidence suggests thousands of buy-to-let investors have already put down deposits on yet-to-be-built developments in anticipation of pensions A-Day – 6 April 2006 – when the changes come into effect. Sipps providers, estate agents and property companies have also spent huge sums advertising the attractions of the new pensions regime and setting themselves up to deal with a rush of new business. Yesterday, insurer Standard Life said the sudden switch was 'outrageous'. And today one managing director said it could threaten the future of some financial services companies. Lee Grandin, of buy-to-let broker Landlord Mortgages, said: 'This is likely to lead to some financial services companies, who have based all or part of their business plan around providing access to residential property for Sipp holders, facing difficulties.' Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at IFA Hargreaves Lansdown, said he estimated the cost of the U-turn at 'several hundred millions in wasted effort'. And he added that it would undermine confidence in pensions. However he said pensions investors could consider the new Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as an alternative, and he added: 'Many good things will happen as a result of all the other A-Day changes'. A law firm warned that financial advisers could face claims for mis-selling. Charles Suchett-Kaye, partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said: 'There may be angry investors who became caught up in the Sipps hysteria and bought off-plan residential property in anticipation of receiving tax breaks when the deal completed after A-Day. 'They will now find themselves with assets they would not have otherwise invested in or, without the tax breaks, that they will find difficult to finance. They may look to blame their financial advisers for their loss. 'Those who advised clients about Sipp investments should have made it clear that the new rules were not finalised and that the tax breaks could not be guaranteed. Advisers who failed to do this or properly record that they did so, may find themselves the subject of costly mis-selling claims.' London's biggest housebuilder Berkeley had planned for a surge in buy-to-let investors at its riverside homes from Woolwich Arsenal to Battersea. Its chairman, Roger Lewis, told the Evening Standard he had already set up a venture with mortgage brokers Charcol and financial advisers Hargreaves Lansdown to help sell hundreds of homes into Sipps. 'This is political spin to make sure the rich cannot have second homes. But the outcome is that people with Sipps cannot invest in residential, and the vast majority would have done buy-to-lets. This is a missed opportunity for the ordinary investor,' he said. Stuart Law, managing director of property investment specialist Assetz, described the idea of buying tax-free property as part of retirement planning as a 'soon-to-be-forgotten dream'. But he applauded the change of heart. 'Direct property investment in Sipps would only have been suitable for those with significant retirement savings, in the region of £600,000,' he said. 'Pension holders with more limited funds would not have been able to invest directly in property whilst maintaining a safe level of diversification.' Managed funds, which were now the only route into residential property for pension holders, were accessible to the masses with lower entry levels as well as better lending and gearing, allowing better performance in the long term, said Law. Ian Price, head of pensions at St. James's Place, said the change was sensible, adding: 'We have been warning for some time that the hype surrounding residential property as part of an individual's retirement pot was likely to be a risky investment for many investors and a potential mis-selling scandal for the industry. 'The key benefits of A-Day remain with the earnings cap effectively removed for the majority providing individuals with greater scope to fund for their retirement across a spread of different professionally managed investments.' House prices to rise 1% in 2006 AVERAGE house prices will rise by just 1% next year, and by an average of just over 2% a year over the next three years, Britain's biggest independent residential property research company said today. Hometrack, which analyses the state of the market from its vast database of property information, says house price growth over 2005 is set to be the lowest for a decade. But the continued fall in the number of property sales over 2006 will prevent prices from falling. Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research said: 'While activity levels may have improved over the autumn on the back of more realistic pricing, it does not automatically follow that prices will start to rise. Affordability constraints remain the biggest barrier to house price growth over 2006. 'We expect the annual rate of house price growth to remain in low single digits over the next few years, supported by fewer sales and a continuing shortfall in new housing supply. These low levels of house price growth will result in a steady re-alignment of household incomes and house prices to more sustainable levels.' The headline forecast hides some marked regional variations. 'Over the next three years we expect the best prospects for growth to be in London, the South East and Scotland. These are the regions where affordability constraints are least pronounced. Small price falls over 2006 are expected in most other regions, especially those that have seen very high levels of house price growth in recent years and where affordability levels are most stretched. 'However, over the next three years average annual growth is expected to be in positive territory across all regions thanks to continuing high employment levels, and household income growth improving affordability.' The Hometrack report says the number of 'open market' residential sales is expected to be 1.23m over 2005, 10% down on the recent peak seen in 2002. The forecast is that sales volumes will fall a further 5% over 2006 . Donnell said:' We expect the volume of housing sales to fall back again over 2006, and the time between moves to rise. This is a result of slow house price growth, fewer 'aspirational' movers and the need for larger amounts of equity to trade up to the next rung of the housing ladder. Higher transaction costs, as a result of the increases in stamp duty over recent years will also play a major role in lower levels of turnover.' Hometrack says the average number of years a family moves home will rise from 14.9 years in 2004 to 16.3 years in 2006. Will your next home be a boat? Simon Lambert LIVING on the water is a romantic vision many people will have entertained from time to time. But while it represents something of a niche market, life on a boat is not just for the eccentric or bohemian - something the Government has recognised by launching a consultation to help Britain's 15,000 residential boat owners. The consultation on Security of Tenure for Residential Boats - England and Wales proposes to establish similar rules for residential boats and moorings as apply to park homes under the Housing Act 1994. Housing Minister Baroness Andrews said houseboats, barges, narrowboats, cruisers and other floating homes played a small, but vital role in the housing market. 'There can be no doubt residential boats help to promote diversity and choice in housing,' she said. 'And with this in mind what we are proposing is that the rights and responsibilities of boat owners and mooring agents are fully discussed and any alterations take full account of their needs.' The consultation will look at the most important part of living on a boat - mooring. Life on water follows the same 'location, location, location' principle as the bricks and mortar property market. A residential boat offers its owners the chance to live in the heart of some of Britain's major cities. But buy a boat in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds or Glasgow without a mooring lined up and there could be serious difficulties ahead. Residential moorings are offered by British Waterways and private operators and can last from as little as six months to 125 years. They offer the right to stay and facilities such as gas, sewerage, electricity and sometimes even broadband and digital television access. Due to long waiting lists in some areas, a boat can triple in value when linked to a mooring of ten years or longer and annual fees for a boat in London and the South East can cost more than £5,000. With house prices in most areas across the UK prohibitively high, residential boats can look like a canny investment or cheaper step on the ladder for first-time buyers. But although at first glance a two-bedroom houseboat may look affordable compared to a flat in the same area, a closer look at the figures for mooring and service charges, plus the difficulty of financing the purchase puts many people off. There are two main lenders for residential boats, inland waterway specialists Collidge & Partners, and Barclays Marine Finance. Both charge interest rates higher than the residential housing market and will cover only the cost of the boat - not the added value of the mooring. Barclays residential boat loans have a typical rate of 8.8% and the bank says borrowers range from first-time buyers, to retired couples and also extends to people choosing luxury boats costing £300,000. Due to their importance, often boats are sold with mooring rights, which inflates the price, but after the required survey and valuation has been completed potential buyers may find out the craft itself only represents three quarters of the cost. Amanda Strang at British Waterways says: 'If people want to find out how much our moorings cost they can contact their local Waterways office. Moorings can be highly sought-after, much like housing, and the price of independent moorings somewhere such as London are much more than in the far reaches of Yorkshire.' Boats are sold in the same way as cars and so do not incur stamp duty, but there are costs other than moorings to watch out for. These include a survey in a dry dock, costing around £2,000, the possibility of council tax, repair bills, a British Waterways or local authority licence and day-to-day running costs such as oil, heating and pumps. • Contact information: Barclays Marine Finance: 0800 445 644. Collidge & Partners: 01843 295 925 Water meters 'waste your money' WATER companies are wasting millions of pounds installing meters that are inaccurate and rarely read, Financial Mail has discovered. And the head of a new lobby group for customers is poised to blow the whistle on the industry's determination to sign up as many customers as possible for meters. Water firms have spent £245m installing water meters over the past five years. At present, only a quarter of homes have meters, but regulator Ofwat has given the go-ahead for 16 water firms to spend £283m to boost this figure to 36% by 2010. Ofwat estimates that reading and servicing will cost an extra £13m a year. Its rules state that meters must be read only once every two years, with customers allowed to supply their own readings between times. Now it has emerged that water meters give a low reading, meaning that customers without meters end up being overcharged. Gerry Evans, a consultant to the industry for more than 20 years and the holder of a number of patents on metering, said: 'The standard meter in use at present is tested only with pure water. But in reality, water pumped through elderly pipes is full of particles that affect the meter and make it give a low reading. 'This is bad for customers because it means those without meters are overcharged. It also means that attempts to use meters to estimate leakage from the system are flawed.' His view is backed by Water-Voice, the consumer council for the industry, which will present its concerns to the Lords Select Committee on December 20. the council was st up only eight weeks ago and the select comitte sets the stage for its first clash with the industry and Ofwat. A WaterVoice spokesman said: 'We are still drafting our submissions but Dame Yve Buckland, our chairwoman, will brief the Lords that there is no justification for a massive expansion in the use of meters unless they are accurate and can be read outside customers' houses. Clearly, we are using outdated technology in meters and the situation is not helped when meters are read only once a year.' Water companies admit that meter technology is old, but remain strongly in favour. Thames Water said: 'The main advantage is fairness - and the fact that meters make customers aware of how much water they are using.' WaterVoice is likely to urge that only 'smart meters', which do not use mechanical parts to measure flow, be installed, and that they should be capable of being read outside the house. A Financial Mail survey of major water companies found that reading meters costs millions of pounds a year - a cost that ends up being shared by customers. Southern Water said the cost of reading its meters was £80 a customer each year while South West Water said that it cost £30 a time. Michael Jack MP, chairman of the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, said: 'Water meters must be fit for the purpose, but the way they are currently installed, they are not.' Banks in Spain and Offshore lenders provide mortgages for non-residents of Spain using the Spanish property as security Loan to Values Standard loan to values are 70% for non-resident mortgages in Spain and are always linked to the valuation of the property in Spain not the purchase price. It is possible to obtain 80% loan to value but access is limited, you will pay a higher interest rate and may be expected to pay a one off premium for a Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee (MIG), by the provider of the finance in Spain. Most Spanish mortgages whilst linked to a percentage of valuation cannot exceed the price declared on the Escritura (title deeds). Spanish mortgage product ranges Finance in Spain is predominately linked to a variable rate and on a repayment basis. Spanish variable rate products are generally linked to the yearly euribor (European inter bank offered rate) and your interest rate will be reviewed yearly. Your interest rate for the first 12 months is determined by the euribor at the month of completion plus the fixed margin above that which your selected Spanish bank is charging. Some offshore banks can provide mortgages in sterling secured against your Spanish property purchase, linked to the Bank of England base rate. There is limited access through banks in Spain to Interest only mortgages and fixed rate mortgages including a "flexible mortgage plan". Fixed rates unlike the UK tend to be significantly more than the prevailing variable rate and the fixed rate term is generally the total term you can hold the mortgage for. Fixed rate mortgages in Spain are available up to 15 years. Equity release and Re-mortgaging in Spain Because of the legal process of securing a loan in Spain it is more difficult and costly to make any changes to your Spanish mortgage post completion. Raising funds against an unencumbered Spanish property, releasing further funds, or changing the terms is controlled by the Bank of Spain and further tax; bank, and notary costs will apply. In Spain under the current legislation it is advisable to raise the maximum funding you require for your current and future needs, as any changes at a later date may not be possible and will be costly. Lender, product and rates need to be carefully selected to ensure they are the most suitable for your needs. Lender and product hopping, which is now standard practice in the UK, is not currently feasible in Spain. Term Spanish mortgage terms range from 5 to 30 years and are dependant on age and Spanish finance provider selected. Most Spanish banks will look for the mortgage to be completed by age 70 but it is possible to obtain a mortgage in Spain up to age 85 as long as you are under 65 at the time of application. Costs All banks in Spain charge an arrangement fee for dealing with your mortgage in Spain. Spanish bank opening fees are not payable up front and do not apply if you decide not to take up their offer of lending. All other costs in relation to the Spanish mortgage deed including mortgage tax and registry costs and some of the purchase deed costs are deducted from your gross mortgage advance, it is not possible to add your costs to the Spanish mortgage unless your valuation level allows you to. It is important to check you have accurately assessed and accounted for all expenses to ensure you are not left short of funds for completion day. We would suggest you allow at least 12% of the purchase price to cover your purchase and finance costs in Spain in full and that you make sure you are made fully aware of the provision of costs for completion. Currency If you take a Spanish mortgage with a mainland Spanish bank the capital provided and repayments will be in euros. Offshore lenders can also take security over your Spanish property and many will provide the funds and take repayments in any major currency of your choice. Your interest rate will be linked to the base rate of the currency you select. For most Euro mortgages this will be the yearly euribor. Underwriting criteria's Most mortgages in Spain are only granted on a full status basis. Through IMS you can obtain a legitimate self-certified mortgage up to 50% of the valuation of the property. It is unwise to allow yourself to be talked into submitting false documentation and you should avoid brokers who offer this service. A fraudulent application could put your Spanish property and your deposits at risk if found to be so at a later date. Most Spanish banks will assess your income net of tax and will want to see that the combined existing UK and new Spanish monthly liabilities do not exceed 1/3rd of your proven monthly net income. It is possible with some banks to extend this ratio to 45% of net income and each bank in Spain will underwrite in a slightly different manner. In general Spanish banks will not take in to account any projected rental income from your Spanish property when assessing your application. There are no specific "buy to let" products currently available. Benefits of raising finance in Spain Low interest rates, and protection of your assets in the UK are some of the key benefits of borrowing in Spain, all alternatives should however be understood and considered before making a final decision. Standard non resident document requirements for Spanish mortgages: Employed Applicants Self employed Resident document requirements: Employed Self employed Some banks in Spain providing Spanish finance may require you to supply your credit file from the UK or may check your credit file direct. Any loans subsequently granted will not be registered on your credit file in the UK. Private Deals Could Save you £1,000’s One crafty way of dodging estate agent fees is to sell your home to someone you know Nigel Lewis THE EXCITEMENT of moving to a larger home is often tempered by the knowledge that a bill of between £4,000 and .£75,000 - depending on how far up the ladder you have climbed - will soon be thumping on to the hallway floor of your airy 'new home. Although many of us are delighted that our homes have shot up in value over the past decade, that also meanspaying higher estate agent's fees and more stamp duty if, often happens, the property entered a higher bracket. The minimum cost is likely to be £4,000 - moving from an affordable flat of £60,000 to a house costing £100,000 whereas stepping up from a £250,000 home to a £350,000 property will set you back £12,000. Nearer to the top: move from a £900,000 to a £1.5 million home, and the bill will be a whopping £75,000. While the greatest proportion of these sums goes to either Gordon Brown or the estate agent, there's also solicitors' fees, surveys, mortgage arrangement fees and after the sale, removal costs to consider. The only variable in the process is the estate agent fees. While agents might offer an important service when you are selling your home and finding another, it is the one cost some people choose to cut out. One of the more unusual ways to cut out the 'middle man' is to try to sell your home to someone in your extended network of friends, colleagues or family. Websites including - www.property-broker.co.uk. www.houseladder.couk and www.housenetwork.co.uk offer another way to circumvent estate agents although they still cost money but nowhere near as much. (all these sites are available on Hot property Investor.com But be warned: these private deals can and do have their downsides. One is that any prolonged horse-trading over the final offer might well sour a friendship. Another is that if anything goes wrong with the property any ill-feeling will be vented over a drink with your friend the next time you see them. Some people however, have been lucky enough to successfully complete a private deal and cut thousands of pounds off the moving process. New-look planning guidance on housing issued for consultation The government's new approach to planning for housing provision has been set out in full in its long-awaited draft Planning Policy Statement 3, now out for consultation. The draft PPS introduces an approach to housing numbers which uses sub-regional housing market areas as the basis for planning new housing, rather than local administrative boundaries as at present. The guidance makes it a requirement on regional planning bodies and local planning authorities to take account of affordability and housing market information alongside other factors such as the environment and infrastructure when deciding how many home to build. As well the PPS has highlighted the need to improve "affordability" in the housing market by allocating and identifying sufficient land for housing where it's needed. Local planning authorities (LPAs) will be expected identify a rolling supply of at least five year's worth of developable land for housing, with a further 10 years supply identified for future development. The PPS has a continued commitment that 60 per cent of new homes will be built on brownfield sites in a bid to minimise pressure on greenfield land. Local authorities will be expected to develop a brownfield strategy, prioritise developable brownfield land and work proactively with partners to bring brownfield sites into development. In terms of densities the minimum level of 30 dwellings per hectare is being retained. There will be a flexible approach to densities above that level so LPAs can set a density range appropriate for particular types of location. The need for high-quality design has been stressed and the use of design codes and site briefs encouraged. There is also an emphasis on creating mixed communities with a wide choice of both affordable and "market" housing. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has said it wants to publish the final version of the PPS by summer 2006. A number of other related changes and developments are in the pipeline. Regional housing and planning functions will be merged by September 2006, a move which will make sure the regions take a strategic view of meeting housing and infrastructure needs together. Around the same time, the ODPM plans to establish a new independent National Advice Unit which will strengthen the evidence and analysis available to regional housing and planning bodies as they improve housing market affordability. Planning appeals for housing cases are set to be accelerated under new targets for the Planning Inspectorate. Hearings will have to be set up within 20 weeks with 80 per cent of decisions within a further 10 weeks. View the consultation on 'Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3):
Housing' here. http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1162075
40% OFF PROPERTY ˆ WITH THE BLESSING OF THE TAXMAN!! How to buy a £200,000 home for £120,000 We reveal how as pension 'A-Day' approaches, you could get a 40% discount off any property you buy 6 April 2006 could be the most important day of your life if you've ever dreamt of making your fortune in property. It will mark the most radical reform of the British pensions system in 50 years and is known as A.Day. Safeguard your future with bricks and mortar After this date you will be allowed to put property into your pension for the very first time. Also, even better, you can receive up to 40% off any commercial or residential property you purchase ˆ all with the blessing of the taxman. Buy property at 2001 prices ˆ Courtesy of a Self-Invested Pension Presently, the way to own property in a pension is through an insurance company property fund. From 'A-Day' onwards by the choice of a Self-Invested Pension (SIPP) you will, as an individual, be able to invest in commercial or residential property as part of your pension fund. GET THIS FREE REPORT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each month we aim to bring you the Bank of England Interest Base Rate Decision within minutes of it being announced. For information on previous Base Rate decisions, meeting minutes and information about the Bank of England please visit their website at:- http://www.bankofengland.co.uk
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