Atkinson and Keene

Despite scorching temperatures of over 30 degrees, 7 of us from Atkinson & Keene completed our 62 mile bike ride from London to Oxford.

In an attempt to beat the heat (and make the England vs. Germany game) we left Ealing Common very early on Sunday morning, then made our way through the beautiful countryside and up some ridiculous hills!

After peddling our legs-off we all arrived safely in Oxford City Centre just in time to see England get knocked out of the World Cup!

On a more positive note we managed to raise £1800 for CLIK - The Children's Cancer Charity. Thanks to everyone who has kindly sponsored us so far. You can still donate at www.justgiving.com/atkinsonkeene

And a team from Atkinson & Keene estate agents are doing exactly that on Sunday 27th June when they tackle a gruelling 62 mile bike ride on behalf of the Children’s Cancer charity Clic Sergeant. Cycling from Ealing to Oxford the team are hoping to raise over £1000 for the charity and have received tremendous support from clients, family and friends.

Team leader Warren Patey commented “ Some of our team have been in training for months for this event, some just a matter of weeks so finishing will be an achievement. We are raising money for a great cause so I’m sure that will encourage us to ride through the saddle sore pain barrier!”

Should anyone wish to sponsor the team then you can do so via the following link

http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/give?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Grants_Brand&utm_term=clic%2Bsargent&gclid =

As the dust settles on the recent Auction House auction which took place at the Copthorne Hotel on the 12th June it was apparent that this particular sale had produced the best results yet, in fact was possibly one of the more successful in terms of percentage property sold across the entire Auction House Network.

Auctioneer Bryan Baxter commented “It was delightful to see another busy auction hall and the response we saw on the day mirrored the tremendous interest we had seen prior to the auction”.

Either before the day or actually at the auction itself Auction House Thames Valley, a subsidiary of the local Estate Agents Atkinson & Keene sold a little over 90% of the properties on offer. Auction House and A&K partner Tim Atkinson remarked “ This auction was one of the first where we actually marketed the properties using the auction itself as a backstop position. Some of the lots were marketed in a traditional manor from day 1 the auction being there should properties not be sold under auction conditions prior to the event”

He added “ We found there was demand from clients who recognised that their properties were ideal for an auction room but they didn’t want to wait for our next auction to begin marketing. By marketing the properties straight away we knew that should a buyer not come up with an acceptable bid before the cut off point for the auction we could take them into the room itself. As it worked out two were sold prior to the event, the remainder selling on the day. I would relish the opportunity to see how selling by auction could help other potential clients”

Two weeks into the new Conservative / Liberal alliance and the main focus has clearly been the National Debt, the mortgage market having received almost no political attention at all.

Those voting Conservative in the hope of seeing the back of the FSA however, will be disappointed as it seems set to stay. This appears to be a political U-turn from the Tories as it doesn’t sound like a deal breaker from the Liberals. Perhaps it was so far down Mr Cameron’s “To-Do” list that he simply gave them a reprieve.

One sector of the mortgage market which will be affected is Buy to Let, as this will fall under the new plans to increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Currently, any profits made from the sale of your main residence are not subject to tax, but any profits made on the sale of second homes (over and above the current £10,100 threshold) are subject to CGT at 18%.

Figures currently being banded around are worryingly high, with tax rates as high as 40 or 50% being mentioned and talk of the allowance being reduced as far as £2,000. Those most affected will be private landlords who have perhaps purchased 1 or 2 properties to fund their retirement, due to the lack of pension income on offer.

The new government has suggested business assets will not be subject to these increases, so there may be some mileage in the semi-professional landlords setting up Limited Companies to house their portfolios.

Based on a property purchase price of £200,00 and a sale price of £250,000, here’s the maths:

Current System Proposed New System

Chargeable Gain

£50,000

Chargeable Gain

£50,000

Less Current Allowance

£10,100

Less New Allowance

£2,000

£39,900

£48,000

Tax Bill at 18%

£7,182

Tax Bill at 40%

£19,200

Looks like the National Debt will be coming down sooner than we think.

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

It was nice to see Alistair Darling give a helping hand to first-time buyers (ftbs) in last week’s budget, when he raised the Stamp Duty threshold from £125,000 to £250,000, saving ftb’s up to £2,500. The move will be funded by those purchasing property over £1m, who will now find themselves with a hefty stamp bill of 5% of their purchase prices. The new rules have already come into effect and will be reviewed at the end of 2011.

What we really need now is for the banks to follow suit and increase the number of high % loans available. It’s really no use to anyone saving £2,500 only to find that they need to come up with another £12,500 deposit to get a decent mortgage rate!

To be fair, the Business Minister Pat McFadden has already announced that the Post Office will be offering 90% mortgages again in the near future. The other banks seem to be a bit hit and miss. One minute they are offering half decent rates at 90% and the next they are withdrawn at a moments notice.

My advice to any first time buyer is to contact an Independent Mortgage Broker who has access to the whole market, that way they can be sure that they are getting the best deal on the day as things do literally change daily!

(Either that or chat the bank of mum and dad up for an extra 5% deposit, as the rates on offer to borrowers with a 15% deposit are a whole 1% cheaper!)

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

When I took my first mortgage out at age 21, I imagined that by the time I hit 40 I would own my home outright and that would be that. Clearly I hadn’t factored in, husband, bigger house, bigger mortgage, or children, even bigger house, even bigger mortgage. I also hadn’t factored in hitting 41, which suddenly meant the usual 25 year mortgage term took me beyond state retirement age.

The normal thing to do is to start reducing your mortgage term in line with your retirement date. This of course means that when you reach age 65, you won’t be forced to keep on working at the same pace to achieve the same income.

Of course reduced mortgage terms equals increased monthly repayments and in the past it has always been tempting for clients to take mortgages with terms which extend beyond their normal retirement date as the mortgage payments were less. It’s one of those things that can always be sorted out later. Well I am afraid later is now.

The subject of mortgages beyond retirement age is a current “hot potato” with the Financial Service Authority (FSA). Rightly so, they have been forcing lenders and brokers alike to ask more questions about affordability in retirement. Mortgages arranged 10 or 20 years ago were not subject to the same checks as they are today, so I would urge anyone who does not know the date on which their mortgage will be repaid in full, to pull out their paperwork and check.

We have a client who recently received notification from his lender that he needs to repay the full outstanding balance of his mortgage 3 months from now, i.e. on his 65th birthday! Unfortunately, he didn’t have the £40,000 required lying around and his lender will not allow an extension to the term. We were able to help as other lenders do allow (subject to establishing sufficient income in retirement), mortgages to around age 75. As it happens, this particular client is intending to downsize in 6 months time and move to the coast. We have arranged a 2 year remortgage (just to be on the safe side), with the Halifax, and even reduced his monthly payments. One happy customer who has started sleeping at nights again!

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

It’s been nearly 2 years since we were able to offer a decent 90% mortgage and it seems the drought is finally over.

Last week Natwest launched (to a select number of mortgage intermediaries) a 2 year tracker at 4.99% (i.e. a rate which is 4.49% above the base rate for 2 years). Ok, so 4.49% is a fairly high differential and if the base rate climbs to 2% the rate will be 6.49%, but let’s face it, all the economists are forecasting only a slight increase in the base rate over the next 2 years and the alternative is a fixed rate a whole 0.5% higher.

When I first received details of the deal, I thought it was a mistake. Firstly, the arrangement fee was quoted as £99 and everyone knows that lenders charge at least £999 for a decent deal nowadays. So I called Natwest to tell them about the error only to be informed that the fee is in fact £99 NOT £999 – apparently they had received hundreds of similar calls from concerned brokers!

Secondly, Natwest are part of the RBS Group but as of last week they were the “Buy to Let” part of the RBS group, so what on earth are they doing launching a 90% First Time Buyer purchase product? It appears that RBS have sussed out that the great British public aren’t keen on dealing with banks which they have had to bail out and the so called “fat cat bonuses” have done nothing for their popularity either. They have therefore taken the decision to use the relatively unscathed “Natwest” brand for all their mortgages going forward, in the hope we won’t notice. Hey ho, with 90% rates at 4.99% and a fee that low, I can turn a blind eye!

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

I wondered who was going to be first to buckle – my money was on the Nationwide, but it was the Skipton Building Society who finally succumbed.

Whilst other mortgage providers (mainly the Banks) have quietly upped their standard variable rates or SVR (i.e. the rate they charge their existing borrowers), most of the Building Societies have been unable to do this, as they have “ceiling caps” on their SVRs. The Skipton had pledged that their borrowers would never pay any more than 3% above the Bank of England Base Rate (BBR), but last week announced that they were putting their SVR up to 4.95% blaming “exceptional market conditions.”

Apparently there was some sort of an “opt-out clause” in the Skipton’s contract, which allows them to override their SVR guarantee in “exceptional circumstances.” I do wonder if anyone at the Nationwide has found a get out clause in their contract, as their SVR is guaranteed not be more than 2% above the BBR!

I can see where The Skippy is coming from. They operate in a traditional Building Society like way, in that they charge mortgage holders one rate, pay their savers a lower rate and the difference is their profit. For every 2 mortgage borrowers paying these unusually low mortgage rates, there is a saver getting didely squat on their savings.

The only thing I can’t really fathom is: What’s the point of having a guarantee that can be taken away? That to me is no guarantee what so ever, and surely the time you need the guarantee is in the “exceptional circumstances.”

Anyway, although the BBR has remained at 0.5% since March 2009, the average SVR is now around 5.25%, giving these providers plenty of leeway to offer reasonable savers rates and still make a reasonable profit.

I think it is high time anyone paying their lenders SVR took a look at the alternatives available. The Woolwich are currently offering a Tracker at 1.48% above the BBR for one year, changing to 2.49% above from then on. Alternatively, you can pick a Tracker which tracks the BBR at 2.13% above for life. Needless to say, there is no “opt out clause” for the Woolwich – I have checked!

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

Following the success of our first property Auction in November which saw close on a million pounds worth of sales our second auction will be held at 2pm on the 12th of March 2010. We have changed venue for this Auction to the Copthorne Hotel in slough as we felt this was convient for both buyers and sellers being a minute’s drive off the M4 at Junction 6.

We already have a number of interesting lots registered including some residential properties in need of TLC, a development of brand new apartments and some interesting commercial opportunities. We are stillexcepting lots for our March auction until the 8th of February when we print the catologue so if you have a property that you wish to sell auction could be the route for you and don’t forget that when the hammer goes down on the 12th the property is legally sold, so the money could be in your bank account by the end of March.

At our auctions we want to see not only the seasoned buyers, but also the first time auction purchaser or seller which is why I am always available to discuss the purchase or sales process and would welcome a call from anyone who has a property to sell or is interested in one of our lots.

For more information give me a call on 01753 869449

What Lies Ahead for Sales and Lettings in 2010

Luckily this question is a little easier to answer now that we are a few weeks into 2010, because despite the set back of the snow and ice, the market is beginning to take shape.

The market was always likely to continue its steady growth into the New Year and that is exactly what has happened. Each weekend has got busier and busier and there has been plenty of new enquiry activity. Certainly we have seen high levels of valuations being requested. The traditional post Christmas divorce and financial based sales being complimented by a number of lifestyle change buyers.

In fact when thinking about this year the only real clouds on the horizon were the fact that it was an election year and of course the World Cup. The former is possibly fairly obvious, as elections will always cause uncertainty in markets. With the added issue that were the Conservatives to win they would abolish HIPS, we will have a period of 100 days which is how long it will take to scrap this piece of legislation….are we likely to see many sellers put their house up for sale during this time?

The World Cup is a little harder to fathom but I have been in this business 24 years and every World Cup has produced a similar stagnant market for the 4 weeks its on…. unless of course England get knocked out early on…oh talk about divided loyalties!

Anyway so far so good and whilst both the Election and World Cup will have an effect my view is that this will keep the growth in market under check this year but with luck is not going to undermine it.

Finally a word about the Lettings industry…..booming!

Nigel Keene

The bad weather seems to have meant 2010 got off to a late start but the banking / mortgage sector has been as busy as ever and there seems to be only good news coming our way.

Apparently the government want at least 3 more banks to hit the UK High Street and take up the slack left by the recent mergers and acquisitions. Personally, I can’t wait for more lenders to appear, as the result is always more choice, more competition and therefore better value mortgage products.

Santander have started to “re-brand” the Abbey and Alliance & Leicester branches, although as far as mortgages are concerned, they are still operating as 2 entirely different brands with 2 entirely different sets of criteria. Santander strike me as an efficient organisation, so I doubt the 2 brands will be around for too long before the internal duplications are dealt with, the inevitable redundancies follow and 2 become 1. Mortgage Required expect to be selling “Santander" badged mortgages very soon.

More good news, at the end of December, Nationwide announced house prices rose 5.9% in 2009 which should give nervous abstainers to the housing market the confidence to take the plunge.

Finally , economists have said that we are starting to see the positive results of the government’s 2009 “Quantitative Easing” program. I am glad it’s working out as I understand the German government tried the same thing after the First World War ended, and it resulted in the uprising of Hitler.

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

Atkinson & Keene has won a coveted award at the 16th Annual Home Sale Network Conference, held at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel on 3 December 2009.

The Referral Award recognises the Home Sale Network member which has generated the greatest number of referrals and met the required success rate.

Home Sale Network members work together to assist clients who are relocating from one area of the country to another, by recommending the Home Sale Network member in that area to assist them with their move in to the new location.

“We are delighted to have received this award, it is a great honour for all the team and recognition of everyone’s hard work. This is our 9th industry award and we are particularly proud to have won this year bearing in mind the tough market conditions throughout 2008 and early 2009”.

The conference culminated in a glittering, black tie Awards Dinner, where the winner was announced and presented with their award. The evening event was hosted by racing driver and sports television presenter, Amanda Stretton and Home Sale Network’s Managing Director, Richard Tucker.

Home Sale Network’s Managing Director, Richard Tucker said, “Referrals are a key part of our Network. Wherever you are in the country and whatever town you would like to find a new property in, a Home Sale Network estate agent can help you. Network members can refer you to other selected Network members, to assist in your buying and selling needs.”

For further information, please contact Nick Thring, Atkinson & Keene, 01628 633376 or email nick.thring@atkinsonkeene.co.uk

Auction House Atkinson & Keene held their first auction at the Holiday Inn in Maidenhead and raised over £900,000 for delighted vendors. Auctioneer Bryan Baxter was impressed with the audience, the achievement and the publicity gained. Star lots were the unique 500 year old cottage in Bray which was knocked down at its top guide figure of £200,000 and the riverside bungalow with development potential at West Drayton that achieved £268,250.

Our next auction is booked for 26th February 2010 and they already have a number of interesting lots entered.

If you know of a property which you may think is suitable for auction, please call Tim Atkinson on 01753 847220 or email tim.atkinson@atkinsonkeene.co.uk

Christmas came early in the Mortgage Required office this week, when RBS finally put us out of our 18 month misery and launched a cracking 90% mortgage deal.

The rate on offer is a 4.79% Tracker for 2 years, long enough to take advantage of the predicted low rates and short enough to switch to a fixed rate before the anticipated increases come in a couple of years time.

Fair play to RBS for knocking over 1% off the next best deal on offer, and for not piling on the charges. At £999, the arrangement fee for this case is at least in line with the rest of the market.

Let’s face it, anyone looking for a 90% mortgage now will either be a) A clever so and so who’s sat out the credit crunch and is now buying at the bottom of the market or b) Someone moving up market with very little equity. Either party would be a safe bet to any lender.

Of course you need to have an immaculate credit history to qualify for the deal, but anyone looking to buy property now must surely know they have to keep their noses clean!

The first customer into the Mortgage Required office after we heard the news nearly fell off his chair when we gave him his figures, which came in nearly £200 less than the last quote he had.

Well done RBS, and let the good times roll!

If you have a question for Tracy, please email tracy@mortgagerequired.com

Or telephone 01628 760930

We are delighted with the selection of Lots we are able to offer at our November auction with everything including a character 500 year old cottage in the heart of Bray, some interesting mixed use freehold opportunities and a versatile bungalow backing onto a river.

There has been a surge of interest in the auction route to sell and a rise in buyer interest too. This increased popularity is demonstrated by the higher number of lots being auctioned both locally and nationally in 2009.

In part this is down to the education of both buyers and sellers as auction moves into the mainstream of the property market. In addition the speed and higher chance of selling are attracting more vendors to take the Auction route. The importance of Auctions was also highlighted by the Property Ombudsman in his annual report- his largest ever award of £23,880 was made to a vender when his agent failed to offer the auction option and significantly undersold the property as a result. The private treaty buyer made a profit of circa 50% when the property was sold at auction.

Auction House has had an outstanding 2009 to date with over 750 lots sold from 53 auctions at 16 auction rooms throughout the country. We are delighted with an 81% success rate on sales for Auction House against a national of 73% which confirms the professionalism and effectiveness of our approach.

If the 20th of November is your first time at an auction we would welcome a call to discuss the process giving you the confidence to both attend and purchase on the 20th. Of course if you are unable to attend we would welcome either a telephone or proxy bid please see the forms on the back of this catalogue for more information.

With our next Auction scheduled for February we have already registered a number of interesting lots which we will be publishing soon and of course we would welcome calls from any vendors looking to sell.

This is a question we get asked surprisingly infrequently and given that often tenants are handing over thousands of pounds and we receive thousands of pounds in landlords rents, I am somewhat amazed its not the first question a Landlord or Tenant would ask!

The question of whether your money is safe is very relevant in today's uncertain financial crises as Estate Agents like any other businesses are capable of becoming insolvent. In fact even this week another Martin & Co franchise has just bust, taking with them tens of thousands of pounds in client held money. Indeed with the residential sales market declining so the rental market increased and as you can imagine a number of businesses that had never offered Lettings, started to do so and even a few new Lettings only businesses appeared, their pedigree and backgrounds largely unknown.

Is there anything that Landlords or Tenants can do?........Well yes, you can look out for a company like Atkinson & Keene that is a fully paid up and current member of the National Federation of Property Professionals and offers a Bonding Scheme for its Landlords and Tenants. You don't have to of course, but then if you don't I wouldn't mind betting you are the sort of trusting person who believes that the cheque really is in the post and that guy who has just knocked on the door with an off cut of carpet really has just finished working on an office down the road!

For more information about the Clients Money Protection Scheme feel free to contact me on 01628 632111

Well I suppose it had to happen, having left an August which was unquestionably the best August for some years, September did start a little slowly. Perhaps it was press reports following a comment from Ernst & Young predicting a small drop in house prices in 2010, or perhaps it was the fact that prices seem to have increased somewhat, either way viewings and internet traffic was certainly down.

One of the factors that has fueled the property market this year has undoubtedly been the reduced number of properties available on the market. Its the age old supply and demand scenario, and this lack of supply has pushed prices up, and in some area's of the Home Counties, has done this quite dramatically.

The good news, and there is some is that, firstly this is a country wide issue. I have just come back from a meeting involving some of the countries top estate agents, and all were reporting the same levels of activity....so we are not alone.

The second piece of good news is that there are still some good buyers around. Our advice though is that if you get a good offer and by that I am talking about one within 5% of the asking price then I would certainly be tempted to take it.

Now I'm not predicting a return to despair next year, but I don't think anyone is actively suggesting that the next few months will favour either buyer or seller therefore if you want to move then a reasonable offer should be met with a reasonable response!

Nigel Keene

Traditionally the quietest month of the year in terms of sales, this year August has broken a few records. Not only has it produced the most sales of any month to date this year, it has also produced the most unit sales for 5 years!

We like to think we are at the forefront of technology and to that end our clients can now reach us and receive updated market information, through the Twitter social networking website. Our address is twitter.com/atkinsonkeene and our aim is simply to publish real time market information, what is happening nationally but more importantly what is happening in Maidenhead and Windsor. We hope clients and contacts alike will care to drop by!

Recent reports from the National Association of Estate Agents tell us that there are four potential buyers for every home on the market. This is based on registered buyers and of course includes all those people who like to keep an eye on the market! It remains an encouraging statistic but let's not get carried away.

These people are all registered because they see this as a great time to buy and most view this as the bottom of the market and money, if you can get hold of it, is cheap. However they share another common trait in that they are canny and will spend a long time researching prices. With information freely available on the internet they know not only what similar properties sold for but in some cases even what you paid for your home.

Many building societies have quoted house price increases over the last two months of up to 2%, however this applies to properties sold and does not apply to everyone. If for example your home is on the market for 10% above true market value, these price rises will have no effect on you except mean that you are now only 8% overpriced. (Every cloud…….).

This is a great time for people to consider moving. Prices have come down so contracting the market, which means if you are selling now at £200,000 and buying at £400,000, your net gain against 2007 prices could be as much as £50,000.

My advice is look at the whole deal, not just what you are selling for. If you do this, not only will you succeed, but I think that in a few years time you will look back and congratulate yourself that it was a great time to move and you will probably want to send me a bottle of wine for this advice. Sancerre is my favourite in case you need to know.

Before viewing a house internally most people will drive past the outside and decide from there whether it is worth a better look. You may have a home worthy of Country Life on the inside however if it looks more Exchange and Mart on the outside you may struggle to sell.

Stand across the road from your home and look at it with a viewer's eyes. Does your lawn need mowing, beds need weeding, drive need sweeping or windows need cleaning? With summer now here a trip to the garden centre for some bedding plants or a visit to the hardware store for some new house numbers could mean that with little expense and only some effort - the outside of your home could positively compliment the inside.

The last time we had a 5 year fixed rate mortgage was a long time ago, when we stretched ourselves to the max to buy our current home. The rate was 5.95% and the lender was Birmingham Midshires.

Back then, fixing for 5 years was almost unheard of, but to me, paying a little bit more and securing a payment for 5 years made all the sense in the world.

We completed our mortgage application as enthusiastically as an MP with an expense claim form. Of course, as soon as we moved… the rates came tumbling down.

Thankfully he was so preoccupied with dry rot that my husband stopped asking me "how much it would cost to get out of our stupid mortgage" after a few months.

Anyway, like anything in life, it all comes round again, and ½ way through year 2, up went the rates and we were celebrating again.

At first, I used to keep a track of how much we had lost and how much we had saved, but eventually I stopped, as it didn't seem to matter. A lot happened during those 5 years, we had 2 children, both changed jobs, the dry rot, a new roof, but even though our expenses changed, we were always able to budget as our mortgage payments didn't.

Nowadays most lenders offering 5 year fixed rates would eat 5.95% for breakfast! If we were buying the house today, we could have secured 4.64% with Alliance & Leicester. Other lenders 5 year fixed are starting to edge down as they try to attract longer term borrowers, which make more sense to lender's balance sheets than shorter terms.

So, now may just be the time to start thinking about the next 5 years, we will certainly have fewer lenders, probably a new government and who knows where the rates will be.

Royal Borough residents are reacting positively to our latest campaign. They see the benefits in these tougher times of some cash back on completion to help pay the solicitors bill, buy an essential new home item or perhaps enjoy a break away following the stresses of moving. Additionally many kind hearted residents see a real benefit particularly at the moment in helping local charities survive the recession. With award winning service, cash back and help for good causes - we think it makes the decision of which agent to use just that little bit easier.

Is it me or are our terminally depressed British media beginning to get a little positive about the property market. It has been reported that February's mortgage approvals were up to 37,900 - the highest monthly level since May 2008. Perhaps more significantly mortgage products on the market are on the up too: by the end of March there were more than 3,000 on the market - an increase of 13%. Then, most excitingly of all, came the Nationwide house price data, which showed that the average house price in March was up £3,000, or 0.9%, to £150,000. Now I for one do not believe that house prices are on the rise but I do think that we may have hit the bottom.

So is now the right time to buy? Judging by the increased interest some people seem to think so and I have to agree with them, after all if we wait till there is 100% positive proof that price's have stopped falling the likelihood is that they will be on the way back up which in turn will mean that the price you can agree today may not be achievable tomorrow.