Devonshire couple are raffling their home to beat the property market slump.

Brian and Wendy Wilshaw are keen to sell their home in Devon.  They have lived in their beautiful home for nearly 13 years and run a fishing retreat in the grounds, but now has come the time for them to retire and down size.

Unlike most people, Brain and Wendy are not going to their local estate agent, but instead have decided to raffle off this extraordinary home in a competition.

Tickets are £25 each and Brian and Wendy need to sell around 46,000 in order to make the £1 million back, which is the valuation of the house and the vast grounds which span nearly 11 acres.

The fishing retreat, which is tucked away in Devon woodland comprises a 5 bedroom house, fishing lake and 4 two-bedroom holiday chalets.

The couple want to beat the credit crunch and have come up with this very original idea to do so.  Brian and Wendy had tried to sell the Devon estate towards the end of last year, but after very little interest  they realised that the housing market was grinding to a halt.  The idea came after recalling the comments from people who stayed at the holiday park, many of whom said that should they win the lottery, they would buy the park from the Wilshaw’s.

The couple intend to sell enough raffle tickets to cover the cost of the estate’s asking price, stamp duty and the costs of running the competition.  They are also willing to help the winner with the legal fees.

Brian and Wendy are running the raffle as a competition, with a question to answer on entry.  The question has to have an answer that only around 10-20% of people would know.

The couple can’t wait to see the look on the winners face and love the fact that they are able to give them this life changing gift.

The raffle closes on December 6th, but will close sooner should they sell all of the tickets before the December date.  Should the couple fail to sell enough raffle tickets, they will hold the raffle and give a cash prize to the winner.

What do you think about this way of beating the credit crunch?  Let us know.

Visit www.winadevonpropertywithfishing.co.uk for more information about the competition.

The property market has taken a battering of late and those trying to sell their homes are facing weeks of anguish. The current selling time is around 11 weeks, but if you are in need of some tips to help move the process of selling your home along, then look no further.

Tip no. 1 for selling your home

If you have really put your stamp on your home, then it is worth consider that your taste might not be to everyone’s liking. If in doubt, go neutral and lose the pink walls.

Tip no. 2 for selling your home

The kitchen is one of the first places your prospective buyer is going to look and if your kitchen has seen better days, then look at giving it a revamp. Your kitchen might merely need a lick of paint or some updating which can easily be achieved by changing door handles, so before you think about shelling out for an entirely new kitchen look at what can be done simply to give it a face lift.

Tip no. 3 for selling your home

Bathrooms often make or break a sale, so again, give it a lick of paint and consider that white suites are far more fashionable than coloured suites.

The same applies to your bathroom tiles, so if they have a distinctive pattern, then paint over them with special tile paint. This will also help the bathroom to appear bigger too.

It is also important to consider the lighting as people use bathrooms for applying make-up and shaving.

Tip no. 4 for selling your home

If you have an older property, then restoring period features will add value and give your house a great selling point. Make the most of high ceilings, hanging rails and fire places.

Top no. 5 for selling your home

Make sure that the jobs you have started around the house have been finished. Fix things that have been niggling you and then they won’t niggle the people coming to see your home.

Tip no. 6 for selling your home

Making sure that your home is tidy and de-cluttered is also a good tip. Not only does it give a sense of space and that there is enough room for everything, but it helps people to see that there is a blank canvas for their stamp.

Tip no. 7 for selling your home

Depersonalise rooms, especially if they are full of family photos. They can make a room quite cluttered and distract a potential buyer.

Tip no. 8 for selling your home

Clean. It might sound obvious, but make sure that everything is spotless and don’t forget windows.

Tip no. 9 for selling your home

Think about your kerb appeal, so freshen up the front of a house by painting the front door or replacing it. Place plant pots on your door step and make sure that the path to your front door is neat and access is not mared by an out of control tree or moss making the path slippery.

Tip no. 10 for selling your home

Think about your garden. It may be cold and miserable but people will think about using it in the summer for barbeques or as an area for their kids to play in.

Make sure that flower borders are neat. To revamp a garden fence, while not add a splash of colour or brightly coloured plant pots, which you can take with you when you leave.

The credit crunch is affecting everyone and the pinch is very much taking hold of people up and down the country.

With the housing market hugely under fire, mortgages are very much being pinched. Lending criteria has been stepped up and 100% self cert mortgages or self cert mortgages offering large amounts of credit have been taken off the market and are a thing of a past.

Self cert mortgages have been affected quite a bit by the credit crunch, probably more so than any other type of mortgage and so when you are looking at getting a self cert mortgage now, you will find that there are fewer lenders on the market willing to help.

There isn’t a problem with self cert lending, but those offering self cert mortgages have been exposed to the sub-prime market. This has lead to a significant number of specialist lenders leaving the UK market or closing down that area altogether.

The criteria to get a self cert mortgage has also tightened across the market, so now only the most competitive rates are available to those with a deposit of 25% or more. Even with a deposit of 25% you will still pay a mortgage rate of around 7.5%.

A typical 25 year repayment mortgages of around £200,000 your monthly repayments would be £1,477.

There is a very competitive rate which gives 5.99% but is only available to those who have a 50% deposit and comes with a 2.5% arrangement fee, so if the mortgage is £200,000 you will pay £5,000.

For those who do not have 25% or more to put down, which is around £40, 000 or more, there are still a few deals where 80-85% are available. So as long as you have 15-20% to put down, you can get a larger self cert mortgage.

The key to getting a good self cert mortgage deal now is to seek a mortgage advisor who has access to the whole of the market and is going to be able to find the right self cert mortgage deal for you. If you want to know more about self cert mortgages and would like to speak to one of our Click n Go mortgage brokers, then contact us for advise on the market and how you can get onto the property ladder.

We are all being told that it is a buyers market, but what if you are on the other end of the stick and are trying to sell?

If you are trying to sell, then you may be struggling and with the current selling time averaging at 11 weeks according to Hometrack and only meeting 90% of the asking price you are probably asking yourself ‘what are my options?’.

The housing market is seeing many people finding the perfect house for them and then losing it because the sale on their home is taking too long.

There is a way to speed up the selling process and it is by no means ‘the answer’ but it is an option and all options should be considered.

An option that a few sellers are considering at the moment is selling your property by auction. Many would see an auction as a last resort but these days many are opting for auctions instead of going through an estate agent.

When you sell at an auction there are two major benefits. The first benefit is that there is no ‘subject to contract’, because you exchange legally binding contracts there and then. There is a 10% deposit that is paid on the day and then completion takes place around 28 days later.

This means that there is no risk of a buyer low balling you later and if they do decide to pull out, you can keep their 10%. This means that there is a much more reduced risk of a sale falling through.

Selling at auction can take as little as 6 to 8 weeks from calling to auction house to completion, which means that you can plan more, which in today’s market is impossible.

Selling at auction means that you also have access to a wider audience and they will do the marketing for you. The marketing that an auctioneer will do is often more effective than the way that an estate agent markets your home, as they generally have more people on their books than an estate agent. Again, the people who are engaged with an auction house are also often active investors, so the audience that your home details reach are well qualified and engaged.

The main reason for selling at auction should be the quick sale time. Auctions suit those who are perhaps moving abroad or have found their ideal property to buy and need to sell theirs in order to secure the house. Auctions are also used by those who have fallen into arrears.

The pitfalls with an auction are that if you do not sell your home you could waste your entry fee, which is anywhere between £300 and £500 and any legal fees.

Another draw back is that you don’t know how much your property will go for and it could go for under the market value, or it could go for more. It is entirely down to the demand on that day. You can set a reserve price, so if that is not met you don’t sell. The auction house will recommend a price to you, but be aware that if you set it too high you stab yourself in the back before you have started.

The auction house will also take a percentage, which is usually up to 2.5%, but this figure is very much negotiable and it is worth shopping around and getting to know your auctioneers.

You can sell any type of property at auction, but those that need modernising are usually better placed here as the audience is often developers and those who want to add value to a property.

Often properties that are unusual or have special convenants are sold at auction too. The idea with an auction is that the buyer will often get a discount or a find, so if your home falls into that bracket, then an auction could be the way to go.

When you look at choosing your time to sell and finding the right auction house, it is well worth considering the buying patterns of the UK. Summer is a bad time to try and sell, as a lot of people are holidaying. When you are choosing an auction house, shop around and make contacts. Don’t just go with someone that is cheap, as they might not give you the service and help that you require. Look at the type of audience, the figures, the brochure and how they are going to dress up your home. If an auction house sells similar homes to your, then they are likely to attract the right sort of buyers.

Just do your research and you will be fine. Shop around and pay the auction house a visit and see how they work and you never know you could be in your new home before you know it.

This is a scenario of many who are applying for self cert mortgages. It may seem like a great way to get credit when you can’t afford a mortgage, but the reality is that you could end up losing everything including your home.

Self cert mortgages are designed for people who cannot prove their income, like an actor or a freelancer, but in recent years and with the credit culture that we have farmed they have slowly become known as ‘liar loans’.

Case in point…

Keith has a credit card, but the limit is just £200 and he has numerous CCJs against his name. Keith is not surprisingly, continuously late with payments for loans and monthly payments that he has to make. Half way into the month Keith is usually most of the way through his wages, so uses his credit card to tide him over until the next pay day.

Despite the problems that are already facing Keith he has opted to go for a self cert mortgage and has applied for a self cert mortgage stating that he earns £100k. Keith went to a lender that he knew would not question his earnings and managed to secure a mortgage for £300k or more.

Self cert mortgages have been heralded as ‘liar loans’ and many mortgage brokers are loathe to touch them. At Click n Go, we pride ourselves on making sure that our clients are well qualified and make sure that they fully understand the ramifications of not being able to repay their mortgages.

You may like to think that ‘Keith’ is a made up scenario, but in recent findings that we have previously talked about in our blog the FSA found the several mortgage brokers were not giving good mortgage advice. We are appalled by this practice and want to make sure that our customers are not only aware of this practice but also understand the mess that it can land them in.

If you want to talk to someone about a self certification mortgage and your options, then get in contact with us today.