Introduction - on this page you will find links to details of UK property
for sale, rental accommodation, shared housing in the United Kingdom. The
UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In terms of its
Geography, it is in the Northern Hemisphere and therefore its climate is
relatively temperate with warm summers and relatively mild winters. In recent
times however it has seen extremes in weather patterns with extremely hot
summers, but also very wet summers with the recent flooding in 2007.
How to Buy a
UK Property Property for Sale
- the UK property purchase process has been established over centuries.
The first step is to identify some possible properties to view. These can be
located to through the usual means such as the Internet, local estate agents and
free property advertising newspapers. In addition, there are many new
developments have been built such as flats and apartments and property
developers can be contacted directly. When viewing a property of buyers should
be aware of the potential risks associated with viewing. The obvious number on
consideration particularly for female vendors is to ensure you visit with an
estate agent and is an agreed time and the someone knows where you were going.
Common questions to ask the buyer are why is the or seller deciding to sell the
property at this time, does the property include furniture as part of the agreed
a sale price and if not what elements are potentially or negotiation. Buyers
should establish whether or not the property speak sold as freehold or as part
of the leasehold which may have stipulations regarding building extensions or
changing the physical character of the property.
The next step is to appoint a qualified solicitor to represent the buyers
interests. The solicitor is responsible for all contractual areas of the
purchase including the exchange of money is between the borrower and the seller,
liaising with there mortgage company and so there were stop Up. Most buyers will
also require a mortgage to purchase the property. This will usually involve
contacting an independent financial adviser or a mortgage lender directly to
shop around for the most appropriate mortgage product. Purchasers will have to
provide evidence of their employment income of such as bank statements and
recent employer pay slips. Most purchases of property in the UK will alter a
homebuyers survey by provide a basic valuation and a limited review of the state
of the potential property. For older properties most buyers will opt for a Full
structural survey which is undertaken by a qualified surveyor we should be a
member of the royal institute of chartered surveyors. He or she will identify
potential problems with the property such as subsidence, recent damage
electrical issue is, risk of flooding, potential boundary disputes what and
other risks to which may affect the value of the property. Of the outcome is a
post reporter which is sometimes used as a negotiating tool by the purchaser to
reduce his offer to the vendor.
In the
UK, buyers make offers to the seller usually via through estate agents and via
the purchaser's solicitor. If the seller accepts the buyers offer, and agreed
exchange of contracts date is made. An offer can be withdrawn at any point in
time up to the point of exchange of contracts between the buyer's solicitor and
the seller's solicitor. On the day of exchange of a deposit to which is normally
5% of the purchase price is exchanged between the buyer's and seller's
solicitor. If the buyer chooses to pull out of the sale they would normally lose
this deposit of and also may face financial penalties laid out in the contract
or at least signed by themselves and the vendor. The completion date is a day
when the final balance of monies from the mortgage lender is transferred to the
vendor's solicitor along with final deeds to the property and some other papers
which both the buyer and seller must sign. It is on this stay that the buyer
becomes legally responsible for the property and must ensure that he or she has
adequate buildings insurance in case of a major disaster such as fire or flood.
The
average time between an offer and completion date is usually three months in the
United Kingdom. Due to the fact that the legal process is separated from the
negotiator and processes, one in three offers fall through due to the fact that
potential home buyers pull out of the sale or vendors accept a higher offer from
other bidders; a process known as the gazumping. Recent attempts by the UK
government to improve this situation are now in the form of the Home Information
Pack (HIP) which potential vendors must produce and pay for. The report
highlights any deficiencies in the property as well as showing that the vendor
is serious about selling the property before buyers commit monies to paying for
solicitors and/ or surveyors and local searches.
The
costs of buying a house of are numerous and include the cost itself, stamp duty
based on an agreed percentage published government tax rate, solicitor costs, of
the land registration fee, local searches to identifying potential boundary
disputes, moving and relocation costs such as a lorry and storage service,
surveys as discussed above, want of a mortgage application fee, a potential
charge for the services of an independent financial adviser and a mortgage
arrangement fee.
UK
Property Prices - Between 1970 and 2007 property prices have
increased by an average of about nine per cent a year was whereas the average
inflation rate over the same period is about seven per cent. During this time
there have been issued the peaks and troughs all brooms and busts as they're
known. The underlying cause of horizon prices has been a shortage of land and
available properties of to house the ever increasing population. In addition,
demand is picking feted by the change of lifestyle habits as foreign workers the
short term accommodation and more people are living alone and that was raid
spirals. In addition, the level of disposable income has increased as well as
the access to cheap Mortgage Products. The importance of environmental impact of
what house building is all so been recognized by society and government
resulting in the creation of the green belt around
London and much environmental
legislation (preventing the unauthorized building of property in areas that may
impact environment). Consequently the level of building supply are simply not
kept up a with demand. The creation of the buy to let mortgage products in the
1980s encouraged prospective landlords and investors to switch monies from
shared based pensions into what became known as the buy to let property market.
The impact of this part of the housing sector has had profound effects on the
property price overall, as landlords view property as unemotional investment and
not a loving family home. As a result, landlord naturally have been buying
and selling depending on the predicted future outcome of market prices.
Societies attitude towards home ownership are different from other countries
such as Germany and America (where a much larger proportion of the population
choose to rent homes as opposed to buy homes). In other words, in times of
economic uncertainty and difficulty such as rising interest rates or property
price crash, ordinary families more exposed two debt, repossession and
bankruptcy - the economy is generally much more linked to the success or failure
of a property market than other countries whose GDP is more links to
manufacturing or educational skills and knowledge base.
History and Culture - The history of Britain and the UK is rich and
eventful. Britain, including parts of Ireland were once ruled by regional chiefs
who headed up clans, or tribes. After the stone age, bronze age and iron age had
passed, settlements were organised and Britain was a land of huntsmen and
farmers, who tended the land. However, these tribes and clans would fight
battles, to secure more land and status. The north and west was populated in the
main by the Celts and the south and east by Anglo Saxons. In 1066, England was
invaded by the Normans in the southern part of the country what is now East
Sussex in a place called Battle. This battle is referred to as The Battle of
Hastings. Previously a Danish King ruled England his name was Cnut. Edward the
Confessor came to the throne, but when he died, Harold sought to become King and
around this time, William of Normandy in France saw this as an opportunity to
make an invasion on England whilst Harold had not had time to rally round
England for support. In much the same way, the king of England, Edward the I,
200 or so years later, decided to invade Scotland and take ruler ship of
Scotland. However, this was not without a fight from William Wallace, who fought
with the English army. Robert Bruce of Scotland, without Wallace reached an
agreement with the English, and later Wallace was tried and sentenced to death
for treason by the English King. Waring clans continued throughout the Middle
Ages and Britain continued to be a place where inter-territorial wars took place
and where invasion attempts from other parts of Europe took place. Most of these
invasion attempts were as a result of foreign royalty making claims to the
throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The UK has a culture of welcoming foreign workers who have come to live and make
the UK their new home. Historically as demand for skilled workers has increased,
the UK has built a new properties and has relaxed immigration controls to
facilitate the economic of prosperity of the country as a whole. More recently,
the opening up of the European Union of free movement of people across European
borders has meant an influx from Eastern Europe of skilled workers particular
Poland such as builders and craftsmen. This has had the effect keeping
property prices historically high, as large numbers workers require short-term
rental property accommodation.
Landscape of Britain
- The landscape across the UK is varied due to action over millions of years and
due to the ice age, where the north parts of the UK, Scotland, northern England
and parts of Wales are mountainous and hilly, carved out due to glaciers and the
south of England is more undulating and plain like, due to the silt deposits of
melting glaciers. England is often referred to as this green and pleasant land
due to the many fine green rolling hills and valleys, and of course Wales is as
picturesque with its own unique greenness and its own valleys are famous.
Scotland has a mix of landscapes from the southern parts of Scotland to the
Northern Hebrides that are battered by the winds. Craggy outcrops were colonised
very early on to form early settlements that were naturally protected from
enemies, Edinburgh being one such city where today the castle stands proudly
overlooking the city. Stirling castle is another such castle that can be
compared most favourably with Edinburgh. Northern Ireland is a country with a
very similar landscape to parts of Scotland and Wales, very green and rural in
many parts, but built up and suburbs and towns and cities elsewhere. Britain is
an Island with famous cities like Brighton providing homes and days out for
tourists and holiday makers.
Travel and Transport Links – The UK is connected by a modern motorway
system established in the 1950s. By the millennium this network had become
congested around its major arteries and as such there is growing pressure
to build more roads as the number of cars per head increases (while the average
speed in inner cities and between cities had slowed). The re-use of canal barges
(originally built to move coal and heavy industry raw materials during the
industrial revolution) is one example of pressur eon business and industry to
reduce the cost of transport in the supply chain. Transport link are also
facilitating the import of goods and materials; the UK has a negative balance of
payments of as huge numbers of consumable goods flood in from China and the far
east on container ships into docks such as Dover and Southampton.
Lorries from these ports take to goods to cities where consumers never ending
thirst for consumer goods continues to put pressure of the roads. Lorries
are an increasing problem in the battle against congestion as the demand for of
goods rises. There are also many well establish international airports such as
Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester moving millions of people to holiday
destinations each year. The traditional red London bus and the black taxi are
examples of public transport modes in inner cities that become an icon to
foreign visitors. However the pressure on the public transport generally is less
iconic as the population relies more and more on the car. Transport
development is affecting home building; most modern new homes and property
developments are being established close to the transport links in and around
major cities where commuters need to work. This has severely have increased
prices have in areas where there is a limited space for new property and access
to motorway or railway links is limited to major motorway junctions and mainline
railway stations. For instance, the growth information technology companies
along the M4 corridor which connects with
London has pushed a property prices cities like reading, slough
and Cardiff as commuters race to live where they work.
Tourism and Entertainment – The UK has a wealth of history and culture to
visit and experience. The tourists industry continues to benefit from the impact
of the royal family, famous castles, stately homes, national Parks, historical
monuments and buildings and a huge number of traditional hotels, bed and
breakfast and other accommodation. Notable tourist attractions include the
London Eye (a fixed ferris wheel opposite the houses of parliament in London),
Buckingham palace, saint Paul's cathedral, Edinburgh Castle to name but a few.
Millions flock to the UK each year from all around the world to experience a
taste of Britain, the traditional pub and breath taking countryside.
Popular City Guides
- Brighton,
Bath, Manchester,
Southampton,
Cheltenham,
Bournemouth,
Romsey,
Oxford,
Eastleigh,
Edinburgh,
Exeter,
Crawley,
Winchester,
Portsmouth
Property for Sale Quicklinks -
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Property to Rent Quicklinks -
England
Rentals 1
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Scottish Rentals
Scottish homes for Sale
Wanted: Property to Rent -
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Guide to United Kingdom Property
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