Grab those GREAT property deals this Christmas

The weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays are traditionally a quiet time for the housing market, as would-be buyers and sellers settle in to count their pennies and make the best of what they have during the bleak midwinter.

But while most of the market slumbers its way through the festive season, those willing to go against the grain of conventional wisdom can take advantage of some excellent opportunities to invest in a new home at this time of year.

For first-time buyers and those on the lower rungs of the property ladder, it's worth bearing in mind that the final weeks of 2009 represent the last chance to make the most of the Government's money-saving ‘Stamp Duty Holiday'.

Under this initiative, any home costing up to £175,000 remains exempt from the usual 1% stamp duty charge - but only for completions taking place by December 31st, after which time the stamp duty-free threshold falls back down to its previous level of £125,000.

A top-end saving of £1,750 on the cost of moving to a new home may not seem like an awful lot, but there's not a home-buyer out there who would turn down such discount when it means shaving valuable pounds from their mortgage rate.

While the Stamp Duty Holiday is one good reason to buy before 2009 is out, you only have to look at the fluctuations in house prices over the past 12 months to discover another.

After a lull during the early part of the year, house prices have staged a steady recovery since summer and many analysts predict this rise will continue into 2010.

According to the Nationwide House Price Index, the value of the average home went up by more than £10,000 between April and October - that's an increase of nearly £1,700 every month. It doesn't take a genius to work out that buyers who make their move now rather than resting on their laurels over Christmas are going to be the ones who reap the biggest benefits on their investments.

Quick moves?

But while it's all very well extolling the virtues of making a quick move in the housing market, the best intentions of any aspiring home-buyer can count for nothing as soon as they put themselves at the mercy of the cumbersome mechanics of a slow-moving property chain.

That's when buying a brand new home becomes a massive advantage, with housebuilders such as Taylor Wimpey, George Wimpey and Bryant Homes offering a wealth of incentives to make a speedy move incredibly straightforward.

For example, Taylor Wimpey's part-exchange scheme lets movers with a home to sell instantly offload their existing property and receive its market value (the average of three independent valuations) off the purchase price of their brand new home.

Alternatively, the housebuilders can take away all the time-consuming hassle of selling a property on the open market by selling customers' current homes for them in as little as two weeks, and also cover the cost of estate agents' fees.

For first time buyers, Taylor Wimpey can help organise a low-rate loan through the Government's Home Buy scheme, and can also pay towards the cost of legal fees, stamp duty and removals.
And even if their brand new home is not ready for a 2009 move, buyers at developments up and down the UK are still taking advantage of a raft of great benefits by acting quickly to secure their purchase.

Anyone who reserves their home now can enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that the agreed price is guaranteed - with the expectation that they can watch their investment grow as house prices continue to increase before they've even been handed the keys.

So, as 2009 draws to a close and we prepare to usher in 2010, forward-thinking buyers would do well to consider the advantages of making a shrewd move in the housing market before the current year is out.

There can't be many better ways to make a fresh start for the New Year than by making a smart investment in a brand new home.

How to avoid a hangover

Well it’s that time of year again, office parties, soirees of one kind or another.

Being a young girl, I enjoy the odd tipple or two. I, like thousands of others hate that awful morning after feeling. I often wonder what would be the best drink for me. (Probably water!)

I have just read an article that may help all you other party goers this season, a few tips on how to minimise that awful hangover!

VODKA

calories:

pros:

Despite its high alcohol content - around 40 per cent - vodka is the least likely alcoholic drink to leave you with a hangover, said a study by the British Medical Association.

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 3/10

WHISKEY

calories:

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 8/10

WHITE WINE

calories:

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 6/10

RED WINE

calories:

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 7/10

BEER

calories:

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 4/10

BRANDY

calories: Around 80 in every 35ml shot.

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 9/10

CHAMPAGNE

calories:

pros:

cons:

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 7/10

Wishing you a merry christmas, hopefully with all the facts above, not too painful.

The bubbles speed up the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. And contrary to popular belief, Champagne won't lift your spirits - alcohol affects brain receptors in the same way, whatever its source. The antioxidants in Champagne may help protect your brain against damage incurred during a stroke and against neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.An average 175 ml glass of Champagne contains 133 calories, slightly more than a glass of white wine because syrup is added to improve taste. It could give you the worst headache of all, according to research at London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. This was closely followed by red wine, then rum, whisky and gin. Not only does brandy contain at least 40 per cent alcohol, the high quality cask-aged variety is likely to have the highest amounts of congeners, which are formed during the lengthy storage and fermentation process. Because brandy is a distillation of red wine, it contains a high concentration of antioxidants which mop-up 'free radicals' which, it's claimed, can damage the body organs and tissues and lead to deadly diseases. Australian scientists discovered that the antioxidants created during the distilling process mean that 30ml of good brandy would give the equivalent antioxidant hit of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Beer is high in compounds called purines, which boost the levels of uric acid in the blood; this can form crystals in joints, leading to painful attacks of gout. The 12-year study found that drinking more than two beers a day doubled the risk. Meanwhile, research published in the International Journal of Cancer showed that one pint a day adds a 10 per cent risk of bowel cancer, while two pints a day increases the risk by 25 per cent. Beer is the least dangerous to drink and makes you feel you drunk the slowest. It has the lowest alcohol content - between 3 and 6 per cent for lager, and up to 8 per cent for ale and stout. A pint also contains more than a quarter of an adults recommended dose of Vitamin B folate, which stops the build-up of homocysteinea chemical linked to heart attacks. It's the most calorie rich alcoholic beverage - just one pint contains between 170 and 200 calories, about the same as seven chocolate fingers biscuits. Red wine drinkers can get worse hangovers than beer or white wine drinkers. Because of the way it's made, red wine produces two types of alcohol - ethanol and methanol. The liver processes the ethanol part of the drink first and leaves methanol until last. Contains more reservatrol - a plant anti- oxidant - than white wine. This helps to prevent blood clots and reduce inflammation, which is now considered to play a key role in heart disease. Also, the pips and skins used in red wines contain tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, chemicals which help lower artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. Around 120 calories in a standard glass - it's slightly lower in sugar content than white wine. It's the sulphites formed naturally or added to white wine as preservatives to stop it going brown which are the most likely cause of the 'white wine hangover' many people complain of. Sulphites also carry the risk of an allergic reaction which can worsen symptoms such as a headache, or asthma. White wines also wear away tooth enamel faster, making teeth more sensitive. American researchers found that grape flesh contains the chemicals tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, which help lower artery clogging LDL cholesterol. Around 130 calories per 175 ml glass; slightly more in sweeter wines. Whisky 'madness' - erratic and unpredictable behaviour - is a common problem with drinking whisky. It's caused by the way most people drink it – neat. His experiments show that among people drinking the same amount of ethanol, those drinking it in. Whisky also contains lots of congeners, which tend to form during the ageing process in oak casks. A study by the BMA found that as a result, Bourbon Whiskey is twice as likely to cause a hangover as the same amount of vodka. Single malt whiskies have been found to contain high levels of ellagic acid. This powerful acid inhibits the growth of tumours caused by certain carcinogens and kills cancer cells without damaging healthy cells. About 80 calories per 35ml shot. Vodka is often a factor in binge drinking deaths because it is relatively tasteless when mixed with fruit juices or other drinks. Vodka is the 'cleanest' alcoholic beverage because it contains hardly any 'congeners' - impurities normally formed during fermentation. These play a big part in how bad your hangover is. Because vodka contains no carbohydrates or sugars, it contains only calories from ethanol (around 7 calories per gram), making it the least-fattening alcoholic beverage. So a 35ml shot of vodka would contain about 72 calories.

 

How do we avoid a hangover?

Well it’s that time of year again, office parties, soirees of one kind or another.

Being a young girl, I enjoy the odd tipple or two. I, like thousands of others hate that awful morning after feeling. I often wonder what would be the best drink for me. (Probably water!)

I have just read an article that may help all you other party goers this season, a few tips on how to minimise that awful hangover1

VODKA

calories:

Because vodka contains no carbohydrates or sugars, it contains only calories from ethanol (around 7 calories per gram), making it the least-fattening alcoholic beverage. So a 35ml shot of vodka would contain about 72 calories.

pros:

Vodka is the 'cleanest' alcoholic beverage because it contains hardly any 'congeners' - impurities normally formed during fermentation. These play a big part in how bad your hangover is.

Despite its high alcohol content - around 40 per cent - vodka is the least likely alcoholic drink to leave you with a hangover, said a study by the British Medical Association.

cons:

Vodka is often a factor in binge drinking deaths because it is relatively tasteless when mixed with fruit juices or other drinks.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 3/10

WHISKEY

calories:

About 80 calories per 35ml shot.

pros:

Single malt whiskies have been found to contain high levels of ellagic acid. This powerful acid inhibits the growth of tumours caused by certain carcinogens and kills cancer cells without damaging healthy cells.

cons:

Whisky 'madness' - erratic and unpredictable behaviour - is a common problem with drinking whisky. It's caused by the way most people drink it

– neat. His experiments show that among people drinking the same amount of ethanol, those drinking it in. Whisky also contains lots of congeners, which tend to form during the ageing process in oak casks. A study by the BMA found that as a result, Bourbon Whiskey is twice as likely to cause a hangover as the same amount of vodka.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 8/10

WHITE WINE

calories:

Around 130 calories per 175 ml glass; slightly more in sweeter wines.

pros:

American researchers found that grape flesh contains the chemicals tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, which help lower artery clogging LDL cholesterol.

cons:

It's the sulphites formed naturally or added to white wine as preservatives to stop it going brown which are the most likely cause of the 'white wine hangover' many people complain of. Sulphites also carry the risk of an allergic reaction which can worsen symptoms such as a headache, or asthma. White wines also wear away tooth enamel faster, making teeth more sensitive.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 6/10

RED WINE

calories:

Around 120 calories in a standard glass - it's slightly lower in sugar content than white wine.

pros:

Contains more reservatrol - a plant anti- oxidant - than white wine. This helps to prevent blood clots and reduce inflammation, which is now considered to play a key role in heart disease. Also, the pips and skins used in red wines contain tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, chemicals which help lower artery-clogging LDL cholesterol.

cons:

Red wine drinkers can get worse hangovers than beer or white wine drinkers. Because of the way it's made, red wine produces two types of alcohol - ethanol and methanol. The liver processes the ethanol part of the drink first and leaves methanol until last.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 7/10

BEER

calories:

It's the most calorie rich alcoholic beverage - just one pint contains between 170 and 200 calories, about the same as seven chocolate fingers biscuits.

pros:

Beer is the least dangerous to drink and makes you feel you drunk the slowest. It has the lowest alcohol content - between 3 and 6 per cent for lager, and up to 8 per cent for ale and stout. A pint also contains more than a quarter of an adult's recommended dose of Vitamin B folate, which stops the build-up of homocysteinea chemical linked to heart attacks.

cons:

Beer is high in compounds called purines, which boost the levels of uric acid in the blood; this can form crystals in joints, leading to painful attacks of gout. The 12-year study found that drinking more than two beers a day doubled the risk. Meanwhile, research published in the International Journal of Cancer showed that one pint a day adds a 10 per cent risk of bowel cancer, while two pints a day increases the risk by 25 per cent.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 4/10

BRANDY

calories: Around 80 in every 35ml shot.

pros:

Because brandy is a distillation of red wine, it contains a high concentration of antioxidants which mop-up 'free radicals' which, it's claimed, can damage the body organs and tissues and lead to deadly diseases. Australian scientists discovered that the antioxidants created during the distilling process mean that 30ml of good brandy would give the equivalent antioxidant hit of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

cons:

It could give you the worst headache of all, according to research at London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. This was closely followed by red wine, then rum, whisky and gin. Not only does brandy contain at least 40 per cent alcohol, the high quality cask-aged variety is likely to have the highest amounts of congeners, which are formed during the lengthy storage and fermentation process.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 9/10

CHAMPAGNE

calories:

An average 175 ml glass of Champagne contains 133 calories, slightly more than a glass of white wine because syrup is added to improve taste.

pros:

The antioxidants in Champagne may help protect your brain against damage incurred during a stroke and against neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

cons:

The bubbles speed up the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream. And contrary to popular belief, Champagne won't lift your spirits - alcohol affects brain receptors in the same way, whatever its source.

HANGOVER SEVERITY: 7/10

What does the Dubai crisis tell us?

As we come to the end of a Global ‘Nightmare’ signs continue to grow across the globe that the world economy is stirring back to life. The U.S. finally returned to growth in the third quarter, with its strongest showing in two years, India posted inspiring 7.9% growth and the results out of tiny Taiwan, one of the economies slammed the hardest by the global recession, were  impressive. Stock markets, aside from a downward blip here and there, have generally been buoyant.

The worst of the crisis is almost certainly behind us, but that doesn't mean the crisis is over. Lying ahead are a barrel of unresolved problems, policy challenges and, no doubt, further surprises. Unemployment remains a serious global issue; excess capacity left over from the boom years haunts the recovery; and the drastic stimulus programs utilized to fight the recession are creating a new menu of potential troubles.

That was made clear on Nov. 25 when the city-state of Dubai shocked the global investment community by asking creditors of its main corporate arm, ports-and-property conglomerate Dubai World, for a six-month payment standstill on its almost $60 billion of liabilities. The surprise hit stock markets in Asia and the U.S., while sending investors running for safe havens like the U.S. dollar. Experts have since engaged in a rabid round of speculation over what the Dubai debt crisis might mean for the world economy. Some see the problem as little more than a big real estate bust. "I don't see what the big deal is," Willem Buiter, economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science, wrote bluntly. Others see the Dubai crisis as the potential flashpoint for a new stage of the global crisis, a sign that heavily indebted sovereign states might begin having trouble financing their deficits, or that investors will reassess their exposure to risky emerging markets in some kind of financial ‘swine flu’

Stuff of horror movies, indeed, but so far, that worst-case scenario doesn't appear to be materialising. The central bank of the United Arab Emirates promised on Sunday to stand behind the country's banks with fresh cash, causing stock markets in Asia to rebound on Monday. Nevertheless, the Dubai fiasco is just the kind of dangerous unknown that can still arise out of the financial crisis, even while a general recovery is under way. Financial crises change the rules of the game, especially when it comes to determining how money flows, and where and to whom. Perceptions of risk among bankers and investors can change — but the ramifications of that change are often delayed, and not easy to predict.

Since the global financial crisis hit, the more sober Gulf economies have fared relatively well. Not only is the Middle East less integrated into global financial market than other regions, but oil prices have risen again since their initial decline last year. Unlike Dubai, the oil economies of the Middle East have been more sober during the boom years, putting their money in massive infrastructure projects, building cultural institutions, and keeping big piles of cash on hand for a rainy day. Dubai may want to do the same.

It seems to me that there is still quite a bumpy road ahead, who knows what will happen next. Giles Chance when talking of China and the credit crisis says ‘it’s like watching a duck swim, on the surface it seems fine, but underneath its quite chaotic’. That is an apt metaphor and could well describe the world economy. The rising economy is masking a lot of chaos. Please let that duck keep swimming!

 

Is demand for property exceeding supply?

                    

Demand for property in the UK is exceeding supply, according to the latest National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) monthly survey of the housing market.

 

This would suggest that perhaps now is a good time to be putting a house or flat up for sale.

Meanwhile, the NAEA research indicates that the average estate agent branch in the UK had 287 house hunters on its books in October and 57 properties listed for sale.

It also shows that the gap between asking and selling prices dropped from 10.9 per cent in September to 8.8 per cent last month.
Earlier this week, the Halifax House Price Index revealed that the typical home in the UK was worth £165,528 in November- up 1.2 per cent month-on-month.

 

Capital Economics property economist, Seema Shah said the small increases seen recently made no difference to the underlying outlook and basic argument that prices are still over inflated.
She predicted that if rises continued sellers would become more confident about putting homes on the market, increasing supply and therefore driving down prices.

 

We are essentially an Island with an ever increasing growing population, we are always going to need more homes to meet with demand, I think that we should utilise neglected, empty properties that for one reason or another are just left. Surely these could be made habitable. Why not really make houses that are affordable to first time buyers, they are our industries lifeblood. These measures could reduce overwhelming demand and stimulate a quiet construction industry. Property prices could stabilise with a better balance of supply and demand.

Hip debate reignited

Shadow housing Minister Grant Shapps’ recent confirmation that he would scrap home information packs (HIPs) has re-ignited the debate over what should replace them.

Lloyd Davies – We have been preparing Legal Sellers Packs, which involves the Conveyancer collating all of the relevant documentation in relation to the sale transaction immediately upon receipt of instructions, for our clients for the best part of ten years.  This process has helped to reduce transaction timelines by several weeks.  The existing legislation is ill founded as it presumes that it takes a long time to obtain searches and that adverse search results are a major reason for transaction failure, neither of which is true.  The delays in property transactions are often caused by certain important documents such as guarantee certificates, planning documentation or leasehold management information not being readily available or not being sought out early enough in the transaction to avoid delay.

The Conservatives can change the legislation easily and effectively by insisting that a Conveyancer is instructed to collate a Legal Sellers Pack immediately or before the property is placed on the market for sale.  This service is likely to be provided on a no sale no fee basis by the lawyer, at no up front cost to the seller, and hence encouraging more properties onto the market place.  This process will allow the purchaser, and their lender, to choose their own searches, which they can rely upon and avoid the duplication process that exists at present.

I hope that Grant Shapps and the Conservatives will listen to the views of practicing Conveyancers, unlike the Labour Party who were keen to rely on the opinion of Estate Agents and Surveyors who, whilst playing an important role in the transaction process, do not fully understand the logistics of conveying property.  Let’s hope that the Conservatives consult appropriately and make the correct decisions – we can’t afford another HIP debacle.

Nick Salmon, estate agent and founder of anti-HIP campaign group SPLINTA, said HIPs had made people realise that the old system was not so bad, and should be revived. He said HIPs have not made the process faster or prevented sales falling through, and have restricted the market by discouraging sellers from speculatively marketing properties.   But he said: ‘It is not incumbent on critics of the HIP to come up with an alternative. We know it’s not working and we know it’s got to go.’

Peter Rodd, chairman of the Law Society’s property section, said there is a risk that people may delay marketing their property in anticipation that HIPs will go. But he added: ‘The Tories, if elected, will have many priorities, and solicitors will have to continue to advise people to comply with the regulations until they cease to be law.’

Winter Home Health Check

Just like our health, our houses need regular check ups. Property upkeep is more crucial than ever, with buyers reluctant to look at properties that will prove costly to patch up. ‘Properties that had fallen into disrepair captured a premium in boom years, when buyers wanted projects, but in these cash-strapped times, buyers prefer something that's been well cared for and isn't going to throw up unpleasant financial surprises,' explains James Greenwood from Stacks Property Search & Acquisition. What starts out as a quick £50 fix can descend into a £5,000 repair if left unattended. ‘Doing little jobs as they become necessary is the best advice I can offer,' Mr Greenwood adds.

Phil Spencer, presenter of Channel 4's Location, Location, Location, compares building maintenance to dealing with your health: ‘Prevention is always better than a cure. Regular maintenance of your home is less intrusive and expensive than letting it fall into decay and having to fix it.' A trained building surveyor, Mr Spencer regularly gets his hands dirty checking and repairing both his London home and his farmhouse in Kent. ‘At this time of the year, I clean out gutters, make sure drain holes are clear and use a cane to remove debris out of air bricks. I check chimneys as well, to ensure air is circulating around.'

Here are a few pointers for you to look for,

 

1. Do you have a chimney?
* is it leaning?
* is there any growth coming from the top?
* can you see mortar missing from the joints?
All of these can lead to potential problems

 

2. Check your roof covering
* if it's covered with tiles or slates, are any slipped or missing?
Look out for tile debris and pieces of tile lying on the ground-these can be tell-tale signs of problem areas, that will allow rain to enter and cause rot very quickly

3. Look at the ridge tiles along the top of your roof
* are they all there?
* are there gaps where they join each other or can you see daylight through the joints?
Check your tiles and slates. Gaps may indicate a need to repoint the ridge tiles

4. Check your gutters
* are they leaking at joints?
* do they overflow?
* are they catching water from the roof or is it running down the wall?
Looking at your gutters on a rainy day is the best way

5. Look behind the gutters
There are soffit and fascias, and, at the end of the roof, often barge boards. If they're made of timber, check if they need painting, as bare wood rots quickly

6. Are your rainwater pipes working?
l are they cracked?
l are they fixed securely?
l are they blocked with things such as leaves, twigs, tennis balls and even dead birds?
Check your gullies: green algae or vegetation on adjacent walls is a common sign that there is a problem

7. If your windows and doors are made of timber, they need painting every three to five years
* is there bare wood, especially on the sills and the lower parts of the opening sashes?

8. Look at the bottom of the rainwater pipes to check the gullies
* have they been regularly cleaned?
* are they working properly?
If not, they can cause dampness where the build-up enables water to penetrate a wall and, possibly, cause subsidence. Trim unruly foliage
 
9) Check all growth against the building, especially trees, bushes and ivy
* have you removed, cut back and pruned carefully where necessary?
These items growing on a wall can also cause dampness and structural damage.

Rectifying these possible hazards will be of immense benefit when you actually come to sell your home, its all about maximizing your asking price.

High net worth investor confidence in property is back.

1/12/2009

High net worth investor confidence in property is returning, with 76% of investors seeing opportunities in residential investment and 68% seeing opportunities in commercial investment, according to a report by Barclays Wealth.

Investors in nine of the 10 biggest markets are planning to increase their property allocation over the next two years, the survey found. Internationally, nine in 10 investors planned to hike their portfolio allocation by 1-4 percentage points. In Spain, where there is a glut of property, investors planned to pare back their allocation by 15 percentage points.

Twice as many investors – 35% of the 2,000 surveyed – plan to increase their property allocation rather than decrease it over the next two years.

The global report in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit, Prospects for Property: On Solid Foundations, showed that investors believe that property has better long term prospects than other asset classes.

In the survey, 25% of investors also believed that recent price falls have made property seem cheap.

Respondents rated the US as the most popular nation for investment, with 16 per cent saying they expected to see the best returns there, followed by China and the UK, with 7 per cent expecting the best returns in each of those markets.

However, Lloyd Davies,CEO of Convey Law, comments,

“The fall in property values has shaken the most seasoned investors’ confidence. Despite this, these findings suggest that investors believe we are approaching the beginning of the end of the downturn. It appears that those surveyed are prepared to not only exploit undervalued opportunities, but also to commit further to property over the next two years in the belief that they will benefit from favourable returns. Given the past turmoil in other investment opportunities it is not surprising that investors are looking at bricks and mortar as a good sustainable investment that can provide solid returns.”

Extracts taken from Property week.com and Wealth Briefing 

Street View UK is here to stay, says boss of Google Maps

The inevitable tie up between property selling and Google Street View is now with us.

A few estate agents have started to implement Google Street View on their websites, with one quoting “the facility will enable buyers to get a realistic feel for the surrounding area, particularly when researching local amenities and public transport stops.” Google even promotes Street View as a useful tool for househunting.

John Hanke, who was co-founder and CEO of Keyhole, a global mapping company that was acquired by Google in 2004 and which became Google Earth, oversaw the introduction of Street View which now comprises tens of millions of photos. Hanke has told The Times that Google will continue to take pictures of the streets of Britain and put them online for its controversial Street View mapping service.

Street View UK includes 25 leading cities and Google intends to cover the majority of cities and towns in the country by the end of 2010. Google Street View, which was introduced in Britain in May, gives 360-degree views of big cities at street level, allowing people to take virtual tours from their computers or mobile phones. The company’s camera-equipped cars have been traveling around British streets since last year. The cars take images only on public roads and produce a seamless panoramic view of a particular street on a particular day. Street View automatically blurs out images of people's faces and car registrations, although the technology is not perfect. Anyone wishing to have images removed can contact Google which says most requests are processed within hours.

Claims that the online feature is an invasion of privacy have combined with fears that it provides easy information for burglars and there are still calls for the service to be dismantled.

Hanke said the feature was already widely used in the UK and dismissed concerns that it might help burglars plan where to strike. At the offices of Google Maps and Earth in Mountain View, Silicon Valley, Mr Hanke said: "We know it is really popular and people are using it broadly and I am totally convinced that they are not all using it to plan robberies. I tend to think that societies like ours come down on the side of information being good for the economy and good for us as individuals."

In April villagers blocked a Street View car from entering Broughton in Buckinghamshire, claiming it was intrusive. Privacy International, a pressure group, has sent a formal complaint about the service to the Information Commissioner's Office, citing more than 200 reports from members of the public who were identifiable on Street View images. The group has asked for the service to be suspended. Mr Hanke has previously had to fend off controversy about the security implications of the "overhead" imagery of Google Maps, when terrorists in Mumbai used mapping programs to help plot their attacks. Google also replaced images of a British base in Iraq after military objections. A Republican legislator in California has also drafted a bill calling for Google to blur out all schools, places of worship, government buildings and medical facilities because of the security risk.

Mr Hanke said Street View was part of the trend for people to use social media, like YouTube, Flickr or Facebook to publish online their descriptions and images of the world around them. “We expect the Street View controversy to die down in the UK once people understood the technology and the limitations of the service better”. He pointed out that the Street View images will only be updated at most once a year and probably once every two years.

"It is not real time, you can see that there is a red vehicle in front of a house on a certain day. But can you check on Street View to see if there is anyone at home? No, because it is one image taken at a certain point in time. It does not tell you anything about whether the car is there now or whether it is there every day."

When it comes to buying a house it’s all about location, location, location.

So having the ability to look around the area without leaving your front room is a huge positive. Surely all online estate agents will eventually offer Street View on their websites. It will be interesting to see how the facility affects business.

Extracts taken from an article by Mike Harvey from the Times.

Conveyancing solicitors Convey365

Home Information Packs are being Ignored and Dodged

The inevitable tie up between property selling and Google Street View is now with us.

A few estate agents have started to implement Google Street View on their websites, with one quoting “the facility will enable buyers to get a realistic feel for the surrounding area, particularly when researching local amenities and public transport stops.” Google even promotes Street View as a useful tool for househunting.

John Hanke, who was co-founder and CEO of Keyhole, a global mapping company that was acquired by Google in 2004 and which became Google Earth, oversaw the introduction of Street View which now comprises tens of millions of photos. Hanke has told The Times that Google will continue to take pictures of the streets of Britain and put them online for its controversial Street View mapping service.

Street View UK includes 25 leading cities and Google intends to cover the majority of cities and towns in the country by the end of 2010. Google Street View, which was introduced in Britain in May, gives 360-degree views of big cities at street level, allowing people to take virtual tours from their computers or mobile phones. The company’s camera-equipped cars have been traveling around British streets since last year. The cars take images only on public roads and produce a seamless panoramic view of a particular street on a particular day. Street View automatically blurs out images of people's faces and car registrations, although the technology is not perfect. Anyone wishing to have images removed can contact Google which says most requests are processed within hours.

Claims that the online feature is an invasion of privacy have combined with fears that it provides easy information for burglars and there are still calls for the service to be dismantled.

Hanke said the feature was already widely used in the UK and dismissed concerns that it might help burglars plan where to strike. At the offices of Google Maps and Earth in Mountain View, Silicon Valley, Mr Hanke said: "We know it is really popular and people are using it broadly and I am totally convinced that they are not all using it to plan robberies. I tend to think that societies like ours come down on the side of information being good for the economy and good for us as individuals."

In April villagers blocked a Street View car from entering Broughton in Buckinghamshire, claiming it was intrusive. Privacy International, a pressure group, has sent a formal complaint about the service to the Information Commissioner's Office, citing more than 200 reports from members of the public who were identifiable on Street View images. The group has asked for the service to be suspended. Mr Hanke has previously had to fend off controversy about the security implications of the "overhead" imagery of Google Maps, when terrorists in Mumbai used mapping programs to help plot their attacks. Google also replaced images of a British base in Iraq after military objections. A Republican legislator in California has also drafted a bill calling for Google to blur out all schools, places of worship, government buildings and medical facilities because of the security risk.

Mr Hanke said Street View was part of the trend for people to use social media, like YouTube, Flickr or Facebook to publish online their descriptions and images of the world around them. “We expect the Street View controversy to die down in the UK once people understood the technology and the limitations of the service better”. He pointed out that the Street View images will only be updated at most once a year and probably once every two years.

"It is not real time, you can see that there is a red vehicle in front of a house on a certain day. But can you check on Street View to see if there is anyone at home? No, because it is one image taken at a certain point in time. It does not tell you anything about whether the car is there now or whether it is there every day."

When it comes to buying a house it’s all about location, location, location.

So having the ability to look around the area without leaving your front room is a huge positive. Surely all online estate agents will eventually offer Street View on their websites. It will be interesting to see how the facility affects business.

Extracts taken from an article by Mike Harvey from the Times.

UK Conveyancing Solicitors Convey365

Home moving tips

Is it worth paying for Chancel Repair Insurance or would you rather take the risk?

A blessing for vicars, a curse for residents: Church invokes archaic tax to fund repairs

• Homes near to churches could be liable for upkeep
• Parishes told to pursue law to help pay £1bn deficit

It is a hangover from the reign of Henry VIII, described by one barrister as a blot on the legal landscape. But at a time when the Church of England faces immense repair bills for its parish churches, it is regarded by some vicars as a godsend.

A quirk of the statute books has left a legal liability for thousands of homeowners who may be required to pay for the repair of church buildings. The liability, known as chancel repair, has required one couple to pay more than £200,000 towards the upkeep of their parish church.

The country's 16,000-plus Church of England churches have now been urged to investigate whether they could benefit from the law. At least a quarter of dioceses have been looking into the issue, according to an insurance industry source.

Chancel repair liability enables approximately 5,200 pre-Reformation Church of England and Church of Wales parishes to demand money from owners of particular properties on former monastery land, to fund repairs to their church buildings. These homeowners are called lay rectors, and they are liable for keeping the chancel - the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of the building - wind-proofed and water-tight.

Churches have begun pursuing claims since the House of Lords ruled that Andrew and Gail Wallbank had to pay £186,986, plus VAT, towards the upkeep of St John the Baptist church in Aston Cantlow, near Stratford-upon-Avon. They also had to stump up legal costs of around £220,000. They own a nearby farmhouse which brought with it the legal requirement.

Despite the ruling last year, the Wallbanks have yet to pay a penny to the parochial church council (PCC) because of more wrangling over the archaic liability.

Establishing is liable is difficult as there is no register. As one barrister told the Guardian: "Chancel repair liability is a blot on the legal landscape. It is hard to discover, its enforcement can be capricious, and the extent of the liability may exceed the value of the land burdened. It is wholly unsatisfactory that this form of liability should still exist in 2008."

The Law Commission in 1985 recommended the liability be abolished, but the government rejected the proposal.

It is clear why the church isn't keen for it to be annulled. According to a 2006 English Heritage report, the Church of England spends £120m a year on repairs, and the backlog of repair bills for all listed places of worship in England is an estimated £925m over five years, or £185m a year.

In the wake of the Wallbank case, the Legal Advisory Commission, which advises Church of England dioceses on matters of law, issued national guidance on chancel repair rights which suggested PCCs had an obligation to investigate whether parishioners could be billed for chancel repair works.

The document said: "A PCC is a charity so its members are subject to the usual duty of charity trustees to exercise their powers in its best interests. They cannot therefore simply choose not to enforce chancel repair liability."

But it also noted that in many cases the bad publicity from enforcing the law could be counter-productive. It said enforcing chancel repair liability could hamper the PCC's "ability to pursue its object of promoting in the parish the pastoral mission of the church, or by alienating potential financial support".

Establishing whether liability exists with an individual is painful enough, let alone billing them, according to Andrew Johnson, registrar of the diocese of Salisbury. "From a pastoral point of view it's an unpleasant task," he said.

There is, however, one apparent winner in this affair, and that is the insurance industry. Insurance offering protection against being landed with a bill to repair the local church chancel has existed for many years. But until the Wallbanks' case, hardly anyone took out such cover.

Some people question the worth of these policies. Tim Berry, registrar of the diocese of Bristol and Bath and Wells, said: "Insurance companies have jumped on the bandwagon. They flag it up and solicitors have to warn mortgagees, and they panic and want cover. If you search small cities, a vast number will probably be burdened with potential, but tiny, liability."

Happily, the situation is likely to become clearer. From October 2013, chancel repair liability will only bind buyers of registered land if it is referred to in the land register.

Andrew and Gail Wallbank have Henry VIII to blame for their troubles. Chancel repair liability dates back to the monarch's decision to dissolve the monasteries when he made himself the supreme head of the Church of England in 1534. Before then, many monasteries employed a rector who was responsible for repairing the eastern end of the church, which holds the altar. The Wallbanks say they cannot pay the £186,986 repair bill for St John the Baptist church - in which they were married - unless they sell up. The problem, according to Mr Wallbank, 68, is that they are finding it impossible to sell the farm while it carries this liability. "We accept that we have to pay, but the simple fact is that we have no means of doing so without selling the farm." The Wallbanks have been given a deadline of February 16 2009 to pay, in time for building works on the chancel to begin in March.

Conveyancers Convey365

UK Conveyancing Blog

Action required to avoid a ‘War of Attrition’

The Government needs to act and act quickly to stimulate an increase in the availability of mortgages if the housing sector is to pull itself out of its recent slump, according to a leading Group of residential conveyancers.

Despite experiencing some of the lowest ‘attrition rates’ in the industry, the Convey Group has seen the number of house purchase transactions being cancelled before completion rise sharply through 2008 and the availability of mortgage finance has been the key driver.

Chief executive Lloyd Davies, commented: “Of course there are always other reasons for not completing on deals, a search might highlight an unknown problem on a property or a customer might simply be changing their mind about moving, but we’ve never seen the rate as high as this.”

The Convey Group, which can complete up to 1000 residential property transactions in a month, reported ‘normal’ attrition rates of around 25% prior to the sub-prime issues in the US and the onset of the credit crunch. At times in 2008 the rate has hit a peak of 40%, which has not only spelt misery for buyers and sellers, but had a drastic knock-on effect on the entire housing sector.

The attrition figures coincide with a Bank of England report showing the lowest rates for mortgage approvals since records began in 1993, with just 32,000 deals done in October this year, down from an average of 114,000 a month in mid-2007.

Davies continued: “Falling house prices mean that buyers are struggling to meet the loan-to-value requirements that lenders are demanding on their best products and as a result the base rate reductions are having little impact. If buyers can’t qualify for these mortgages then they are going to keep withdrawing from the market, which is going to suffer as a result.

“The Government has already committed to underwriting defaulted payments and recently announced a package to help to first time buyers, but more needs to do be done to encourage new mortgage deals that buyers can afford.

“Northern Rock was the UK’s largest mortgage lender, but we have seen the bank offloading its mortgages in an attempt to strengthen its balance sheet. The effect of this is to use up funds from other lenders that would otherwise be going to new borrowers and provide the credit life line that’s needed to kick-start the housing market.”

This sentiment is reflected in a Government-commissioned report from Sir James Crosby, the deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority, which called for more Government help for the mortgage market.

Whilst stopping short of calling for US-style state run mortgage organisations, Sir James did indicate that the Government should help the mortgage market by guaranteeing £100bn of mortgage-backed securities in 2009 and 2010, a strategy which he also suggests could make money for the Government.

Home moving tips

Paragon snaps up broker firm

Paragon has snapped up the remaining shares in the specialist buy-to-let broker The Business Mortgage Company (TBMC).

In its Interim Management Statement, the firm confirmed it had acquired the remaining 67% of the "strategically important" mortgage broker.

In January 2007, the lender supported the purchase of TBMC by its management, providing facilities of £15.75m and receiving 33% of the equity in the business.

Having suffered during the downturn, TBMC is now likely to report a loss for the year, so Paragon has agreed to temporarily suspend interest payments on its loan in exchange for the remaining equity.

UK Conveyancers Convey365

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