Archive for the ‘Housing’ Category


Good news for flood homeowners


Friday, December 28th, 2012

As many of you will know firsthand, many areas of the UK have been hit by floods this winter, which has been a nightmare for all involved. However there may be a silver lining to this cloud, report the BBC.

A recent study into house prices shows that there was very little, if any, drop in prices for houses that have suffered flood damage – or indeed reoccurring flooding.

If you look at somewhere like Tewkesbury, you can see that the floods of 2007 did not significantly affect prices. In June 2007, the average property value in this historic market town was £241,821. It dropped slightly to £238,200 in July, the month floods hit - when the average property price in England was £258,855. But the average price stayed consistently around the £240,000 mark for the rest of the year, according to figures collated by property website Zoopla.

Prices in Tewkesbury have dropped since, but not at a vastly disproportionate rate to the rest of England.

Tewkesbury’s average property is now £215,322, and the average value in England is £236,134.

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5.34 rooms in the average British house


Thursday, January 19th, 2012

A study for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) reveals that there are 5.34 rooms in modern British houses.

The number of rooms in a dwelling has changed considerably over the ages, from a single room in medieval times, where you, and everyone else in the household, slept, ate, washed and generally hung out.

As time, and technical advances were introduced, separate rooms for specific functions were introduced, such as the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

More recently, the demand has been for individual bedrooms for each family member, but this has been offset by the trend for combined lounge/dining-room or kitchen/dining-room.

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Make sure you’re paying the right amount of council tax


Friday, July 2nd, 2010

At 247Moneybox.com we know that council tax can be hard on your finances, and it is important to ensure that you are being charged the right amount. This follows the news from The Telegraph that 17 neighbours from Birmingham were able to claim a refund of £49,000 from their local council after successfully challenging their council tax bands. This kind of query is definitely worth pursuing, as the money owed by the council gets backdated to when you first started living at the property. Properties just next door could be in different tax level bands, so make sure you check it out.

The way to do this is simple. Just go to the website of the council tax list at the Valuation Office Agency, www.voa.gov.uk, then enter your postcode and find and compare the addresses of your house and the other houses on your street.

However, be careful as you are merely challenging what band your house is in, which could potentially lead to your house being re-valued into a higher band.

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Make sure you cash in on the latest Government fuel poverty scheme


Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

In a previous article we worried about the increase in the number of people in fuel poverty, but today it is apparent that government decision-makers have been reading our daily blog as they have announced a new £350 million scheme to aid those in fuel poverty, reports Times online.

The scheme is designed to give low-income households a complete ‘energy efficiency makeover’. The scheme, called the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), will start next month and targets 100 ‘fuel-poor’ regions and installs energy efficient measures to the residents there, street by street. Some 90,000 people could benefit from measures ranging from extra insulation to a completely new central heating system, which will save an average £330 a year on fuel bills.

Overall, 900 deprived areas can qualify for assistance, but it is down to community action groups to lobby their local authorities to ensure that the scheme can be adopted in the other 800 deprived areas that have not been chosen directly by the energy suppliers. To find out whether your area is eligible or not go to www.imd.communities.gov.uk and click on the map.

It is important that local communities get on board as the scheme requires at least 25% of the eligible households in the area to have signed up before any work is carried out. There are also worries that the suppliers won’t deliver the scheme properly but will instead aim to meet the government’s carbon reducing targets rather than budget targets when delivering CESP.

If despite the reduction in your fuel bills they are still just too expensive, then it might be time you spoke to us here at www.247Moneybox.com and get yourself a payday loan to cover expenses until your next pay cheque arrives. Our payday loan will allow you to get cash fast, and the application process is quick and easy, so sign up today!

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NHF predicts house price upturn as soon as 2012


Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Good news for homeowners today, as predictions made by the National Housing Federation (NHF) suggest that we can see a boom in house prices as early as 2012 and will likely continue to 2014, reports Times online.

House prices during this period could rise by almost 20% due to the pressure put on the market by a shortage of properties. In the meantime, however, the NHF has predicted a fall in prices by up to 12.2% this year, 4.6% next year and then stabilising in 2011, with a 1.1% rise. The three-year boom will consist of a 7.5% rise in 2012, 8.4% in 2013 and 6.8% in 2014, with average prices rising by £38,000 from £189,900 to £227,800 at the end of the boom.

However the NHF has predicted that many of those trapped in negative equity won’t see their prices rise enough to outstrip their mortgage and will remain stuck in negative equity, in particular those who have been most effected by the 25% fall in prices from peak to trough.

Prices have been predicted to act in this fashion due to the high pressure from the shortage of properties; currently, only 60% of the required number of homes are built each year. Social housing waiting lists are growing due to a lack of lending to first-time buyers and low-income households, so these have not been able to take advantage of the recent fall in house prices.

Are you struggling to pay off your mortgage and find yourself trapped in negative equity? Well, why not consider taking out a payday loan from us here at www.247Moneybox.com and we will make sure that next payment is not late and therefore does not incur further charges which compound your problems. Fill out our quick 5-minute application form, and you could be one step closer to getting the cash loan you need.

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