100% Shared Ownership Mortgages

As UK house prices have escalated out of the reach of the first time buyer many people have had to resort to moving into rented accommodation to get a roof over their heads. An Englishman's home is his castle and with the average UK mortgage now being in excess of 197,000, it is now an extremely expensive commodity and the dream of owning your home is looking bleak for the first time buyer.

The truth is that house prices have outstripped incomes and as a result affordability has become a big, big problem. All is not lost, so, what are the alternatives and how could you become that homeowner?

Let us look at some alternatives that could be considered: -

* Shared ownership
* Parent guarantee schemes
* Buying with friends
* Shared equity schemes

Shared Ownership

If you are unable to buy a property outright on the open market, then shared ownership is the ideal solution for you. Shared Ownership is a part buy, part rent scheme, which enables purchasers to buy a home in stages. Purchasers can buy an initial share between 25% and 75% of the value of the property and pay a subsidised rent on the remaining value of the property. Shared ownership properties can be provided by housing associations, housing trusts and local authorities. These organisations try be as flexible as possible with regards to the initial share purchased, but this may be as much as 50% of the market value at some of their developments.

A service charge will normally be payable to cover the cost of communal maintenance. The service charges payable can remain the same whatever percentage you own of your home and continues to be payable should you purchase your home outright where possible. You will need to have sufficient savings to cover the initial cost of home ownership: legal fees and stamp duty for example. You will need to be able to meet the costs of rent, mortgage, service charges and other associated outgoings.

As your income increases, you can buy further shares of your home until you could own 100% of the value and no longer share the ownership with the housing association or trust. The greater the percentage you own, the lower the percentage on which you pay rent. However, if you do not wish to buy more shares in the property, you do not have to. Obviously, the more you own, the less you pay in rent. And, if you can buy your home outright in the future, then no rent will be payable.

100% Shared Ownership Mortgages

Having found the shared ownership house of your dreams a good whole of market mortgage broker should then be employed to find the best and cheapest mortgage. Careful searches can reveal 100% shared ownership mortgages that will not require a deposit, even if you have an adverse credit history.

Finding the right mortgage is a very important financial decision in life as it is more often than not the largest single expenditure in people's lives! People will often search the supermarkets shelves for bargains choosing products for the sake of a 1p or 2p saving per item and there's nothing wrong with that; I do it all the time.

Our parents teach us to be frugal with money in our up bringing and we sometimes become animals of habit throughout our lives. Through the generations, inflation has seen prices increase ten fold and who would have thought years ago that the price of a loaf would touch the 1 figure.

The same can be said about UK property, as the housing market has exploded and the average mortgage has gone way above the 197,000 figure. This is before we align our currency and interest rate with the euro. Ireland has seen a massive explosion in property prices in the post years of joining the euro and it is now an extremely expensive place to buy property.

Consider this as a normal mathematical comparison. A 2% saving on a 100,000 mortgage works out at 2,000 per year and assuming that this saving can be made every year by remortgaging and moving the mortgage to another lender, it equates to an astronomical 50,000 saving over the normal mortgage term of 25 years. It just doesn't make sense to be putting an extra 40 per week into a lenders pockets when they already make billions of 's net profit per year.

Most of us have all experienced hard times at some stage in our lives and received letters from banks telling us that they are going to charge us 27 for bouncing a cheque or non payment of a direct debit or standing order. Now is the time to hit back and take some of that money back from them by taking advantage of the discounts that they have to offer to borrowers.

So, if there is massive saving around like that, why do people not remortgage more often?

Surveys conducted by lenders have identified that some people are just not aware, whilst others have said that they just could not be bothered. Some people have stated that the mortgage market is just too complicated.

Well, the range of UK mortgages has increased dramatically over the past few years. Although this increase in mortgage types has added complexity, it has also introduced fierce competition, which has in turn resulted in the availability of some very attractive mortgage products for the customer. With over 10,000 mortgage products to choose from, how do we ensure that we get the best mortgage and remortgage rates?

Employing the services of a whole of market mortgage broker (the equivalent of a supermarket) can pay dividends here, as they have sophisticated computer software to narrow down the best rates for buying with friends, shared equity schemes, parent guarantee schemes and 100% shared ownership mortgages.

Joe Kocsis has over twenty years of experience in the UK Financial Services Industry. Follow this link http://www.mortgages2.co.uk for further information.

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Killing your Driver Examiner (And 5 Other Mistakes to Avoid on Your Road Test)

If you're one of the millions of people who will take their driving test in the United States this year, chances are it's a very big deal to you. For teens, passing the driving test marks a right of passage and is one of the biggest accomplishments in a young person's life. For others, passing the road test can mean the freedom to take better care of their family or to pursue a more lucrative job.

Unfortunately, about half of those taking their test for the first time will fail. And it happens for a variety of reasons. As a former DMV examiner, I have seen just about everything that can happen on a road test. I've been in a car that has pulled in front of an oncoming semi, I've been rear-ended after stopping for no apparent reason and I've had someone hit the gas instead of the brake and plough right into the DMV building (much to the delight of my fellow examiners). I've even seen other examiners end up in the hospital. If you have a flair for the dramatic and a car that you're looking to get rid of, there are plenty of heart-stopping ways to fail your drivers test. Here are five mistakes that may seem harmless but can lead to dangerous situations.

1. Stopping in a yield.

Looking for an excellent way to get hit from behind and fail your drivers exam? Look no further. Stopping unnecessarily in a yield is a great way to write off that old clunker that mom lent you for the road test. Even if you don't get hit from behind, simply forcing the person behind you to slow or stop unnecessarily will probably get you a failure. The correct procedure? As you enter a yield to make right hand turn, look at the traffic in front of you. If it is slowing or coming to a stop, do the same. If it is not stopping or slowing down, take a look to your left to ensure that it is safe for you to go. If there is no traffic coming and it is clear in front of you, keep it moving!! On the other hand, if it isn't safe to proceed, then slow down or stop. The point is that you should keep moving if it is safe to do so. Otherwise, you may find your trunk in your back seat.

2. Signalling too soon.

Where there are two upcoming streets on the right side of your vehicle and the driver examiner tells you to make a right hand turn at the second one, ensure that you do not start signalling until you have passed or are very close to passing the first street. The reason for this? If you signal too soon, traffic waiting at the first street may see you approaching with your signal on, assume that you are turning right away and pull out in front of you. Anyone for a juicy t-bone? Ouch.

3. Signalling too late. Signalling too late is also a problem. When making a turn, make sure that you signal before you start braking. This warns the car behind you that you will be slowing down and gives them extra time to prepare for it. Even if you don't cause an accident, signalling too late will cost you points on your test.

4. Hesitating.

Often, new drivers are either so nervous or so determined to show the examiner how careful they are that they hesitate to go when it is safe to do so. Sometimes they even wait for awhile, realize that they should have gone earlier and then pull out in front of oncoming traffic at the last second (kind of like a squirrel crossing the street). It's one thing to make sure that it is safe before proceeding. It's another thing to sit there so long that your car begins to rust. Be careful but be confident. Hesitating is not only a nuisance to other drivers but can result in a dangerous situation.

5. Backing up improperly.

This one happens A LOT, usually right at the start of the road test. If you are parked in a stall at the beginning of your test and need to back up, make sure that you are aware of the vehicles parked on either side of your car. Remember that if you are looking behind you and start turning the steering wheel as soon as you begin to back up, the front end of your car will swing out sideways and hit the parked car next to you. I can't tell you how many times I had to grab the wheel out of someone's hand to prevent this from happening. It's an automatic failure so be careful. Make sure that you have backed up straight far enough so that when you turn the wheel, the front of your car will clear the car parked next to you.

Remember these five driving tips and keep both you and your examiner on the road and out of the hospital. Good luck and good driving!

Jeff Kelly is a former Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) examiner and has taken thousands of Americans on their road tests. Jeff is also the author of "How to Pass Your Drivers Test: The Secrets Revealed". Visit his site at http://www.driverstestsecrets.com

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