Increases in VAT and fuel duty are now impacting on disposable incomes and both will have a knock on effect on the headline Consumer Price Indices (CPI) rate. CPI is already at 3.7% and is likely to rise further in the near term, causing influential and respected bodies to forecast that base rates could rise as early as the second quarter of 2011.

In recent weeks we have seen a rise in factors that influence the pricing of fixed rate mortgages and there has been a slight month on month rise in average fixed rate deals. Those borrowers looking to re-mortgage, and obtain the peace of mind that a fixed rate brings, can still obtain some very competitive products relative to historic levels. We may, however be approaching the point where rates are finally on an upward curve.

With house prices being largely flat or moving slightly down regionally, remortgage borrowers also need to be aware that if they have little equity, a small reduction in value can have a considerable impact in terms of the rate of interest they can borrow at. Mortgage product pricing is very much loan to value driven and significant variation exists between borrowing at below 60% of a property’s value compared to borrowing at 85% or 90%.

Once again, fixed rates have remained the product of choice for both house buyers and re-mortgage customers during December with almost two thirds of borrowers electing to fix their mortgage repayments.

Lenders continue to provide a healthy number and range of mortgage products to the market with almost 5,000 products typically available through a mortgage intermediary, an increase of more than 55% on the corresponding period in 2010.

Although no-one realistically expected a change this month it has been suggested that base rate rises are now more of a possibility in the shorter term than just a few months ago.

Courtesy of the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB 3886) – Mortgage Advice Bureau Website

Time for an update!
We thought it was time to freshen up our offices ready for the new year. With newly painted walls, new display cards and some new furniture (on it’s way!!) our office has a new lease of life.

Many people contact us through the internet now, so our office hasn’t seen many visitors in the past few years, but if you do happen to call in, you will be able to see how small changes to a space can make a big impact! (something that we always tell vendors when selling their home).

Call in today for more information about what we have to offer. We look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Our team is able to keep working to sell your property even if they are not in the office!

Everyone knows how much the recent snowfall has affected the daily life in Lincolnshire. The shear volume of snow made some roads impossible to drive safely on and caused some of the cities major roads to come to a standstill.

At Mundys, we’re prepared for these types of conditions and our team can continue to work on selling your property even if they are stranded at home.

During the week, staff members were unable to get into Lincoln due to the poor road conditions. In order to provide the quality service that we always offer to our clients, we are able to log onto our servers and telephone system remotely, meaning that our team can complete most office based tasks whilst at home.

Steven Spivey, one of our partners said “Our priority is the safety of our staff at times like this. We find that adopting these working practices improves staff morale and productivity as well as ensuring their safety!”

If you would like to know more on how we strive to offer the best levels of service, please contact our sales team on 01522 510044.

A message from Senior Partner, Philip Barnatt

“Many congratulations to Sophie Wells on winning this award. I know from my own involvement in sport what a tremendous amount of hard work goes into achieving her standard and success. Well done also to the two runners up, the competition in this category was intense, the judges had a tough job.

Mundys are delighted to be involved in these awards and to be part of rewarding all the athletes who are such a credit to the county and will be pleased to offer onward commitment to helping as many as possible to 2012.”

For more information, please visit http://www.lincolnshiresports.com/

MUNDYS JOINS AN ELITE NUMBER OF WINNERS AS THE UK PROPERTY AWARDS ARE REVEALED

If you are wishing to find the ultimate property related professionals across the length and breadth of the UK, where better to look than the winners’ list of a highly acclaimed industry competition? The results of the UK Property Awards in association with Bloomberg Television have just been announced, putting a chosen few leading companies firmly in the limelight, both nationally and internationally.

One of these rightly proud winners is Mundys which has won an award in the category of Best Estate Agency 2010. Winners will be invited to attend a high profile property networking event and gala dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in Hyde Park, London on November 26^th and 27^th during which they will be presented with their awards.

The event is part of the International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious competition dedicated to finding the best real estate professionals across the globe. The fact that Mundys has won one of these coveted awards is proof that they are not only capable of competing at this level but also triumphing within the highly competitive UK property arena.

Entries from the top scoring winners of the UK Property Awards are currently being rejudged as they compete against other winning companies from Europe & Africa, the Americas, Arabia and Asia Pacific to find the ultimate World’s Best in each category. The results of the grand final of the International Property Awards will also be disclosed at the gala presentation dinner in London.

Much of the judging has been carried by the International Property Awards’ esteemed panel of judges at the London offices of Bloomberg Television but entries were also outsourced to leading experts in each particular field throughout the world. This year’s judges included Luke McKend, industry head property markets of Google UK; Peter Bolton King, group chief executive of the National Federation of Property Professionals; Christopher Hall, president elect of FIABCI; Thijs Stoffer, International Consortium of  Real Estate Agents Association (ICREA); Fiona Nixon, chairman of the Australia Institute of Architects, Hendrik Nelde, president of FIABCI Belgium; Helen Shield, editor-in-chief of International Homes Luxury Collection magazine and Sven Johns, CEO of the German Real Estate Association.

Further Information

* Contact Mundys  Tel:   01522 510044    Email:   info@mundys-uk.co.uk

The innovative and award-winning property specialist has developed the app to make it easier for people looking to buy or rent to find their dream home.

As well as being able to search for nearby properties using GPS technology users can view property descriptions in full, scroll through hundreds of photographs and email details of properties to family and friends.

According to Senior Partner Philip Barnatt their years of experience and commitment to providing excellent customer service combined with the latest technology make Mundys a formidable force in Lincoln’s property market.

“As a business we are keen to embrace anything which improves the services we offer to our clients. Although we have won several prestigious titles, including Best Estate Agency in Lincolnshire in the Daily Mail UK Property Awards 2009 and 2008, we are always striving to do better.

“Mundys has been in business since 1898 but we pride ourselves as being at the forefront of technology. The way people buy and sell houses has changed and to be successful we must meet our customers’ needs, which is true for any business.

“These days a lot of people prefer to search for properties online rather than come into the office so we have to make our services and properties as easily accessible to them as possible and an iPhone app is an excellent way of doing this.

“Our clients can rest assured we’re doing everything possible to sell or rent their home which includes providing excellent customer service. When it comes to making an important and life-changing purchase like buying a home, we realise technology will never replace face-to-face communication and our team of dedicated and enthusiastic staff are ready and waiting to greet potential buyers as soon as they step through the door.”

As well as the iPhone app Mundys recently posted a series of unique Video Village Guides on its website which provide buyers with a comprehensive view of what each village has to offer including schooling and local amenities.

Mundys was also the first estate agency in the county to offer a downloadable guide for first-time buyers which tells people who are looking to climb onto the first rung of the property ladder everything they need to know about buying their first home.

Philip concluded: “The app is already proving to be hugely popular and we’re really excited and proud to be one of the first estate agencies in the county to be harnessing this new technology for the benefit of our customers nationwide.”

(Article from Midlands Business News)

You can download the app today by clicking here. Let us know what you think!

The owners are willing to sell just the house and gardens at an asking price of £445,000 with an option to purchase or rent the equestrian yard and paddocks.