The study showed that the average annual home loan payment has reduced by around £950 between 2008 and 2013 as reported on houseladder.co.uk.

In 2008 the typical repayment was £4,521 which has fallen to £3,571 mirroring the recent trend of falling mortgage rates.

Halifax also discovered that home loan payments have reduced as a share of total housing costs since 2008, dropping from 48% to 37%.

Housing Economist at Halifax, Martin Ellis commented on houseladder.co.uk that: “Lower mortgage payments have largely offset increases in other items of housing-related expenditure, such as the substantial rises in electricity and gas bills.”

High View Avenue, Grays: £349,995

Overview

Period property: Detached. Single Garage. Extended lounge, Gas central heating

Ground floor cloakroom, Seperate dining room, Four piece bathroom

0.58 mile from Grays mainline station

Sole Agents
Copes, 8 Orsett Road, Grays, Essex RM17 5DL. 01375 372825

Introduction

Fancy some character with further scope to extend! Situated within one of Grays most sought after turnings this circa 1937 built four bedroom detached family house could well be the home for you. Located just 0.58 mile from Grays C2C mainline station to Fenchurch Street London. Call now to book your viewing.

Entrance hall

Obscure leaded single glazed porthole window to front, radiator, parquet wood flooring, stairs to first floor.

Cloakroom

Obscure Upvc double glazed win to side, heated towel rail, white suite comprising of pedestal wash hand basin, tiled flooring and tiled splashbacks.

Dining Room

13′ 11” x 12′ 6” (4.25m x 3.83m)

Aluminium double glazed bay window to front, radiator, fitted carpet, inset fire recess.

Kitchen

10′ 11” x 9′ 10” (3.35m x 3.01m)

Upvc double glazed window to rear, re fitted range of white gloss upper and lower level units with further matching fitted dresser style arrangement, intergrated double oven with five ring gas hob overhead pull out extractor over, intergrated dishwasher, sink unit inset into roll edge work surface, tiled splashbacks, three person breakfast bar, obscure glass serving hatch, opening to:

Inner lobby

Obscure leaded single glazed porthole window to front, radiator, tiled flooring, part glazed door to side, opening to:

Utility room

6′ 9” x 6′ 6” (2.07m x 1.99m)

Aluminium double glazed window to rear, wall mounted boiler, upper and lower level white gloss units, brushed steel sink unit inset into roll edge work surface, tiled splashbacks, recess for mashing machine and tumble dryer, quarry tiled flooring.

Lounge

24′ 9” x 12′ 5” (7.56m x 3.79m)

Aluminium double glazed window to rear, Upvc double glazed double doors to side, two radiators, fitted carpet.

Landing

Obscure leaded single glazed window to side, loft and ground floor access, radiator, fitted carpet, built in access to shower piping.

Master bedroom

12′ 4” x 11′ 3” (3.78m x 3.43m)

Aluminium double glazed window to front, radiator, fitted carpet, fitted wardrobes with overhead storage cabinets and matching bedside drawer units.

Bedroom Two

12′ 2” x 8′ 9” (3.73m x 2.69m)

Aluminium double glazed window to rear, radiator, fitted carpet, door to:

En-suite

Upvc double glazed window to rear, heated towel rail, spotlights to ceiling, white suite comprising of vanity hand wash basin with storage cupboard under, low flush wc, shower cubicle, tiled flooring and tiled walls.

Bedroom

310′ 6” x 8′ 11” (3.22m x 2.72m)

Aluminium double glazed window to rear, radiator, fitted carpet, heated towel rail, vanity wash hand basin with storage cupboard under.

Bedroom

411′ 4” x 6′ 5” (3.47m x 1.98m)

Aluminium double glazed window to front, radiator, fitted carpet, built in over stairs cupboard.

Bathroom

Upvc double glazed window to rear, chrome heated towel rail, four piece suite comprising of: cotner panelled bath with inset jet system with mixer tap and shower attachment, low flush wc, vanity wash basin inset into roll edge surface with wall mounted mirror with lighting, underneath storage, matching tall standing cupboard, shaver point, shower cubicle, tiled floor, tiled walls, spotlights to ceiling, under floor heating.

Garage

Folding vehicular doors, power and lighting connected, pedestrian door to garden.

Garden

31′ 8” (9.66m

Two pedestrian side accesses, brick built shed incorporating two outside storage cupboards, a mixture of concrete and brick paved patio area’s steps up to lawn area with shrub borders.

Front garden

Partially enclosed by dwarf brick wall, central lwn area, brick paved driveway proving parking for two / three vehicles.

For further detals, go to:http://www.expertagent.co.uk/EstateAgentSoftware/EstateAgencyProperties.aspx?pid=5d9e87d1-3550-4372-a741-c23bd9bf287e&aid=482facce-b215-449a-af3d-ae850ba58b92

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) today urged those considering a property move to prepare well in advance to avoid unnecessary complications on the day.

Mark Hayward, President of the NAEA, said:

“The motto ‘to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail’ is one that absolutely applies in the case of moving house. Too often our member agents are finding that homebuyers fail to prepare adequately in the run-up to moving day, making what should be a very exciting experience, one of angst.

“Making a few simple checks and arrangements in advance should help to avoid unnecessary pressure and expense.”

The NAEA has the following advice for homebuyers to best prepare for moving day:

• Begin packing well in advance – While this might seem like common sense, many movers make the mistake of packing according to what fits in each box, with little thought about the logistical nightmare at the other end. Working out which items will go into each room of the new house and labelling them according to a floor plan will make relocating the items much easier.

• Get your bills up and running as soon as possible – Ensuring utility, internet and telephone accounts are set up or switched over in time for the big move is highly recommended. Very often, these services take a long time to process so it is important that you can begin to get the ball rolling as soon as you have your move in date.

• Think about the essentials on the day – In the rush to get everything packed up and out of the door, it is easy to forget important items you will still need access to on the day of the move. Putting together a ‘basics box’ including a spare change of clothes, a wash bag, any medication you take, and phone charger can help to keep your mind on the more important tasks.

• Do your homework on removal companies – It pays to do thorough research about the removal services available in your local area to determine whether it’s worth hiring help or doing it yourself. Many offer different levels of service including simple transportation of items right through to packing them for you, so it is worth shopping around.

Speak to the British Association of Removers (BAR), to search for your nearest BAR registered firm by visiting www.bar.co.uk.

• Make arrangements with your employer – If you are moving on a day when you would otherwise be at work, it is worth checking with your employer whether you are entitled to a day of leave. For example, teachers are often given permission for this kind of absence however this is usually restricted to those buying rather than renting.

Some 314 would-be buyers on average registered with an agent in January, marking the highest number seen since September 2007, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said.
The NAEA said the year has also started strongly for first-time buyer sales, with 25 per cent of sales last month made to this group, marking a two-year high.

Activity: Estate agents saw house-hunter numbers surge to their highest level in more than five years last month
On average, seven sales were agreed per branch in January, up from five in December, while the typical number of homes on the market decreased slightly month-on-month to 56 per branch as demand strengthened.
Meanwhile, Land Registry figures released today showed that house prices jumped by 1 per cent month-on-month in January across England and Wales to reach £162,441 on average.

Mortgage interest to DOUBLE for thousands of borrowers as banks impose huge tracker rate hikes
Property-selling blackspots revealed: Over 130,000 homes sold at a loss in the last six years with the North hit hardest

Prices are also 1 per cent higher than they were a year ago and continuing a trend, they increased at their fastest rate in London, where at £373,207 on average, prices are 7.1 per cent above what they were a year ago.

By contrast, house prices in the North West are 4.2 per cent down year-on-year, at £106,527 typically. House prices in Wales are 0.9 per cent higher year-on-year, at £116,545 on average.

Signs of an improvement in the market have been seen since the Government launched a scheme last August to help borrowers by giving lenders access to cheap finance.

The number of mortgages on the market has increased by around one third since the Funding for Lending scheme was introduced and there have been more recent signs that conditions for would-be first time buyers, a group which has particularly struggled since the onset of the credit crunch, are getting better.

Lenders have been slashing their rates to some of their lowest ever levels since the scheme was launched, but analysts have warned that some of these products also come with high fees, so borrowers need to weigh up which deals will work out cheapest.

More than 3,000 homes have also been reserved under the Government’s NewBuy scheme, which was launched last spring and helps people to buy a new-build home with just a 5 per cent deposit.

Home builders have reported an uplift in interest in the scheme since the start of this year, which they have put down to the more competitive mortgages being offered by lenders.

President of the NAEA Mark Hayward, said: ‘These latest results reflect a wider upturn in the market at the start of what we hope will be a better year for UK property.

‘The strong number of enquiries during January suggests the financial barriers that have plagued the market for so many years may be beginning to ease as banks increasingly look at new ways to assist buyers.

‘Strong financial results from some of the country’s leading house builders this week suggest a growing confidence that some form of a recovery is beginning to take shape.’

This often overlooked option is unlike the high street banks because, instead of being owned by shareholders, these mutual savings and loans organisations are owned by their members. In plain English, building societies are owned by their savers and borrowers.

What that means in practice is that they have managed to retain something resembling ‘business as normal’ despite the global credit crisis, which brought several banks to their knees and forced most to drastically curtail lending.

Last year in this space I reported how building societies were punching above their weight and delivering mortgages to borrowers who had been turned away by banks. Now Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association, has given me fresh figures that demonstrate the difference between banks and building societies.

For example, he tells me that building societies and Co-op Banking – another financial institution owned by its members – increased gross lending by 30pc last year to a total of £31bn. Despite the mutual sector being much smaller than banks, this gave it a 22pc share of the mortgage market compared to 17pc in 2011.

By the time loan repayments and remortgages are stripped out, building societies grabbed an even bigger share of net mortgage lending; advancing £6.5bn out of a total of £7.4bn net lending in the UK during 2012 or 88pc of the whole.

To hit those figures, building societies approved 281,000 mortgages in 2012 – an increase of 20pc on 2011. About a third of these loans went to first-time buyers and one in five of all mortgages exceeded 90pc of the purchase price or loan to value (LTV).

So, while building societies can do nothing about the risk that house prices might fall in future, they are clearly doing much more than the banks to provide mortgages to would-be first-time buyers keen to take the plunge and escape from generation rent. The super cynics of cyberspace may claim they are all the same evil banksters, but the facts and figures demonstrate otherwise.

And since 1963, Copes Estate Agents opened its doors with the mission statement to help people open their doors.

The family business have become an institution in Thurrock. Yes, they still have the office in Grays but they serve a very wide community.

On the morning we went down to interview the owner David Copes, the office was abuzz with activity. And like 1963, staff were taking on the snowy elements to deliver a first class service.

Copes have an outstanding reputation earned through hard work and a personal caring service, using the latest technology and marketing techniques together with social networking to keep buyers, tenants, sellers and landlords fully informed.

YT asked David to take us back to when he first started. For his father it was 1963 and for David it was 1979.