Labour? Lib Dems? Conservatives? Whose property and housing policies should you vote for?

With the election a matter of weeks away, it is amazing that so little information about housing policies and plans has been given by each of the parties.

Below are the key housing policies that the political parties are looking to follow post the election. However, be warned, there is nothing particularly exciting about the ideas and in fact I’m not impressed with the lack of detail and policies that each of the parties have put forward.

Hopefully as the election looms closer each party will offer more details about their policies and we’ll be able to analyse who has the best policies for you, whether you are a first time buyer, trading up or down, or looking to rent long term.

Key housing policies the political parties are looking to follow post the election.

New Consumer Code to Protect New Build Buyers

For all home buyers of new build properties on and after the 1st April 2010 (including reserving a plot and newly converted properties) a new Consumer Code will help ensure if there are any difficulties or disputes, buyers will have access to third party help.

The new Consumer Code was formed by an agreement between NHBC and MD Insurance Services Ltd (trading as Premier Guarantee and LABC New Home Warranty). However, builders and developers need to be registered with them for the Consumer Code to be adopted.

Read on to find out what the code does not cover .....

What's happening in the rental market?

Investigating what is happening seem to show that some areas and property types - as with property prices - are 'recovering' to a point where supply is just under demand, nudging prices up. As the figures reflect 'average' activity, sometimes poor performing areas dominate, so rents go down and at other times good areas perform, pushing prices upwards.

Buy to let borrowing is also improving, but tenants are still defaulting on landlords. New legislation coming in this year will add more costs to a buy to let business and legislation is almost at a level that will 'strangle' the industry and effectively cause those struggling to make BTL returns to leave the market altogether. READ MORE for the headline rental statistics.

Property investment clubs return with new sales pitch

Become a property millionaire!” screamed the advertisements, inviting investors to seminars to “find out how you too can retire early”. Fast-forward two years and those ads have disappeared, vanishing as house prices fell.

The property investment clubs and their founders have kept a low profile since then, but renewed confidence in the housing market and the prospect of future returns has brought some out of the woodwork.

Read on to find out more about protecting your money and investments.

House Price Market Update for February 2010

Well the doom mungerers are out in force this month! January's data suggested the market was 'wobbling' while February data suggests it's on the slide. The double dip everyone is questioning certainly looks that bit more likely - but that's only if you take the property price reports as a measure of what's happening in the market.

The truth is that the market reports are all basing their figures versus Feb 2009 which was when we had a real uplift in the market for the first time since 2007. So effectively we are comparing an 'average' month for Feb 2010 versus an above month of activity in Feb 2009, so of course it suggests that things are moving 'downward' when in fact it's just a comparison of a good month versus a 'not so good month'. READ MORE for all the latest BUYING AND SELLING STATISTICS.

What are the issues that we need to address if Buy to Let Mortgages are Regulated?

Regulating buy to let mortgages however, isn’t going to be straightforward and of course will incur costs, which for a lending business that is already suffering and only just getting back on its feet, needs to be thought through.

We’ve already seen tenancy deposit schemes coming into play which has cost the industry millions, hasn’t hurt or exposed any rogue landlords, penalises rather than rewards good landlords and letting agents and one of the companies has just put out invoices increasing costs by 1200%! Basically all of these extra costs will also just end up being passed onto higher rents for tenants. So, despite the costs of regulation, in this case it’s highly questionable as to whether anyone has benefited at all.

Read on to find out what issues need to be addressed ....

Why Should Buy to Let Mortgages be Regulated?

If buy to let mortgages are to be regulated, it would impact on lenders, mortgage intermediaries, the legal profession, those advising on personal wealth management and of course letting agents.

So I’ve consulted some of the people in the industry to find out what they think about regulation and in particular, whether they think it should or shouldn’t be regulated.

What Mortgage Regulation currently exists and how does it protect borrowers?

Currently mortgages are regulated in a number of ways for residential but the regulations do not cover BTL mortgages.

Find out what regulation is in place for residential borrowers and not BTL borrowers!

Should Buy to Let Mortgages be regulated?

When I was first asked this question, my initial response was ‘of course they should be regulated’. This was partly driven by the fact that I find far too many people investing in buy to let property without doing the level of due diligence on a property that they would if they were buying a home.

I also think that people often believe property is more likely to deliver an investment return than a pension or other financial investment. Personally, I love property and feel very comfortable in being sure it will give me a return, but I also take advantage of financial investment products, specifically investing in a pension due to the tax breaks I receive.

Read on to find out what I think about the regulation of BTL mortgages.

What you need to know about Buying and Living Abroad

Are you thinking of selling up buying and living abroad?

There are lots of legal differences that you need to consider when buying (and selling) a home abroad, not to mention the financial implications of buying and living in a different country and there are five main things you need consider with regards to financing a purchase or move abroad.