Are You Planning to Move, Improve or Stay Put and Enjoy Your Home in 2018?
Written on 18 January 2018 by
It's the start of a New Year and the time when homeowners will be considering if now is the time to move, improve or just stay put and love the home they're in.
If you're edging toward the decision to pack up and move on, it's important to bear in mind that moving home can be an expensive business. Not only will you need to fund any difference in property value - usually with savings or by taking out a bigger mortgage - but you'll also need to pay a solicitor, stamp duty and cover any moving costs. Equally, if you're planning to extend your existing home you're in for months of disruption. From the stress of applying for planning permission to the disruption from dealing with builders, plasterers, electricians and decorators. And then, of course, there's always the fact that depending on your home, the plot of land it's on and where you live, you might never be able to extend and build the house of your dreams!
At the tail end of last last year we ran a poll on our Twitter asking homeowners what their property plans for 2018 were:
POLL: If you own your own home, in the next 6 months are you planning to:
— John Charcol (@JohnCharcol) December 12, 2017
An overwhelming 43% of the respondents said they were planning to improve or extend their existing home, 45% said they were planning to stay put and enjoy living in their home while just 12% stated that they were planning to move in the next 6 months.
For those looking to improve or extend their property we asked how much they were planning to spend:
POLL: If you're planning to make improvements to your home in the next 12 months - how much do you expect to spend?
— John Charcol (@JohnCharcol) December 12, 2017
A quarter (25%) said they were planning to spend less than £1,000, almost a half (47%) said they expected to spend between £1,000 to £20,000 and nearly one in ten (7%) said they would spend £20,001 - £50,000. One fifth (21%) of those who took part said that they we’re planning to make home improvements worth in excess of £50,001 in the next 12 months.
Top tips for those looking to move, improve or just love their home in 2018
Whatever your plans are in 2018 our experts can help guide you through the complex process of moving home and releasing equity, be that through a further advance, remortgage or a secure home loan, to fund home improvements.
Equally if you're planning to stay put it's important not to neglect your mortgage. With the Bank of England stating that interest rates are likely to rise twice more over the next three years, if you haven't reviewed your mortgage in some time, you should speak with a mortgage expert to find out if you could benefit from remortgaging to a better deal or lower rate.
For advice on moving, improving or staying put, visit the pages below to access our top tips and tools
| I'm planning to move home! | I'm planning to improve my home! | I'm staying put and loving my home! |
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Check out the latest remortgage deals with our interactive comparison tool |
For more information or to speak directly with our experts call us now on 0330 433 2927 or submit an enquiry here.
Categories: Moving Home, Robyn Clark
The blog postings on this site solely reflect the personal views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, strategies or opinions of John Charcol. All comments are made in good faith, and John Charcol will not accept liability for them.