As one door closes, another opens. An integral part of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme – the bit that enabled first-time buyers to get a home with just a 5% deposit with the Government guaranteeing the other 95% – is to be axed at the end of the year. But within days of confirmation …Read More

This is Shared Ownership Week and in and around the Scarborough area, there’s never been a better time to take up one of these opportunities. Just at the moment there are lots of shared ownership properties on the local market – for example in Hinderwell Road and the new Middle Deepdale development in Scarborough, Field …Read More

Whether through entrepreneurial endeavour or pragmatic necessity, the economic downturn saw an awful lot of people set out in business on their own. This trend has continued and in the second quarter of this year an extra 257,000 people became self-employed, bringing the total to 4.79 million people – some 15.1% of all people in …Read More

There hasn’t been much sun to get excited about this summer but nevertheless, the risk of skin cancer remains very real and despite its cooler climate, the UK has the seventh highest and ninth highest incidence rate for women and men respectively, in Europe. Although in most cases treatable, skin cancer can disrupt your life …Read More

In times of political uncertainty it’s difficult to second guess what is going to happen to the economy, which makes it equally difficult to say what to do with your mortgage. On the one hand people looking for certainty and stability might be tempted to plump for one of the increasingly attractive fixed-rate deals to …Read More

Spring and early summer are traditionally good times for some home improvements – that long-wished-for patio or vital extra bedroom. And people who don’t want to move house, but fancy a change to their surroundings, often consider it around now, as the weather improves. But how do you fund that dream extension, if your savings …Read More

Big news in the mortgage market is the return of the 100% loan after Barclays announced it was introducing a new 0% deposit product. However, the deal is just for those buyers taking advantage of Barclays ‘family springboard’ mortgage – a loan that sees parents support the mortgage. Under the family springboard deal a helper, …Read More

Ever wondered how you might cope if you were ill or had an accident? Accidents can happen to anyone at any time and they usually come totally out of the blue. At the same time none of us, not even doctors, can know when we might be ill for a long time. Both of these …Read More

We’ve all seen the glossy adverts of people driving along in a new sports car, sipping Champagne on a cruise or relaxing in their new conservatory… And it’s all down to equity release… But what exactly is equity release and is it for you? In short, equity release means releasing some of the value of …Read More

If you’re looking for a mortgage but you have a bad credit rating, you might be forgiven for thinking you’ve got no chance… But you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t always a “no” from lenders – far from it. Even if you have a default or a county court judgement (CCJ) damaging …Read More