Gazundering and gazumping are two practices which are becoming more and more common in house purchases in England.

Never heard of the terms before? Gazumping is when a seller accepts an offer on their property however before completion, they then accept a higher bid from a different buyer, leaving the original buyer without a property.

Gazundering is the opposite and in the current climate, is becoming more and more prevalent. Gazundering is where a buyer makes the property seller an offer. Before completion, normally just before the exchange of contracts, they slash their offer and say they won’t complete unless the property price is reduced.  Read more... (532 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

With the housing and financial markets in turmoil, many would-be home-owners are looking to rent for another few months before deciding whether to take the plunge and buy a house in the current climate or not.

With headlines showing that housing prices are falling, and with mortgages becoming increasingly difficult to get, it is no wonder that many people are choosing to delay their house-purchasing decision to see if they can snap up a bargain in a few months time.  Read more... (541 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

Many people are worried about the current mortgage crisis and the credit crunch. The current state of the mortgage market is that lenders are raising rates and many have closed their doors to new borrowers. Moneyfacts have said that there are 10,000 fewer mortgage deals available than there were, with almost 3,000 being withdrawn in the past month alone.

So here at MoneyTowers.com, we have put together five steps to help you survive the credit crunch with your mortgage.  Read more... (475 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

House swaps are one way of moving home without the hassles that a chain can bring. House swaps sometimes also mean saving on estate agent fees, although things such as conveyancing should be followed as per a standard house sale.

Property Values
If you are considering a house swap, there are several points to consider. The first is that the two homes should be of approximately equal value. You should both have your homes independently valued to ensure you know what sort of price your home is worth. If you are moving to a house which has a significantly different price, you will have to come to an agreement over payments to ensure that neither person is left out of pocket.  Read more... (383 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

Buy to Let and property investing has never been the easiest task in the world – buy over the past few years, many people have made a mint from canny investments. Buy to let is still an attractive investment proposition – in fact, 12% of all new mortgages taken out are said to be buy to lets, compared to just 3% 5 years ago.  Read more... (571 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

There are a lot of endowment policies which are in danger of falling short of the money needed to pay off the remainder of the policyholder’s mortgage. Insurers are required to write to policyholders every two years to inform them of how well their endowment policy is doing and whether it is on track to meet the sum of money required or not.

If you receive a letter that says your endowment policy will fall short, what can you do? Here at MoneyTowers.com, we have put together a short guide to endowment policy shortfalls.  Read more... (784 words, estimated 3:08 mins reading time)

Fixed rate mortgages have been around for a long time but in the past have proved unpopular thanks to heft early repayment charges and set-up fees. Recently, Alistair Darling proposed some changes to make it easier for lenders to fund 10 year fixed-rate mortgages. With the wealth of different mortgage types available, are fixed-rate mortgages a good thing?

The Pros
The obvious pro is that you know exactly how much money is being taken out of your account and there is no need to worry when interest rates rise. This means that you can budget more easily.  Read more... (407 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)