Can I sell my house fast?. Well, since the great slide of free economy started in mid-2007, probably the worst since the Great Depression, newspaper headlines have been filled with words like "unemployment," "recession," "repossessions," "credit crunch," "bankrupt," and the likes. Just recently, "double dip" is bantered all over. The Sunday Times reported that forecasters fear that job losses and the prospect of new property taxes may undermine an economic recovery. Also according to the report, Morgan Stanley predicts a 7 percent fall in house prices by the end of next year, but said they can slide to as much as 18 percent. Deutsche Bank expects a 5 percent dip, while Capital Economics puts it at 10 percent. Property analyst Hometrack also reported the biggest price fall in houses since April 2009, when things seemed to have finally been looking up. "The housing market is in the process of a modest re-pricing that is likely to run for the next six to 12 months. This follows a period of 18 months over which house prices have firmed rapidly on the back of a potent mix of rising demand and a chronic lack of housing for sale," Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, was quoted as saying on Cliff D' Arcy's column on Lovemoney.com. But a fellow columnist of Arcy's on Lovemoney.com, Christina Jordan, does not think it's all doom and gloom. In a recent column, she writes about why despite all the bad news, there is a bright side. 1. Lending stable It is true that mortgage lending has dropped compared to when the property market was booming just a decade ago. It's also true that mortgage lending is down 3 percent in July compared to the same period last year. But according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, lending was up in July from what it was in June, which was up from May, which was also better than the previous month. These increases have got to be good news. Although Jordan acknowledges that the market will slow down for the remainder of the year, she says it is "precisely what's expected," given that we are at a time of the year when the market is traditionally slower. 2. House price reports not all bad All those headlines about "double dip" in the housing market may have scared the hell out of you. Okay, so Hometrack reported a 0.3 percent fall from July to August, and Nationwide said it was 0.5 percent in July, but that was after it reported consecutive rises in four previous months. In the same report, Nationwide also noted that house prices rose by almost 2 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared to the first quarter. And Halifax actually had actually had conflicting figures,reporting a rise of 0.6 percent in house prices in July. Taking everything into consideration, house prices are still significantly higher than they were a year ago. Jordan says indications of a slowing market are there, but she thinks "it's too soon to call an inevitable drop in house prices." 3. Base rate set to stay low Most economists expect the Bank of England Base Rate to stay at its current level of 0.5 percent for the rest of the year and even until early next year. A Reuters poll of leading economists show that predictions for a first rate rise will probably not be until the middle of 2011, and the rise will not exceed 1.5 percent by the end of 2011. This is good news for those who are on adjustable rate mortgages as their repayments are not going to be skyrocketing anytime soon. 4. Mortgage rates at seven year low According to financial information provider Moneyfacts, fixed rates are at the lowest levels in seven years - as low as under four percent for five years that is. If you want to go for a variable rate, there is a way to cut your mortgage rate to just above two percent, penalty-free. 5. You don't have to rely on an estate agent to be able to sell your house. When you think about selling a house, the first thing that probably springs to mind is to find an estate agent to help you. It is, in all practical sense, the way to go if you have the luxury of waiting for the right buyer who can best match your asking price. But if you're struggling to pay off your mortgage, or are going through divorce, facing repossession, or need to relocate urgently for a job, then chances are you need to sell house quickly. In which case, there is very little an estate agent, no matter how experienced, can do to help. You will want to sell your house to a cash home buyer. Why? Cash home buyers, as the term suggests, have cash funds available to make a direct and immediate purchase. There are no third parties involved and no refinancing to speak of, so the sale process goes much faster, smoother, and stress-free. And since there is no middleman, the seller saves on estate agent, legal, and other fees. You do not even have to fix anything in the house; they can and will buy it as is.
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