Manager's blog

This week we’ve been taking a look at the changes to UK house prices – in particular, what is happening to the price of a house after it goes on the market.

There was a fear that the end to the Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers, which saw a pre-deadline rush of buyers, would pressure sellers to start slashing prices.

Last week Mortgage Solutions.co.uk reported that three of the country’s biggest lenders hiked their SVR (single variable rate) mortgages, squeezing more than a million mortgage borrowers’ household budg

Double-dips are not enough to put off many prospective first-time buyers, according to new research that finds one in eight people expect to buy their first property in the next five years.

And how are they hoping to save for their deposit? With a little help from their friends. The good old bank of mum and dad is still a favourite leg-up to the housing ladder, other relatives are helping out, or there’s some inheritance to invest. 16% of respondents are using the government’s FirstBuy scheme.

It’s never easy to be a first-time buyer, and the current climate makes it easily as tough as it’s ever been.

However, there are mortgage options out there for single people or couples looking to buy their first home.

Saving up a decent deposit is a tough call for buyers in their 20s and 30s, as the average price of a terrace or semi is not far from the £200,000 mark, and making the repayments is a stretch thanks to high interest rates and nervy banks.

We don’t like to think of worst case scenarios – but the more complex your affairs, the more in-depth your financial planning needs to be.

Financial planning needs to incorporate much more than your retirement, savings and mortgage. If you run one or more businesses, alone or with partners, and have adults or minors dependent on you, the need for good planning is acute.

It’s a tough time to be a pensioner.

Hot on the heels of the ‘Granny Tax’, which dissolves many tax perks for pensioners, changes to the Pension Credit benefit will have a big impact on retirement incomes too.

George Osborne recently increased the state pension – but changes to the Pension Credit mean people who saved for their retirement are now effectively being penalised.

Happy new financial year from everyone at My IFM.

We hope your ISAs were fruitful and your P60 or your tax return contains healthy numbers.

We’re busy in the office looking for ways to help our clients prosper over the coming twelve months. The financial forecasts for the economy are still pretty severe and times continue to be tough.

Now the dust has settled around the Budget, how are you going to be affected?

Here’s our rundown of how the tax you pay on your salary and pension will be affected – and also the changes you’re going to see when buying petrol, a new home  – or a hot roast chicken!

Personal income tax thresholds

The lower limit for paying tax will be £9,205, as of April 2013, which is good news for lower earners and could make a few of us a bit better off.

If you’re in your 50s and coming to the end of an interest-only mortgage term, you might have a big problem on your hands.

Before the recession, interest-only mortgages were an attractive option taken up by nearly half the country’s borrowers as a means of keeping monthly repayments low.

As those mortgage terms draw to a close in the next decade, a lot of people will be receiving a very big bill for entire sum of the initial capital loan.

This advice applies to couples, including same sex couples, who live together and who are neither married nor civil partners.

In the event of your death, your long-lost second cousin and the Crown have more rights over your estate than your own life partner.

If you’re living with your partner and you’re neither married nor civil partners, you need to be aware of the implications should one of you die.

Under the current rules of intestacy, the partner of a deceased co-habitee is entitled to nothing of their estate.