A third of homes are multi-generational with granny flats becoming popular

The Mail on Sunday has produced an essential guide for people aged 55 or over who are looking to unlock cash from their homes to boost their finances.

While the scheme officially ends at the end of the month, banks today confirmed that they will offer a range of options to support the financially vulnerable.

Growing numbers of homeowners are resorting to firms that pay cash for unwanted properties at cut prices. Some have been forced to accept reductions of 40 per cent on their asking price.

In the year to August, property prices increased by an average of 2.5 per cent, or £6,000 compared to a year ago, the Office for National Statistics and Land Registry said.

Warned as they may be that it could prove a false economy, aspiring home buyers are busy trying to move before the stamp duty holiday deadline.

Financial giant L&G said purchases can take three to five months to complete, but with asking prices hitting a record high, rushing to buy could prove a false economy.

An offset mortgage allows you to keep your savings with your mortgage lender and use the money to reduce how much interest you pay.

A mystery organisation called Country Land Conservation sent letters to owners of fields, woodland and land saying it wanted to buy them to protect wildlife.

Mortgage rates have risen for the third consecutive month while the number of mortgage deals dropped for the fourth month in a row, with fewer than half of the deals available before lockdown still up for grabs.

The average two-year fix increased by 0.14 per cent this month to 2.38 per cent- while the equivalent five-year fixed rate increased by 0.13 per cent, according to finance experts Moneyfacts.

Easton, an inner suburb north-east of the West Country city, saw its average asking price for a home soar 120 per cent to £283,397 since 2010, according to Rightmove.

We take a look at the hidden costs of moving as well as some of the easiest ways to save money in your new home.

Such offers are a growing trend in an industry struggling to cope with buyer demand while suffering from staff shortages as a result of coronavirus issues.

High prices make buying property unaffordable for many young people, shutting out those whose families can’t afford to help, and pressuring older generations to subsidise deposits

Landlords in seven UK cities including Manchester and Edinburgh could make more money listing their spare room on Airbnb one night per week, than if they rented it out full-time.

House prices have jumped, buyers are contending with asking price offers, and people have decided the worst recession in memory is a good time to move home.

In a speech to the virtual Conservative Party conference the Prime Minister said up to two million people who could afford repayments cannot currently do so due to the high cost of entry.

Data from the Bank of England showed the average rate on a two year fixed mortgage with a ten per cent deposit rose from 1.97 per cent in February to 3.32 per cent last month.

Rising activity in the housing market pushed the price of the average home up 7.3% in the last 12 months to £249,870, according to the Halifax index for September.

Fears around cladding safety have left thousands of homeowners stuck in fire traps – facing long delays and huge bills to get repair work done. But sales are falling through on flats that are safe.

Keeba Critchlow (pictured) is unable to sell her one-bedroom flat as a result of red tape introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Millions of households opted to put their monthly mortgage payments on hold, but many are now worried about what will happen to their finances once the scheme ends at the end of this month.

I am in the middle of buying a home and have had my mortgage application approved. However, I have just been told my company is making me redundant.

Nationwide said the average price of a home across the country has now spilled over the £225,000 mark for the first time on its long-running index.

At the time, the Bank of England base rate – on which interest charges are based – had been steady at 0.75 per cent for over a year, having gradually climbed since 2017.

Last month, the proportion of homes sold for more than their original asking price hit its highest level in nearly five years, according to estate agents.

Lenders have pulled almost all of their remortgage deals for those borrowing at a high loan-to-value rate, research has found.

Nearly half of all prospective first-time buyers have had to delay their plans by up to a year, new research from challenger bank Aldermore found.

Justin and Annabelle Parfitt, once Canadian reality TV stars turned property developers, bought an undeveloped loft in Berlin three years ago with the intention of fixing it up and selling it on.

Experts say the move is designed to help retain the bank’s ‘low risk, high quality’ mortgage customers for longer by not allowing a two-year option.

Sources said banks are failing to cope with a sharp rise in applications because so many staff are working from their kitchen tables.

It’s mayhem in the mortgage market at the moment due to a paperwork backlog at banks and pent-up demand from the lockdown.

Taking a mortgage holiday could severely hamper your ability to refinance in future. Zane Groves of financial adviser firm Light Blue said: ‘If you don’t need a mortgage break, don’t take one.’

Analysis from Rightmove has found that just one third of sellers who listed a property for sale but then had to reduce the asking price found a buyer between the months of May and September.

He is not allowed to contact me due to domestic abuse but is instead contacting my parents in an attempt to intimidate me.

While a quarter of sellers would consider a reduction between 5 per cent to 10 per cent on asking price, around a third say they wouldn’t accept a lower bid at all.

Britain’s house buyers have seemingly gone bonkers as prices soar to record highs while the economic bad news keeps coming. But should you pay up for a dream home?

Law firm Teacher Stern has been locked in discussions with the Lloyds Banking Group-owned lender since 2016 in an attempt to negotiate compensation for customers.

Economists at the the Centre for Economics and Business Research made the gloomy prediction that a slump will follow the current mini-boom.

Property sellers need to market their home by the end of September if they want to get the transaction in before the 31 March 2021 stamp duty deadline, according to NAEA Propertymark.

TSB is the latest bank to offer small deposit mortgages for a limited time, with its 90 per cent loan-to-value deal open to applications today but takes it off the market at 5.30pm.

First-time buyers struggling to keep up with rising house prices may have been thrown a lifeline as the Government announced an overhaul to the shared ownership scheme.

A third of UK homes are now multi-generational, mainly due to adult children living with their parents, new research has revealed.

‘Virtually all parts of the UK are now seeing prices increase’ to some extent, with buyers facing a ‘sharp acceleration’ in prices up and down the country in August, Rics said.

First Direct became the latest lender to stop lending to borrowers with just a 10 per cent deposit, following HSBC which pulled its deals late last week.

Barclays has limited loans to just 4.49 times someone’s income – down from five-and-a-half times previously. NatWest also quietly reduced the amount some customers can borrow.

House prices have hit a fresh record high, according to Nationwide’s long-running index as the property market seemingly defies economic gravity.

One of the only banks to offer 10 per cent deposit mortgages has pulled them, leaving just tens of such deals on offer compared to almost 800 before the pandemic.

An offset deal is where you stash your savings with the same bank or building society you have your mortgage with and use the money to reduce how much interest you pay.

Almost one in four purchases this year will be backed by parents, family and friends, according to a survey by insurance giant Legal & General and the Cebr.

With lenders tightening up their criteria and scrapping a string of high loan-to-value deals, many face an uphill struggle getting a foot on the property ladder in the current climate.

If you rent your spare room out to a lodger, you could make an average of £590 per month. But do you know how to do this, how much tax you have to pay (if any) and who you need to declare it to?

James Gilham, his partner and one-year-old daughter have been unable to move to their dream home because they cannot get documents to show that the flat they were selling is not a fire risk.

In a damning indictment of the costs faced by many, nearly half of people aged over 50 with their own home think they will have to sell their property in order to be able to pay for their own care.

In recent months, the number of options for those with a 10% deposit has dried up thanks to coronavirus. Virgin has launched some this week- but not for new builds or flats.

South East commuter towns have seen the biggest annual jump in home seller numbers, while national demand jumps 61 per cent as stamp duty holiday creates a frenzy

It’s not illegal to sell protected land but there are some marketing it as land that could be allowed future development rights when in fact there is slim chance that this would ever be approved

Three of the five most affordable towns to buy a home in the country are in County Durham, with property prices in top-ranked Shildon coming in at around the £60,000 mark.

A cocktail of uncertainty about the future of house prices, millions facing redundancy and a huge surge in demand from borrowers seeking loans after the recent stamp duty cut has put the brakes on.

Asking prices rose over the month in ten out of the 12 regions covered, with the exceptions being the South East seeing a 0.2% dip and London a 2% fall.

As foreign travel is curbed and staycations become more popular many investors are eyeing holiday lets as a potentially lucrative safe haven for their cash.

Since the government lifted the ban on moving home estate agents have reported a surge in buyer enquiries, house prices have remained strong, and mortgage applications have rebounded.

Buying a first property can be a daunting experience, but ultimately rewarding. We take a look at what you need to know – from cobbling together a deposit to finding a mortgage deal.

How do the new and old rates of stamp duty compare and how much could you save in buying a home? We crunch the numbers below.

A study by retirement mortgage specialist Responsible Life found that 82.8% of over-55s who needed a mortgage or remortgage didn’t qualify for any product of any kind.

Due to staffing issues during the lockdown, the Land Registry stopped publishing data and now has a backlog – even though far fewer property sales were completed during those months.

Prices saw an uptick for the first time since the lockdown began, according to the latest Halifax house price index, growing on average 1.6 per cent after months of decline and stagnation.

UK Finance insists ‘all customers’ can put off mortgage payments if they ask. But brokers say those in need are increasingly being denied – especially if they are requesting their second mortgage holiday.

The agent, which today posted a £9.4million operating loss, announced plans for a pilot to test a ‘hybrid system’ of a reduced flat fee plus commission.

While Help to Buy in its current form will still end in March next year, house builders will now have an extra two months to finish building properties eligible for the scheme.

A range of lenders increased their rates on high loan-to-value mortgages last week, even though the Bank of England interest rate has remained rock bottom at 0.1 per cent.

Stepping out into the brave new world of house hunting is daunting in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Toby Walne finds out what it is like.

Pent-up demand after a spring freeze combined with Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty giveaway, has boosted parts of the housing market but is it wise to buy or sell now?

The number of deals available has continued to drop over the past month, despite lenders like Nationwide and Coventry Building Society reintroducing products.

Glaxosmithkline was on the up after an independent panel in the US encouraged regulators to approve the company’s experimental therapy for a common type of blood cancer.

‘The bounce back in prices reflects the unexpectedly rapid recovery in housing market activity since the easing of lockdown restrictions,’ said Nationwide.

A challenge led by law firm Teacher Stern is seeking to secure fairer charges for these borrowers, but pre-action talks are still going on more than two years later.

An agent that you don’t have to meet face-to-face in a high street branch may seem more appealing than ever, but could saving money using an online agent end up costing you in the long run?

According to a survey, 89 per cent of students and 91 per cent of parents would like such a break clause automatically included in all student tenancy agreements.

Research shows that almost a third of households have ended up paying for a professional when DIY tasks have failed.

The FCA has given banks the green light to deny mortgages to customers who have taken loan holidays during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lisa Welcome (pictured) was refused a mortgage.

The Social Market Foundation is proposing a 10 per cent tax on the gain made from a rise in house prices when a property is sold, or when it is inherited after the owner’s death.

Nationwide and Metro Bank will offer 90 per cent loan-to-value deals after they were axed during lockdown. Nationwide cited the Chancellor’s stamp duty holiday as a factor behind its decision.

Government advisers have proposed a raft of new radical reforms in its final report on a review of the sector two years in the making.

The property portal said the average asking price of homes coming to the market in Britain is 2.4 per cent, or £7,640 higher, than before the lockdown at a record £320,265.

The free-to-use app was launched in April. It uses new ‘open’ banking rules that permit it to scrutinise a person’s banking and credit card transactions and then recommend cheaper deals.

While lockdown may in part be over, a lot of the new property-buying conventions might be sticking around for some time. So what does the new future of buying a home look like?

After the stamp duty holiday gave the property market a boost, Nationwide stepped back into the 10% deposit mortgage market.- but with rates hiked.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said prices could fall 2.4 per cent this year and 11.7 per cent next year. That would push the average price down from around £230,000 to below £200,000.

Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, and fellow giant Coventry BS have said they will offer up to 90 per cent loan-to-value deals once more.

Enquiries from house hunters have surged since Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the nine-month tax cut in his mini-Budget summer statement on Wednesday.

Can we now claim back this tax since we missed out on the new stamp duty holiday by just a few days?

The deal, known as the ‘Fix and Flex’, lets borrowers fix their rate for five years, but unusually charges you for leaving early in just the first three years of the deal.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research has warned that it does not expect house prices to return to pre-pandemic levels until ‘at least’ 2023.

Around 1.8 million homeowners have taken a three-month payment break since the lifeline was announced. Borrowers have until the end of July to extend current holidays by a further three month.

Saffron Building Society is offering environmentally conscientious homeowners the chance to save money on their mortgage by making their homes greener.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reported to be considering plans to wipe out stamp duty paid on homes bought for less than £500,000 to help boost the economy.

In a single day on 28 June, 1million searches were carried out by people via Rightmove for properties abroad, but it remains to be seen the extent to which wanderlusting turns into cash for sellers.

Older people often live in properties that are too large and unsuitable for their needs while young people struggle to find a home of their own.

Whilst building a conservatory used to be the most convenient way of adding space to your home, ‘shoffices’ are usually much easier and quicker to install – even if they cost a similar amount.

The deal, which is available up to 60% loan-to-value and carries a £999 fee, is the first of its kind to offer 10 years of payment security for an interest rate under 2%.

Just some 9,300 mortgages to buy homes were handed out in May, down from around 15,800 in April, some 56,100 in March and 90 per cent below the February level, the Bank of England said.

The number of mortgage deals available to borrowers with a 15 per cent deposit has almost halved from 664 to 357 since March, according to analyst Moneyfacts.

Property website Zoopla said sales agreed over the past four weeks have bounced back to just above pre-Covid levels, with the bulk of the rise in northern cities.

A rising number of lenders have ended 5 per cent and 10 per cent deposit mortgages. The move has left many young buyers ‘effectively barred’ from the housing market.

Banks and building societies have pulled more 10% deposit mortgage deals in the past four months than in the entire first year of the financial crisis.

Property sales will slump more than previously expected and remain subdued into next year, estate agent Savills has warned, as it issued new house price forecasts

There are currently several niche mortgage deals on the market that may help a first-time buyer struggling to find the right 90 per cent loan-to-value deal.

Hereford and places further north like Wigan, Rochdale, Wilmslow and Bolton have all seen surging demand among prospective buyers over the last fortnight, new research shows.

Mortgage lenders Nationwide, Santander, Clydesdale Bank, TSB and Halifax are all offering the chance to transfer in advance without exit fees, making substantial savings.

Asking prices in June were higher than in March despite dire forecasts of a collapse in house prices.

Experts say they have seen a surge in misleading advertising from agents who promise to sell properties within weeks.

A swathe of would-be buyers looking to relocate to the country are driving the premium end of the housing market, said property listing website Zoopla.

Some 1.8million homeowners have opted to take a mortgage holiday since the lockdown began in March, but many may not need to extend.

The fall took the average house price in Britain to £237,808, the lender said – this is 2.6% higher when compared with the same time a year earlier.

A friend of mine had their house repossessed in late February, just before the lockdown began. Can he stop his lender from selling while house prices are so low?

Borrowers applying for a mortgage to buy a home or remortgage should get prepared but they can save money.

In May, the average cost of a home fell by 1.7 per cent month-on-month, marking the sharpest decline since the depths of the financial crisis.

The boss of Britain’s second largest mortgage lender said first-time buyers and those stepping up the ladder into their second home would be deterred from purchasing in the midst of a recession.

As property prices are expected to fall as a result of the coronavirus I do not want to complete the transaction and buy the property.

While the recent flurry of activity shows promise, property industry insiders say the housing market is still frozen in its tracks. Why? Because nobody knows how to value homes accurately.

A property raffle has added a £30,000 car to its original prize pot of a £500,000 London flat in a bid to tempt more customers to purchase tickets.

Your lender has the right to reassess your finances at any time that it pleases, meaning that if your situation changes dramatically they could withdraw their offer.

Homeowners who have deferred their mortgage payments are being warned against a debt binge after the go-ahead to extend mortgage holidays by three months has been approved.

The impact of coronavirus is still being felt in the property market – from nervous sellers to buyers trying to scoop a possible bargain.

The scheme, initially set up in March, has been extended so that the deadline for applying for an repayment break is now 31 October, with borrowers eligible for a break of up to six months.

In April there were 38,060 transactions completed, which is less than half the number seen at the same point a year ago, HM Revenue & Custom’s latest figures suggest.

We have spoken to property experts across the country to help you navigate the confusion.

Individual deals have been cheaper in the past, despite the Bank of England slashing base rate to a record low of 0.1 per cent

Rics member estate agents said they expected house prices and sales to fall in the months to come

Knight Frank said prices had probably already fallen 5%, as the Government revealed the property market can reopen immediately.

The Government said estate agents could restart viewings and home moves could go ahead again, but how will this work? We explain.

The ballroom has now been moved to the bidder’s homes with a live stream taking place on the Savills website and bids being taken from those on the phone, by proxy and through the internet.

We don’t want to gazunder the seller, but also we don’t want to harm our own finances and pay over the odds at a time of economic uncertainty.

Property values were down by 0.6% in April compared to March, the biggest fall since March 2018, according to the latest data from Halifax.

One company has come up with a plan that allows homeowners to give chartered surveyors a virtual tour of their home without breaching social distancing guidelines.

Getting the deal done looks set to become a tag-line for the property market as transactions remain on hold and more people look to move outside of big cities like London and Birmingham.

Nationwide warned the outlook for the market remains ‘highly uncertain’, while Lloyds’ worst case prediction is a 30% fall over two years.

RICS, the industry body for surveyors confirmed it will unveil ‘practical guidance’ to enable home valuations to restart safely.

Property website Zoopla said some 373,000 property transactions are stuck in the pipeline as people are effectively stopped from moving home.

Amid the coronavirus lockdown, that quintessentially British question is inevitably being asked: what will happen to house prices?

House price inflation slowed from 1.5 per cent in January to 1.1 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics and Land Registry index reported

Lockdown will result in the loss of 526,000 home sales this year if there is no intervention – starving the economy of at least £14.3 billion, says Knight Frank.

Industry insiders have claimed that some lenders have already started to automatically decline applications for those who have taken a payment holiday.

The crash will be driven by the rental sector as the amount tenants can afford to pay plummets due to wage cuts and unemployment. Yorkshire and East Anglia look like being the hardest hit.

Getting a new deal will take longer, as lenders are struggling with huge demand from anxious customers requesting repayment holidays on their loans.

Some of the big names are taking online orders and doing click and collect , but be warned there were queues of an hour to even get onto the B&Q website on Good Friday.

Lenders have cut a staggering 47 per cent of all mortgage deals from sale in a move not seen since the credit crunch, pushing up rates for buyers without a large deposit.

There were 5,239 products available before the Bank of England made this year’s first base rate cut from 0.75 per cent to 0.25 per cent on March 11. Now there are 2,768, according to Moneyfacts.

The typical home value was £240,384 in March, according to the Halifax index – meaning prices were at a standstill last month. It remains to been if they hold-up during the coronavirus outbreak.