On The Up! Congratulations to Crookham Rovers

Congratulations to the Crookham Rovers adults team who we have sponsored for a couple of years now. Not only have they finished as runners up in the Aldershot and District Sunday League (Division one) and are therefore promoted to the Premiership but they are also runners up in the League Cup which was held at Camberley Football Club last weekend.

Crookham Rovers team Captain, Paul Fairbrother, was voted man of the match by the four match officials because of his self discipline, control of the team and his sportsmanship.

Congratulations to all the team and to the manager Nigel Lennard.

So, in this economic downturn, should they make it harder to sell your home…

This week the new rules have come into force and home owners must have a home information pack (Hip) in place before putting their property on the market. Previously a seller could order a Hip prior to marketing.

The “improved” Hip sets out extra details such as the council tax band, flood risk, structural alterations and parking arrangements and is welcomed by the government claiming this is all important information which should be taken into account before buyers are asked to make an offer. Many critics just claim they were an "expensive waste of time" before the new rules and are now even worse!

If a seller (or estate agent) markets a property without the mandatory Hip they can face fines of at least £200.

Many Solicitors and estate agents are, and will remain, highly critical of the Hips scheme as the information is outdated so quickly and buyers often have to commission new searches which means, in effect, that the cost is doubled. Many also believe the new rules will cause even more problems.

A spokesman for the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), claims the Hips scheme has been a costly failure and an unnecessary burden to sellers. "An expensive waste of time which has proved counterproductive at the best of times but, in a housing slump, Hips are downright damaging," adding that according to government figures 77% of home buyers paid no attention to Hips.

Nationwide say house prices are up!

The building society claims property prices have increased by 0.9% in March compared to February which, they claim, is a “surprise bounce” and should not be confused with saying that the market has turned. Whilst they welcome the price rise they feel it is too soon to confirm the market is once again on its way up and that we have come through the “trough”.

Part of the problem with making predictions on the recovery of the economy is that house prices dropped so sharply last year that monthly fluctuations are bound to happen and whilst house prices might appear to be steadying, the price of flats and apartments is still very up and down.

What is interesting is the Bank of England report that mortgages for house purchases in Britain have risen more in February than was expected and this does suggest that lending is, albeit slowly, once again on the increase.

Even Barclays bank are indicating that the housing market may be stabilising although still predicting it will be six months before the effect will be seen.

For the first three months of 2009 Northern (and Southern) Ireland have experienced the largest annual rate of house price decrease in their recorded history and Scotland had the slowest annual fall in house prices. Wales has seen nearly 20% wiped off its property prices during this period which is far more than other areas of the United Kingdom.

So, having exhausted the facts and figures, we have seen an increase in business over the past month and, very quietly, long may it continue.....