The auction season returns…

After the traditional summer break, the auction season has returned and our property buyers are busier than ever sourcing the best deals among the thousands of properties going to auction over the coming months. The very nature of the auction process means that every single property which meets our buying criteria must be surveyed and assessed. This can be a painstaking process to survey over 100 houses per week in the run up to a busy week of auctions.

James Shaw, Residential Surveyor for Harewood says “August is traditionally a quiet month in the auction arena and we tend to buy a lot of stock for investors by private treaty during this period. The method of buying property through auction is much quicker than traditional private treaty. The legal documents are always prepared in line with the release of the auction catalogue and therefore the process is significantly faster. However, the drawback of auctions is the amount of abortive work involved in viewing as many properties as we do. We always remain disciplined with our maximum bids and sometimes we leave an auction room empty handed even though we may have surveyed 25 properties prior to the auction.”

October appears to be a bumper month for bargains at auction and our investors seem keen to take full advantage of the opportunities on offer. With September and October looking like our best months for sales so far, our existing investors impressed with their returns are eager to tap into new deals.

30/09/2011

Angry Savers Target Bank of England

A giant papier mache piggy bank took a hammering outside the Bank of England last Thursday as angry savers show the brutal effects of record low interest rates on their cash.

Campaigners warned that savers are being taken for “mugs” as soaring energy and household costs have exacerbated the bleak future they are facing.

A combination of high inflation and the Bank of England’s base rate being held at a historic 0.5pc low has left savers struggling to find accounts which will give them a real return.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the cost of living, increased to 4.5pc in August, moving closer to a three-year high.

Members of campaign group Save Our Savers voiced their anger outside the Bank last Thursday, at the same time as the next base rate decision was announced.

They were accompanied by “Bertie the Pig” who took a bashing to reflect the pressure campaigners say they are under. Save Our Savers campaigner Simon Rose said: “All savers are seeing their capital whittled away as inflation outstrips negligible interest rates. For the millions of pensioners who depend upon their savings, the future is terrifying.”

Saga director-general Ros Altmann urged greater recognition of the “damage” savers are experiencing and called for more thinking “outside the box” to help them.

Dr Altmann said the “very large demographic” of older people had the potential to spend money but many were “frightened” to, while others could not because the money they were expecting had simply not materialised. “It sends all the wrong messages for the future,” she said. “If you save you’re a mug.”

Last month National Savings and Investments (NS&I) said it was withdrawing its inflation-beating savings certificate, as it was in danger of breaching the limit for the amount of money it is allowed to raise. NS&I said there had been nearly 500,000 transactions involving the latest issue of index-linked savings certificates.

17/10/2011

Proud to give something back…

As part of our commitment to the wider society Harewood have recently donated £1,500 directly to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Jenny Clarke from the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital charity collected the cheque at our office from Senior Sales Agent Charlotte Quinn.

The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital charity is raising money to ensure continued excellence in treatment, care and research at the hospital – improving the lives of thousands of children each year across the North West and beyond.

The support of the Charity means that the hospital can provide additional resources that make life easier for patients and their families who use the hospital.

The Charity has three main areas of work:

• to support research projects to improve our understanding of children’s illnesses

• to help to create an environment that’s more child-friendly

• to provide state-of-the-art equipment for diagnosis and treatment

For more information please visit

http://www.rmchcharity.org.uk/

or contact the charity team on 0161 276 4522

10/02/2012