Insurance - you know you want it!

I know people who cross their fingers and hope that the sky will always be blue for them. This is no bad thing - I'm an optimist myself - but there is a difference between being an optimist and an ostrich.

An optimist looks on the bright side, and puts in place measures to ensure that if something does go wrong, all will be taken care of.

An ostrich buries it's head in the sand and hopes that any problems that do come along will just go away again (by the way, I think ostriches burying their heads to hide from danger is actually a myth, but you get the analogy anyway).

An optimist will therefore have (amongst other things) insurance.

You can get insured for just about anything it seems, and there's been a lot of press lately about insurance being mis-sold - particularly on mortgages. Suffice it to say that not all insurance is created equal.

There are:

• different types of insurance (e.g. buildings, contents, mortgage, life, car, travel and pet).
• different levels of cover for each type.
• different exclusions between providers.
• different charging systems.
• different policy wording.
• different freebies for some policies.

..the list goes on and on and on.

It's a minefield. You can spend a small fortune on insurance that doesn't really do what you want it to, or become paralysed by confusion and fail to get any insurance at all (yes, this does happen).

So, read up on what the different types of insurance there are, what sort of cover you really need, and how to get it cheapest. You can do that at www.moneysavingexpert.com. There are a set of great, easy to read, guides to insurance on the site.

Also, remember to compare prices and get quotes for your specific situation (don't just go by the advertisements promising "cover from £50!"). Using comparison sites is a great way forward. I like www.moneysupermarket.com, although they don't do absolutely everything (check out moneysavingexpert regarding that issue as well).

Do this research as part of your home-finding process. Costs like insurance and bills are often overlooked by home-buyers, so check this out up front. With Joint Equity, buildings insurance costs are shared by the Owner-Partner and Investor-Partner, which is great, but not the only reason to buy your first home through The Joint Equity Scheme!

Take care,

Tam

Interest rates to hold for another month (at least)

Despite doing my best rate-cut dance every night for the past week, it has been anounced that The Bank of England will hold interest rates at 5.75% for another month.

Good news for Owners and Investors buying now, as it means rates arn't going up again just yet.

In fact, speculation is that the rate is likely to hold through December as well, which would make the earliest date for a possible cut to be in January.

Are the whispers right or wrong? Will we be going down again in January? Let me know.

Tam

Warnings about buying with friends or partners

I don't know if any of you saw the piece in the news last week about the problems that un-married couples face when they seperate and try to split their assets?

Here's a link to the full story on the BBC website if you didn't see it.

Basically, if you are a couple who own a property together but are not married, the courts are likely to split your entitlement strictly according to what you paid in to the property. This can be particularly dangerous for those people that move into their partner's home and pay a contribution, but don't actually have their name on the property deeds.

The best way to avoid this problem is to have a 'who owns what' agreement in place from the start. This would only come into force if there are any problems, of course.

With a Joint Equity Scheme purchase, the relationship between Owner and Investor is set out very clearly in the Joint Equity Partners Contract, and every eventuality we could think of has been catered for.

However, if you are a couple and hoping to buy your first home through The Joint Equity Scheme, you may want an agreement of your own to define your ownership shares, as well as The Partners Contract. This may be something worth discussing with the solicitor that you get your independent legal advice through.

Have a think about it.

Tam

We've halved our rates - everyone wins!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve just reduced our management fee from 10% to 5% of the Investor-Partner Return!

With the new mortgage rates available from Infinity, that makes Joint Equity a more attractive prospect than ever.

• What does this mean for me?

Well, Joint Equity Investor-Partner sees no change in the money in their pocket, because the difference between their costs (Joint Equity Management Fee & Mortgage Payment) and their income (the Investor Return) stays the same. Hurrah!

But, if you are an Owner-Partner, your costs are lower because we’ve passed the saving on to you! We’ve reduced the amount you pay in Investor Return (the ‘rent’ part of your monthly payment). For the average Owner-Partner with a 50% share in a £200,000 pound Joint Equity shared home ownership property, the saving would be about £40 per month, which we think is well worth having.

To find out EXACTLY what it means for you, ask us for a new personal Illustration. These are free and without obligation. Click here to request an enquiry form.

• Where can I find out more?

You can go to our homepage to find out more about The Joint Equity Scheme for shared home ownership and property investment: www.jointequity.co.uk

OR

You can ask for an information pack to be emailed to you (please tell us whether you are interested in becoming a Joint Equity Owner or Investor, so we can send you the right information). Email info@jointequity.co.uk to have a pack sent to you.

That’s all for now, but we’ve got lots of exciting developments occurring at Joint Equity HQ, which I’m just itching to share with you, so watch this space.

Happy house-hunting!

Tam

The Joint Equity Owner Support Team

owners@jointequity.co.uk

JointEquity Ltd

Delivering home ownership dreams and

rewarding property investments today

www.jointequity.co.uk