Money / BUYING A HOUSE

BUYING A HOUSE

Buying a house or an apartment is probably the biggest investment you'll ever make and, barring a few historical glitches, the old saying 'safe as houses' is probably as true as it ever was.   You do, however, have to do your homework because the range of available options and deals can be quite baffling even to the experienced home-buyer.  Impartial professional advice - if you can find it - is a big plus. While we cannot, of course, offer advice or vouch for any of the organisations mentioned in these pages you may find the following sites will help steer you through the maze.

If you are feeling adventurous (or desperate, even!) why not take a look at our Mortgage Buddies page.  Here you may well find a like-minded person with whom to share your first venture into the house-buying market.

And whether you are buying or selling a house, please see also our Property Auction page.

For traditional house-purchase financial products, see also our  Banking pages.

1.  Assertahome
URL:	http://www.assertahome.co.uk
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2.  John Charcol
URL:	http://www.charcolonline.co.uk
Notes:	"Loans from more than 35 companies."
3.  Chase de Vere
URL:	http://www.chasedevere.co.uk
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4.  I Have Moved
URL:	http://www.ihavemoved.com
Notes:	When the deal is done, you can inform just about everyone who needs to know that you have moved!  This includes public utilities, local authorities, store card companies, charities, mail order companies, and a rapidly increasing list of other organisations.  Well worth a visit.
5.  EM Finance
URL:	http://www.emfinance.com
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6.  Find a Property
URL:	http://www.findaproperty.co.uk
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7.  Home Directory
URL:	http://www.homedirectory.co.uk
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8.  Home File
URL:	http://www.homefile.co.uk
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9.  Home Pages
URL:	http://www.homepages.co.uk
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10.  Homes-on-Line
URL:	http://www.homes-on-line.com
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11.  Houseweb
URL:
Notes:	A cost-effective and efficient alternative to using an estate agent.   Excellent search facilities.   Check out Houseweb now.
12.  Kensington Mortgage Company
URL:	http://www.kmc.co.uk
Notes:	Online mortgage service for the self-employed, and for others who find difficulty in obtaining mortgages via the usual channels.
13.   Moneynet
URL:	http://www.moneynet.co.uk
Notes:	"Loans from more than 100 companies."
14.   My New Deal.com
URL:	http://www.mynewdeal.com
Notes:	"The first pan-European mortgage broker to offer acess to loans from a number of European countries, including France, Germany and Belgium."   (Will go online in Mid April 2000)  Some interesting fixed-rate deals are likely, as European lenders attempt to break into the UK market.
15.   MoneyWorld
URL:	http://www.moneyworld.co.uk
Notes:	"Loans from fewer than 10 companies."
16.   Property Broker
URL:	http://www.propertybroker.co.uk
Notes:	Simple, and modestly priced means of selling a property without the services of an estate agent.
17.   Property Finder
URL:	http://www.propertyfinder.co.uk
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18.   Property-Sight
URL:	http://www.property-sight.co.uk
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19.   Really Moving
URL:	http://www.reallymoving.com
Notes:	Comprehensive help with every aspect of your house move - solicitors, surveyors, removal companies etc etc.  (Houses for sale too.)
20.  Right Move
URL:	http://www.rightmove.co.uk
Notes:	A co-operative venture between the Countywide estate agency group, Halifax, Connell and Royal & Sun Alliance.  Over 120,000 properties currently on the books.
21.  Webswapper.com
URL:	http://www.webswappers.com
Notes:	If you swap rather than sell your property you may only have to pay £5 in stamp duty! This obviously has implications for buyers too. Webswappers is the UK's largest online swapping site where you can swap anything from properties to cars to furniture to books. It is the ideal place to swap what you don't want and find what you are looking for.
22.  Winkworth
URL:	http://www.winkworth.co.uk
Notes:	Search for thousands of flats and houses available to buy and rent using photographs, floorplans and 360-degree virtual tours. With our almost-instant property updates you can rely on all search results being current. Register with and receive automatic email updates of newly available properties that match your requirements.

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