How to Keep Your Home Cool this Summer

In this month's edition, homeowners are wasting £53m a year when they don't remortgage, we share some top tips for keeping your home cool this summer and homeowners are regaining confidence in the UK property market.

Homeowners Waste £53m a Year by Not Remortgaging

It can be very easy to organise your mortgage when buying a new home, getting a great fixed rate and then completely forgetting about it for years as you make your monthly payments.

New data from Dynamo – who are part of the mortgage broker, Countrywide – has revealed just how much money homeowners are unknowingly wasting by sitting on their mortgage after the fixed term.

When a fixed-term mortgage comes to an end, if the owner has not lined up a new deal, they will be moved onto the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) of the lender.

The interest on an SVR will normally be considerably higher than the current deals available and the results of the research have shown this to be true.

According to Dynamo, homeowners that fail to organise a new deal before their current one expires can end up paying the price by an average of &371.

Most people don’t get around to finding a new mortgage deal until six weeks after the end of their original agreement, meaning they’re wasting an average of &62 a week and – collectively – the UK is wasting &53.3 million on their mortgage.

For some, these unnecessary payments could be three times the amount, as some SVRs stand at six per cent.

Chief Executive at Dynamo – Seb McDermott – said; “The research shows that far too many people are not switching mortgage deals in time. This can prove costly – to the tune of nearly &62 a week for the six-week period – which is more than the average family food shop.”

In addition to this, it appears that some may need educating regarding their mortgage payments, as separate research from MoneySuperMarket revealed that over 16% of homeowners have no idea at all what will happen when their fixed term comes to an end.

Sally Francis-Miles of MoneySuperMarket stated; “The UK mortgage market is worth &1.3 trillion so if even a quarter of those with a mortgage can save a few hundred pounds each, that’s a drastic amount.

“There are many tools online to look at available deals, and re-mortgaging is far simpler than getting a mortgage when buying or selling, especially if you’re able to switch to a better deal with your existing provider.”

How to Keep Your Home Cool this Summer

Most of us spend the colder months of the year dreaming about the summer, but it can be easy to forget how inhospitable the heat can make your home.

Ensure you have all the fun in the sun with none of the discomfort with our guide to keeping your home cool this summer.

Use your windows and curtains

It’s a shame to shut all that natural light out of your house, but unfortunately, it comes with a good deal of heat. Closing all your curtains or following the sun’s progression across your house will seriously lower the temperature.

As soon as the sun has gone down, however, we would recommend throwing open the curtains and windows so that you can let in as much of that cool evening air as possible.

Build a makeshift air con

Can’t afford the electric bill and initial cost of an air conditioning unit? You can create your own air con by placing ice/frozen ice packs in a washing up bowl. You can then place it at an angle in front of a regular fan, which will circulate cold air around the room.

Switch off the electrical appliances

Every single one of your appliances gives off heat whilst they are on. During the hottest hours of the day, you should avoid using washing machines, dishwashers, hobs and ovens. Lighting should also be avoided when the sun goes down.

Drink plenty of water and eat cold

Staying hydrated and eating cold food like salad will help you to keep your body temperature down and avoids using any heat-generating appliances.

Sleep on the lower floor

Have you ever headed upstairs when it's sunny, only to find that the upper floors are far warmer than the lower floor? This is because heat always rises to the highest possible point. If you are struggling to sleep, ditch the sweltering upper floor and sleep downstairs – either on your couch or your airbed.

Insulate

You probably see a lot of advice articles recommending insulation for keeping your home warm in the summer, but did you know that it also keeps the heat out in the summer? If you don’t already have insulation in your home, it will practically pay for itself in the money saved on energy bills.

Homeowners are Regaining Confidence in the Property Market

While there has been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the UK economy, the property market has remained strong in the two years since Brexit.

Many homeowners and potential movers became hesitant when it came to making decisions on their home during this time, however, new data suggests that confidence in the market is on the rise.

A recent Housing Market Sentiment survey hoped to discover how confident each region in the UK is about their home and their expectations for the next six months.

The survey revealed that 84% of homeowners in Britain believe that property prices in their area will rise over the next six months. When the same survey was taken six months ago, this figure stood at 70%, which is quite the change in such a short space of time.

This is the largest increase in confidence since pre-Brexit, and on top of this, homeowners expect rises by an average of 6.9% in their area; another figure that has seen a jump, as it stood at 4.9% six months prior.

In terms of individual regions, the East Midlands was the most optimistic, with 93% of survey participants from this region believing that house prices will rise over six months. Sharing that same sentiment were homeowners in the East of England, with 90% feeling optimistic about house prices.

On the opposite end of the scale, the North East were the least upbeat regarding house prices, with only 63% feeling confident in price growth. However, this figure is an improvement, with a 22% boost in confidence since November 2017.

When looking at the rate at which survey participants expect prices to rise, the West Midlands had the highest expectations throughout the UK, predicting a 10.6% increase in property values by the end of the year. The East Midlands weren’t too far behind, forecasting a 9.2% increase.