Archive for December, 2008

All I want for Christmas is NI’s £100 home.

Posted: December 11th, 2008


Cookstown natives Conor and Kate Devine are driving home the Christmas Spirit with their new build, four bedroom property, up for grabs for the modest sum of £100!

Conor and Kate are currently ‘selling’ their home in an online prize competition, ‘Northern Ireland’s £100 Home.’

Competition participants log onto Conor and Kate’s website www.yournewhomeni.com, answer a question, purchase a £100 ticket and are entered into a prize draw to win the luxurious property at Carmavy Road, Co. Antrim. (*Terms and Conditions apply). 

The desirable detached property is located within commuting distance of Belfast, in one of Northern Ireland’s most sought after locations and sits on c.0.75 acres surrounded by idyllic landscape. The property’s value is in the region of £550k, based on valuations and sales of similar properties in the immediate vicinity. 

The enviable property could potentially be one lucky winner’s to jingle all the way throughout the new year for the meager sum of £100. 

Kate says;

‘Our objective is to dispose of our home enabling us to achieve its market value whilst offering one lucky winner the opportunity to own a fantastic property, mortgage free.’ 

Conor, a BSc Hons Estate Management graduate, had been mulling over the project for a number of months;    

‘We believe that in this current market this is great way of disposing of our home, and there is no catch. Basically you enter the competition, answer the question and if correct, when the winning ticket is drawn, we get the full value of our home and one lucky person will gain a fantastic prize for £100. The residential market is very difficult at present and mortgages are hard to come by, so we feel this works for both ourselves and the new owner. Why not purchase a ticket to win a dream home for a loved one this Christmas?’ 

For more information or to purchase a ticket please log onto www.yournewhomeni.com. Tickets can be purchased using a secure PayPal facility. A purchase receipt will then be sent directly to your email address.  

 


FAQ’s

So what’s the catch and why should you enter?

There is no catch. The lucky winner gains an outstanding property prize worth in the region of £550,000 exclusive – Conor and Kate get the market value for their home.  The housing market is very erratic at present and most people are finding that it is quite difficult to sell their house, so in this instance you not only have the chance to win a fantastic home but you also do not have to worry about looking for a mortgage – all for £100!

 

What do you have to do?

Log onto www.yournewhomeni.com. Click on the competition entry button, answer the question and enter your card details on the PayPal checkout.  You will automatically receive a receipt to your email account. 

 

What are your chances of winning?

Worst Case 6,500 to one. Conor and Kate will only take 6,500 maximum entries. This is much better odds than the lottery – which is 14 million to one. 

 

What if you enter more than once?

Then your chances of winning are much better. You can enter as many times as you like, it’s up to you.

 

What does the winner have to pay for?

The winner pays the competition entry fee and cost of getting to the site.  Conor and Kate will pay the stamp duty and conveyancing costs. All the bills relating to the house will be paid before Conor and Kate leave.

 

How is the Draw going to take place?

‘May’ will be carrying out the draw in the presence of a solicitor and members of the press.

 

What happens if they don’t reach the 6,500 ticket sales?

If Conor and Kate don’t reach their cash target, which is minimum 5,500 tickets, they have the option of extending the deadline by up to 3 months. If at that point Conor and Kate still have not reached their goal, they will do a cash draw and the winner will receive the total amount of money received instead of winning the property. More details are available in the Terms and Conditions.

 

Who currently has the properties deeds?

The deeds are with Conor and Kate’s solicitor, Miller Shearer and Black in Cookstown.

 

Does the House come with any Guarantees?

The House was built under the NHBC scheme, where there is a 10 year guarantee in place.

 

Why 6,500 tickets?

There is significant fees involved in this competition namely, marketing, PayPal, and conveyancing, so capping it at this number allows Conor and Kate to get in return the value of their home and cover all associated costs.

 

Does the house come furnished?

The house will be handed over to the lucky winner to include full specification as outlined in the features section on the website, minus the furniture.

 

When will the winner be announced and actually take possession of the house?

The draw will take place on Friday 13th February 2009. After the draw we will need the winner’s solicitor’s details to process the change of ownership. The turnaround timescale should be no longer than 6-8 weeks.

 

How will the winner be contacted?

 

Conor and Kate will contact the winner by telephone and email.  Should they be unable to contact the winner within 2 weeks, their solicitor will re-draw the winner.

 

 

 

*Terms and Conditions apply. Please log onto www.yournewhomeni.com for more information. 

 

Energy bills could fall!

Posted: December 11th, 2008

SDLP leader, Mark Durkan has predicted that Gas and Electricity prices could be cut within days.  Northern Ireland consumers have seen prices rises of around 50% over the last year.  A review of pricing by the utility regulator is currently underway.  Mr Durkan said he is expecting a reduction of around 20% in Gas prices and at least 10% in electricity.

Whilst this news has been welcomed all round, a number of members of the executive have expressed concerns over the Development ministers overall fuel poverty strategy.  Members are saying that there are other ways to help with fuel poverty, like the Warm Homes project.  The Executive are due to meet on Monday to discuss this prior to a special session of the Assembly on the economic crisis.

Mr Durkan said that the Executive must not leave the job of tackling fuel poverty to the energy companies alone and insists that the Executive still deliver a fuel poverty credit payment to vulnerable households.  These measures will be discussed as part of the wider package of measures to ease peoples economic hardship.  The Executive are due to make an announcement on the proposed package on Monday 15th December.

Further interest rate cuts – 57 year low!

Posted: December 5th, 2008

Following on from the dramatic interest rate cut in November, the Bank of England has again cut interest rates by a further one percent.  The Bank of England rate now sits at 2%, its lowest since 1951.

The move has again been welcomed and it is hoped that the cut will assist in kick starting the economy.

Gordon Brown has urged lenders to pass on the cut to homeowners and business, however many institutions have already confirmed that they will only be passing on a portion of the cut at best.  The UK’s largest mortgage lender, HBOS confirmed that it would only be passing on a quarter percent cut.  Many of the banks have capped their tracker rates and consequently borrowers will not feel the full benefit from the 1% drop.

The British Chambers of Commerce said that due to the worrying signs that UK activity was falling sharply, it was critical that the bank persevere with aggressive rate cuts.  Industry experts are cautious that without dramatic counter-measures unemployment will increase further and the economy will go into further decline.  

The suspected increases in inflation have not materialised and with the threat fading, the Bank of England is being encouraged to look at a further half percent cut in January.