WeeMoney

Assuming that all else fits (such as affordability and the nature of the property itself, for example), the rates depend upon the percentage (LTV: loan to value) that you wish to borrow. As a very rough guide, at the moment you might expect to pay the following during the initial special rate period, whether fixed or variable:

At 90% LTV: around 5%
At 85% LTV: around 4%
At 80% LTV: around 3.25%
75% LTV or below: mainly around 2.5% to 3%, with one or two down to about 2.2%.

Without wishing to give too many figures at this point, as an example for each £100,000 borrowed at (say) 3% you would have to pay:
(a) interest only over any term: £250 per month
(b) repayment over 20 years: a fraction under £555 per month
(c) repayment over 25 years: a fraction over £474 per month

Very roughly, if the interest rate were 4%, you would add a bit more than £80 per month to the interest-only figure quoted above, and about £50 to each of the repayment figures quoted.

Market conditions and base rate changes would, of course, alter the situation, so what I say today may have altered considerably in a few months time. And these figures by no means tell you the full story, though, because these products may lack the options and flexibility of very slightly more expensive mortgages.

In particular, they tell you nothing of what will happen at the end of the special rate period - a loan with an initial very low rate will probably be a poor choice if, at the end of maybe 12 or 24 months it goes onto a high variable rate (at which time you are confronted with staying with it, or remortgaging with the the associated significant costs and inconvenience). The fees, too, need to be taken into account

In the selection of a suitable mortgage, certainly don't simply opt for the cheapest and try to save a few pounds each month. Rather, whilst looking for a competitive product, of course, make sure that the loan conditions and features suit you and that you go with a lender with a decent reputation for efficiency and consistency; this is where a good broker can provide invaluable advice tailored to your own situation and needs.

This is certainly an area that is under fire. The Capital Gains Tax rate for higher rate taxpayers has already been raised to 28% (from 18%) and a large gain could of course bring the vendor into the higher rate bracket during the year of sale. Council Tax deductions for empty properties/second homes is, I suspect, also likely to go - and it may be that local authorities will be able to set increased taxes for empty properties - a doubling in council tax has been mooted. This is only likely to be delayed, in my view, if unforeseen problems arise, so it could well happen this year.

The points above are areas that do not need major legislation. Any new tax could be even more divisive than the current government is prepared to accept, so I think such a tax would take some time to be created, if at all. A particular concern would be not to disadvantage some second-home owners by accident, as it were, where there are (for instance) work-related reasons why a second home is necessary.

a holiday home could be a business venture - like a buy to let property but only let on "holiday" terms ie a fortnight at a time.

second home insurance will usually infer that you own a second home that you spend time in but its only occupied by you and your family (which poses a lower risk of a claim when compared to a let property).

it's a reason why insurers will always ask who will occupy and how often the property is left vacant as this will impact on the cover available.

If you're a first time 10%, minimum, if this is your second house, 5% for a limited amount of companies, but the more you have, the better deal you will obtain

the value of property is partly influenced by supply/demand/desire.

some people feel that property is still overvalued and should fall by as much as 30% or more to enable people to purchase based on more traditional lending multiples of 3x single or 2.5x joint income.

although there might be some truth in this, i think the rationale is somewhat flawed.

lenders are lending more cautiously, sometimes overly cautiously, but the sector of the market most impeded is the 75%> ltv as these pose additional risk to lenders and so they want to restrict their lending to what they consider to be deserving cases (sometimes restricted to existing borrowers only and no FTBs).

liquidity in the market is not as good as it was at its peak but its better than when it was at its low.

The BoE cannot force lenders to lend, frivolous lending (and borrowing) is in part to blame for the state we are in now and for as much as people rant about bankers being overpaid, they never moaned about that whilst the times were good, and they also forget that they borrowed the money, spent the money, had no means of repaying the money and never took precautions to safeguard their income in the event of a financial catastrophe.

i'm not defending bankers per se, but we have to remember that the banks didnt spend the money, they lent it, "we" spent it, some wisely but most foolishly.

we also have a glut of new build properties because the last government forced local authorities to build ridiculous numbers of new builds (by granting permission to the developers) the problems here are that the building standards are not the same as they were in the past when to own a new home was like a stamp of approval (how many tv shows now show "homes from hell")

new developments also imposed a % of property to be used for social housing - which was not the case in the past, without being a snob many people now dont wish to spend their hard earned cash buying a nice new home to find out their nextdoor neighbour is a rehoused council home evictee with out of control kids and all the other bad habits.

even setting all this aside, too many flats were built in inappropriate locations, the upshot is that many towns and cities now have vast numbers of vacant flats that no one wants to buy now (and clearly didnt then either) but you can build more high rise flats that you can terraced houses on the same plot and all of today's lifestyle tv seems to centre on kids, gardens, animals etc which dont tend to fall into the flat owning community.

most of this is just my take on things but i am sure that others will have their thoughts and experiences to share too!