Avoiding negative equity ‘needs planning’

People need to be fully prepared before they purchase a house in the current economic climate, one expert has suggested.

According to head of consulting at property investment consultancy Ducalian Timothy Lambert, prospective buyers should be willing to “do their homework” on the region before committing to a transaction.

He said: “Use websites to see how much properties were bought and sold for, average values in particular roads and boroughs for example.”

Mr Lambert also advised people already in negative equity to ride out the downturn and wait for prices to rise again in three to five years’ time.

Those who had lost their job may struggle, he admitted, but other homeowners should look to renovating and modernising their property to add value.

A press release by the Council of Mortgage Lenders in April revealed that approximately 900,000 people with a mortgage in the UK suffer some form of negative equity.

By Francis Finch