:00:00. > :00:00.Joan of Arc. It was the real woman behind the story? `` legend Derek.
:00:00. > :00:07.Now on BBC News, Ramzan Karmali is here with this week's Your Money.
:00:08. > :00:15.Money ` your weekly guide to making the most of your cash ` here every
:00:16. > :00:18.weekend on BBC News television ` available all week on the BBC
:00:19. > :00:23.property market continues to get hotter and hotter ` so whether
:00:24. > :00:27.you're buying or selling, how do you make sure you get a fair deal?
:00:28. > :00:32.Housing expert, Henry Pryor has some top tips!
:00:33. > :00:37.mobile phone contracts than people in the UK? So just how do you get
:00:38. > :00:42.the best deal on the latest must have gadget?
:00:43. > :00:44.Fancy backing your sports team more than just by buying a ticket?
:00:45. > :00:47.Lancashire cricket club wants to borrow money from you directly in
:00:48. > :00:50.exchange for a 7% return. But is it a gamble or a secure investment?
:00:51. > :00:59.We'll hear what one savings expert thinks.
:01:00. > :01:08.look at the property market. Yet more data out this week suggest
:01:09. > :01:10.things are really hotting up. According to the Land Registry,
:01:11. > :01:12.annual house price growth accelerated to 8.4% in England and
:01:13. > :01:15.Wales in August ` the highest rate of increase for nearly seven years.
:01:16. > :01:20.So is this really the time to buy? Or are sellers in the box seat?
:01:21. > :01:23.One person with a view on all of this is housing expert, Henry Pryor
:01:24. > :01:37.How do you assess the market? Prices seem to get higher and higher. From
:01:38. > :01:43.the blizzard of monthly housing reports, both asking price surveys
:01:44. > :01:46.and sold house price surveys, the most recent was yesterday which
:01:47. > :01:53.confirmed that although prices across England and Wales are up by
:01:54. > :01:59.about 8%, most people in the market are seeing asking price is not
:02:00. > :02:02.increasing at a similar rate. The market is perhaps stabilising and
:02:03. > :02:07.early figures from HMRC confirm that if you do want to buy and sell you
:02:08. > :02:12.can do so, because there is a liquid market with roughly 100,000 homes
:02:13. > :02:22.trading in the last month. Their houses to buy, but if you are
:02:23. > :02:24.buying, what are your top tips? Whether buying or selling, the most
:02:25. > :02:28.important thing before you go out and look for your most expensive
:02:29. > :02:32.single purchase is to get prepared. It is extraordinary how many people
:02:33. > :02:37.start looking without having done their homework. If you're looking to
:02:38. > :02:41.buy, you need to remember that the mortgage landscape has changed. We
:02:42. > :02:46.had this review that came into effect in April and that has made it
:02:47. > :02:49.harder to qualify for a mortgage. Lenders have to do more to check to
:02:50. > :02:56.make sure that you can not only afford a mortgage today, but going
:02:57. > :03:00.forward when Mark Carney raises interest rates, that you will be
:03:01. > :03:05.able to still afford repayments. Those deals are generally good for
:03:06. > :03:09.two months? In terms of preparation, make sure you have spoken to a
:03:10. > :03:14.mortgage broker or lender and that they have been able to provide you
:03:15. > :03:16.with a principle so that you can go out and look with confidence knowing
:03:17. > :03:20.what you can afford and when the time comes you will be able to make
:03:21. > :03:25.an offer, and have the confidence you have credibility behind you. We
:03:26. > :03:31.have had news from the Conservative Party, they are talking about help
:03:32. > :03:35.for first`time buyers, what are they saying? We have seen a raft of
:03:36. > :03:42.housing initiatives from the Coalition Government, a couple of
:03:43. > :03:46.schemes and yesterday a rent to buy scheme which gives people an
:03:47. > :03:51.opportunity to rent with a view to saving the balance of the increase
:03:52. > :03:55.to eventually buy it. Today there is news that David Cameron feels that
:03:56. > :04:05.over the last four years he has been overlooking some round field sites
:04:06. > :04:07.`` Brown and he thinks he has found space that if he is elected he can
:04:08. > :04:13.build 100,000 homes. Thank you. over 90 years ` but not for much
:04:14. > :04:18.longer. Paper tax discs are being phased out. They'll be replaced by
:04:19. > :04:21.an electronic system on the 1st of October which means that existing
:04:22. > :04:24.discs can be removed. Under the new system, drivers will also be able to
:04:25. > :04:27.pay their tax by monthly direct debit. Buyers of used vehicles,
:04:28. > :04:30.though, will have to renew the tax when the car is bought. Until now,
:04:31. > :04:33.private sellers have been able to sell vehicles with existing tax. For
:04:34. > :04:36.more information you can visit the government's website ` the exact
:04:37. > :04:39.address is on your screens right the expensive adverts and the never
:04:40. > :04:55.ending queues outside stores for the latest mobile phone. But with so
:04:56. > :04:58.many tariff choices how can you be sure to get the best value for money
:04:59. > :05:01.and are there other options? Caroline Hepker has been finding
:05:02. > :05:06.out. There are more mobile phone
:05:07. > :05:07.contracts Customers coming into a shop
:05:08. > :05:24.like this will know the brands on offer, from Google to Samsung,
:05:25. > :05:28.Sony and HTC. They will probably have seen
:05:29. > :05:30.the glitzy ads But how do you get the best deal
:05:31. > :05:38.on the latest gizmo? You can pay for a contract
:05:39. > :05:43.and it's often ?0 up front, up to about ?100, and then you pay
:05:44. > :05:46.for your minutes and texts The other way is buying
:05:47. > :05:50.the phone outright, either from a manufacturer or a third`party
:05:51. > :05:52.retailer, like Amazon, and you choose the tariff, so you can get as
:05:53. > :05:56.many minutes and texts as you want. Often that's much cheaper
:05:57. > :05:58.and gives you the flexibility to have either one month rolling or
:05:59. > :06:01.maybe 12 months and at the end A two`year contract with a major
:06:02. > :06:09.provider will cost you around ?1170, But on a SIM only deal,
:06:10. > :06:16.if you pay for the phone upfront But not every manufacturer is
:06:17. > :06:24.the same. Buying
:06:25. > :06:27.a Samsung Galaxy S5 HTC 1M8 on a Belinda Palmer says shop around
:06:28. > :06:39.for your network. Definitely go SIM only where you
:06:40. > :06:42.can and choose the network. You don't have to go for one
:06:43. > :06:45.of the bigger networks. There are some smaller networks,
:06:46. > :06:48.like giffgaff, where you get the same service, it's an O2 subsidiary,
:06:49. > :06:53.but you get a much better deal. It is also worth watching
:06:54. > :06:58.for new group deals. This is
:06:59. > :07:01.a new thing where you can put all of As a mum running a household,
:07:02. > :07:07.I can say of 10GB I'll have five for myself
:07:08. > :07:13.and be greedy, 1GB for my son, my husband will have the other bit and
:07:14. > :07:17.my daughter can have what's left. Once you've got your snazzy
:07:18. > :07:20.smartphone, look after it. There is now a lucrative second`hand
:07:21. > :07:23.market online and through major Now time for some other personal
:07:24. > :07:35.finance stories. Customers with complaints about their gas or
:07:36. > :07:41.electricity service typically have to contact their supplier six times
:07:42. > :07:44.before their issue is resolved. The regulator, Ofgem, found that over
:07:45. > :07:46.half of consumers who complained, were not satisfied with the
:07:47. > :07:49.response. And the complaints aren't just directed at the Big 6 energy
:07:50. > :07:52.firms. In fact according to Ofgem's report, small energy firms can be as
:07:53. > :07:55.bad at handling complaints. The regulator has written a letter to
:07:56. > :07:58.suppliers demanding they all do motor insurance industry, the
:07:59. > :08:07.Competition and Markets Authority said that current practices are
:08:08. > :08:10.restricting competition and leading to higher premiums for customers.
:08:11. > :08:12.The regulator says they have a plan for changes that should knock up to
:08:13. > :08:16.?20 off a typical bill and stop comparison sites banning insurers
:08:17. > :08:18.from offering cheaper prices criticised insurers for turning down
:08:19. > :08:29.some claims from holidaymakers who had been drinking alcohol before
:08:30. > :08:31.having an accident. The service ` which settles disputes when a
:08:32. > :08:34.financial services company and a customer cannot agree ` said it
:08:35. > :08:37.upheld 53% of complaints last year, up from 42% in 2011. The Ombudsman
:08:38. > :08:40.said it expected a "high standard of proof" from insurers that the amount
:08:41. > :08:43.of booze consumed made a policy If you're lucky enough to have a
:08:44. > :08:58.savings account but not feeling so lucky with the rate of return you're
:08:59. > :09:01.getting, then perhaps you may want to invest in a retail bond?
:09:02. > :09:04.Basically when you buy one you're lending money directly to a company.
:09:05. > :09:07.Businesses like the trucking firm Eddie Stobard to mens toiletery
:09:08. > :09:09.experts, King of Shaves have all issued these bonds. And this week
:09:10. > :09:12.Lancashire Country Cricket Club have launched one too. So are they really
:09:13. > :09:15.a viable alternative to some of the more conventional methods of
:09:16. > :09:24.savings? To help us answer this, I'm joined
:09:25. > :09:38.by Laura Whitcombe, Deputy Editor, And we are talking about bonds are
:09:39. > :09:42.what are we talking about? It is an agreement to lend money over a set
:09:43. > :09:46.period of time and in return you get interest. When we are talking about
:09:47. > :09:52.the rates of return, they are much more attractive than on the High
:09:53. > :09:58.Street? Yes, this particular type of bond can see rates from anything to
:09:59. > :10:01.5% up to 10%. This one is over five years and if you look at savings
:10:02. > :10:06.accounts during that time frame, you would be lucky to get more than 3%.
:10:07. > :10:14.It sounds very attractive, but we should be aware, these are not for
:10:15. > :10:18.normal investors? They are very risky, there is no guarantee you
:10:19. > :10:23.will get your money back. With a savings account, your money is
:10:24. > :10:28.protected by a compensation scheme which does not apply for these
:10:29. > :10:32.bonds. You need to be quite wealthy, be able to afford to lose the money
:10:33. > :10:41.and you need to really look into what you are doing. For regular
:10:42. > :10:53.Saver, Bradstock, but perhaps for a cricket fan? Yes, one who can
:10:54. > :10:57.benefit from using it at games. In terms of protection, if the company
:10:58. > :11:03.goes bust, you will lose your money? There is no protection at all, but
:11:04. > :11:07.are there any other products you can put it into whether it's protection?
:11:08. > :11:13.You could invest through a bond fund, you could get a financial
:11:14. > :11:18.adviser to help you. If the companies involved them were to go
:11:19. > :11:24.bust, this scheme would not automatically pay out, but if the
:11:25. > :11:25.product was mis`sold, you would be protected under the compensation
:11:26. > :11:37.scheme. This is good for people who are not
:11:38. > :11:41.hugely dependent on that interest and having that money back because
:11:42. > :11:47.it's very risky. Lover, thank you for joining us. That's all for as
:11:48. > :11:52.this weekends `` Laura. Keep up`to`date on the BBC website.
:11:53. > :12:12.On social media we have updates on Twitter. Thanks for watching today.
:12:13. > :12:20.And this is BBC News. The headlines this morning full top British
:12:21. > :12:26.warplanes are expected to launch against Islamic State targets this
:12:27. > :12:30.weekend. Air strikes carried out by US led forces hit Islamic State and
:12:31. > :12:33.other Islamist groups in central Syria for the first time.