Author Archives: Sam

We’ve all, at one time or another, lusted over beautiful, glossy property adverts in Country Life, or the Sunday papers. Those lovely images of stately English homes, viewed over fields bordered by horse chestnut trees, with the odd thoroughbred grazing in the foreground for good measure. The interiors resemble five star hotels, and look impossibly elegant for normal family life. As we leaf onwards, turning over page after page of gorgeous houses, the properties get smaller, and more and more modest in price, concluding eventually with much more ordinary properties at around half a million pounds or less.

So who places these adverts? And more importantly, who pays for them?

Well, that would very much depend on whether your home is better suited to the first few glossy pages, or something you would expect to see towards the end of the publication.

Let’s start with the large country piles. If you’re lucky enough to have a veritable rural palace, to choose your agent, you may very well peruse the property pages of one of these glossies, and choose your agent based on their name (perceived reputation) and also their presence (size and quantities of adverts) in the magazine. So you engage your chosen agent, and delighted with the opportunity to market your very prestigious house, they generously offer to fund an advertising campaign at their own expense. You happily agree, and show off to your family and friends when your property is prominently featured in Country Life. Lovely.

If you’re not fortunate enough to own a country pile, but instead have rather a nice townhouse in the suburbs, you may still choose an agent based on his adverts, but there is one fundamental difference to the service you will receive from him. He won’t be offering to cover the expense of a print advertising campaign. Instead, he will offer you an advert in one of the aspirational magazines you have been enjoying, but you’ll have to pay for it. Why? Because – and here’s the shocking truth – print advertising doesn’t sell houses.

So why do the agents pay for the lovely big houses to be featured? Easy – it’s to attract new sellers of lovely big houses! Print advertising is merely there to win new instructions. Now there are plenty of estate agents out there who would challenge my view, but I can tell you that in the decade I’ve been running HomeTruths, not one of our 400 clients has ever sold their home from a print advert!

If your agent offers you a print advert, say thank you, and accept. If he starts talking about you paying for it, say this to him: “If you’re confident it will make a difference in selling my house – you pay for it”.

Simple.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

It never ceases to amaze me that around 70% of my clients don’t know the commission fee they have agreed with their agent. Given that agents seem to be prepared to negotiate and reduce their fees in order to achieve the instruction, perhaps it’s not the fee that sways the seller, but the overall impression of the agent? As with anything we buy, we don’t usually want the cheapest, but nor do we want to be ripped off. We just want value for money, don’t we? So if all agents were the same, then we’d be obliged to choose based on their selling fee.

However, all agents are not the same! In talking to sellers about their motivation for choosing a particular agent, none of them cited fee as their reason. Instead, they talked about passion, enthusiasm and a genuine desire to help to sell the property. So, if any agents are reading this, please please don’t go in with the lowest commission fee – just listen to the seller about their hopes and needs from your agency, and make sure you portray – and act on – a real motivation to sell their house.

From the moment you engage an agent to market your house, forget location, location, location – it’s communication, communication, communication! Your agent should be talking to you often, even if there isn’t much to tell you. Communication forges the bond of trust you need when the negotiations start with a buyer, and things start getting tough.

So if you’re a seller, and you don’t know what you agreed with your agent, go back and check your agreement. If it states a commission fee of less than 1.5%, and you don’t feel like you’re receiving a good service from your agent, perhaps the two facts are linked! Go find an agent that will give you the service you deserve, and in return pay them the commission that they deserve.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Making sense of the Mortgage Market Review and how it affects us all

I recently sold a house I’ve owned for eight years, but my successful sale at a great price had a sting in the tale….

Although I lived in the house originally, I’d left it rented out whilst it recovered equity (having bought at the very top of the market, as we property experts do). When the tenant gave notice, I thought it would be a good time to finally buy, having rented since I’d moved out.

I went to my lender and asked for half the mortgage I’d originally had for those eight years. They said no.

“But it’s half the mortgage I’ve been paying every month without fail for eight years!” I protested. Not only that, but my income has shot up during that time.

They wouldn’t be swayed. And after a few conversations with friends and on social media, I realised that I’m not alone. Far from it, in fact. There are many, many homeowners who are trapped in their homes because they cannot borrow sometimes a fraction of the mortgage they currently have.

In April 2014, the Mortgage Market Review (MMR – not to be confused with the immunisation) brought into force new rules about mortgage lending. These rules, introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority, were designed to ensure that lenders would be more careful about thoroughly checking how affordable and suitable the mortgage product was to a particular borrower.

I recently attended an event hosted by Experian, at which they explained the ramifications of the MMR, one year on, in their report The Mortgage Muddle, One Year On From the MMR. Here are some highlights:

12% of borrowers can’t get the mortgage amount they want
5% don’t meet the lending criteria
11% have no idea why their application was refused

Not being able to move home can have huge implications for your quality of life; maybe you have children and as they grow, you urgently need more space, but can’t buy a bigger house. Or perhaps your children have grown and left, and you need to downsize, but can’t afford to buy a property outright with your equity.

There is a solution, but it won’t suit everyone. Like I did, you can simply rent your home to a tenant, and rent the home you need. Many homeowners have done this since 2007, resulting in a strong ‘accidental landlord’ market. This is coming to an end now, as property prices in most areas of the UK have finally surpassed the 2007 peak prices, and owners are again able to sell, but like me, will they be able to secure a mortgage? Not only that, but the ‘profit’ you make on your rental – i.e. the difference between the rent you charge and the interest on your loan, plus allowable expenses – is taxable, giving you even less in the pot each month. Evermore complicated legislation for landlords also means that unless you use a professional letting agent, you could find yourself in trouble with tenants who are often more clued-up than their landlords, thanks to organisations like Shelter.

What I learned at the Experian event, was that before you put your home on the market, or accept an offer, taking these six steps can help to make sure your home move has a happy ending:

1. Know what you have to spend – make a list of your available savings so you know what deposit you have to put down.

2. Do your research – use mortgage calculators and talk to your financial advisor at an early stage, to find out the best lending route for you.

3. Assess your spending – look at the last few months’ outgoings. With online banking, this is surprisingly easy. You can simply download your transactions onto a spreadsheet so you can total incomings and outgoings easily. Are you overspending each month, or do you have plenty of month left at the end of the money?

4. Check your credit report – before you take any action, check your credit report – preferably with all three credit reference agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Callcredit.

5. Improve your credit score – Experian advise to take steps early to get you’re your credit report into shape before making your mortgage application. For example, ensure you’re registered on the Electoral Roll and paying down outstanding credit card balances. This handy guide from Experian on Demystifying Your Credit Score l may help you with this.

6. Last step – check every last detail of your credit report to make sure it’s 100% accurate. Name and address spellings, date of birth and accounts – these all need to be shown exactly how you would enter them onto a mortgage application so there are no discrepancies.

Finally, Martin Lewis on his Money Saving Expert website has a great guide to credit scores here.

I’m still working out the best route for me to home ownership again, and I’ll keep you posted.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

The agent calls this summer, and a viewer will be there within the hour. What can you do to ensure they see your house in the best possible light? Here’s my ten top tips to make your house shine in a hurry!

1. Grab a washing basket, and go through each room removing any bits and pieces that don’t belong there: paperwork, laundry, dirty dishes, shoes – anything that’s cluttering up the space. Pop the basket in your car, out of sight

2. Swap the towels in the bathroom for freshly laundered ones. Even better is to have new white fluffy towels that you keep especially for viewings

3. Make up the master bed with laundered or new bedding. Again, if you can keep some new bedding to throw on for viewings, it will always look at its best. One tip is to put your usual duvet cover and pillow cases over the top of your special ones, and whip them off for viewings – ta da!

4. Open a window in each room to let some fresh air into the house

5. Fill the grate of your fire with church candles and light them for a cosy glow; this is perfect for the summertime when it’s too hot to have a fire lit

6. Unless it’s an extremely bright day, have your lamps lit upstairs, and a mixture of overhead and low level lights lit downstairs

7. Create the right atmosphere with low and relaxing music, to encourage your viewers to linger over their viewing

8. Make sure your home smells as good as it looks: spray beds with a tiny spray of perfume, pop a tumble drier sheet in the bottom of all your bins, and put a vanilla pod in the oven on a low heat for a subtle, homely scent. If you don’t have one, try some drops of vanilla or lemon juice in a bowl of water and put that in the oven.

9. Raid your garden for some summer greenery and colour, and arrange in vases.

10. Finally – give yourself a mini-makeover! Make sure your outfit is smart, your shoes are clean (never slippers!) and you are well-groomed and looking professional. Your image should reflect that of your home – neat, well-kept and stylish

Keep these 10 quick staging tips taped on the inside of a kitchen cupboard, so you can implement them quickly, and make sure your family is well-trained so they can leap into action when required!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

When it comes to moving home, the stress doesn’t stop after you’ve found the right property for you. Packing and moving your belongings can prove to be chaotic and time consuming, but there are certain things you can do to make the process run smoothly. The experts at ABC Movers & Storers have put together some top tips to help you make the most of your moving day.

1. Make a List

Make a priority list of all the things you need to pack and in the order you should pack them. This will make it much easier when you start piling your possessions away. Tick off the items once you have packed them so you know exactly what has been packed already. You can also create a system including boxes containing items from i

Individual rooms, for particular uses and of a certain category. By grouping your possessions together like this they will be easier to organise when both packing and unpacking.

2. Start Early

It isn’t worth leaving all of your packing to the week before you move because you’re likely to either forget things or run out of time. Start with the things you only use now and then like books, tables, out of season clothes and ornaments. You can box these up in the weeks before your move so that in the last week you can concentrate on packing those things you use daily.

You’d be surprised at the amount of things you can live without for a month or so, and with the promise of making your moving day less stressful, it’s definitely worth planning ahead.

3. Label Boxes

This seems simple enough but people get it wrong so often. Label your boxes by room; if you need to colour code then do so. This will ensure that when you go to unpack you will know exactly what boxes should go in what room, allowing you to access your possessions when you need them.

Don’t just label the room either, write down some of the contents on the box so you don’t have to search all of your belongings to find what you’re looking for. When you’re labelling, make sure you write on the side of the box and not on the top. This will make it easier to see the contents when the boxes are all stacked.

4. Mark your Essentials Boxes

You may need a few boxes filled with items that you will need straight away – things like phone chargers, kitchen utensils and cleaning products. Marking these with a different colour duct tape will make them stand out straight away, making sure you’re not stranded when you get to your new home.

When filling your essentials box, take time to consider what items are going to go in there and what you will need as soon as you get to your new home. Writing down a list before you start to pack will make sure you don’t miss any vital items!

5. Don’t Fill the Boxes to the Top

Filling your boxes up to the top may m

Make it difficult for you to carry them around when transporting them. Whilst making the most of the space that you have is efficient, you will be making it more difficult for yourself to transfer your belonging to and from the removal lorry. If you put the heaviest items in smaller boxes not only will you be less tempted to keep packing extra bits and bobs, but you can take up less space without adding to the weight.

With these easy steps, you can be sure that you are fully prepared for the big day, making the move stress-free and easy. Make sure to plan ahead in order to avoid anything going wrong and try to remain as organised as possible. You will soon reap the rewards of spending time organising and labelling, and unpacking will be made even easier too!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember a time before review websites. How did you manage to buy a toaster without knowing how much trouble ‘jona43, Basingstoke’ had with its shorter-than-ideal power cable? Imagine your level of regret, had you plumped for that villa in Spain, unable to benefit from TripAdvisor contributors informing you about its strange smell …

Review sites are a significant enhancement to life in 2015. Studies show that 77%* of people read them before making a decision on a product or service; of these, 90%**admit that the reviews influence their decision to buy (or not) a product or service. An independent, trustworthy and transparent review site is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for any industry.

Unarguably, selling or letting your home is a massive moment in anyone’s life, with huge ramifications if you choose the wrong estate agent. We’ve launched raterAgent (www.rateragent.co.uk) – in ‘beta-testing’ until March) to provide the TripAdvisor-type information that you – and those that come after you, from your reviews – need, so that it’s no longer the crazy emotional lottery that it can sometimes feel.

So let’s dive in to the R ‘N’ D of choosing the right estate agent;

RESEARCH: Hardly a shock, bearing in mind what we do, but this is why we do. You could lose tens of thousands of pounds – literally – if you fail to choose the right agent. From a poor valuation to bad negotiation skills to weak process-closure, you need to know who’s good at this – and, particularly, who is not;
NEGOTIATE: Test them out, if they can’t negotiate with you they’re not going to do well on your behalf against a buyer or tenant, are they? Make sure that they know you’re serious about getting the best deal for your prize asset and they’ll operate in a similar way on your behalf;
DITCH: If it’s 3 months in and it’s not sold, you need to be honest with yourself and your agent. Are you right for each other? If not, don’t hesitate – move on. There will be others that will have watched the plight of your property from afar with ideas on how to make this re-launch better. But use discretion. Don’t forget you still need to find the best, so give your comments to raterAgent and check the latest ones there too.

There are other sites out there that provide a similar service, but do they check every single review that goes live to make sure that it’s genuine? At raterAgent we do.

Help the next person down the line with a detailed review of your last estate agent. And, when you’re next looking around for one, make sure that you’re not just getting the emotional pitch and get the inside track with raterAgent – you’ll never regret those extra minutes of research.

Mal McCallion is CEO of raterAgent, the UK’s most trustworthy dedicated estate agent review website. He has worked in property technology marketing for the last 15 years, having previously helped launch Primelocation in 2000 and the estate agent proposition of Zoopla in 2009. You can reach him on [email protected].

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

After the thrill of finding that perfect place to live and the hassle of filling out all the paperwork comes the dread and realisation of what it all means…moving day! What should be a happy and exciting time can quickly switch to a stressful experience if things start to take a turn for the worse. Not running on time and poor organisation can lead to a miserable day which is why we have put together this handy little guide on what you should be thinking about when you come to moving home.

Using A Removal Company

One of the first things people often ask when they decide to move home is, “Should I use a removal company?” The answer, if you are looking for a less stressful time, would be a resounding “Yes!”

Reputable companies like Hadley and Ottaway removals can really provide invaluable experience and take the hassle out of loading and unloading a vehicle, moving boxes and furniture around, and providing general tips and advice. Having a removal company will save you plenty of time and keep you free to think about all the other things you need to do.

Plan In Advance

Planning in advance is essential to making sure that your moving day goes as smoothly as it can and it starts with packing boxes. Once you have filled a box make sure that you label it on the side and top with the room it is going in and the contents, this means that when you arrive at your new destination you can unload your boxes to the right room and not have to keep reshuffling.

It’s also worth using freezer bags to store all the screws and fixings for any furniture that you have dismantled. Securely attach it to relevant item with tape, then when it comes to re-building you will have everything that you need.

Tips For When You Arrive

Getting to your new property and throwing everything in can seem tempting, but there are a few things you might want to consider before you start.

Check all the fixtures and fittings that were included in the sale are still there – this is the perfect opportunity as the house is nice and empty
Take metre readings – you don’t want to be charged for any gas, electric or water you didn’t use
Cover any hardwood floors with flat packed cardboard boxes – this will prevent any scratching occurring while you are putting things in their new place
Use dust sheets to protect carpets – if it’s a wet day then you don’t want to dirt being traipsed through your house
Have some spare light bulbs – there is nothing worse than getting to your new house and finding that you can’t see what you are doing so make sure you carry a few spare bulbs
Bring the furniture in first – this means you won’t be putting boxes in the way of the bigger items and have to move them

Once you have done all of that then you are ready to begin moving everything into the right room – see we told you labelling those boxes would pay off!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Today’s guest post is courtesy of Conveyancing Fees – a UK-based website that has been offering a conveyancing comparison service since 2011.

So what is conveyancing?

Conveyancing is technically the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another.

Practically speaking, you need a conveyancer when you’re buying or selling a property. In days gone by, when you needed a conveyancing solicitor, you would start your search on the high street or in the Yellow pages. Then came the internet, and with it, a treasure trove of choice and information. These days, just as when you’re buying flights to Malaga or insurance for your Ford Focus, savvy consumers turn to comparison sites to ensure they make the right choice of provider.

What’s important to you?

Cost, service levels, quality and reputation of provider: these elements all play a part in the consumer’s decision, and that’s where our comparison site may be just what you need.

When you’re ready to take that next step in your moving journey, just go to www.conveyancingfees.org.uk and save yourself time, effort and money, and most importantly, find exactly the right conveyancer for you.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

It can be very exciting when you decide to sell your house and move somewhere new. It can be the start of a new life with new opportunities and possibilities. You may be looking forward to decorating your new home or moving somewhere larger or more suited to your needs. You will probably be keen to get things moving and it can be really helpful to plan ahead to make this process as short and financially effective as possible. If you look at using self storage short term while you sell your existing property, this can provide an opportunity to organise for the move in advance and make the process on move day much more speedy, effective and less stressful. Not only does this allow you to organise ahead, it also gives you the chance to showcase your home for sale in the best possible light. Make the property as presentable and appealing as possible to prospective buyers to increase the chances of it being taken off your hands. You are also more likely to get a higher offer or competition between buyers.

The idea is to give an impression of more space. Create the illusion of a room being larger than it actually is by making sure all the walls are visible and that the property has a minimalistic look. With fewer items around the property, this can make it easier for outsiders to imagine the home as their own and to help them to visualise how their belongings would fit into the space. This is an important tactic that often works when selling a property.

Start with furniture

Over the years, you will probably fill your home with more and more furniture for increased comfort and improved style. When selling, store unnecessary furniture or more garish items, which may not be to everyone’s taste in a self storage unit. If you have mismatched furniture, you can make the room look more appealing by storing the pieces which look most out of place. This will enhance the appearance of the room and increase the value in the eyes of the potential buyer. Keep only the bare minimum to improve the illusion of space. Keep styles as consistent and as neutral as possible. People often hoard possessions without even realising it, so try to reassess if this is something you have done in your home and try to address the issue.

Don’t forget cupboard space!

When people come to inspect your home, they will want to see other internal space, not just in the rooms. They will want to inspect the storage areas like wardrobes and built-in cupboards. Again the emptier the cupboards etc are, the more space will appear to the potential buyers. Let them see exactly how much space they are getting.
Empty out your cupboards and wardrobes. Pack up all the extra things that you will not require right away and put them away in storage. Keep basic clothing items, and pack away all the bulky items that you can do without for a few months. This is also a good opportunity for a clear out. Ask yourself when the last time you wore certain clothes or used certain items. If it has been a long time this can be a wonderful opportunity to clear space for the future.

Remove the personal touch

Take a look at the things that may be personal to your own taste. How many ornaments do you have displayed? Keep these to a minimum, as if your taste is not the same as the potential buyer, they may consciously or subconsciously be put off. Too many ornaments will also make the room look cluttered and unsightly and may impact on the perception of space. Photographs, posters, artistic memorabilia, paintings, etc can be stored or kept to a minimum until it is time to decorate your new home. This will give the house a clean and minimalist look. Taking away the personal touch from the house will give buyers a clean space to allow their imagination to take over.

The importance of the kitchen

The kitchen is considered to be one of the most important parts of the home to many potential buyers. If presented in a bad light, this alone could ruin your chances of getting a sale. Make sure the buyer can see the table top, the walls and the counter tops. It’s easy to accumulate many kitchen appliances that are rarely used. If you have all of these out on display, for example your coffee maker, your blender, your bread maker, panini press, you may not notice it yourself but you have created a vast amount of clutter. This creates a bad appearance and makes the kitchen a more difficult place to keep clean and well presented at this important time. Pack any unnecessary items into storage, even if they are stacked away in a cupboard because it is highly likely a potential buyer will be looking in the cupboards too and you need to give the illusion that they are as roomy as possible.
With a good storage company, a few helping hands and some organisation, de-cluttering is a task that is easily accomplished and well worth the time. Many self store companies give you as much access to your unit as you will need and reputable companies provide 24hr security.

Public storage offers a wide range of self storage units, across a large number of locations – check it out here: https://www.publicstorage.com/global-storage-facilities

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Winter brings with it many challenges, but selling your home during this season shouldn’t be one. House hunters still look around during the winter season, especially if they’re looking for a fresh start in the New Year. The nights may be darker and it may seem more of a challenge to make your home more appealing, but with a few practical tips, your home will gleam with winter charm.

Heat it up! No one wants to wander around a cold house; it is uninviting and can put people off immediately. If you know you’re going to arrive at the same time as the potential buyers, set your timer to come on a few hours prior to the viewing. Not only will the house be toasty warm, it’ll prevent any noises of boilers kicking in. Before they arrive, maybe pop the fire on low too if you have one; it makes a living room so warming and homely.

Clear the path. If the winter is a cold one, chances are that the snow will arrive. Ensure your front path is shovelled to make it clear, and gritted to prevent slip ups. Trawling through the snow to the front door isn’t massively inviting.

Let there be light. A dark home is not in the least bit appealing for viewers. If they’re arriving after dark, turn on lights in all rooms. Don’t use the main big lights, go for lampshades. Turn on any lights in cupboards or on appliances. Don’t shut any curtains; it’ll make rooms seem closed in. Do not use the TV as a light; turn it off. Take advantage of timers too; if people go past your home and see for the sale sign, your home will seem more interesting with lights on.

Dress your rooms. Make a room look inviting and well-staged by creating a mood. In the dining room, set the table for a meal using your best china. Put your lotions and shampoos in neat groups in the bathroom, and hang freshly laundered dressing gowns. Place winter flowers in vases around the house. Set a newspaper on the coffee table and a few magazines.

Visuals! Make your home sparkle on the inside, and keep it really clean. Vacuum carpets, wash the windows, dust furniture and clean the floors. Clean out your fridge; surprisingly, many people look in the fridge, especially if it comes as part of the kitchen fittings. Display pictures around your home of your garden during the warmer seasons, so they can see what it looks like during this time of year.

Beware of smells. While making your home smell nice is a must, don’t spray air fresheners or perfume in case visitors are allergic. Focus on getting the home smelling naturally clean and welcoming. A lovely inviting smell is baking; make some cookies and time them so they’re just ready as people arrive. Ensure that you offer them to the buyers though, or they’ll be disappointed!

By following such simple tips, you’ll ensure your home is welcoming and appealing during the winter season. A homely midwinter home will tick all the right boxes, allowing your buyers to imagine themselves living there when the cold weather rolls around.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.