Selling a property in Exeter – An estate agents point of view

For me, one of the most exciting parts of being an estate and letting agent is putting a property on the market that you know will get very high volumes of interest and sell or let within a few days.

I recently put a house on the market for sale in Broadfields.  I listed it on a Friday afternoon and knew it would generate a great deal of interest over the weekend as similar properties do not come up too often.  It is a three bedroom semi-detached modern house with garage, parking and good sized garden and is near excellent schools and amenities.  Broadfields gives excellent access to the M5 so is popular for both people working in the city and those travelling further afield.

Monday morning came, I checked through the weekends’ enquires and lo and behold there were lots for this new property.  I called through the list, booking viewings for the following day.  It was impossible to pick and choose which applicants to call first; some enquires come through with lots of detail, such as their buying and selling position, availability of funds best viewing times.  Others simply asked for more details, but in the end, any one of them could be our buyer.  I managed to book one viewing for the following day and a few more for later in the week.

Tuesday came, viewing day.  I set off to the property with a copy of the draft sales particulars in my folder as we were awaiting approval of the full particulars from the seller; I had previously suggested to the sellers that although their young child was delightful and very well behaved, I thought viewers may prefer to have a viewing without toy cars and footballs being strategically thrown at their feet to trip them over so they could look more closely at how well decorated the property was.  The sellers had presented the property very well, the grass was cut, the beds had been made and the lounge had been tidied.  As the viewing was in the morning there was still a delicious smell of fresh coffee in the kitchen, always a welcoming aroma. 

The viewers arrived and after introductions I started to show them around the property.  It is usually very obvious from early on whether or not a viewer likes a property; there are those who hide their emotions well but in the main the buying signals are obvious.  Being first time buyers this particular couple had not yet learnt the art of concealment, after lots of “oh wow’s” at the presentation of the master bedroom and “it’s amazing” references to the open plan lounge/diner, I had a pretty good idea they were keen.  I always enjoy showing and selling property to first time buyers, they usually give off a strange sense of both excitement and sheer terror at the thought they may become homeowners!

I let them have another look around the property and discuss it between themselves without me looking over their shoulder, then said thank you very much and they set off on their way home.

Shortly after getting back to the office I took a call from the couple, asking to arrange another viewing with their parents.  We did the second viewing on the same day and they went away to have a think overnight.

Wednesday came, I opened my email and there it was, our first offer for the property.  I called the vendors and discussed the position of the applicants and their offer.  Estate agents work for the seller so my priority and philosophy is get to the best price from the best buyer in the best time, and from all the buying signals in this case I knew we would be able to achieve a higher price for the seller.  Following many calls back and forth, we finally agreed a price.  After informing our very nice first time buyers we had agreed a price, solicitors were instructed and I sent out all the relevant paperwork. 

Then the fun began with the sales progression!

If you are looking to buy, sell or let a property in the Exeter area please come in and see us at our South Street office or call on 01392 254488.

Below is a similar property which I am sure will not hang around for long!

http://www.martinco.com/for-sale/property/177418

Rent guarantee…is it worth it?

Tenants can very often appear perfect at the outset, however during the period of tenancy this can quickly change.

The first thing a landlord notices is non-payment or late rent. The reasons for not paying rent are numerous but mainly related to loss of earnings, relationship breakups or other changes in personal circumstances.

So is it worth taking out rent guarantee when letting your property?

An example of a few things current policies can cover:

• Late payment of rent
• Court fees
• Repossession

A few of our landlords have already taken out policies as they see the cover offered provides real value and peace of mind, especially for those landlords new to buy-to-let.

A recent case of one of our landlords showing how it can go wrong is as follows:

A tenant stopped paying rent because of a change of circumstances. The appropriate legal notices were issued and we are now four months’ down the road.  Having gained a repossession order from the courts and the tenant still refuses to move out, we are now faced with another court order for bailiffs to attend to evict the tenant.

Even after the eviction order has been obtained, there can be more delays. The tenant can apply to the court to delay the eviction, or can simply resist the reasonable force the bailiffs are entitled to use to remove them obliging the bailiffs ask the police to attend the eviction. In this instance, the tenant did get an initial stay of eviction but failed to meet the commitments they had made to the court and when the courts ordered the bailiffs to go in they conceded defeat and moved out.

All in all, the cost to this landlord was five months’ loss of rent plus the legal costs. That came to more than £5000, even before we checked the property for damage.

So is rent guarantee worth it? I would suggest it is, as a good rent guarantee product would have covered the landlord in this case for most of the rent arrears and the cost of court action for as little as £120.00 subject to adequate tenant referencing. 

Cranbrook achieves 22% higher rent than Exeter

I have had several landlords contacting me over the last few weeks to ask my thoughts on buying an investment property at Cranbrook.

One in particular wanted to know if buying at Cranbrook would make a better long term investment than buying elsewhere in Exeter.

Over the past year average property values at Cranbrook have increased by around 4.4%, which is not particularly exceptional when the average for the South West is around 7.4%.

This leads to the question as to why so many landlords are buying at the new development.

I did some research into average asking rents in the area and it turns out that the average asking rent throughout Exeter is currently around £837pcm, this is in contrast to an incredible £1024pcm at Cranbrook, which is over 22% higher!

This higher rent could be due to many factors and certainly moving into a brand new home has its advantages.  However, for a landlord it is worth taking into account the time taken to let the property.  At Cranbrook on average it takes around 67 days and the rest of Exeter only 56 day.  I suspect this will change as the site develops.

We would advise you carry out a thorough handover and snagging list with the builder to ensure there are no outstanding issues when the tenants move in.

If you are considering buying, selling or purchasing a property to let at Cranbrook or in the Exeter area, come and see us at our office on South Street or click on our Landlord Buyers Guide to the left.

"Buying and selling property is the most stressful experience in modern day life"

A recent poll has revealed that buying and selling property has now hit the top spot for being the most stressful experience in modern day life.  

Interestingly, slow solicitors have been voted the most stressful aspect of selling a property, but is it really all their fault?  We have recently seen reports that that the searches solicitors request when someone buys a property are taking up to six weeks to be returned by one council in the region.  On average, searches take up to two weeks to be returned so this extra month is adding considerably to the stress and frustration for all parties. 

Estate agents did not fare much better with 40% of sellers thinking they could do a better job than an estate agent. 

Wherever the fault lies in these frustrations and delays, if you want to reduce the stress of buying or selling it is always worth taking time to look for a solicitor and estate agent with whom you are happy.  Not only do their fees vary dramatically but so do the services they offer for their fee.  

When choosing your solicitor, make sure that you are talking to the person who will be doing the conveyancing work, rather than an assistant or paralegal.  Estate agents too often have one person conducting valuations and starting the marketing of a property and others to do viewings and feedback so it can be difficult to keep track of who to talk to if you are unhappy or for updates. Make sure you know who your main point of contact is, how often they expect to report back to you and how they will report (email, phone, letter etc.)

THE 10 MOST STRESSFUL EXPERIENCES IN MODERN LIFE

1. Buying or selling a property

2. Relationship break-up/divorce

3. Being made redundant

4. Death of a grandparent

5. Getting the sack

6. Being in debt

7. Starting a new job 

8. Becoming a parent for the first time

9. Planning a wedding

10. Going broke / bankrupt

  

THE 10 MOST STRESSFUL ASPECTS OF SELLING A PROPERTY

1. Slow solicitors

2. The risk of it falling through

3. The huge sums of money at stake

4. All the documentation to complete

5. Endless phone calls

6. The survey

7. Difficult vendors

8. Difficult estate agents

9. Being gazumped at the last minute

10. Disruption caused to your working day

If you would like to discuss buying, selling or letting please call me on 01392 254488 or visit our office on South Street, Exeter.


Data from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2690545/How-buying-house-stressful-bankruptcy-divorce-death-loved-one-according-poll.html#ixzz37RLGuBzY 

Exeter – North vs South

I am always looking for the best places to invest in Exeter for both capital growth and yield; it is surprising the difference between the North and South of the city.

I thought it would be interesting to see how properties in EX4 (which is generally the North of Exeter) compare to those in EX2 (which is generally to the South).

Now it is probably not surprising that properties in EX2 are on average around 9.3% higher in value than in EX4, with the likes of St Leonards Road bumping up the price.  Property values in EX2 have increased by around 3.7% over the past year, however prices in EX4 have gone up by around 47.4% more over the same time.

This must surely mean that EX4 is the place to invest for capital growth?  Well, it is very much worth looking at the broader picture, a year is a very short time in the life of a property.

When we start to look at property prices over the last 5 years, prices in EX4 have increased by only around 2.7% more than EX2.

What would happen if we look at the last 10, 15 or even 20 years?

When we look at the yields for EX2 and EX4, it is interesting to see that there is a contradiction to the general “the lower the property price the higher the yield but the lower the capital growth” scenario.

Despite the average price in EX4 being lower, yields are also lower at around 4%.

If you are considering purchasing a property in Exeter, it is worth coming and seeing us at our Martin & Co Exeter office on South Street so we can look at where will be the best for you to invest to make the most of your money.

Student Shortfall

It is interesting to learn that the average student in the UK is short by around £277 each month, according to the website Save the Student.

It was found by The National Student Money Survey that students on average spend £735 per month but receive only £458 in loans.

Around 37% of students ask their parents for assistance during a financial emergency while a around a quarter take out a bank loan to cover the shortfall.

There is a small proportion, just 16% of students who have a part-time job to meet the monthly shortfall, while up to a fifth rely on money from their parents to support their studies.

The figures:                                       

·         80% of students constantly worry about money

·         46% have had their studies affected by financial concerns and 58% said it affects their diet

·         A third of students have never budgeted

·         A third feel that parents do not give enough financial support

·         The average student has £350 in savings.

Jake Butler, editor of Save the Student, said:

"It's a thorny issue of how much parents should contribute to the shortfall, and it entirely depends on individual circumstances. Ultimately I don't believe parents should have the expectation put upon them.

"However with hearing daily horror stories of students living on the breadline, I feel it's still important that parents are made more aware of the situation their child at university may be in."

Crediton residents are happy where they are...

An excellent indicator, which is frequently overlooked, of an area’s Property market is the number of times properties change hands.

There are around 9519 properties in EX1 and around 1439 have changed hands in the last 5 years. Their neighbours in EX3 may only have around 2581 properties, but of these around 504 households moved during the last 5 years. This works out as around 19.5% of the area’s property market changing hands, which is quite a bit more than Exeter’s figure of around 17.5%.

When I looked at our other neighbouring towns, Crediton has seen around 1431 of around 8676 households change hands over the same time. 

This is around 6.1% less of the population moving than in relation to Exeter.

This shows that when looking to buy, you must cover every detail from the property to the area’s market before making a decision, be it for yourself or as a buy to let investment.

If you would like to talk to us about buy to let, please feel free to visit our office on South Street.