Common Failures of Estate Agents in the UK

Whilst Estate Agents tend to deal with large transactions on an almost daily basis, they are not regulated as well as you may think. Sure, there are laws in place, but they are not tightly enforced. If you have a problem then you can hop on over to ombudsmen for the industry. The punishments tend to be very slim though. In fact, most of the time, providing the estate agent does not do something completely negligent, nobody really cares about their blunders. On this page I want to talk to you about a few of the most common failures and complaints made about Estate Agents in the UK.

Perhaps one of the ‘craftiest’ techniques used by an estate agent is to overvalue your property. They do this because they want to make you believe that they can achieve that asking price for you. You then decide to use their services, your home does not sell, and they ask you to reduce the price to a fairer level. It is important that if you do work with an estate agent you should get as MANY valuations as you possibly can. This way you will get some sort of idea about which ones are grossly overvaluing the property.

When you are working with an estate agent you should ALWAYS talk to them about the costs of publicity. Most will not advertise your property without getting hundreds of pounds extra from you. This is of course going to delay the sale of your property quite a lot.

Perhaps one of the BIGGEST mistakes made my estate agents is not vetting the people that come to look at your property. By this I mean that they really do not check whether the person coming into your property can actually afford it or not. You will be surprised at how many estate agents do this. It is a complete waste of your time. If you work with an estate agent then you need to force them to get a letter from the mortgage provider about whether a particular person can afford the property or not. If they can’t produce that letter, they can’t come in.

Finally, estate agents have a LOT on their plate. More often than not they will ‘forget’ to update you on the progress of your sale. They may not turn up to viewings (and this can you a lot of problems!), in some cases they may not even tell you when offers come in (this is rare, but it does happen from time to time). In short, this is going to delay sales. In fact, in some cases you may even find that it ends up costing you a sale.

The vast majority of these mistakes and failures can be eradicated by working with a company like ‘Sell My House UK’ to bring your home to the market. If you are looking into selling your property soon then you should really check them out.

Estate Agents should also been registered with the "Property Ombudsman", this is your best contact should you encounter Agents that aren't quite as professional as ‘Sell My House UK’

About Sell my House UK

Web: www.sellmyhouse-uk.co.uk
Email: info@housesforsale-uk.co.uk
Twitter: No1EstateAgents
Phone: 01325 540 107

Sell my House UK is the trading name of Passionate with Property Ltd. A unique type ofEstate Agents because whilst they are internet based, they have a team of local agents, negotiators and photographers available to their clients 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. How do you get people to commit to working this many hours. Everyone is so very passionate about property! Hence the company name. Thank you.

Finding the 'Perfect' Investment Property

It is no secret that the housing market has been a little 'down in the dumps' for the past couple of years. Thousands of people involved in the housing market found themselves making massive losses when the industry seemingly collapsed overnight. Thankfully it now seems to be at the point where it has recovered just enough for property investment to be a viable profit making venture...providing the right property is selected of course! In this post I want to give you an overview of the various things that you may need to consider when searching for that perfect investment property. This is not a complete guide. Many lofty tomes have been written on property investment. Think of this as a 'nudge' towards carrying out your own research.

The best bit of advice I can give you is that no two properties are alike when it comes to property investment. Even a house with the exact same layout as its next door neighbour may have several key differences which may raise or the lower the price substantially. As a property investor it is important that you look at a property on its own merits. Just because rental income in that location is 'through the roof' and could see you making a huge profit does not necessarily mean that people will want to rent the property that you purchase. Simple things such as the décor or even a minor change in view or location could shave hundreds off your potential monthly income. Whenever you are assessing a potential property you should always work with a couple of real estate agents to get an idea of its worth. You should never 'guess' potential income. This is a business after all. Everything needs to be planned down to a tee. It may take the viewing of dozens, or even hundreds, of properties before you find one that is worth investing in.

You will also want to think long and hard about how you are going to get your money back from the property. Many people will purchase a property with the view to selling as soon as they possibly can. This means they may redevelop it a little to the point where the price rises (consult with an estate agent when doing this!). The positive is that the money will come in fast. The downside however is that this is quite a risky investment. There are plenty of people out there who have spent thousands on remodelling a house only to find that the value increased just a small amount. Not enough to really cover the work that was put into it. On the other hand, rental income tends to be fairly 'safe' (providing it is occupied most of the time). The downside is that the gains are much lower and it will take a while for the money to start to flow in. If you had to take a mortgage out on the property then you may just see a couple of hundreds of pounds profit a month. Most people do not really seem to think it is worth it.

When you are searching for a property you are going to want to think about the following things:

• The Location: People are willing to pay more for a property which is in a good 'location'. This means close to decent schools, supermarkets, transport connections etc. People love properties which have tons of open space around them. Properties which have main roads next to them tend to command a lower price when it comes to purchase and rental. That being said, these properties do rent out quicker because of the lower price.

• The Property: Does the property need any work doing to it? What amenities does it boast?`How much space is inside of the property? All of this will have a major affect on the price. If too much work needs doing to the property then you may find it very difficult to rent it out.

• What is the rental market like in the area? Are prices currently high? Could you make a profit on it based on your mortgage? Are all of the properties in the area rented? This type of stuff is going to have a major impact on the decision on whether to invest in a property or not. If the housing market is poor in an area then properties will be empty. Landlords will likely slash prices just to fill them up. You may not be able to make a profit on these 'slashed' prices.

As I said at the start; this is just a very brief guide to finding the perfect rental property. I know you are smart though. It is unlikely you would invest in a property unless you really researched more into the idea (if you are thinking of selecting a property based on the information in a single blog post then you are not going to be very successful). Remember, it is the selection of the right property which will generate income for you.

About the company “Passionate with Property”

These Darlington Estate Agents were specifically set up to make the selling of your property a joyful and stress free experience.

How? Well they are on-line which means they cost you lees in commission, BUT they have local agents on the ground, where you are, who you can speak to you face to face or over the phone, 7 days a week, 9am to 9pm. If this sounds like the type of pleasurable experience you want when selling your house, see their website:

 www.sellmyhouse-uk.co.uk

Sell my House UK Google+ Page

Top 5 Tips for a Buy-to-Let Investment

The 'buy to let' market is incredibly strong at the moment. Providing you do the right things then you could make a rather decent return on your investment. In this post I want to share five tips that will hopefully make your investment that little bit easier.

1.      Location: The location of the property is EVERYTHING when it comes to buy-to-let. People do not want to live in a 'poor' area. They want to live somewhere that is close to everything that they need. This means schools, hospitals (in some situations), shopping areas, transport connections, open spaces etc. The better the area, the higher the price you can command, the larger your target market is going to be. You need to remember that tenants can leave on short notice (sometimes as little as a month) You obviously are going to want to fill up that property as quickly as you can so you do not have to absorb the costs for too long. The location is what is going to sell that property. Get it right to begin with and your job as a property investor is going to be a whole lot easier.

2.      Numbers: There seems to be a lack of 'number crunching' by many new investors. This is something that has always surprised me. After all, if you are going to invest in a property then you obviously want to make profit, right? Well, it is time to whip that calculator out! You are going to want to look into the price of the property (obviously), the amount that you are borrowing to cover the purchase price, and what the standard rental income for that area is. Generally speaking you are going to want the rental income to cover at least 125% of the mortgage (lenders will not lend for any less than this). If it does not then move on and find a different property. Remember, you are also going to need to think about the times when the property is not rented. How are you going to cover the mortgage then? How are you going to cover the cost of repayments on the property?

3.      Quell That Ambition: You are not going to become rich from rental income (or even selling the property on for that matter). Those days are over. It is unlikely millionaires will be made in this industry nowadays. You should not really be focusing on your 'long term' goals when it comes to property investment. You want to think about how much money you are going to make NOW. This means the rent you can command on a property now. Do not even think about selling it on yet. Focus on making small amounts of money each month. Who knows, maybe it will eventually get to the point where you can invest in more properties? For now do not think about that. Many investors get tripped up by their long term aspirations. They really do not think about what is happening in the market right now. It is those who often make a loss.

4.      Negotiate: You are a buy-to-let investor. It is unlikely you are going to be part of a chain. Those selling their homes will love this. It means that the sale will be quite quick. This means you should be able to 'knock' the price of the property down substantially. This means more profit in your pocket!

5.      Think about Property Management: Owning a property is a tough job. Not only do you have to find tenants but you also have to deal with repairs, collect payments, and a whole host of other things. Sure, this may be 'free' in terms of cash, but many people find that this is a stressful situation. I really do suggest that you find a property management service. It will stop you from sending yourself crazy from the amount of work being a landlord is.

About the company “Passionate with Property”

This Estate Agents was specifically set up to make the selling of your property a joyful experience. How? Well they are on-line which means they charge lower commissions, BUT they have local agents on the ground where you are, who you can speak to 7 days a week, 9am to 9pm. If this sounds like the type of pleasurable experience you want when selling your house, see their website:

 www.sellmyhouse-uk.co.uk

Sell my House UK Google+ Page

 

Under Offer: Estate Agents on the Job (BBC)

For me, as an Estate Agent the best thing about this latest BBC TV series is the highlighting of the things that "most" Estate Agents get wrong.

Customer Service

Is there any wonder that vendors get so stressed when selling their homes? The major problem seems to be communication. You see without adequate communication, customer service suffers. In my own research I asked vendors what difficulties they encountered when selling their homes. Number one was the fact that "most" Estate Agents operate 9 to 5. Unfortunately most vendors work 9 til 5 and so the best time to communicate with them is after 5.

This is the reasoning behind Sell My House UK agents being available from 9am to 9pm, everyday! All our clients can speak directly to the negotiator dealing with their property during these times.

Marketing and Promotion

The Estate said to the lady whose house had been on their books for 4 years and not sold; "I can't understand why?" I'll pop round and take some more pictures with my little camera and tiny flash. Er, hello, don't you think some professional photos, taken by a property photographer with the correct lenses and lighting equipment would have helped?

All Estate Agents "should" be able to offer their clients a plethora of marketing and promotional activities. Most have access to Right Move, Zoopla, Property.Com and the many more property portals that seem to dominate the on line markets. So, all things being equal here, what could the difference be? Quality photos.

At Sell my House UK we ONLY use professional property photographers. Because most browsing for house for sale is done on line, you only have at best a second to catch the viewers eye. Do you think a badly lit, badly composed picture is going to go into the accept or the reject file? Exactly.

The Perfect Estate Agents

Our research shows that being able to communicate effectively and in an engaging manor is essential when dealing with potential vendors. The negotiator has to build up empathy and gain trust before anyone is going to sign a contract with them.

Secondly, they must be available to communicate with the vendors at time that suit the vendor, 9 to 5 just doesn't cut it today.

Thirdly, an Estate Agent who doesn't understand the power of great photography, is missing a fantastic marketing opportunity at best, at worst he is wasting your time!

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly. Flexibility. Being able to be flexible, to offer services that suit the needs of the client is very important. Having a commission, or fee based structure that is equally as flexible is important.

About Sell my House UK

Sell my House UK is the trading name of Passionate with Property Ltd. A unique type of Estate Agents because whilst they are internet based, they have a team of local agents, negotiators and photographers available to their clients 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. How do you get people to commit to working this many hours. Everyone is so very passionate about property! Hence the company name. Thank you.

Web: www.sellmyhouse-uk.co.uk
Email: info@housesforsale-uk.co.uk
Twitter: No1EstateAgents
Phone: 01325 540 107

Making a Massive Difference in Quality of Service – Estate Agents

If you were to ask anyone who has bought and sold a few properties what they thought about the service they received, many would report being unhappy. Don’t get me wrong the Property Ombudsman Scheme is very good at offering guidance when it comes to the more legal and financial matters. But, come on, surely you would expect companies dealing with your most expensive asset and your hard earned money to be at least operating legally! So let’s believe that many Estate Agents do operate within the various codes of practice and get to what this article is really about.

Customer Service

The majority of complaints I have read about on-line and elsewhere “generally” refer to a breakdown in communication, at worse a care-less attitude. Since the turn of the year I have personally spoken to 75 property sellers who complained about:

1.    Of Traditional Estate Agents, there is never anyone in the office to speak to when I get in from work or at the weekend.

2.    The photographer are taken by a “young kid” with at worst a tablet PC and a best a compact camera.

3.    Of on-line Estate Agents, they pester you to sign with them, then are difficult to get in touch with, some want to list properties at well below reasonable market value.

4.    Of on-line Estate Agents, if you like doing business face to face, you’re out of luck!

5.    Of all Estate Agents, there is a lack of responsibility as to where the seller is in the process, as regards searches, etc.

Not an exhaustive list, but one that guarantees to make the buying and selling of property a stressful experience. But this is not what anyone wants, buying a new home, moving on, should be a joyful, exciting experience, nothing less!

How do you Ensure Good Customer Service?

1.    Think about when you are likely to want to talk to your Estate Agents, if you work 9 to 5 make sure they are open until later in the evening.

2.    Ask if there will be a specific person who will be your contact point, someone who is aware of the position at all stages of your sale.

3.    Type into Google “complaints against XX Your Estate Agent XX” to see how they fair.

About the company “Passionate with Property”

This Estate Agents was specifically set up to make the selling of your property a joyful experience. How? Well they are on-line which means they charge lower commissions, BUT they have local agents on the ground where you are, who you can speak to 7 days a week, 9am to 9pm. If this sounds like the type of pleasurable experience you want when selling your house, see their website:

 www.sellmyhouse-uk.co.uk

Sell my House UK Google+ Page

A different kind of Estate Agent

Sell my House UK – A different kind of Estate Agent

When it comes to selling your house, doing a little research before choosing your Estate Agent can make all the difference to your selling experience. Whilst larger agents are on every high street, and seem to have lots of properties in their windows, you have to wonder if they have the time to sell your house in a way you are happy with. 

Why some Estate Agents aren’t making their customers happy

Our research shows that many people are unhappy with their Estate Agents, simply because of lack of communication and interest in their property. This is why many people are turning to small estate agents to market their property, as they have the time to actively sell the properties on their books and can offer a personal touch that the larger high street chains cannot, simply because they don’t have the time.

Even with smaller estate agents, there is a cost to you, the vendor, which you probably won’t have taken into account when choosing your estate agent. These agents have large overheads that contribute to your cost of selling your house.  Things like rent, gas, water and electricity bills eventually find their way, in part, to your bill.

The Sell my House UK difference

The difference between these estate agents and Sell my House UK, is that lower overheads contribute to a lower cost to you, the vendor.  We are on line, just as many other agents are, but we offer a huge benefit of being able to meet face to face with you locally too. We also are contactable by phone or e-mail between the hours of 9am and 10pm every day of the week, meaning that you can contact us out of “normal” office hours. Ideal if you have a busy job.

A picture is worth a thousand words

When it comes to your house sale, we offer professional photography as standard and can offer High Definition photographs if that is your preference. Using professional photographs to sell you property provides you with a great chance to showcase your property. Our photographers know the best angles to use to ensure your home is shown in it’s best light. For a small extra charge we can even offer a full HD video walk through of your property. This enables potential buyers to effectively view your home before they make an arrangement to come and see it in person. The benefit to this is that buyers know exactly what they are coming to see once they make an appointment and this ensures you don’t have anyone who is not genuinely interested in purchasing your home making appointments to view.  This means less time wasted for you and more genuinely interested buyers.

At Sell my House UK, we offer friendly, reliable and contactable staff, experienced and eager to chat to you about your requirements. So why not give us a call today and feel the difference by choosing Sell my House UK as your agent. 

About Author:

Allison's mission is to bring Estate Agents into the internet era. Whilst still keeping in touch. At Sell my house UK, yes we are on line, and we have local agents in your town, real people you can speak to face to face. Real people who are available everyday of the week 9am to 10pm at night.

You actually get better service than you would from a traditional Estate Agents. Best of all YOU don't have to pay for a fancy office on the high street! So, if you are looking to sell your house, you know where to come for guaranteed personal service. Thank you.

Sell my House UK Google+ Page

Estate Agents Darlington

Are you advertising your house to its best advantage?

According to recent reports, house prices are rising. The average asking price for a UK property, according to Rightmove, rose by approximately 1% in the house price index report. This makes a massive rise of 6.4% across the year. If you have a house to sell, then chances are either you have found a property you wish to move into, or you’ve started looking, so you will want to take advantage of the fact that the Governments Help-to-buy scheme kicks in and mortgage approvals are rising. Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that Help to Buy had helped secure £1bn in mortgage lending during its first three months alone. So surely it should be relatively simple to sell your house. Or is it?

Making the right impression when it comes to selling your house can be the difference between getting a sale, and potential buyers flicking onto the next page of listings. An outstanding portfolio of photographs, professionally taken, can make all the difference to asking price too. A first impression counts more than even when it comes to selling your house, and many people are turning to professional photographers to help them sell their house.

But I already have an estate agent!

However well known your estate agent is, or how wide their advertising is, if people are discounting your property from first glance, then you’re not going to get anywhere. This is why Sell My House UK have chosen to supply a new product, which works alongside your current estate agent, to provide a professional visage of your property at a one off fee. There will be no commission for this, so you won’t be breaking any sole agents agreement. You’ll simply be providing your estate agent with a professional set of photographs that will help to sell your property.

What is the difference between what my estate agent does and what Sell my House UK can do?

The difference between a usual photographer, sent by an estate agent to your property, and the service provided by Sell My House UK is that we choose the most professional photographs taken by one of our experts, and add captions, which will describe the beauty and allure of your property.  Your professional pictures will be sent to you, and also listed on our website, at no extra cost, and we will ensure that your listing describes your property in a way that will show it off to the properties best advantages.  Our professional photographers are experienced in the angles, lighting and other photographic techniques that will make your property shine. Once you have the initial interest, your potential buyers will visit your home and see the property’s charm for itself.

How much does it cost? Is there commission to pay?

Sell My House UK offer an extremely competitive price of just £99 for this professional service, and better still, there is NO commission due. This is purely a bolt on service to your other efforts to sell your property, however, if you’d like to take advantage of one of our other packages, we are always happy to discuss this.  

About Author:

Allison's mission is to bring Estate Agents into the internet era. Many have tried this and somehow have lost touch with their customers, they became to impersonal. At Sell my house UK, yes we are online, but we have local representatives in your town. Real people you can speak to. Real people who are available everyday of the week 9am to 10pm at night.

You actually get better service than you would from a traditional Estate Agents. Best of all YOU don't have to pay for a fancy office on the high street! So, if you are looking to sell your house, you know where to come for guaranteed personal service. Thank you.

Sell my House UK Google+ Page

Estate Agents Darlington