CHOOSING YOUR ESTATE AGENT-PART FOUR
Filed under: Estate Agents, Latest News, UK property market, questions, sale, selling, selling property
With the current difficulties in the residential property sector, there will always be a knock-on effect in estate agency. In addition to lost revenue due to reduced sales volumes, they also face challenges within their ranks as entrepreneurial property professionals take advantage of market conditions. The time is right for introducing new business models to the arena. One such business is www.onelondonproperty.com
CHOOSING YOUR ESTATE AGENT-PART THREE
Filed under: Estate Agents, HIP, HIPs, Latest News, home information pack, questions
What has to be done before I sell my property?
- Make sure the property is in a presentable condition and in good decorative order, reasonably tidy and uncluttered, before you agree to any viewings by potential buyers.
- Appoint your Property Lawyer so that the HIP can be prepared and the agents terms of business approved
- The law presently requires that every residential property must have a “Home Information Pack” (“HIP”) commissioned, i.e. requested, on or before the “first date of marketing” by the agent or the seller.
- A HIP contains certain specified information and documents which is considered to be of interest to a potential buyer.
- The “Required” documents are:-
CHOOSING YOUR ESTATE AGENT-PART TWO
Filed under: Estate Agents, HIP, HIPs, Latest News, UK property law, UK property market, home information pack, questions, sale, specialist property lawyer
Must I consult a property lawyer before instructing an estate agent?
- Most definitely, Yes, especially as you are selling a property.
CHOOSING YOUR ESTATE AGENT-PART ONE
Filed under: Conveyancing, Estate Agents, HIP, HIPs, Latest News, home information pack, questions
What must I look for in an Estate Agent?
- Do they have a website? Is it easy to navigate
- Are they members of a recognised professional body, i.e. National Association of Estate Agents? It should be noted that estate agents are not legally required to have any formal qualifications to be or practice as an estate agent.
- Are they members of the relevant Ombudsman Scheme?
- Do they give a professional and businesslike image?
- Do they have Professional Indemnity Insurance, should they make a serious error or if they are negligent?
- How long has the firm/company been in business?
- What areas or districts does the firm/company cover? Are they local or have wider or national coverage.
- What methods of communication do they use, i.e. telephone, e-mail, text messaging, fax, post.
- What are their terms of business?
- What do they do for their commission?
Health Warnings about Home Information Packs-Its a Trap for the unwary
Filed under: Estate Agents, HIP, HIPs, Latest News, UK property market, home information pack, questions, sale, selling
Consumers are warned that Estate Agents may use the Home Information Packs (HIPs) legislation to tie-in hundreds of thousands of property sellers thereby creating a situation comparable to the sole agency agreement critisized by many industry professionals.
Home Information Pack – Why has it had an adverse effect on the property market?
Filed under: HIP, Latest News, UK property law, home information pack, media
Before I consider the question, I think it is important that we understand exactly why the Government wanted to bring in reforms to the property market and, in order to do this, we must travel back in time – nearly 10 years – when the property market was very buoyant and some unscrupulous sellers were increasing the prices of their properties just before exchange of contracts (gazumping). It was considered that doing something about this practice may make the government of the day popular, however, it was soon discovered that gazumping was only affecting 2% or less of the market. This clearly resulted in a re-think and it was suggested that, because a number of properties fall through just prior to exchange, there were considerable abortive fees incurred, payable to the lawyers and, therefore, that something had to be done to ensure that the transactions exchanged quickly in order to prevent such a high proportion of fall throughs. The decision was made on historical data, which was out of date at the time, since many lawyers by then had adopted “no sale, no fee” or “indemnity schemes “as a reaction to consumer demands.
What came first – the credit crunch or the downturn in the property market?
The government have, with others, attempted to bring an end to the current crisis by investing millions into the banks hoping that this will, in turn, revive the property market. This has been beset with uncertainty since 2006, when it was proposed changes needed to take place in the way that property was transacted.
Wanting to Buy or Sell Property? Discussion to find a solution to the problem
The Question was raised when I was chatting to Danny on Twitter and I make no apologies for setting the same question here.Please feel free to comment on this blog or at the following where the question was originally raised http://www.onelondonproperty.com/
Investors , Buy to Let Customers and The Property Market
Are you dealing with Investors and buy-to-let customers? If so, you will know this has provided regular work over several years to property lawyers. If not , it is time for you to consider doing so.
Rights of Occupation
Last week I had an interesting problem that needed to be solved before a transaction was ready to exchange and complete.
The facts briefly were:-
a) The occupant is in the property and is there rent free for seven months
b) The occupant was the survivor of a co habiting couple who were not married
c) The deceased partner did not leave a will and the executor was one of the deceased surviving children
d) The executor was selling the property to a third party and the surviving partner was to sign a tenancy agreement so that the sale was able to proceed
e)At the last minute the partner refused to sign any agreement and demanded a payment to leave