From the category archives:

North Devon

Attractive West Country property seeks committed and available buyers!

24/10/2012

in East Devon,North Devon,Somerset

Very much like dating, as a serious and committed house buyer you need something of interest to make you attractive to the Vendor.  Of course the more you have to offer, the more likely you are to secure your dream “completion” date!   Mark Gedye expert Property Finder shares how finding that perfect West Country property is like dating.

Being “oh so keen” but having nothing or little to support your interest is a turnoff for vendors and unlikely to get you very far.  To be taken seriously and to secure the West Country property you want at a competitive price requires some groundwork and preparation.

There are currently many opportunities for such proceedable buyers in both Bath and Bristol. Following a few simple rules will enable West Country property buyers to take advantage of market conditions and to agree favourable terms for purchases, whilst standing out from the many that simply cannot compete.

It may sound obvious that you need to be proceedable to buy property, but so many people commence their property search without the ability to buy.  This may involve a lack of funds or deposit, a house yet to sell or simply not having organised your finance or legal representation.

In the current climate, buyers tend to be more serious and committed with less casual viewings taking place.  However, the sluggish market in the West Country and time taken to raise finance or to have an acceptable offer on the property they are selling, does lead to many people still looking before they can act on finding their dream home.

Present property market conditions provide competitive advantage for those ready to move.  At this time it is critical that you are ready and prepared to move without delay.  Being chain free, having your finances in place or better still being a cash buyer and being prepared to be flexible around completion dates will help you stand out above the crowd and be seen as the preferred buyer.

If you are looking to purchase a West Country property in Bath, Bristol or the surrounding areas, engaging a property finder such as Garrington to act on your behalf adds further credibility to your position, as agents and vendors alike know that we only work for committed buyers who are ready and able to buy.

So avoid being left sitting on the sidelines as you see all the attractive and available houses being snapped up and consider engaging Garrington Property Finders as your “property dating agency”.  We would be very happy to listen to your requirements, provide professional advice and opinion on market conditions in your area and to help you find and secure the most attractive, interesting and available properties out there!!

For further information on Garrington contact +44 (0)20 7099 2773 or email info@garrington.co.uk or visit www.garrington.co.uk

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There’s a time – and the time is now!

05/10/2012

in East London,General Property,Hertfordshire,Home Counties East,Home Counties West,Kent,London,Midlands & Heart of England,Norfolk,North Devon,North London,Northern,Somerset,South London,South West & South Wales,Suffolk,West London

Adrian Thompson, of FoxWood Maclean, assesses the property market this autumn and shares some thoughts on how to come out on top

Our unforgettable and glorious Olympic summer is behind us. For a while, most of us forgot about the financial arena as we became more interested in how Team GB was doing in the athletics one.  For a few weeks of sport-induced amnesia we also forgot about the property market.

Well, property is back! Hard on the heels of the Tour de France and Olympic road-race and track-cycling, we have property-cycling.

The property cycle is back in the news and back in our thoughts. Early autumn is the time of the year when property once again comes to the fore as families get busy thinking about a move before Christmas.

It is possible to move by Christmas. But is it probable – or desirable – given the economic and social conditions that prevail? 

The latest statistics tell us that property affordability is the best it’s been for more than a decade, but also that mortgage lending is down yet again. A paradox. 

And the next sets of figures may not be any better, either, as they will reflect the summer lull. But out there, things are stirring. Enquiries are rising. More people are viewing.  More offers are being made and sales are being tied up.

Numbers are what the property market is all about. The more enquiries, the more viewers; the more viewers, the more offers; the more offers, the more sales. Simple, really.

And with more house sales, the more our economy will respond. And the more the economy responds, the more confidence people will have. 

Confidence drives the property market. It is not city bonuses, slick marketing or estate agents. It is buyers confident about the future and sellers confident with reality.

Yet it is a harsh reality just now. We are probably not yet done with this wretched downturn, although prices across the country have flat-lined over the past couple of quarters – and they will probably do so for a few quarters to come.  But then, who knows? Mortgages will no doubt become easier to obtain and more and more people will then want to enter the property market.

And that is precisely the wrong time to do so, because a better time is right now.

Now there are more options and more opportunities for those in a good position to buy. 

Now there are some great choices in the market. 

Now there is less competition. 

Now there is more time.

Now there are deals to be done.

Now is the time to buy before Christmas and now is the time to get settled before the property cycle begins its climb.

It is always best to be a winner on the flat than miss out when things get steeper – ask any road-cyclist.

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Are Part Buy-Part Rent Schemes a Good Thing?

27/06/2012

in Cambridgeshire,East Devon,East London,General Property,Hertfordshire,Home Counties East,Home Counties West,Kent,London,Midlands & Heart of England,Norfolk,North Devon,North London,Northern,Somerset,South London,South West & South Wales,Suffolk,Uncategorized,West London

Part Buy-Part Rent schemes often referred to as ‘Shared Ownership’, the approach being that a share in the equity of the property is purchased with the inhabitant paying rent for the balance to housing association, local authority or in some cases the property developer. The occupier normally reserves the right to buy the rented share thus gaining outright ownership.

 

These schemes are designed mainly to help first-time buyers take their first step on to the housing ladder, sadly the economic conditions have seem reduction in home values leaving many trapped, unable to sell or move.

A recent study by Cambridge University into the effectiveness of Part Buy / Part Rent schemes reports that mobility out of the sector is poor.

Many who bought into the market are now in negative equity, and cannot afford to take a loss on extricating themselves. Demand from new buyers into part-buy / part-rent has also proved low, and the report also highlights mortgage difficulties.

The Cambridge University report concludes that out of 145,000 shared ownership properties sold since 2001; just 27,908 have ‘staircased’, the term used for increasing the ownership share, to full ownership.

 

Part-Buy / Part-Rent can work out well and has done for many thousands of individual and families as it has proves new good quality accommodation as well as a root to outright ownership whilst providing an affordable home ownership solution.

 

Martin Cunningham MNAEA

Commercial Director – homes24

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/martin-cunningham-mnaea/14/b68/365

www.cunninghamconsulting.co

www.cunninghampropertyconsulting.co.uk

www.propertytsar.co.uk

 

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26/06/2012

in Cambridgeshire,East Devon,East London,General Property,Hertfordshire,Home Counties East,Home Counties West,Kent,Landlords,London,Midlands & Heart of England,Norfolk,North Devon,North London,Northern,Somerset,South London,South West & South Wales,Suffolk,Uncategorized,West London

Paula Cunningham Director Living Property WaveneyThe London borough of Newham has announced it is to be the first council to require compulsory licensing of all private landlords from January 1, 2013.

The licensing scheme will cover an estimated 35,000 private tenancies, representing one in three of all the borough’s households. Newham Council says it made the decision after consulting extensively with residents, private sector tenants, landlords and lettings agencies: 74% of residents and 76% of private tenants supported the scheme. Interestingly there is no mention of the percentage support from Landlords and lettings agents.

The scheme requires private landlords to pay £150 for a five-year licence if they register before 31st December 2012; otherwise the full fee is £500. Landlords who fail to get a licence face fines of up to £20,000.

The move by Newham council is unlikely to be welcomed by law abiding private landlords who will know doubt view this as unnecessary cost, as for other local authorities they’ll be keeping their beady eye on this as a useful way to generate revenue in these challenging economic times.

 

Paula Cunningham – Director

Living Property Waveney Lettings & Management

 

paula@livingproperty.co

http://linkd.in/Qc8TRi

www.livingproperty.co

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Could renting get you moving?

13/06/2012

in Cambridgeshire,East Devon,East London,General Property,Hertfordshire,Home Counties East,Home Counties West,Kent,London,Midlands & Heart of England,Norfolk,North Devon,North London,Northern,Somerset,South London,South West & South Wales,Suffolk,Uncategorized,West London

Co Founder & Director - Living Property Waveney Lettings & Management

Most homeowners are dependent on selling their existing home if they choose to move, although selling a property is easier said than done in today’s economic environment. The difficulties in selling a home are forcing some of those determined to move to be creative in their approach to get out of their existing property.

 

So are there any alternatives that could help? Well perhaps there are as I am finding that my business, Living Property Waveney Lettings & Management, we are being approached by property owners who unable to sell are asking us to rent their existing homes out and in so doing turned themselves into tenants, the approach is coined ‘Let-to-Rent’. In addition I am also helping several homeowners that have decided to retain their existing property by renting by it out and then they seek to purchase, this is called ‘Let-to-Buy’. The later approach of course requires the home mover to have suitable financial resources for purchase deposit and, if required, meet their lenders mortgage criteria.

 

It is worth mentioning that Buy-to-Let activity has increased considerably over the last six month with a number of existing landlords seeking to add to their property rental portfolios as well as new landlords coming into the market and investing their capital.

 

If you have concerns that renting may not offer a sustainable future investment then the following updated research issued by the Halifax and NatCen Social Research reports that:

 

• 25% do not want to own a home (an increase of two percentage points on 2011)
• Two in five (40%) would like to buy a home but do not believe they will ever be able to
• Just 31% have a serious intention to buy within the next five years
• 50% believe Britain will become a nation of renters within a generation (up four percentage points since 2011).

 

*poll 8,042 people aged 20 to 45

 

Paula Cunningham

Co founder and Director – Living Property Waveney Lettings & Management ltd

paula@livingproperty.co www.livingproperty.co

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/paula-cunningham/37/6b1/430

 

Trusted Specialist in lettings and management in Beccles, Bungay & Lowestoft

www.cunninghampropertyconsulting.co.uk

www.cunninghamconsulting.co

www.propertytsar.co.uk

 

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Value your home on your own….

13/06/2012

in Cambridgeshire,East Devon,East London,General Property,Hertfordshire,Home Counties East,Home Counties West,Kent,London,Midlands & Heart of England,Norfolk,North Devon,North London,Northern,Somerset,South London,South West & South Wales,Suffolk,West London

The UK property sales market is more challenging today than it was in the high volume sales period that peaked in 2007. Today it can be frustratingly difficult at best, if not impossible to gain mortgage finance and this is an issue in itself but before a would-be seller places their current home on the market there is the question of determining the right asking price to go to market with.

 

Traditionally first port of call would be to invite a few local estate agents round and let them offer their advice, however seeking agents advice comes with certain risk of an agent deliberately overvaluing or telling the seller what they want to hear in order to secure instructions to sell. It should be remembered that most estate agents provide their services under minimum term contracts, many between 12 – 24 weeks and therefore once signed the choice of changing agents is not an option, so a wise seller would do themselves no harm by validating valuation advice.

 

So how can a seller undertake their own independent sales valuation? The answer is to use one of the many free on-line tools that provide estimates, one such tool can be found at Archant property portal homes24.co.uk. The tool entitled ‘HomeValues’ is powered by Zoopla and operates using a powerful algorithm, taking and blending UK land registry sold price data from 1996 with published marketed property values and direct home owner data.

 

The result of this algorithmic approach is that value estimates provided are, in the main, refreshingly realistic but also need to be accompanied with a health or should I say wealth warning! It should be understood that there is no exact science for valuing a home; many other factors influence property value. Examples, a buyer wishing to purchase in a particular area may pay a premium if there is only one property available and a pure mathematical valuation does not take into consideration local environment changes such as development which may or may not have a positive effect, this is where an agents local expertise comes into play by having an idea of the buyers in the market place or an awareness of localised factors influencing price.

 

So if you or your know someone who is thinking of selling or indeed buying wanting to get a handle on local pricing to individual property level take a look at Home Values at homes24.co.uk.

 

Martin Cunningham

Commercial Director – Archant Homes24

martin.cunningham@archant.co.uk

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/martin-cunningham-mnaea/14/b68/365

www.cunninghampropertyconsulting.co.uk

www.cunninghamconsulting.co

www.propertytsar.co.uk

 

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Grass keep still popular

03/05/2012

in North Devon

Caroline Snell, of Stags Professional Services at Honiton in Devon comments “With the lack of spring rain, competitive demand for farmland to rent and increasing land values supported by good commodity prices, the demand for grass keep remains strong”.

Many grass keep licences are based on a ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’, often between farming neighbours and run without a problem. However, if relationships break down or the landowner passes away, a lack of written agreement can become an issue.

“For inheritance tax purposes it is important to have a correctly set up written agreement to ensure that Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on the land, farmhouse and buildings is not forfeited” explains Caroline.  “The onus is on the taxpayer to prove what sort of agreement was in place at the date of death and where there is no agreement, or the obligations of each party do not satisfy the criteria of obtaining APR, this can prove to be financially crippling to the landowner.

Setting up a written agreement ensures that the terms are clear to both parties including maintenance obligations, rental levels and the requirements of any environmental stewardship schemes that may be in place, and ensures the Licensee does not claim entitlement to the Single Payment.  

Under a Gentleman’s Agreement, rent levels are often below the market value and do not get reviewed from year to year.  “The auction room remains the best place to get a competitive price for grass keep” states Andrew Luxton, Stags Partner and Auctioneer, having recently sold grass keep in theEast Devonarea for over £160/acre.

Caroline adds “The cost of drawing up a Licence or Tenancy Agreement prior to occupation is minimal when you consider the ‘bigger picture’ with respect to claiming APR on your property”.  In addition, these agreements can be renewed relatively quickly should the occupation continue beyond the initial term.”   

If you would like advice regarding rental levels and/or assistance in tenancy negotiations, please contact Stags Professional Services on 01392 439046 (for Devon, Somerset or Dorset) or 01872 279911 (forCornwall), where you will be transferred to the surveyor in your area.

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