Category: Chamberlains Blog

Top tips for landlords who wish to sell a rental property…

1) Incentivise

Selling a rental property with a tenant in situ can be a challenge. Tenants are entitled to live their lives as they wish, and although you can ask them not to smoke in a property, or cause damage, you cannot dictate how they live their lives, or insist they keep it permanently tidy. Unfortunately an untidy property makes it more difficult to take photographs and conduct viewings to show a property off to its best advantage.

Some landlords successfully incentivise tenants by offering the last month’s rent free in return for certain conditions, such as being flexible with viewings and ensuring that the property is kept very tidy. Every viewing counts, and an incentive of this type can work well. It also has the advantage of costing the landlord nothing if the tenant does not fully participate.

2) Great outdoors

A garden is a great selling point. If everything internally is good with your rental property, but the garden is a mess consider getting a subcontractor in to neaten everything up before it is put on the market. Don’t accept that potential buyers can see the potential in a space, as nowadays people expect a certain standard. A nice neat garden is a massive tick in the box and a property that could be number one on someone’s list could easily be discounted if the garden is a mess.

3) Freshen up

If a property has been rented for several years it may be worth giving notice to the tenant and only marketing it after the tenant has vacated. This allows the owner two to three weeks to paint inside and undertake any jobs that will give the place a lift. If the tenant had decorated to his or her own taste, it is always advisable to repaint in neutral colours such as magnolia or cream.

4) Kerb appeal

Statistics show that buyers tend to make their minds up about a property as they are walking up the path and within four paces of being inside the front door. For this reason, make sure the drive is clear of any weeds, tidy up any pots, sort out broken fences etc and if your tenant is in situ ask them to keep the hallway clean and tidy – free from children’s shoes and other family paraphernalia.

5) Consider your market

When it comes to buying investment properties, landlords are interested in yields.  If you are keen to sell your property quickly then you could sell it with the tenant in place, but if you sell on the open market you could achieve 10-15K more.

6) Spread the word!

Chamberlains have many landlords on our database, they are perfect potential buyers.

According to the results of a new survey, a quarter of careless homeowners are leaving behind a small fortune in forgotten possessions when moving home.

A recent study of 2,000 homeowners revealed that 26% of movers have forgotten a beloved item when packing up their home, to the tune of £ £317.69 on average per household – totalling over £493 Million in forgotten items nationwide.

12% meanwhile have had something of significant sentimental value vanish or break during the moving process.

A spokesperson from eBay, who commissioned the research, said: “Moving home is a hassle, and squeezing your life into a stack of cardboard boxes can feel like a monumental task at times. With the refreshed Home Move hub, we hope to help Britain move a little better by providing a simple one-stop shop at your fingertips with a wide range of products and tips tailored for every type of move.”

The study also revealed that one in four homeowners take a ‘Caretaker’ approach when packing up their home, filling boxes and planning meticulously to make sure the move goes smoothly.

12% admitted to falling into the role of ‘Packing Procrastinator’, putting off the process for as long as possible.

20% of homeowners start planning their house move at least six months in advance, and a further fifth pack their first box a full month ahead of moving day.

An impulsive one in eight meanwhile procrastinates until the week of the move before kicking the process into gear.

When it comes to enlisting help with the move 49% would ask their partner to assist, and 27% choose mum first ahead of the quarter of homeowners who favour Dad.

Men are most likely to kick off ‘The Big Pack’ by boxing up the bedroom, while women pack up the spare room first.

Forty four per cent think the kitchen is the room that is most difficult to pack up from a practical perspective, which explains why 41 per cent choose to leave it until the last minute.

In the chaos of setting up in a new location Brits reach for the kettle first, with 45% unpacking the kitchenware before starting on the rest of the house.

Four in ten homemovers say that changing home makes them feel like they are moving into a new chapter in their lives, and while two thirds feel stressed on move day, one in two also feel excited for the adventure ahead.

The survey was commissioned by eBay in light of their refreshed Home Move hub; a dedicated on-site solution for movers with expert tips and tricks, packing essentials and storage solutions; which aims to help ease the stress of moving.

When it comes to selling your home and moving on, how do you decide what to leave behind?

Equally, when you move into a new house, what do you expect the former owners to have left in situ for you?

There’s no doubt that the issue of fixtures and fittings can be very contentious, particularly as there is no law that outlines what should be left in or removed from the house once it has been sold.

Legally, the seller isn’t obliged to leave any fixtures or fittings – and some have been known to unscrew all the light bulbs and even dig up plants from the garden prior to their departure.

This may not be illegal, but would probably cause upset to the buyer if they were unaware! It is really a case of common sense, and we advise sellers to draw up an inventory stating what is included in the price and what they intend to take. Ideally this should be done early on in the sale process.

Without an inventory it is assumed that fixtures will be left but fittings removed unless previously included in the agent’s details.

Conflict between seller and buyer can be avoided by creating an inventory that states exactly what is included in the sale price and what will be removed.

The general rule of thumb is that a fixture is understood to be any item that is permanently fixed to the structure of the building and a fitting is an item that is free standing or hung by a nail or a hook.

Fixtures

–      Light fittings
–      Central heating boilers/radiators
–      Kitchen units
–      Bathroom suites
–      Plugs
–      Murals
–      Built-in wardrobes and cupboards

Fittings

–      Carpets
–      Curtains and curtain rails
–      Free standing ovens, fridges and washing machines
–      Lampshades
–      Beds/sofas and other free standing items of furniture
–      Television aerials and satellite dishes
–      Paintings or mirrors that are not bolted but hung or screwed to a wall.

Top Tips to keep both seller and buyer happy:

1. Think about which fixtures and fittings you actually need. There is no point in arguing to keep a particular curtain rail if you are just going to get rid of it later on.

2. Ensure you have everything in writing and agreed.

3. Be friendly. The other party is much more likely to accommodate your wishes if they like you

The latest research  has found that more than a quarter of properties in Wolverhampton, Liverpool and Bradford have been on the market for longer than 6 months, and one in ten properties for sale in Wolverhampton and Bradford have been on the market for at least a year.

Rightmove data was analysed, for 50 major UK towns and cities. The figures revealed that 15% of properties in Sunderland have been on the market for a year or more, while in neighbouring Newcastle, 8% of homes have been on the market for more than 12 months.

Also, seven out of 10 towns, with the highest percentage of properties that haven’t sold after more than a year on the market, are in the north of England. With only one town in the south – Bournemouth – in the Top 10 slowest-moving property markets. At the other end of the spectrum, there are no properties currently in Northampton that have been on the market longer than 12 months, and just 4.2% that have been advertised for 6 months or more.

Locally, the top three slowest moving properties are in:

Teignmouth where a property has been on the market for 181 weeks (!); and

Bishopsteignton where a home has been for sale for a more modest 95 weeks; and

Abbotskerswell where a property has been available for 85 weeks…….

none of these properties are for sale with Chamberlains.

The following table shows the slowest-moving property markets in the UK, ranked in order of towns/cities with the highest percentage of properties still on the market after a year or more:

In London, 14% of properties have been on the market for six months or longer, with four boroughs; Tower Hamlets (21.5%), City of Westminster (22.6%), Southwark (20.2%) and Newham (20.7%), struggling to shift a fifth of their property stock more than six months after it was initially listed.

A new survey by Principality Building Society has revealed first time buyers would prioritise hooking up their WiFi and TV when moving into their new home…before even having a sofa to sit on.

We’ve fast become a screen-obsessed nation always on the lookout for WiFi access whenever we’re on the move, and Principality’s research has shown that the majority of Brits follow the same habits when moving into their first home.

In a survey polling 2,000 first time buyers across England and Wales, results showed that nearly three quarters of us (70%) would prioritise setting up a WiFi connection or plugging in their TV when they first move into their new home, when compared against other priorities, over having a sofa to sit on while watching it (40%).

Once they’ve moved all their belongings into their new home, the survey also showed that, rather than calling on the help of mum and dad, just over a quarter (26%) of first time buyers would turn to online how-to guides or books for DIY tips, compared to other sources of information. Nearly 30% of new homeowners would go straight to an expert if something malfunctioned in their house, seeking professional help from the likes of plumbers or electricians, but over half (56%) would be happy to don their overalls and strip wallpaper themselves in their new home.

However, once they’ve moved in and put their feet up, 23% of first time buyers – named ‘first time triers’ by the UK’s 6th biggest building society – admit it could take them a year or more to tackle any DIY in their new place.

Speaking about the survey findings, Principality Building Society’s Customer Director Julie-Ann Haines said: “As a nation, we’re are so interested in getting online and that can often be the first thing on our minds when we’re working, travelling or even when we’ve just moved into a new home, picking technology over getting the house actually feeling like our own.

And once we’re hooked up to the web, online tutorials are changing the way we do our houses up, with first time buyers turning to digital guides over their DIY dads. But ultimately, purchasing your first home is a really exciting milestone and first time buyers across the country can now start to make their house feel like a home.”

Latest data reveals that house prices grew at their fastest pace for 12 months in February, with average prices increasing 0.6% – double the rate in January

According to the report, strong performance in the East of England, new peak prices in Merseyside and Birmingham, and a return of growth in high value London property pushed average prices up to £297,832.

Despite this boost, annual house price inflation continued to fall for the twelfth consecutive month, dropping to 2.4%, the lowest annual rate since 2013. Estimated transactions in England and Wales in February, at 62,000, are also down 0.4% on January, but year-to-date remains higher than in 2015 and 2013.

A strong start to the year for house prices isn’t yet reflected in annual figures, which suffer from comparison to price spikes ahead of the last April’s stamp duty hike. When these drop out of the calculation in a couple of months, though, we hope to see the more positive trend.

As the recent English Housing Survey shows, the market is supported by increasing numbers of first time buyers and rising transactions in the last year. The increasing contribution of a strong North Western market centred on Manchester, meanwhile, gives hope for more balanced, if modest, price growth going forward.

Reversing the story of the last few months, the 11 most expensive of London’s 33 boroughs registered an average increase of 0.8% in prices over January (double the average for London as a whole), rising by £7,473.

By contrast, inflation in the cheapest third of boroughs, which drove growth for much of last year, was subdued. Only Havering (1.7%) and the cheapest borough Barking and Dagenham (up 1.1%), recorded growth above 1%. The latter has still posted double- digit annual growth (11.8%), though, as have Waltham Forest (10.1%) and Redbridge (10.3%).

The Greater London market still faces challenges, and from January 2016 to January 2017 average prices are up only 2.1% – the lowest rise in almost five years. Every borough has also seen a reduction in transactions for the three months to the end of January, compared to a year before, and London has seen the largest drop in transactions in the country (down 22%).

Despite a slow down, with prices up just 0.1% over the month, the East of England continues to top the table for annual growth, up 5.9%. The London commuter hotspots of Luton (growing 10.4% in the last year) and Essex (6%) both set new peak prices in the month.

In fact, with the exception of London, Southern regions are once again driving price inflation in England and Wales. The South East (up 0.6% monthly and 5.2% annually) and the South West (0.6% and 4.7%) are both closing the gap on the East

It’s not a simple North South divide, however. The North West, where prices grew 4.1% annually, is an increasingly important part of the market. Growth in property sales in Greater Manchester over the three years to the end of 2016 against the three before, (36%) is only marginally above the average for the region as a whole, but six times the sales growth in Greater London. Average prices, meanwhile, are up 7.2% annually.

It’s not just Manchester contributing to the emergence of a Northern Powerhouse, either. Merseyside set a new peak price in January, with average prices up 0.5%. Heavy demand for apartments in Liverpool from both young professionals and buy to let investors renting to students has seen prices rise in Merseyside by 5% in the last year.

Among the other large cities, only Birmingham in the West Midlands set a new peak in the month. Ongoing regeneration of the city centre, good connections by rail and road, and expansion of a number of large employers is giving the city renewed confidence. Prices in the area were up 0.4% monthly and 6.2% on the year.