Your Guide to the Digital Property World

With more and more of us having access to the internet through tablets and smart phones, it should be of no surprise that there are an increasing number of websites available to satisfy the digital appetite of the property seller/purchaser.  

At one time the focus of these website was the professional, however the emphasis has clearly changed with more and more online portals popping up to provide the consumer with direct access to information.

The increasing number of house price indices will soon be challenging the number of coffee outlets! The better of the bunch include http://www.zoopla.co.uk/  and http://www.rightmove.co.uk/ these website offer the consumer not only access to the national property market but also offer information on latest UK house prices.  They also offer a range of sold price information databases, meaning that consumers have a much more accurate view on how much a property might be worth.

You can also take a look at the crime rate for the postcode by visiting www.crimerates.co.uk/

If the standard of local schools is of importance you can find the latest Ofsted inspection report rating here: www.locrating.com/

If public transport is important check the location of the local bus/train station and timings of buses/trains by visiting: www.transportdirect.info

Check your mobile phone reception and broadband speeds within the home. The following website shows some of slowest areas in the country: http://on-msn.com/VwkVWd

As for the conveyancing process is concerned, the bad news is that there is still a lack of products on offer which enable a consumer to access information and documents during the course of a transaction.  

Www.quickcoveyance.com offers some relief by providing the consumer with 24/7 access to post, conveyancing documents, solicitor updates and legal reports generated during the course of the transaction.   These are all presented in an online and client specific property log book which can be accessed even after the transaction completes.

My firm makes use of this portal and since it was made live in 2011 it has helped handle 29,000 transactions.  It clearly used by our clients having recorded in July of this year over 16,500 views.

The Law Society Portal which will be launched soon promises more of this type of portal – only time will tell if it the Law Society can for the very first time deliver a product which will be adopted and preferred by professionals and consumers alike.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Read this before moving home

Moving house is ranked as one of the Top Ten most stressful experiences in life. 

Charlotte Ribbons, Trainee Solicitor with MJP Conveyancing  examines the ups and downs of moving home 

Moving house is ranked as one of the Top Ten most stressful experiences in life. Having moved house myself last weekend I can strongly agree that uprooting a life’s worth of possessions, daily debates with my partner over whether it is really necessary to take my childhood memoirs and having spent a week wading through boxes to find basic items I can vouch that a divorce may have been slightly less traumatic.

I believe the highlight of my day was loading my cherished super-king sized bed into the van, driving it all the way to our new home, spending a good hour manoeuvring it up and down the stairs in a vague attempt to make it fit, standing outside debating whether going through the window might work and then eventually with tears in my eyes admitting defeat, loading it back in the van and saying goodbye to it at the tip. I can safely say a little pre-planning may not have gone a miss.

So before picking up the key from the estate agent with the Cheshire Cat smile (which will remain on their face all the way to the bank!) you may want to digest the following.

Before moving day take the opportunity to have a spring clean. I can assure you, that beloved box of treasures which you cannot live without suddenly becomes less appealing when in your new home you realise there is simply no way one more box will fit in the cupboard.

At least one week before moving contact your gas, electricity, water, internet and telephone suppliers and make the necessary arrangements for your final account. Use this as your chance to shop around make the most of those cash-back deals your friends keep raving about.

Run down the freezer….yes this does mean it is totally acceptable to eat a whole tub of Ben & Jerry’s for breakfast, after all the Trade Associations advise against moving freezers in full or frozen state. Little tip, if you overlooked this getting a hair dryer on it will speed up the defrost time. Prop open the doors to avoid having to clean mould out later on, you do not want to add another cleaning job to the list.

Decide whether you need a professional moving firm or not. If you’re thinking of moving yourself, look into the costs involved. Several journeys over long distances can quickly add up, it may well be worth hiring the professionals. Not to mention saving your blood pressure hitting dangerous levels when your mirror slips out of your brother-in-law’s hands and smashes on the floor! Check with your home and contents insurer to see if you are covered during the move.

Your best-friend on this day will be the baby/dog sitter… tripping over the dog, hearing your child ask where the lego is for the tenth time and standing on Biro will have you crying blue murder.  If this is a luxury you cannot stretch to then make sure you keep some essential favourite toys at hand to set up a make shift playroom at the other end.

Hindsight has now taught me on my next move I shall pack a ‘survival kit’ consisting of tea bags, coffee, snacks, lightbulbs, screwdrivers, tape, hammer, cash, phone charger, toilet roll, chocolate and wine (believe me the last two are essential!).

Boxes - small ones for the heavy items, big ones for the lighter items. For pictures and mirrors select a box large enough to cover it, then instead of making the box up, keep it flat, seal one end with tape and slide the picture/mirror in and then seal the top. (Advice my brother-in-law did not follow!)

Before you rush off to your new home check your old property for any items left behind, and don’t forget outdoor plant pots. Take gas, water and electricity meter readings. This should be the first thing you do at your new house too. If your old property will not be re-inhabited turn off gas, electricity and water supplies as the mains. Check windows and doors are fastened securely.  

On arrival at your new home make sure all items, fixtures and fittings that were included in the sale are present and correct. If anything is missing contact your solicitor as soon as possible.

Get your mail redirected to your new address. Knocking on your on the door of your previous residence to ask for your NEXT catalogue is a little awkward. Also cancel deliveries of newspapers milk etc.

Before you snuggle down in front of the TV make sure you have notified TV Licensing of your new address as your TV license does not automatically transfer to your home. Risking prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000 is not the ideal moving in present.  (www.tvlicensing.co.uk)

It is a legal requirement to notify the DVLA of your new address. You will need to renew your driving licence and vehicle registration. Don’t forgot to update insurance providers, credit card, pensions, investments and loyalty cards. You will need to let your children’s schools know that you are moving. Do be aware that your children might have to change schools if you are moving out of the catchment area. 

This one maybe for the slightly over cautious but change the locks on your new home… you never know who might have a key!

Finally…take a deep breath, relax, and crack open the champagne. Believe me you will have earnt it!

Estate Agents commission monopoly under attack

In my last blog I discussed the increasing gulf between the fee of the solicitor and the commission charged by the estate agent, and posed the question whether at a time when the property market remains in turmoil this could be justified.  

At about the same time news broke of an announcement by the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills (BIS) of proposed amendments to the Estate Agents Act relating to web-based 'intermediaries'.  The changes if implemented will mean  the intermediary will no longer be  treated in the same way as an agent and will  make it easier for  sellers to advertise their home online direct to buyers.

The intermediaries, such as Tepilo, run by TV property guru Sarah Beeny,Sellmyhome.co.uk and HouseSimple allow property sellers to advertise their homes online for a fixed fee far below the commission charged by estate agents. The providers of these services do not perform any other role during the sales process yet the Estate Agents Act treats them as agents and requires them to perform the same checks on properties as agents. This has made it difficult for them to compete with the likes of Rightmove through which the majority of estate agents advertise property.

If the restrictions on these businesses are relaxed it is clear that the consumer will be presented with a wider choice and fees charged by agents may begin to tumble as competition increases.  The typical fee charged by an intermediary is around £450 ( Tepilo is free).  Compare this to the commission charged by agents where commission can run to many thousands of pounds. A recent Which? report found estate agent fees range from 0.75 per cent to 2.5 per cent, with 1.8 per cent the average fee. Selling a £300,000 property on this basis would cost £5,400.

It is fair to say Estate agents clearly provide a more comprehensive service than intermediaries, including offering complaint processes and redress if needed. However any change that will help to put pressure on agents to charge a fee  that is more proportionate to their input will be welcomed.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

New energy rules for those selling and buying homes

The rules on the display of energy ratings (Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)) for homes have changed.

Those advertising property such as estate agents must now (as from the 6th April) :

• Include the 1st page of the EPC for all sales and lettings properties in printed and electronic property particulars.

• Have ordered an EPC prior to marketing and to produce  it within 7 days of marketing

If you are looking to market or let your property it is important for you to make sure your agent is complying with these requirements. 

Your agent must include a copy of the entire front page of the EPC document and not just the EPC graph as has currently been the case.  This includes any literature containing particulars of the property to be marketed including electronic communications such as emails.

Property particulars are defined as including at least two of the following elements:

• a photograph of the building or any room in the building,
• a floor plan of the building,
• the size of the rooms in the building,
• the measured area of the building, or,
• the proposed rent in relation to a building being rented out,.

This may therefore (depending on how the new rules are interpreted) extend to the pictures and particulars of your home that appear in the agent’s window or in the local paper.  As for rentals the new rules seem must clearer and there seems no getting away from the requirement to display in any advertisement the front page of the EPC.

Almost all lettings adverts will include a property photo and the rental price, and thus it will be hard to avoid this.

The size of the EPC extract shown in the particulars must be sufficient for the details to be read – don’t allow the agent to print it very small nor to try and circumvent the rules by simply adding a link to the EPC.

Interestingly the first page of the EPC contains the full address of the property.   Agents do not normally like to display the full address in literature as this provides marketing opportunities for competitors.   Unfortunately there now seems no way around it and the address must remain within the published first page of the EPC.

What about properties appearing on agent’s websites?  Arguably as there is a picture of the property and often other particulars such as room sizes etc the first page of the EPC ought to be reproduced possibly in full rather than through clicking on a link.  

Rightmove it is reported recently emailed all of its agent clients and made the claim as quoted below:

"Rightmove is a property advertising website and the information displayed on Rightmove by all our member agents takes the form of property adverts and not property particulars. This is clearly stated at the bottom of every page on Rightmove that displays the details which have been provided to us by the agent about a specific property and will continue to do so.

It is our view that the new regulations do not place any additional obligations on Rightmove, although you may wish to consider separately how the new regulations might affect your own company website. We do, however, understand that some of our member agents may wish to display the EPC as part of the property advert on Rightmove. Rightmove does provide the functionality for you to do this if you so wish."

I do not necessarily agree that is correct; looking at the new rules and the elements that must exist for the publication of the EPC it is difficult to see how one can in this way distinguish ‘adverts’ from publication of property particulars.  Rightmove publishes pictures and particulars of property and this is no different from details published in newspapers or in an agent’s window.

Let’s not forget the purpose that lies behind the rules, and that is those looking for a property to buy should be able when searching to have immediate access to the energy rating for that property.

The problem is that as with the fated Home Information Pack some agents are reluctant to go to the expense of ordering and paying for an EPC until they know a buyer has been found for the property.  They view these requirements as an unnecessary hurdle to the marketing of the property.

My advice to those selling and renting is to always ensure that any agreement reached with an agent to sell or rent you home includes a clause that the agent orders and pays for the EPC. If you are buying always insist on seeing the EPC before viewing a property and if the EPC’s first page does not appear in the particulars of sale wherever these might appear always ask for an explanation.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

More news of housing doom and gloom

Rightmove, the property portal, reports that since the beginning of the year new homes for sale has slumped to its lowest point in more than a decade.  Only 34,433 properties have come on to the market equating to around half of pre-credit crunch levels.

This comes at a time when emerged borrowing costs have fallen to a 14-year low with the average mortgage payments for new borrowers standing at 27 per cent of disposable earnings. Good news for those with existing mortgages but still no hope for those people trapped in rental properties without the money for the deposit.

Those who do have the cash to put down on a deposit have their own problems given the shortage of new homes. This has in turn created in certain areas a high demand for property and perhaps explains why property prices have remained more or less unchanged.

It has also led to those looking to buy to be more selective in their hunt for a suitable property and one that fits their budgetary constraints.  

The situation is likely to get worse when the stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers ends this spring.

So why is there a shortage?  We seem to building less new homes than before and this combined with the economic uncertainty and owners worried about  replacing their existing mortgage, there appears little hope for any immediate change.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

How do I find a good estate agent?

There are good and there are bad Estate Agents.  There are Estate Agents that are helpful and there are other Agents who inadvertently cause delay. Finding a good Estate Agent is therefore not an easy task.  In this article I provide some tips which I hope will help you find an Agent who will provide you with a good service and one commensurate with the fee that they charge. 

The Estate Agent will charge a fee according to the value of the property to be sold and this varies from 1% up to 3%.  This is different from how Solicitors charge as most will quote a fixed fee for the work which more often than not is tied in with the value of the property.  The fee of the Solicitor often therefore represents a very small proportion of the fee that you will be required to pay the Agent for marketing your property.

The tips I have are as follows:

Shop around as there is quite a variance in the rates charged by Agents and there are a number of online Agents who now offer their services for a fixed fee.

Don’t be tempted to place your instructions with the Agent who is offering the lowest fee.  There may be a number of reasons why the Agent is not charging a fee in line with other Agents and one of which may be that the Agent will not advertise your property as much as one that is charging a greater fee. 

Indeed it is important to find out at the beginning how often the Agent guarantees that your property will appear in the local paper and also whether or not it will be listed on Right Move’s website or other similar portals. It is important to get some form of commitment from the Agent as to the extent and length of the exposure your property will receive.

Most Agents keep details of the properties they have sold each month and it may help if you ask for these details to be made available to you before you make your decision.

Does the Agent offer any online access to their service so that you can check on progress outside normal working hours?

The Agent may be open to agreeing a split commission arrangement with you which enables you to pay more if contracts are exchanged within the specified period and less if it takes longer to find a buyer. 

If the Agent refers you to a Solicitor it is important to ask whether there is any arrangement that exists between that Agent and the Solicitor whereby the Agent receives a referral fee.  The reason for this is that if a referral fee is paid then the solicitor to whom you are referred will need to disclose this and it is important to know because sometimes the Solicitor may look to add this referral fee onto the fee you are charged.

It is important that you always get an agreement from the Agent in writing and to check all the terms and conditions before the agreement is signed.  It may be advisable only to agree to a short period of time for marketing because if the Agent doesn’t perform then you will be safe to instruct another Agent.

If you do instruct another Agent it is important to read the small print because some agents even after you have left them still reserve the right to charge a fee if it can be subsequently shown that it was as a result of that Agents promotion that a buyer was found.  My advice therefore is that if you move Agents you get a letter from the other Agent to confirm that there is no longer a right to raise a fee.

On the whole Agents can be very helpful during the course of the conveyancing transaction.  However, they can create unnecessary delay because of constant requests for updates from the Solicitor you instruct.  At the end of the day you are instructing the Solicitor not the Agent and therefore it is important that you tell the Agent that they should not contact your Solicitor without first seeking your prior consent.

The Agent will be expected to be paid by the Solicitor once your house is sold. If for any reason you do not wish for the Agent to be paid or you would rather pay the Agent yourself it is important to tell both the Agent and your Solicitor in advance of completion. 

Once the sale particulars have been prepared and sent to you for approval it is important for you to read through these carefully as mistakes can often occur. The statements contained in those sales particulars are often relied on by the purchaser and if there is anything therefore that is not correct it is important for this to be pointed out straight away.

Feel free to consult with a Solicitor before you market your property because local Solicitors often know who the good Agents and may be able to help you find an Agent through recommendation.

At the end of the day you are paying quite a substantial sum for the service and it is for this reason that you should always do your homework and shop around and perhaps also seek recommendations from friends, family and work colleagues before making your decision. 

If you would like to find out how we recommend within the Norfolk area feel free to email me as I am more than happy to assist.

 David Pett.  Solicitor and Partner davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk