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 

Two thirds of conservatories built require planning permission - conveyancers beware!

One of the most contentious areas of conveyancing concerns planning permission and building regulations or rather the lack of them, in relation to the erection of a conservatory.    

A large number of properties when sold include a conservatory and one that was probably built within the past 10 years.  Not many people when erecting a conservatory consider planning and building regulations, mainly because they rely on the suppliers to advise. Consequently there exist a large number of conservatories that have been built in contravention of planning and or building regulations.

So what should you consider when building a conservatory.   The first step to take is to contact the local planning department and provide them with the dimensions and other design aspects and seek guidance.  Try also the following website:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/conservatories/

Don’t rely on your supplier as some are only concerned with taking your money!

In the hope it will help here are some pointers:

Building Regulations

Normally, to be exempt from the regulations the conservatory will need to meet the following criteria:

Built at ground level

Be less than 30 square metres in floor area

At least 50% of area that will form the external boundary / edge of the conservatory must be glazed and 75% of the roof area to be covered with either glass or polycarbonate

Must be separated from the house by an external quality door, patio door or French doors.

There should be an independent heating system with separate temperature and on/off controls

Glazing and the electrical installation must comply with IEE and building regulations

Even if the conservatory is exempt any structural opening created to link the house to the conservatory will require building regulation approval.

Planning Permission

Around two thirds of all conservatories require planning permission.

Under present legislation (and it may change soon ) normally you will not require planning permission if you meet with the following conditions:

It (and other buildings if any ) covers less than 50% of the garden surrounding the dwelling and permitted development has not been removed

It does no face any road

It is not 20m or less from a road or public footpath.

If built within 2m of the boundary line the highest point at that junction is no higher than 4m

Its depth on a detached property is no more than 4000 mm

Its depth on a semi-detached property is no more than 3000 mm

The maximum height is no more than 4000 mm

If built to the side elevation of a property it is no more than 4000 metres high and no more than 50% that of the original house

At least 50% of area that will form the external boundary / edge of the conservatory must be glazed and 75% of the roof area to be covered with either glass or polycarbonate.

Conservatories on listed building, national parks, Broads Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites will require permission

If in any doubt as mentioned contact your local planning department.

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

Free Conveyancing

The concept of FREE conveyancing can be a reality and is likely to become one in the very near future. 

As with most things in life nothing is ever completely FREE, there is always a catch or a set of conditions.    This is no different in the case of a FREE conveyancing service.  For this to happen the insular approach to conveyancing and the distrust in referral fees has to change.

The profession can no longer continue to believe that a competitive service can be built and developed solely on the back of diminishing conveyancing fees.

From October there will be increased competition and this can lead only to even lower pricing and possibly a falling in the quality of service to the end user. If those providing a conveyancing service believe they will still be able to compete I am afraid they are in for a big surprise.

The time to think outside the box is here and now. 

There are many solicitors who have steered away from referral fees because of the horror stories that have over the years emerged on failed partnerships with non-lawyer entities. I have sympathy for this line of thinking. However we live in a very competitive world where marketing costs remain high and profitability is becoming more and more difficult to sustain.  For businesses to survive and flourish business relationships within and outside the legal sector are essential.

We should not feel ashamed about charging a fee for an introduction providing of course all the necessary conduct rules are followed.  We have spent money and time in securing the client; the client has developed confidence in our service and if at the client’s behest the client is looking for other services why not charge a fee.

At MJP we have gone a stage further and as part of the transparent approach we take to referral fees we offer the client a share of the fee if they make use of one of the services offered by an external supplier.   This helps to get around the uneasiness there often is with referral fee accountability and also serves as a means for the client to receive money back that is often well in excess of the modest fee we charge for conveyancing (www.mjpconveyancing.co.uk).

We also operate a FREE web based system for other legal firms to make inter-firm referrals of cases such as clinical negligence in return for a share of the end profit earned on that case.  It has proved very popular. Further details can be found at www.mjpconnect.com

The creation of local networks of local professionals is nothing new, however with the Legal Services Act just around the corner it has, at least for us, taken on a new and essential meaning.  

If you wish to become part of our network or find out how you reduce the cost of your home move please e-mail: davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603877004

David Pett who is a partner with Morgan Jones and Pett wrote this Blog Entry.  His role involves the supervision of the firm’s Residential Conveyancing Team.  He also runs the Business Development and IT Team.

Your feedback would be appreciated – davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

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