There's no escaping it: summer is on the way out, and autumn is around the corner. The nights are longer, the weather is cooler, and evenings on the patio mean hoodies, blankets and socks.

As the season changes, there are some checks you can make – and some opportunities to take – in getting your rental property ready for when the temperatures fall, the rains return and your tenants spend more time indoors.

Being on the case now could help you avoid the traditional annual rush of last-minute callouts where overbooked contractors take longer to respond, problems take longer to solve, and relations between landlords and tenants become strained.

So let's look at how to avoid all that unnecessary drama.


TESTING TESTING
There is little more infuriating or disheartening than turning on the heating for the first time after the summer, only to discover that something somewhere has gone wrong.

Usually, everyone switches the heating on when they first need it, rather than doing a test ahead of time. This inevitably leads to engineers' calendars filling up overnight, leaving you frantically calling around while fending off calls and messages from ever-colder tenants with your pleas of "I'm doing everything I can" while trying to get on with your own life.

Unsurprisingly, this does little for landlord-tenant relations, but it can be avoided by asking your tenants to turn the heating on now for a quick check to make sure that everything is working fine.

Is the boiler firing up? Do the radiators need bleeding? Are your thermostats, timers and control panel functioning? Switching everything on for an hour will answer all these questions in good time for getting them fixed.

If your property is vacant you'll need to pop round yourself, or arrange for a contractor, to perform the checks. Heating engineers are usually readily available in late summer, which means you should be able to get maintenance or repairs sorted swiftly.

And even if something does go wrong later on in the season, your tenants will know that you were thinking about their comfort early on, which will at least warm their hearts (if not their home).


GUTTERS, PIPES & DRAINS
While it's unlikely that leaves will be clogging your guttering or drains yet, it's nonetheless wise to check them now and intermittently afterwards to make sure there are no blockages when the autumn rains come. Because when they do, overflowing gutters and blocked drains soon turn into leaks and repair bills.

Ask your tenants to have a quick look around now and to keep a casual eye on things throughout the colder and wetter months. It won't be something that's naturally on their mind, but simply mentioning it will plant the seed: it's really no effort to glance up at a gutter or down at a drainpipe every now and then.

Leaks and water damage are a nuisance at the best of times, but having to fix them when it's cold and wet adds extra misery and inconvenience.


GARDEN FURNITURE
If you've supplied a table and chairs or an outdoor couch for your tenants, they're going to last a whole lot longer if you also supply covers, or somewhere to store them.

While early autumn isn't necessarily when furniture needs to be put away for the season, its use will become more intermittent as the weather cools and rainy days begin. This means your furniture will take more of a beating if it's left on its own to deal with the elements.

Covers are great because they allow your tenants to keep the furniture out for when they want to use it, rather than having to constantly put it away in a shed or cupboard and then retrieve it again. Anything that's inconvenient tends to get done less, so make it easy for your tenants to look after your things.

You can buy covers very cheaply on Amazon, at B&Q, or many other online and physical stores, and the price will almost certainly be less than the cost – and hassle – of replacing the furniture.


ENERGY GRANTS
The Government's own figures state that 20% of privately rented properties in the UK are fuel-poor, with the sector having a high prevalence of poorly insulated and energy inefficient buildings.

Warm tenants are happy tenants, as are those with lower energy bills. The last thing you want is your tenants giving you notice when the weather gets colder as they discover your property loses heat faster than taking a cold plunge after a sauna.

The government's Green Homes Grant is available to landlords and provides a possible £5,000 towards increasing the energy efficiency of your property. You can claim up to two-thirds of the cost of your improvements, which not only add value  through your Energy Performance Certificate, but can save up to £600 a year on energy bills: a great sell to existing and future tenants.

If you have an older property without modern insulation, the Green Homes Grant is an excellent opportunity to upgrade its energy efficiency without having to cover all the costs. The grant must be used for primary measures like insulation for lofts, walls and floors, but can also contribute to secondary measures including thermostats, heating controls and energy-efficient doors.

You can apply for a voucher from the end of September 2020, so it's worth putting the date in your diary if you have a rental property where the energy efficiency could be improved.

Take a look at the Government's official website for more information:
https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/grants


STOPPING THE ROT
The sun can really take its toll on your exterior woodwork. But while some peeling paint or varnish might look unsightly in the summer, it can create problems in the autumn and winter.

As well as making your property look mighty fine on the outside, paint and varnish protects your windows, doors and frames from heat and water. So when it gets tired and peels, wood can start to split and rot, which leads to drafts, leaks and replacement costs. There's not really much of an upside!

Painting your woodwork is far less expensive than replacing your windows and doors, while drafts and leaks are inconvenient for everyone and interrupt your tenants' enjoyment of their home.

So give your woodwork the once-over, or ask your tenants to check for any worn out paint or varnish and to send you a few snaps on their phone. It's much easier decorating the outside of your property in late summer/early autumn than trying to get your paint to dry in the rain.


With these few simple checks, and a possible financial injection from the Government, you can set your property and tenants up for the autumn knowing that all is well and ready for the season.

Prevention is always better – and far less expensive – than cure, while the peace of mind from having everything sorted is a priceless quality.

If you'd like to talk about getting your rental property ready for the autumn, or you'd like a managing agent look after things for you, we would love to hear from you.

Tring office: 01442 820420
Berkhamsted office: 01442 863000

The market is booming, prices are rising, there's a stamp duty holiday and buyers are out in droves: could it be any more of a seller's market?

And it's true: we are achieving record prices for property; multiple offers have become the norm and, for many sellers, their home is only available for a matter of days before they receive an offer that is not only acceptable, but more than they dreamed possible.

But while there is plenty to celebrate for homeowners during this bonanza, a darker side of estate agency has unfortunately come to the fore: overvaluing. While it’s nothing particularly new, the practice has been historically limited to a small number of estate agents. But now it’s become rife and causes untold heartache and stress for sellers, with results that can be seen in the high percentage of properties that are not selling (even with the favourable conditions of today): 70% of UK homes put on the market in the last month have not sold.

So let's take a look at why overvaluing happens, why it's increasing, the problems it causes and the true path to getting the best price. Having the tools to spot an overvaluation and knowing how to deal with it can help you minimise the damage to your move.


WHY DO AGENTS OVERVALUE?
Here’s a little secret about some estate agencies look at their businesses: for some, it’s not sales that are the most important thing, it’s having a healthy register of available properties.

Without a constant stream of new listings for their website and the property portals, some estate agents worry that their enquiries will dry up, leaving them with an out-of-date list of potential buyers, many of whom could have found a property by the time the agent lists a new home.

Overvaluing properties to get them on the market is a low-skill, unethical and yet highly-effective method. It preys on people’s understandable desire to get the very best price for their home: it makes them question – and even be annoyed by – lower and more accurate valuations.

An overvaluation can make a seller put aside every concern they may have about an agent’s professionalism, marketing, personality and service. If the figure they are quoted is sufficiently high, it can leave them feeling that any downsides will be worth the eventual financial reward.

Unfortunately, that’s not usually how things turn out. More often than not, the sellers who were misled go from being relaxed and having plenty of time to move, to being desperate to sell and racing against the clock.


WHY ARE MORE AGENTS OVERVALUING?
Changing business models have disrupted the industry, leading more and more estate agents to take more and more drastic measures. One significant factor is a new kind of reward structure that prioritises getting a property on the market over securing a sale: it can show up in pay-upfront agency contracts, or in the way employees are targeted.

The practice relies on training people in ways of quoting prices that are 10-20% (sometimes more) above market value, while still appearing credible. That sort of inflated figure is high enough to prove tempting, yet still within sight of what a seller could see and hope as possible for their home.

Once you've listed your property with the nice valuer, that will be the last you see or hear of them. Now you'll be handed over to the sales team in the branch who will be skilled in slowly managing you down on your price, but in a way that leaves you feeling as though they've been on your side all along and trying their best for you.

The idea is simple: to keep you long enough for your move to become more urgent. By tying you to a long-term contract of generally 4-5 months, the agent enshrines their chance to market your property at its reduced and realistic price, leaving you blissfully unaware that there was never a plan to achieve the figure you were originally quoted.

Many people see switching estate agents as a hassle, but it’s really very easy: there’s no need to feel trapped.


WHY IS OVERVALUING A PROBLEM?
Misleading people over the likely sale price of their home causes all sorts of issues.

For a start, you won't be able to move. Properties that are on the market for significantly more than their market value just won’t find a buyer. We don't get calls from people with a budget 20% less than an asking price in the hope that an owner will take a huge hit; those people simply won’t see your property in their search. Instead, you’ll be competing with higher-value homes and you’ll achieve nothing more than making those homes look like better value than yours.

Next, when one property in a street is on for an inflated price, it’s extremely difficult to get other sellers to market their homes at the correct level. This leads them to go with an overvaluation (you see how cunning it is?) and so begins the waiting game of who will drop their price first. And once the first person does, everybody else who’s on the market at an inflated level will get a phone call telling them to drop their price to compete.

Meanwhile, it ends up looking like property in that street or neighbourhood just sits on the market for ages, creating a negative impression of the location among potential buyers.

For the sake of argument, if you do by some miracle secure a sale at 20% above market value, you’re still not out of the woods: your buyer’s mortgage valuer and lender will not simply accept that price. They’ll want to see comparable properties that have sold in the neighbourhood and, when there are none, they’ll reduce their valuation and the amount they are willing to lend to reflect local sale prices. That will inevitably lead to your buyer renegotiating the price which could leave your move in shreds if your onward purchase is based on achieving an inflated price for your own property.

And while all that’s going on, because your home initially went under offer at an inflated figure, more properties will come onto the market based on the price you accepted, because of the supposed new level you set. This will lay the foundations for more delays, disappointment and heartache among other sellers when properties either don’t sell, or get heavily down-valued by lenders.


THE BEST WAY TO THE BEST PRICE
Estate agents are there to get you the best possible price, but the key word here is “achieve”: not mislead, deceive or delude.

We have never once met a homeowner who was grateful for having their move delayed or ruined by receiving misleading advice. That single moment of joy when an agent quotes them an inflated price is rarely compensated by sitting on the market for months with no sign of a buyer. Anger is a more accurate term for the emotion it evokes.

In a rising market there is definitely an argument for trying a higher price than the last comparable sale, but property does not increase by 20% in a single week or month. So look around at similar properties to yours that have sold and that for sale: if a comparable home to yours sold for £400,000 last week or last month, yours will not sell for £500,000 today.

In the main, you will lose enquiries if your asking price is more than 5% higher than where it should be, but you can still use the property portal price bands to your advantage when trying to push your price. Sticking with the example above, most buyers with £400,000 to spend would use the £400,000-£425,0000 price band to search, and would probably call about a property that was for sale at £425,000. But asking even one pence more would remove you from those search results and pit you against higher-value homes between £425,000 and £450,0000.

Remember, your asking price is purely about getting enquiries: without them, there is no sale. And with enough enquiries and viewings the market will find a new level if the response is great enough: don’t deny yourself that chance.


HOW TO PROTECT YOUR MOVE
The market is great at the moment, but we have no idea how long that will continue: who knows where we’ll be a month or six weeks from now? We want to help you take full advantage of the selling conditions today, and to be the reason that your move is successful.

So here are some tricks you can use to work out whether an estate agent is ‘testing the market’ through a genuine sense of enthusiasm for your home, or if they are simply overvaluing to get your property and satisfy their listing targets or their regional manager.

Asking these three questions will give you an idea of the agent’s motivations:

• does the valuer sitting with you in your home get paid for putting your property on the market, or for selling it?
• will they be your main point of contact throughout your time on the market, or is the meeting your first and final encounter?
• will you be tied into an onerous, long-term sole agency agreement for months on end?

If you still wish to chance your arm at the agent’s higher figure, there are some precautions you can take to ensure your move isn’t completely scuppered:

• don’t sign up for any longer than two weeks if you are being quoted an inflated price: you’ll know by then whether the advice you’ve been given is correct, and whether you wish to stay with the agent.
• check that you don’t have to give any notice beyond those two weeks as some contracts have lengthy termination periods. Insist that any clause like that is removed.
• do not reward the agent for misleading you: make sure to disinstruct them at the end of your contract if it’s clear you’ve been duped.
• reset your status on the property portals by switching agents. Your home going out as a “new property” alert is far better for you than a notification for a huge price reduction.
• let the agent know you’ll be leaving a review on Google and Facebook about your experience.

We know there’s a lot to take in here, but it’s essential to arm yourself with all the facts to identify misleading advice and to remedy its consequences before they sabotage your move.

Does it sound inconceivable that an agent would overvalue your home simply to get it on the market? It should, but it’s happening all over the country and it’s abusing the trust that homeowners put in estate agents to help them move home. So be sceptical, ask questions, and challenge any valuation that’s much higher than the evidence suggests (even if you’d love to believe it).


If you’re concerned about the valuations you’ve been given for your property, or you’d like to talk about any aspect of moving home, our sales teams are here to help.

Tring office: 01442 820420
Berkhamsted office: 01442 863000

With a unique set of circumstances and incentives, there has never been an autumn like 2020 with so many opportunities and advantages for selling your home.

From the pent-up demand unleashed after lockdown, to the Stamp Duty Holiday announced in July, to the working-from-home phenomenon freeing up more people to view property in the week, it’s very unlikely that such a seasonal combination will ever exist again, which makes it an excellent time to put your plans for moving into action.

So let's take a look at how you can make the most of an unusually auspicious autumn: one that could have you moving home before Christmas and achieving an excellent price in very special times.


UNLEASHED DEMAND
It's hard to remember such a crazy summer for activity in the property market which, right now, shows no sign of letting up.

Things were already improving earlier this year after the general election – remember that? It seems a lifetime ago! – but lockdown put a lid on many people’s plans. However, despite the frustration and inconvenience of moving dates being postponed, there was plenty of activity bubbling under the surface through virtual viewings and valuations. So when the market reopened after several weeks of lockdown, we experienced a massive explosion of activity from people looking to buy.

You’ve doubtless seen stories in the newspapers about the booming property market and, for once, the reports in the press are a reflection of our working day. There is huge excitement and drive from buyers with all the confidence from after the general election still very much intact.

Another driving factor has been the lack of holidays abroad this year. With travel restrictions in place and last-minute quarantine announcements for returning home, there’s been simply too much uncertainty for people to risk going away. Staycations became the norm for 2020, and house hunting took over from sunbathing.


STAMP DUTY HOLIDAY
From the very moment the idea of a Stamp Duty Holiday was mooted, avid anticipation gripped estate agents and buyers alike. Already in the midst of enormous summer activity never before seen, the July announcement sent the property market into wild overdrive.

As well as many people immediately bringing forward their moving plans, the Stamp Duty Holiday suddenly made buying a property possible for those with insufficient savings to cover all the costs of moving. Even people who weren’t yet contemplating a move decided to make the most of the opportunity, and to use the money they save on Stamp Duty to improve their new home.

Of course, all this increased activity means you can benefit from the increased competition among buyers, which is translating into higher prices for sellers. The saving on the upfront cost of moving has made it easier for buyers to pay more money because some – or all – of the cash they would have spent on Stamp Duty can go towards increasing their offer.

But just because the Stamp Duty Holiday runs until March 31st 2021, doesn’t mean you should drag your feet if you are considering selling your property. With just over thirty weeks until the Stamp Duty Holiday ends, it’s worth remembering that it takes, on average, eighteen weeks to sell a property in the UK: that’s the time from the first day of marketing, until the day of completion.

Eighteen weeks before March 31st is December 2nd and anyone will tell you that putting your property on the market in December is far from the best time. You’d also be leaving precious little wiggle-room for unexpected delays. So it’s wise to give yourself the luxury of time to ensure your sale doesn’t fall foul of missing the deadline: you could lose your buyer entirely, or end up accepting less money at the last minute to cover the stamp duty then payable.


HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Moving into a new home for Christmas has been one of the biggest single drivers in the property market for as long as buying property was a thing.

Even without the financial incentives of the Stamp Duty Holiday, what better way to christen your new home than to begin the next chapter of your life by hanging decorations and putting presents under a sparkling tree? The idea of celebrating the festive season in a new home with loved ones is forever a powerful draw.

As well as overloading on gifts, love, turkey and, well, more turkey, Christmas is also a practical time of year to move, for both children and adults.

If you are a family, the extended school holidays can make Christmas a useful time to move without disrupting your children’s routine, but also a good time if you’re relocating, so your children can begin their new school at the start of a new term.

For adults, many companies and businesses close down for all or part of the period spanning Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, giving you more time to unpack and settle in, rather than cramming it between weekends and workdays.

Christmas is also an excellent time to move into a new home and consider the improvements you’d like to make in the spring. Using the winter months inside to fully experience how a property works for you – and what you’d like to change – means you can interview contractors, draw up plans and lock in dates for works to begin when the warmer months arrive.


BEAUTIFUL COLOURS
All the talk of garden presentation generally involves the blossom of spring or the blooms of summer, but autumn brings with it a warm and wonderful colourscape.

After the sun has turned your lawn the colour of hay in the heat, the cooling months allow the grass to recover its rich and verdant hue. Couple that with a final burst of life from your flowers and mesmerising oranges and golds as trees begin their autumnal turn, and you have a glorious display of nature to make your photos pop.

As the nights begin to draw in, more viewings take place at twilight, and this can be a magical time to accept potential buyers into your home. Make sure you make the most of it by checking your external lighting at the front and back to ensure a warm welcome, instead of a dark stumble up the path.

It’s also an excellent time of year to show buyers just how cosy your home is. If you’ve got an open fire or wood-burning stove, stock up on fuel and get those flames roaring in time to give your visitors the full-on toasty effect. Leave them in no doubt that your home is where they want to spend their winter!


EASIER VIEWINGS
Usually speaking, people view properties in the evenings or, more commonly, at weekends. But with working from home still the reality for much of the UK workforce, people looking to move within their existing neighbourhood are often finding they can view in the middle of the working day. This means they can go to see a property as soon as it becomes available – and in the daytime – rather than waiting until they escape the office, seeing it in the dark, and then having to go back again when it’s light.

For families, this liberty has further advantages. If you have children yourself, you’ll know it’s way more convenient for viewings to take place when the children are out, rather than having to host visitors – or leave the house – at teatime, over homework, or when you’re winding down from the day.

Children are wonderful, but they are undoubtedly a distraction. Having them around on viewings simply doesn’t allow potential buyers the brain space to freely consider each and every room without constantly checking to see if their little one has started causing chaos. Viewing homes when they are naturally empty is making things easier for buyers, sellers and even estate agents!


So there we have it: a never-before-seen alignment of reasons to sell your property this autumn. You could achieve a higher price, save on Stamp Duty and be moved by Christmas to host your family and friends over the festive season in your new home.

If you'd like to talk about whether this autumn is the right time for you to be selling, why not get in touch with us. Our sales teams would love to help you make the right decision, at the right time.

Berkhamsted office: 01442 863000
Tring office: 01442 820420