Why Redbridge property sellers would be wise to target first-time buyers

When selling a home, it's never wise to restrict yourself to one particular type of buyer. By zoning in on one demographic, you potentially limit your pool of potential buyers. You want your home to reach as wide an audience as possible, so no limits should be placed on who you are targeting your property towards.

That said, you may be in a situation where the home you are selling is more suitable to certain demographics. You may live in an area with a high concentration of young professionals, families or downsizing retirees.

When your home is on the market it pays to know which buying demographics are most active, as these are the people who are most likely to be hunting for property in your area. At the moment, the first-time buyer market is growing and very competitive, with more young people than ever trying to get on to the property ladder. While it proves a struggle for many, many others achieve their goal.

Plus, the age range of first-time buyers tends to span all the way from 18-40, the generation often known as the millennials or Generation Y, which means that the first-time buyer market is likely to include young professional couples, families and commuters. In other words, the makeup of first-time buyers is diverse, wide-ranging and a dream for sellers who want as many eyes on their property as possible.

It's no secret that first-time buyers have had a hard time of it in recent years, but things are starting to change. Government intervention in the buy-to-let sector – including stamp duty changes and the phasing out of mortgage interest tax relief (set to be introduced in April) – has increased the amount of stock available to first-time buyers.

What's more, a number of government schemes to make buying a home for the first time more affordable have been introduced in the last seven or eight years (although the success of these schemes could certainly be debated). An increasing number of lenders, too, now offer 5% deposit mortgages to entice first-time buyers.


Such steps would appear to be having the desired effect, with recent Halifax research revealing that the number of first-time buyers reached a 10-year high of 339,0001 in 2016. Some would argue this is still too little, and the lack of supply coupled with high deposits is still making things difficult for too many first-time buyers, but things seem to be moving in the right direction.

Given the depth of the first-time buyer market, and the increasing number of purchases being made by people getting a foot on the ladder for the first time, it is certainly a demographic that sellers should keep a very close eye on.


If you are selling a home for the first time, your target market is highly likely to be first-time buyers. There is a good chance, as a first-time seller, that you'll be moving from a starter home to a slightly larger abode. The starter home you'll be leaving behind is likely to be ideal for first-time buyers, who – in many cases – might not need as much space because they don't have a family yet or as much need for more than one or two bedrooms.

Even if you're a third or fourth stepper, your home could still be highly desirable to first-time buyers. With competition for homes so fierce among this demographic, you are likely to see plenty of interest and will have a strong playing hand in any negotiations.

New build homes, too, tend to be very popular among first-time buyers, because of the high-quality furnishings, the modern interiors and the fact that new builds are often located in trendy or up-and-coming areas and areas close to train stations and city/town centres.

Many new build homes are now not so new – you may have been a first-time buyer yourself when you purchased it originally – but these homes are designed to stand the test of time and should still look as new after five or ten years.

You could be handing the baton down to the next generation of first-time buyers by selling your new build home. They are highly popular – because of their energy efficiency, their contemporary look and their relative affordability – so if you are a new build (or relatively new build) homeowner, you should see plenty of demand for your home from first-time buyers.

Generally speaking, first-time buyers tend to look for homes with excellent transport links (many will be young professionals looking for an easy commute to work), close proximity to a town or city centre with good amenities and a buzzing nightlife scene, and, if they have children, good access to high-performing local schools and green space. 

In the areas we operate, including Redbridge, Ilford, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath and Seven Kings, there is a thriving first-time buyer market, with demand high at all times of the year.

Transport links are superb and set to get better still with the arrival of Crossrail. Demand for homes in locations like Ilford, Chadwell Heath and Seven Kings has already boomed because of the Crossrail effect, and that is only set to ramp up further as the line becomes fully operational.

The areas in question are also ideal for families, with plenty of green space, good local schools and community schemes in the local vicinity, so sellers here should feel confident of demand from a wide range of buyers.

To find out more about what Sandra Davidson can do for you, please get in touch with us on 0208 551 0211.

For an estimate of what your property could be worth in the current marketplace, you can request a free and instant online valuation. 

Selling a home? Here’s why you should like Mondays...

The Boomtown Rats might not have liked Mondays very much, but property sellers very much should if the latest research from Which? Money is anything to go by.

Which? Money, part of the prominent consumer group Which?, carried out analysis of thousands of properties for sale and found that those listed with estate agents on a Monday are likely to sell quicker than those listed later in the week.

If you're looking for a quick sale – which nearly all sellers will be – then Monday would appear to be the best day of the week to put your home on the market.

When it comes to selling a home, it can often be the small, easily overlooked things that can make all the difference. As a seller, you may pay no attention to which day of the week you list – believing it to be unimportant and trivial.

But the research, which looked at Land Registry data for thousands of properties in the year to September 2016, comparing listing dates with sales dates, revealed that homes listed at the start of the week tend to sell a month faster than properties listed at the weekend.

On average, a home took 190 days to sell from first being listed to completion, while homes listed on Mondays only took 176 days. Meanwhile, homes listed on a Saturday took 203 days on average to be sold, while properties brought to the market on a Sunday took 213 days – or approximately seven months – to sell.

Of course, it's not as simple as listing on the right day, but the research above suggests it can have an influence. Once you have taken the decision to put your home on the market, you want to give your chances of selling as many boosts as possible, so paying attention to the day you list could prove beneficial.

To further improve your chances of selling a home fast, you need to make sure you pick the right estate agent – one who will do all they can to get you the best possible price for your property in an efficient, professional manner.

A good agent will have excellent local knowledge – understanding both local and national buying trends – and will be on hand to deal with any issues in a calm and unruffled way. In essence, they will be there to make the sales process as smooth and hassle-free as possible.    

At Sandra Davidson, we have the requisite experience, local knowledge and professionalism to help you get your Redbridge home sold.

The East London areas we cover benefit from high levels of demand, with excellent transport links to the City, Canary Wharf and the West End making them ideal for commuters, while ample green space, good local schools and a wide range of local amenities also give them significant appeal to families and young professional couples.

Transport links are set to get greater still when Crossrail, which will include station stops at Ilford, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath and Seven Kings, is fully operational by the end of 2018.

Appointing the right conveyancer is also a key step. Conveyancers play a hugely crucial role in any house sale, as we outlined in a previous blog. Getting your agent and conveyancer right will help to improve your chances of getting your home sold for your asking price or above.   

For more information about selling your home, choosing the right conveyancer and getting your property in tip-top condition for sale, please get in touch with us on: 0208 551 0211.

We operate in a number of locations in the London Borough of Redbridge, including Ilford, Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath.

To find out how much your home could be worth in the current marketplace, why not request a free and instant online valuation?

Why Christmas is a Good Time to List Your Property

As Andy Williams once sang, “it's the most wonderful time of the year”. A time for drinking, eating, being merry, pulling crackers and having a sleep in front of an episode of Eastenders. We are, of course, talking about Christmas.

One thing that most people may not associate with Christmas, however, is the buying and selling of property. This time of year is, so the received wisdom goes, the worst possible time of the year to place your property on the market, because buyers are too busy stuffing themselves with turkey, pigs in blankets, mince pies and Christmas pudding.

However, interest in property actually spikes over the festive period. Remarkably, traffic on Rightmove increases by 195% around this time, while it doubles on Zoopla over Christmas and the New Year. Rather than witnessing a slowdown in visitors, the festive period is actually one of the busiest times for property portals and estate agent websites.

On one level, it makes perfect sense. Christmas brings with it lots of spare time – nowadays, what do people like to do with their spare time? In many cases, searching for a dream property has become a popular hobby. For active buyers, Christmas offers a respite from work and other distractions and they will have more time to dedicate to searching for their ideal home.

What's more, new phones, tablets and other electronic devices are popular presents in this day and age. And people need no second invitation to try out their new gifts. Once again, property searches are a very popular way of testing out the new iPad or smartphone.

Christmas and New Year is also a time when family and friends are brought together. For some, browsing for property is a communal experience, leaning on advice from parents, siblings or other loved ones. Rather than watching the Queen's Speech or the Strictly Come Dancing special, those looking to buy might choose instead to spend their time more productively.

It's no longer the case, as it once was, that November and December are the quietest months of the year when it comes to the property market. True, most people like to be moved into a new home before the festive period. And it's unlikely that people will want to be carrying out transactions right before Christmas.

But, as a seller, that doesn't mean you have to wait until the New Year to list your property – as many sellers still do. You want to take advantage of all this extra interest that the festive period provides. If your property is there, ready to be viewed, with attractive pictures and a snappy, engaging description, the chances of achieving viewings early in January are that much higher.

Many people see the New Year as a chance to start afresh, to start a new chapter in their life. And this includes moving homes. However, to stay ahead of the competition, you need to get in there early.

Nowadays, a great number of people will search for property during the Christmas break, so you could be missing out on this spike in property searches if you hold back and wait until January to bring your home to market.

To take full advantage of the seasonal rush, it's wise to put your home on the market in early to mid-December. That means you'll be fully prepared by the time the festivities hit, and your property will be the beneficiary of lots of extra traffic.

For more information about listing your property in time for Christmas, or further information about the services we offer, please contact Sandra Davidson on 0208 551 0211.

We can't promise that Santa will bring you a buyer for Christmas, but we will try our hardest to make that dream a reality.

As a leading estate agent in Redbridge, we use our years of experience and knowhow to help you get your home sold for the best possible price. We also provide a free and instant online valuation to give you an idea of how much your property is currently worth.

What's the difference between a freehold and leasehold?

Where property is concerned, you will hear the words freehold and leasehold bandied about plenty. But what do they actually mean? And what’s the difference?

Below, using our experience as one of the leading estate agents in Redbridge and the surrounding areas, we take a closer look...

Leasehold


This is where you own the property for the duration of your lease agreement with the freeholder, but not the land the home stands on. Ownership returns to the freeholder when the lease expires, unless you are able to prolong the lease.

Nearly all flats and maisonettes are leasehold properties, particularly those found in major city centres. When it comes to purchasing a leasehold property, the buyer inherits the lease from the previous owner. As such, buyers will need to consider – before committing to the purchase – how many years are left on the lease. They will also need to consider how buying a leasehold may affect their chances of securing a mortgage and the value of the home if they ever come to sell it in the future.

What’s more, there are charges to consider when it comes to leasehold properties. As the owner of a leasehold, you don’t own the land and are therefore not responsible for maintaining and running the building that your flat, apartment or maisonette resides in. This is the job of the landlord of the building or the property manager they have appointed to oversee things.

Nonetheless, as a leaseholder you pay a service charge to the landlord to help cover the costs of repair and maintenance work. It will also help to fund things like electricity for communal areas, repair and maintenance of outside walls, roofs and lifts, and the upkeep of large communal gardens.

Repair and maintenance work doesn’t extend to the property you own, however. As the owner, that is still your responsibility. Also, certain changes to your property will require permission from your landlord.

Other charges that can potentially arise from owning a leasehold property are ground rent, admin costs and buildings insurance (arranged by the landlord). As a leaseholder, you can challenge any charges your landlord makes and there are also steps to prevent a landlord carrying out major changes or expensive, long-term building work without your permission.

Put simply, a leasehold property means you own the home – and all the rights and responsibilities associated with that – but you don’t own the building the home is housed in or the land surrounding it.

Getting a mortgage could be a problem if the lease is for less than 70 years; lenders like the lease to run for at least 25 years beyond the end of your mortgage. When it comes to selling a leasehold property, it can be tricky if the lease is for less than 80 years.

Extending the lease isn’t usually a problem, and you can ask your landlord to do it any time. Furthermore, once you’ve owned your home for two years, the right is there to extend your lease by 90 years as long as you are a qualifying tenant (if your original lease was for more than 21 years, you are highly likely to qualify).

Freehold

A freehold property, by contrast, is one that a buyer owns outright – both the building itself and the land it stands on, forever. For most buyers, freehold is preferable – because the home is completely yours, without service charges, managing agent fees or admin costs thrown into the equation.

On the other hand, of course, you now have responsibility for maintaining the exterior walls and roof of your home, as well as any garden space you might own.

Most houses are freehold, although some – usually ones used for shared ownership schemes – are leasehold.

The main advantages of freehold over leasehold are you don’t have to pay ground rent, service charges or other landlord costs. You also won’t have any concerns about the lease running out or disputes/problems with the freeholder.

In addition, securing a mortgage on a freehold will be less problematic. However, you will need to budget for the costs of maintaining your property and land, which is likely to be more than if you had a leasehold. 

If you want to change or modify your property, the only restrictions are legal and planning ones. This means owners of freehold properties have far more flexibility regarding alterations and building projects. 

Another bonus is that freeholds tend to be more desirable and command a higher value than leaseholds. Sellers will usually find it easier to sell – and get better value for – a freehold property.

The freehold of a home can be bought by various leaseholders working together – what is known as ‘collective enfranchisement’ – to own the property outright, but there are a number of barriers, difficulties and complications that can make this very hard to achieve.

For more information on selling your home – and the differences between leaseholds and freeholds – please get in touch with Sandra Davidson on 0208 551 0211.

To find out how much you could sell your home for, check out our instant online valuation tool. 

It's a great time to be a landlord as 2 million more households will be renting by 2025

Recent research carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has suggested that at least 1.8 million more households will be looking to rent rather than buy a home by 2025.

This will, of course, be music to the ears of the nation's landlords. Increased demand from tenants is likely to mean higher rents, healthier rental yields and expanding portfolios. A wider pool of tenants means landlords can have greater confidence when it comes to filling their rental properties with ease and minimising the chances of encountering lengthy void periods.

As a landlord, you could also afford to be more discerning with the tenants you pick, ensuring that you choose good, long-term renters who will pay on time and cause you no hassle. In turn, you can provide them with attractive, high-quality accommodation that feels like home.

According to the findings from RICS, the number of UK households renting property privately grew from 2.3 million in 2001 to 5.4 million in 2014. Despite the current government's eagerness to increase home ownership levels, things have actually gone the other way, with more people renting than ever before. This is partly down to high house prices and the difficulty many first-time buyers have in cobbling together large deposits, but in some cases renting has been a lifestyle choice, with young professionals and young families in particular appreciating the flexibility that renting provides.

Whatever the reason, the private rented sector (PRS) has grown significantly in the last 15 or so years. And, as RICS' research shows, that trend is set to continue in the coming decades.

Although landlords and buy-to-let landlords might have suffered a few hits in recent months, not least with the introduction of an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge in April and changes to the Wear and Tear Allowance, recent research by Rightmove suggested that talk of the death of the buy-to-let market has been severely exaggerated.

In fact, quite the opposite is the case. After an initial lull in the aftermath of the stamp duty changes, the buy-to-let market is bouncing back, with landlords and investors aware they can achieve excellent rental yields if they invest in the right sort of areas.

Although many in the industry believe the government has been unfairly targeting landlords and buy-to-let investors in the last year or so to improve the lot of first-time buyers, there has been no mass exodus from the market as some feared. Landlords have simply been getting on with things, surveying the new post-stamp duty surcharge and post-Brexit landscape, and putting their plans into action accordingly.

If the projection from RICS is true – and, with current trends, there is no reason to think it won't be – landlords will be kept very busy in the coming years, particularly those in areas with high demand for rental properties and high tenant populations.

East London, for example, has a thriving rental sector because it is generally more affordable than the rest of the capital. Renters are drawn away from the centre of London to find rents that are cheaper and a slightly more relaxed way of life, away from the helter-skelter pace and hustle and bustle that living more centrally provides. Transport links, of course, are very good in this part of London – and improving all the time – which makes the area doubly attractive to the city's millions of workers.

At Sandra Davidson, one of Redbridge's leading estate and letting agents, we will do all we can to make sure you get the absolute most from your rental properties.

With our excellent knowledge of the local area and its rental trends, we provide a high-quality lettings service to ensure you get the best possible rental yields and the best possible tenants in place.

To find out more about what we offer – and our

guaranteed rent

scheme – please give us a call on 0208 551 0211.

Alternatively, if you would like an estimate of how much you could be charging in rent, check out our

free and instant lettings valuation tool. 

. 

How to avoid overcrowding in your rental property

Stories about overcrowding in rental accommodation have been in the news quite a bit of late.

One of the most extreme examples was witnessed in East Ham, Newham, where housing enforcement officers found 26 people living in a three-bed family home. It was one of the worst cases of illegal overcrowding seen in recent years.

Other examples of shocking overcrowding have been witnessed in Dagenham, Southall, Islington and other parts of London, as well as across the rest of the country.

The capital, in particular, has seen illegal overcrowding becoming a significant issue, with a lack of affordable housing, high rents and high house prices all contributing towards this.

In the case of the East Ham property, 25 adults and one child – from three or four different families – were being housed in a home fit for only seven people. Some seven tenants were found to be living in the property’s windowless cellar, accessed only by steep concrete steps.

What’s more, the home is also being investigated for a number of breaches of licensing conditions and a range of electrical and building hazards.

It’s not uncommon for overcrowded homes to have many other issues – on top of them being overcrowded – that help to make them barely habitable.

At Sandra Davidson, though, we’d never overcrowd your property with too many tenants in order to maximise rental income – any additional profit would be massively offset by the damage to your property, the potential fines and the failure to provide decent, safe and liveable accommodation.

Our guaranteed rent scheme ensures things are done the proper way. We make sure good practice is followed at all times to avoid incidents like the above becoming a reality.
We’ve been operating as a leading estate and letting agent in Redbridge since 1992, so we have the experience and knowledge to make the lettings process as smooth and hassle-free as possible.

As part of the guaranteed rent scheme – which ensures that rent is paid to you whether your property is occupied or empty – we will fully manage your rental home, carrying out monthly inspections to make sure that it is being kept to a high standard and conducting rigorous inventories at the start and end of tenancies.

Guaranteed rent doesn’t just give you peace of mind about the safety of your tenants and the good condition of your property, it also means that your net rent will be higher over time and all necessary legal costs will be completely covered.

We’ll also pay all utility bills and council tax on your behalf, while our customer care programme aims to get your property let for the best possible price, in as short a time as possible.

Our guaranteed rent scheme, which is based on 0% commission, will help to make your property top priority – it won’t be neglected or left to fall into disrepair.

While the shocking stories of illegal overcrowding still tend to be isolated incidents, it is becoming an increasing issue and therefore needs to be warded off in the strongest possible way.

Trusting us to look after your property as part of our Guaranteed Rent scheme is one way to make sure overcrowding isn’t an issue that bothers you.

For more information about what we offer, please get in touch with us on 0208 551 0211.

To find out about the Guaranteed Rent scheme in more detail, check out our previous blog here.

We also offer a free and instant lettings valuation tool to give you an idea of how much you could be charging in rent.

Why guaranteed rent is great news for landlords

When you’re a landlord, the one thing you want above all else is guaranteed rent. 

If you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll be receiving a steady stream of rental income, your mind can turn to other things such as expanding your portfolio or further improving the look and feel of your rental homes.

 

At Sandra Davidson, we offer landlords 1 to 5 year 'Guaranteed Rent' scheme. Put simply, this is a hassle-free letting service with 0% commission that ensures rent is paid to you whether the property is vacant or occupied. 

What’s more, the scheme ensures that your rent starts within a week of handing over the property. 

So, for example, let’s take a home that is let for £1,700 pcm with a management fee (including VAT) of £204, meaning the amount of rent you receive per month would be £1,496. 

As part of our guaranteed rent scheme, the gross and net rent received on such a property would be £1,450 per month, but the associated costs and the costs of void periods would be nil. 

This means, in the case of the above, your total net rent across three years would be £52,200 rather than £48,864 without the guaranteed rent scheme. 

Net rent PCM without the guaranteed rent scheme would be £1,357.33 rather than the set in stone figure of £1,450, a considerable uplift. 

We believe that our proactive approach to lettings and our customer care programme can help to ensure that our Guaranteed Rent scheme gets your property rented out for the best possible price, within an appropriate and agreed upon timeframe. 

On your behalf, we will carry out the following: commencing rent within a week of property handover; paying rent directly into your account the same day every month via electronic transfer; paying rent whether property is occupied or vacant, with no rent breaks or stops; and paying all utility bills and council tax. 

We will also carry out all necessary void works before handing back the property to you, manage your property throughout the entire duration of the scheme (including carrying out full inventories and monthly inspections to ensure that the property remains at a high standard) and cover all and any necessary legal costs during the term of the tenancy with no impact on your rental income.

All of the above is on a 0% commission basis. 

We first opened an office in Redbridge in 1992, when John Major was Prime Minister, Leeds United were champions of England and the likes of Boyz II Men, Erasure and Right Said Fred were topping the charts! 

Since then we believe we have firmly established ourselves as one of the area’s leading local estate agents, using our experience and knowledge to help get homes sold and let in a fast and efficient manner. 

In order to do this, we always endeavour to provide a personal, professional and reliable service to all of our clients. 

We're also a member of The Property Ombudsman scheme, fully subscribing to the Ombudsman’s Code of Practice. It not only ensures the standards of service that we must provide to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants, it also sets out the framework within we must operate.

To find out more about what we can offer you, please get in touch with us on 0208 551 0211.

If you would like to know how much your property could be earning you in rent, check out our free and instant lettings valuation.