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. 

Top tips for first-time sellers

When it comes to advice for first-time buyers, there is a wealth of information out there to tap into. The same, however, cannot be said for first-time sellers, who are rather neglected and ignored.

There seems to be this assumption that first-time sellers will automatically know exactly how the process works, even allowing for the fact that they’ve never sold a home before.

At Sandra Davidson, we have sought to put this right by coming up with some top tips for people who are selling their home for the first time. 

Choose your agent wisely

Arguably the most important thing to get right, given how closely you will be working with this person in order to get your home sold.

There is no getting away from it, selling a house can sometimes be a slow, complicated and time-consuming process – not always, but sometimes – so it’s vital that you have a cool head to guide you through. This is where an experienced, knowledgeable estate agent really comes into their own, utilising their familiarity with the local market/area to get your home sold for the best possible price, in a timely, professional manner.

A good agent will help to find buyers for your home, make the process as smooth and hassle-free as possible and allow you to overcome any barriers and issues that occur along the way.

Depersonalise

A home that feels too personal or lived-in is unlikely to have significant appeal to prospective buyers – after all, they will want to imagine themselves living there and that is less likely if the home is full of photos, knick knacks, personal items and clutter.

Of course, there is a difficult balance to strike. You don’t want your home to come across as dull and characterless, but you don’t want buyers to feel like they are intruding either. Depersonalise and declutter as much as you can, while trying to ensure that your home is still bright, attractive and welcoming. 

Get the asking price right

Granted, not something that is easy to do. Set it too low and your risk selling yourself short, but set it too high and you run the risk of putting would-be buyers off.

It’s a very difficult balance to strike, but it’s another area where an experienced and knowledgeable estate agent can lend a hand, using their knowledge of the local market and other variables to set a fair and reasonable asking price. 

Target your demographic

As a first-time seller, it’s highly likely that you will be selling your first home to first-time buyers. More often than not, first-time sellers will be moving from a starter home to something a little bit bigger – this might be because of starting a family, the need for more space or another reason entirely.

Either way, your main demographic when it comes to selling is likely to be young professionals in their 20s and 30s, people who will be searching for properties – first and foremost – on their phones, tablets and other devices.

This means, of course, that you will need to ensure that your property has a considerable presence online, on the major portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla – where many first-time buyers head first when it comes to browsing for property.

In order to make sure your property stands out from the crowd, your online ad needs to be bright, punchy and engaging, immediately piquing the interest of buyers when they first lay eyes on it.

Equally, your home needs to look up to scratch – clean, tidy, welcoming and attractive – when would-be buyers start to view your home. If your property isn’t in tip-top condition, your chances of selling are that much lower.

To find out more about how Sandra Davidson can help get your home sold, whether you’re a first-time seller or someone who has done it many times before, please get in contact with us on 0208 551 0211.

We have long been recognised as the leading independent estate agent in Redbridge and will do all we can to get your home sold for the best possible price. If you would like an estimate of your property’s current worth, check out our free and instant online valuation tool.  

New homes in Redbridge – what's the story?

Plans for 18,474 new homes in Redbridge over the next 15 years were outlined at a council meeting last week when councillors met to discuss a draft version of the Local Plan for housing in the borough.

At least 32,000 new homes are needed to meet growing demand by 2020, the draft report found, but projects to make this so aren’t without local opposition. 

For example, there has been widespread protest against the planned development of 800 new homes on the Oakfields Playing Fields in Barkingside.

However, a proposed change by Councillor Nick Hayes – recommending that the land be designated as local public space – was rejected by the majority of councillors.

The reason put forward for this was the councillors’ eagerness not to close doors on any potential options. As Councillor Varinder Singh Bola put it: “We are discussing the housing plans for this borough for the next 15 years” – with all ideas put on the table and none dismissed at this this early stage.

Circumstances could change in the future, which is why the council seem keen to keep all their options open at this point. 

The Local Plan draft will be discussed by cabinet on June 7 and then the full council on July 21. If it is approved, a consultation period will then follow in July and September before the plan is then submitted to the Secretary of State in the autumn. 

As one of the leading independent estate agents in the borough of Redbridge, we at Sandra Davidson are encouraged by these plans to further develop and grow the borough. 

It can only be a good thing for the local property market if more new homes are built, more first-time buyers are attracted to the area and more homes are available to rent. 

While concerns about open space are absolutely justified, if these can be worked around in a satisfactory way then it will to the benefit of all of Redbridge’s inhabitants.

As London’s population continues to grow outwards, areas like Redbridge are in the perfect position to take advantage of this increased demand. 

The noises being made by the council – and the news that more than 18,000 new homes are in the offing – certainly gives us reasons to be cheerful.

If you would like to find out more about the services we offer, please contact us on 0208 551 0211.

What's more, you can find out how much your property could be worth in the current marketplace by getting a free and instant online valuation. 

Property prices per square metre – Greater London dominates

Property prices per square metre have increased by 432% in Greater London in the last 20 years – against a national average increase of 251%, according to new findings from Halifax. 

Over the last two decades there has also been a widening gap between London and the South East and the rest of the UK when it comes to prices. 

Since 2011, this has become even more pronounced, with London's property boom ensuring that prices in the capital have grown by nearly double that of the rest of the country.

It is therefore no surprise that the most expensive area in Britain to buy a home can be found in London.

There are seventeen areas – all located in Greater London – which have an average price per square metre of above £5,000. 

At the other end of the spectrum, Airdrie in Scotland had the lowest average price of £1,019 per square metre. 

Four of the six towns with the lowest prices per square metre were from north of the border, with two in Wales – Llanelli (£1,028) and Neath (£1,065) – and four in northern England. 

More than anything, Halifax's research showed that the North/South property divide is bigger than ever, and only looks to increase further as the prosperity of London and the South East continues to draw jobs, investment and labour. 

While this is bad news for sellers outside of southern England, those who are looking to sell their home in London and the South East have much more reason to be cheerful. 

With a well-targeted and well-marketed property, sellers should have no issue in achieving their asking price or above. 

Demand has shown no signs of slowing down, with the first-time buyer market currently thriving thanks to tax changes on buy-to-let properties.

For more information about how to get your home sold, please get in contact with Sandra Davidson on: 0208 551 0211. 

As the leading independent estate agent in Redbridge, we have the skills, experience, local knowledge and know-how to get your home sold for the best possible price.

If you would like to find out an estimate of your property's current market value, check out our free and instant online valuation tool