Estate Agents Past and Present

It is thought that Estate Agents were more commonly used in the 20^th century.  The name derived from ‘House Agent’, ‘Land Agent’, and Real Estate Broker’.  These titles previously used to describe the different parts of the service provided in the past.   There are however records of Estate Agents dating back to the 18^th Century.  These people were charged with taking care of a large home and surrounding land known as the estate.  Those managing a landed estate used the title ‘Estate Agents’, while those selling the homes were ‘House Agents’ and those selling land were ‘Land Agents’.  The more generic term estate agent started to be used in the 20^th Century.

The Job now and then

The job of the agent then and now is to know their community and the local factors that can increase or decrease property prices. For example if a new road or airport was to be built, this can affect house prices in the immediate vicinity and nearby.  It is also the job of the agent to value based on what has or has not sold in comparison and then to achieve the best price for a client.

Estate agents know which areas are most desirable, which landmarks or amenities put people off homes and which main road and motorways are easiest to get to and from certain areas.  These are all key points or tipping points in a house sale that without the advice of an expert, for example David Jordan Estate Agents, a home owner may not realise or be aware of.

As with many industries in the UK Estate Agents can join a professional body which in the property industry is the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents).  Joining a professional body can be an indication of quality service, training and professional development.

Reach for the Stars

Since the millennium online Estate Agents have provided alternatives to the traditional structure of the high street window giving sellers the option to market their property through major online property portals. These new selling models have allowed Estate Agents like David Jordan Estate Agents to marry old with new using the high street window and digital media to spread the net for potential buyers to a much wider audience and encapsulating the traditional buyer or seller.

New technology for the estate agent industry allows them to prepare property particulars online or in print and manage their buying applicants, property viewings and property sales all online.

Progress and innovation continue to march on.

Last but not least

At David Jordan Estate Agents we are creative, inspirational and responsive to our clients and to the ever changing face of our industry.  So if you are thinking of letting, selling or buying then give us a call.

David Jordan Estate Agents are on hand to welcome you as a new client or welcome you as one of our existing clients with lot of advice and tips to help you.

Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

Blast From The Past

House naming is an old British custom which began with the gentry naming their manors, halls and castles. This custom gradually spread to the masses and ordinary folk began naming their homes.  Originally the house name was based on who the house was tied to or located at.

Trades also began to start naming their properties for example Forge Cottage or Mill House, other property owners followed suit naming their houses after distinguishing features within the boundaries of the house such as Oak Cottage, Rose Cottage.

Today people draw inspiration from many varieties of source:

• The previous usage of the building like The Barn, The old Rectory.
• Well known beauty spots, such as Windermere.
• Happy holiday places like Sorrento.
• Features of the house for example Red gables, Two Chimneys.
• The view from the property, River view, Mountain View.
• Animals usually seen in the area such as Cuckoo Cottage, Fox Cottage.

Act of Parliament

In 1765 an act of Parliament stated that all new properties must have a house number and street name. From then on every house built in a town or city has designated number followed by the name of the road it is located in.  The first house in the road is number one and the last house is the number of individual dwellings or buildings in the street. Usually odd numbers are to the left of the street and even numbers to the right.

What’s in a name?

Even though each house has a designated number it does not mean you can’t personalise it with a house name as well.  Agents can advise clients to change house names regularly, nothing too quirky or obscure but something established and English. ‘The Cottage’ has been Britain’s most popular house name with ‘The Old Rectory’ leading the over £800,000 category, with ‘The Coach House leading the £350,000 - £800,000 bracket.  

Names can be about association, The Old Rectory conjuring up Georgian or Victorian ideals of summer afternoons, fetes or village life for example.

Name changes can raise the profile of the property and help define them and make them appear more prestigious. 

New or Old

A house name such as ‘The Cottage’ does not blend with a new home build so developers tend to use names of famous architects or aristocrats for new builds.

Some view the house name as adding to a home’s desirability rather than the actual value and it is worth noting that a new house name could work against the sale for example adding ‘Manor’ detracts from some properties as people imagine something grander and larger than they see. 

Last but not least

At David Jordan Estate Agents we are creative, inspirational and responsive to our clients and to the ever changing face of our industry.  So if you are thinking of selling, buying or letting then give us a call.

David Jordan Estate Agents are on hand to welcome you as a new client or welcome you as one of existing clients with lot of advice and tips to help you.

Call or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

 

MMR a Vaccination ! No a Mortgage Market Review

So what’s a mortgage market review (MMR) we ask ourselves. MMR was a review of the mortgage sector carried out by the then Financial Services Authority back in 2009. They had concerns about:

• varying qualifying requirements by lenders;
• conduct of business; and
• advice and disclosure charging.

The detailed analysis looked at the effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework and outlined some proposed changes.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew!

In essence the changes want to ensure that customers don’t bite off more than they can chew and be unable to meet their monthly mortgage payment if interest rates rise.

 

Having debated the proposals put forward for some years the following summarises the changes that were implemented in April this year. 

• Introducing the Affordability Assessment. The lender/broker must check borrower meets lenders eligibility criteria.
• Mandatory income verification on all loans. No more self-certification lending.
• The stress test. Mandatory interest rate stress test.  The lender has to take account of future interest rate rises on the mortgage payment.
• All staff selling mortgages must have a relevant professional qualification.
• Key facts illustration will be used less and the Initial Disclosure Document (IDD) will be replaced by a requirement for firms to disclose key messages to the customer.

Test your stress

This new test is not designed to test your own stress levels but encapsulates the new MMR rules by clearly defining a ‘stress test’ for homebuyers to make sure they could afford a possible higher monthly mortgage payment as and if mortgage rates rise. 

Also to overall make lenders lend more responsibly and in line with this the buyer to be sensible about what they can really afford.

Number 7 lucky for some

Many banks and building societies have already embraced these changes and already test potential applicants on the basis of mortgage rates hitting 7% in the next five years to make sure they can meet that payment. To elaborate some lenders are offering very low fixed rates so if rates were to rise to 7% this would be a large increase to monthly outgoings.

The regulator want to make sure that loans are not granted if a bigger mortgage bill could break borrowers’ finances.

The Nitty Gritty

The new rules are a dramatic change to by-gone days of the 4 times your salary and a few checks got you a mortgage offer.  Potential borrowers will face a much more stringent check on their day to day finances and spending down too food bills, utility bills, debts, holidays, and social, all a far cry from years ago. 

Wherever you hang your hat

Where you hang your hat is your home as they say and ensuring you always have a hook to hang your hat on is important to most of us.

David Jordan Estate Agents aspire always to deliver to you a cutting edge service and work with you to find your dream property.

The time is now David Jones Estate Agents is here to make it a clean run whether buying, selling or letting.

Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

 

The Sands of Time

It seems that the sands of time are once again shifting. The last 30 years have seen a focus on the need to buy buy buy with a mortgage up to the hilt if needs be, regardless whether we can afford it.  We have seen the heartache of not being able to meet your mortgage repayment brings with the huge amount of repossessions that have transpired. Prior to this era renting was more predominant and rents were more within the means of many of us in respect of affordability.

This shift is borne out by figures that show the demand for rented properties across the UK has increased 15% annually in June and by 5% on the month however in contrast availability of renal properties has decreased by 17% meaning that there is an average of six prospective tenants for every rental property that becomes available.

From the beginning of the year it is evident that the rental market is very active this year with new tenancies nationally rising by 17% annually and reflects that a healthy rental market will work independently of the sales market.

To rent or not to rent!

If you only intend on staying in an area for a short period of time or you simply are not ready to settle down renting becomes the most cost effective thing to do because it comes with a degree of flexibility and freedom that is lost when you buy. 

Buying is a significant financial commitment and if you need to move it can take a long time to get all the balls in the air to sell your property or rent it out. Also with a big financial commitment you have a lot more at stake if you can’t keep up the repayments, after all simply shifting to a smaller place while finances are tight just is not an option.

You have no repairs and maintenance costs when renting and building insurance is covered by the landlord. It can be said it is easier to budget when you have just one fixed mount to pay out with no associated costs.

One demand leads to another

Increased demand for rented properties has seen, for those with funds to support it, an increase in applications for buy to let mortgages, around 14% increase in June and a 12% since May. This could however also be attributed to the fact that buy-to-let mortgages are not subject to MMR (Mortgage Market Review) rules and the change in rules relating to pension annuities could be stimulating those in retirement to diversify their pension pots.

Rent of buy is always a difficult juggle, but in the main it must come down to affordability and where you are in life at that point in time and where you want to go.

Last but not least

At David Jordan Estate Agents we are creative, inspirational and responsive to our clients and to the ever changing face of our industry.  So if you are thinking of letting, selling or are looking for a property to rent or buy give us a call.

David Jordan Estate Agents are on hand to welcome you as a new client or welcome you as one of our existing clients with lot of advice and tips to help you.

Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

What’s In A View ?

The sun is shining the cool breeze laps gently over you and you’re on the starting blocks to tackle the hurdles of viewings with David Jordan Estate Agents. Imminently we will be there to put one of our ’For Sale’ boards up’, a sure sign it really is starting to happen. All your property details will be uploaded to our dynamic website and off we go it’s all in a day’s work for  David Jordan Estate Agents.

A room with a view

Many people consider that they feel they know their homes better than an estate agent. While this may be true in essence that you have an intimate knowledge of your property, as a seller you are actually paying an estate agent to sell your property so it does make sense to take advantage of that service

At  David Jordan Estate Agents as part of our complete professional service we of course offer accompanied viewings and we at David Jordan Estate Agents believe there are good reasons to use our accompanied viewings service:

David Jordan Estate Agents suggest that if we accompany a potential buyer we are far less likely to take around speculative buyers only. We can:

• deal with awkward questions;
• have an instant idea of whether there is a genuine buyer interest and can pursue this, possibly before the buyer looks at other properties; and
• make sure accompanied buyers have normally been pre-qualified before viewing.

Start at the starting blocks with the viewing

Good show home condition is the name of the game so start at the starting blocks and not at the first hurdle. Properties that are clean and uncluttered can increase your chances of a sale before a potential buyer has walked through the door.

Simple things like de-cluttering and de-personalising allow the buyer to imagine themselves living in your home.  If you need advice or help in this area David Jordan Estate Agents is the first port of call

David Jordan Estate Agents and their professional team are available at any time to discuss in more detail any aspect of the viewing process and increasing your chances that potential buyers want to buy your property.

For the latest in sales and lettings take a look at our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

And finally

The time is now David Jordan Estate Agents is here to make it a clean run whether buying selling or letting.

Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

Pause For Thought

If means allows buying a property to let out and then renting somewhere else can be a good option to get yourself on the ladder while not limiting where you live and not breaking the bank.

However a pause for thought will pay dividends. Do your homework and fully appreciate what your likely returns will be from rental income and potential capital growth.  Don’t assume you will secure both and understand the risks in investing in buy to let and do your best to minimise them

Don’t get caught out

Yep mortgage rates are currently low but always factor in the cost when the rates rise to currently at least 7% and make sure you could afford the payments.  Also acknowledge that a buy to let is an investment of 15 – 20 years or more.

Seek specialist advice from a tax expert in regard to any liability for capital gains tax as you can’t claim it is y our main residence even if it is the only home you own, you may still be liable.

Get in the right Zone

Before becoming a member of the buy to let market you need to get into the rental zone.

Lend your ear – meet other landlords and agents hear what they have to say gather a wide variety of views.

Do your research - make sure you are as  aware of the successes as well as the pitfalls.

It’s time to decide, – consider the size of the property you want to go for and the kind of tenants that would best suit you for example families, students, young professionals.

What’s the size of your pot – think about how much profit you want to realise each month and how you want to make that money work for you.

Neutral is the best policy – don’t put potential tenants off your rental property keep decor simple and neutral.

Last but not least

At David Jordan Estate Agents we are creative, inspirational and responsive to our clients and to the ever changing face of our industry.  So if you are thinking of letting, selling or buying then give us a call.

David Jordan Estate Agents

are on hand to welcome you as a new client or welcome you as one of our existing clients with lot of advice and tips to help you.  Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk

 

The Secret Recipe To Successful Viewing

Looking to rent or buy then viewing possible properties is a key factor of house hunting.

Ingredients you need to see the real property at the viewing!

Don’t view on your own – Even if you are going to live alone take a friend or family member with you because they may spot something you miss.

Examine inside and outside – Don’t get caught up in looking at the inside of the property and forget to have a detailed look at the outside. Look at drainage and pipes as well as roof and outside walls. If there are issues they could be expensive to get sorted.

Time is the key - Don’t rush or view under a tight time constraint. Give yourself about half an hour to look at the inside and the same for the outside and the local neighbourhood. You set your own pace to get the most you want from the viewing.

More the merrier - Book more than one viewing, often going back for a second time can help clarify any queries you may have and often you see things you didn’t first time around.

Don’t be kept in the dark – View the property in the daylight so you get a full view of the property and it s surroundings. It is sometimes useful to have a second viewing in the evening as well so you can see how the property looks in different lights and what the neighbourhood is like when dusk settles.

Don’t get damp – Whether you want to buy or rent damp is a big item on your shopping list to investigate, simply because it can mask many more problems.

Musty smell, bubbling paint, mould or dark marks on walls and ceilings, peeling wallpaper all can be signs of damp.  Cracks or signs of subsidence are further things to look out for and can also often indicate a more serious problem. So keep your eyes peeled.  If you are thinking about buying a property with damp then number one priority is a full survey to make sure there are no underlying structural issues.

Test it- When you are viewing don’t be afraid to test the fittings and fixtures, do the windows open, is there good water pressure, do the taps and showers work, is there loft insulation?

Park emotion at the door- If you walk through the door and immediately start to imagine living there, stop, breathe and move into objective mode and not subjective, don’t view through rose tinted glasses, use your critical eye.

Last but not least

At David Jordan Estate Agents we are creative, inspirational and responsive to our clients and to the ever changing face of our industry.  So if you are thinking of selling, buying or letting then give us a call.

David Jordan Estate Agents are on hand to welcome you as a new client or welcome you as one of existing clients with lot of advice and tips to help you.

Call us on: T:  01323 898414

or email us using the details on our website www.davidjordan.co.uk