The only way to sell your home is by online video

Broadband is now faster than the speed of light and video marketing is now affordable to all. So to generate as many viewings as possible, why not use online video to sell your home.

Recent years have seen many changes within the market, marketing has become big business. It is now not enough to advertise in your agent’s high street window, the internet has opened up a whole new world, most estate agents now have an online viewing facility, and the next logical step would be a ‘movie’ of your home.

Unfortunately there are only a handful of forward thinking agents offering this service although it has been used across the world with great success for quite a while now. One of the leading UK internet based agencies look set to start their video home showcase service in the next couple of months.

Well aside from the main benefits of a lot of viewers being able to walk through your door twenty four hours a day, and the convenience of time saved by wasted viewings, the video’s main duty is to tell a story, in your case, welcome to my house, it is for sale, and it is worth viewing. Camera movement opens space and creates perspective, this is virtually impossible with a static 2 dimensional image. If you can open up space and show depth and perspective, along with a music soundtrack it is easy to evoke an emotional response in the viewer.

As a seller that’s exactly what you’re hoping for, and with video this moment of emotional attachment can happen way before they even step through your door for the first ‘real’ look around.

Perhaps the biggest benefit to those of you selling at the moment is that video home showcasing is in its infancy here in the UK. In a market place as big as the property market you need all the help you can to jump off that well stocked property website and stand out from the crowd.

Well you will certainly have that opportunity at the moment by introducing video to your selling tools now, and if you manage to sell your house without the agent’s intervention, you could also be saving between 3-5% of the value of your property, which well and truly covers any marketing costs.

An actual video home showcase will run anywhere from around 1’30 seconds to 3’30 seconds, this is a well researched time in response to viewers threshold for boredom. When you’re house hunting how many properties are you going to end up looking through before narrowing it down to the chosen few you actually want to arrange an appointment for?

It can be uploaded to a host of video friendly sites including Facebook and YouTube; you can then link to your friends and colleagues and have them send links to their friends and colleagues, which is the start to your ‘viral’ campaign.

With Google investing billions into YouTube and video recently you can be sure it is the future, and it will be found. By the time estate agents use video online as part of their normal service, which they will eventually, you could look forward to High Definition Blu Ray Viewings, Property Channels on Television showcasing videos, Mobile Phone Video Marketing, the list is potentially endless.

The Facts on Fixtures and Fittings

The legal bit

What exactly are fixtures and fittings? We are constantly being asked to clarify this topic.What should people take or leave behind, and what should they hope to find in their new property? This can cause some confusion and may even become quite contentious. There is not a definitive law to express exactly which items should be taken or left behind during the sale or purchase of a property.

There are always different expectations with regards to this issue. It is prudent to clarify exactly what will be included at the start of the sale proceedings. Legally speaking the seller is not obliged to leave any fixtures or fittings behind, but the onus is upon them to state exactly what they are prepared to leave. A good way to avoid any misunderstandings is to create an inventory which is then attached to the sales contract. This lets all parties know in black and white exactly what the score is.

If this inventory is not formed, it can lead to assumptions and misunderstandings, if you have removed something that was thought to be remaining, you could actually find yourself in a small claims court!

What is a Fixture/Fitting?

A fixture is understood to be any item that is bolted to the floor or walls, a fitting is any item that is freestanding or hung by a hook or nail.

Below is a list of items that usually fall into these categories.

Fixtures

Light fitments

Central-heating boilers and radiators

Built in wardrobes/cupboards (e.g. if they use a wall to form one of their sides and would thus be incomplete if they were removed)

Bathroom suites (sinks/baths/toilets)

Plugs

Kitchen units

Wall paintings

Fittings

Fittings

Paintings or mirrors that are not bolted but hung or screwed to a wall.

Carpets

Curtains and curtain rails

Free-standing ovens, refrigerators and washing machines

Beds/sofas and other free standing items of furniture

Lampshades

Television aerials and satellite dishes

How to Negotiate

Ascertain from the outset which items are fixtures and which are fittings, this will avoid confusion at a later date.State coolly and calmly which fixtures and fittings you would like to remain in the property, many a sale falls through due to a disagreement over the finer details.

Having a friendly demeanour when discussing these matters will certainly make the opposite side more accommodating.

Consider which fixtures and fittings you really want to take with you, it is quite pointless insisting on keeping the shower door if you are going to get rid of it as soon as you move house.

Don’t make unreasonable demands, it could strain the relationship that you have, and make any further negotiations difficult to say the least.

As soon as firm decisions have been made with regards to the fixtures and fittings, it should be logged down to avoid any confusion or contentions further down the line.

The issue of fixtures and fittings is not a small one, these items can add up to thousands of pounds and may make a big difference to the monetary worth of a property.

To replace all fitted and freestanding furniture, central heating fixtures, telephones, curtains, curtain poles, satellite dishes, fireplaces and external dustbins would probably cost the buyer somewhere in the region of £15,000.

It is definitely worth taking the time to clarify these details. It will most certainly be well worth your while. It will avoid any unnecessary disagreements and possibly legal trouble further down the track, not to mention saving you money!

How Can I Check Out A Potential Tenant?

The initial step is to acquire suitable references, your insurance provider will certainly require these if you propose to secure cover for legal expenses and a rent guarantee.

There can be risks associated with letting property which includes habitual fraudsters, identity theft, unreliable tenants along with other possible issues. Growth in scams means that any information a potential tenant provides should not be taken at face value and should always be investigated by experts in referencing.

Obtaining employer references for income validation and past landlord references is merely the first stage in the process of safe-guarding a successful tenancy. The next is verification by way of an expert and unbiased third party assessment of the suitability of a person to rent property. To be effective, this is carried out utilizing the most advanced technology and analytical techniques to obtain and match data from the widest possible sources of records available. Included in this are county court and bankruptcy information, identification checks and validation of bank sort codes - all of which can be carried out on-line.It is vital that the follwing are checked out by your provider:

Authentication: tenant screening should contain details to ensure that the tenant is who they say they are and that they haven’t either stolen an identity or developed one.

Linked addresses: any search for issues such as CCJs should not just be restricted to checking current addresses. Data searches should look for detrimental information at undisclosed and linked addresses, particularly as failure to disclose an address could well signify that the tenant has something they wish to hide.

Employer’s references: it is necessary to establish whether the tenant is employed with sufficient income to meet rental obligations – but it is equally important to be sure of the source of that information. Employers using personal email addresses, such as Hotmail, or mobile telephone numbers should only be accepted if they have been verified and authenticated with a full audit trail to support. In fact, any employer’s reference should be checked out to make sure that it is authentic.

Tenant history: previous landlord references should include the total history of the tenancy. Even if the tenancy ended with the rent paid up, had there been arrears or any other relevant problems, such as damage to property or complaints from neighbours? A standard three year address history should be obtained and a reference taken from the most recent landlord to ensure that tenants who have, for example, been living with parents for the last year have nothing to hide.

Guarantors: ensure that the verification extends to any guarantor involved. In fact, a guarantor should be as carefully referenced as the tenant themselves – after all, they will be the party that needs to be pursued if the tenant defaults. For this reason, guarantors based overseas should be avoided. If problems arise they will be harder to trace and the laws of the country in which they reside may make it hard or impossible to pursue them or to obtain a recovery.

 

Conveyancing Advice

The majority of client’s main concern is how long the conveyancing process will take.
Conveyancing solicitors should always do their best to work to your particular time frame, but this is dependant on the particular circumstances of your conveyancing transaction.

Industry statistics would suggest that a standard sale or purchase will take between six to twelve weeks to complete. This may, however, vary.
A remortgage or transfer of equity transaction should take less time but this is not always the case. Please be aware that where other parties such as mortgage lenders are required to execute documentation, then delays are inevitable in most instances.

It is of course possible to complete conveyancing in a shorter timescale. However, all parties must but be committed to these timescales, and in working hard to achieve them.
Complications, such as mortgage finance being arranged, can delay progress and can affect the desired timescale from being achieved.

If your conveyancing is of an extremely urgent nature, you should discuss time saving options with your conveyancing solicitor who should provide you with the appropriate legal advice if you decide to proceed in this way.

Please note that if additional work is required to achieve your expectations your property lawyer may need to charge you extra conveyancing fees. Your solicitor should inform you of such increased legal fees and disbursements.

At Convey Law , we will never be in a position to guarantee that your required timescales will be achieved, no matter how much extra work is undertaken by us. We do however promise to do our utmost to bring matters to a speedy conclusion. Please advise your conveyancing solicitor in writing at the beginning of your sale or purchase if timescales are an issue to you.

Advice On Conveyancing

The majority of client’s main concern is how long the conveyancing process will take.
Conveyancing solicitors should always do their best to work to your particular time frame, but this is dependant on the particular circumstances of your conveyancing transaction.

Industry statistics would suggest that a standard sale or purchase will take between six to twelve weeks to complete. This may, however, vary.
A remortgage or transfer of equity transaction should take less time but this is not always the case. Please be aware that where other parties such as mortgage lenders are required to execute documentation, then delays are inevitable in most instances.

It is of course possible to complete conveyancing in a shorter timescale. However, all parties must but be committed to these timescales, and in working hard to achieve them.
Complications, such as mortgage finance being arranged, can delay progress and can affect the desired timescale from being achieved.

If your conveyancing is of an extremely urgent nature, you should discuss time saving options with your conveyancing solicitor who should provide you with the appropriate legal advice if you decide to proceed in this way.

Please note that if additional work is required to achieve your expectations your property lawyer may need to charge you extra conveyancing fees. Your solicitor should inform you of such increased legal fees and disbursements.

At Convey Law , we will never be in a position to guarantee that your required timescales will be achieved, no matter how much extra work is undertaken by us. We do however promise to do our utmost to bring matters to a speedy conclusion. Please advise your conveyancing solicitor in writing at the beginning of your sale or purchase if timescales are an issue to you.

Just how much of the asking price are people paying out?

On the list of trickiest chores for anybody searching for a house is working out how much of an asking price the vendor is actually seeking to receive.Take a look at your regional property market and there will clearly be some homes which are heavily overpriced and several which have been placed on at a price which should make sure they sell quickly.In many cases and certainly right now, the latter is far rarer than the former.

When it concerns selling and buying,you don’t wish to accept less than the maximum for your home, nevertheless, you would like those people selling the properties you are considering, to wake up and lower their absurdly high prices.The problem is an investor who may have turned a large profit, will need a lower price than an owner occupier who needs as much as is possible to maneuver up the ladder.

An individual wanting to desperately be free from a mortgage they're not able to afford will typically take an offer that basically clears the debt.On the other hand homeowners who wish to trade up, but don't have any pressing need to and like where they live, are a lot more unlikely to take a low offer.

That makes it a good idea when seriously thinking of buying somewhere to find out as much with regards to the sellers and their motivation as possible and be ready to accept that although some will take a cheeky offer, others will sit tight.Homeowners looking to move in the same popular area, need as much as possible to bridge the gap upwards.Low interest rates are keeping many out of the forced sellers bracket.

But things are changing according to the latest Hometrack report. It says sale prices as a percentage of asking prices are falling and properties are remaining on the market for longer.