Moving Homes

A real life House of Horrors....

From the first time I stepped inside this home, I had a horrible feeling. I returned a couple of years later feeling a bit better about it and took some photos. In the early days i was just getting to grips with the camera settings and took two images, one with lights on and one with lights off which came out incredibly under exposed. When back in the editing seat,  a small green circle jumped off the screen in front of me. It cannot really be seen here, unless you zoom in but the close up shows what I saw in front of me. My heart literally jumped out of my chest. 

Getting from offer to sold

You have seen the home of your dreams and you want to make an offer but did you know the following? 

Once you have been introduced to the property and made the offer, that offer then stays with that agent. If you are struggling to make satisfactory contact with that agent and you notice it is listed with someone else. It is too late, your introduction has been sealed. You might think you can switch agents to handle the sale but that is simply not the case. 

There are legal frameworks that all agents must comply with and they are the following:

1. You must have your offer confirmed in writing within 48 hours of it being made. This can be either via postal or electronic mail. Breach of this can result in the agent being in hot water with the Property Ombudsman. 

2. Once the offer has been made, the agent must negotiate between the two parties in a reasonable timeframe and if contact with either party is difficult then they should keep you informed of that fact. 

3. If there are more offers on the table at the time and all are in consideration then you should supply your financial and chain information to the agent as quickly as possible. This would involve telling them the contact details for your selling agent and mortgage advisor. 

4. If your offer is accepted then you should not delay in instructing a solicitor to act on your behalf. This will enable the agent to issue sales letters and the conveyancing work can begin. 

Is the Island Housing Market in calm waters? 

This point & shoot image makes the room seem cramped but the second image shows the difference a realistic wide angle lens can make. 

Buyers Follow These 5 Steps to Assist You in Winning That Ideal Home! 

If you have been outbid, then you may be losing your perfect home through your own hesitation.  Maybe you feel that there is always someone in a stronger position than you?  The truth is the lack of supply on the market right now is making the most attractive homes the centre of attention and if you want to be in with a chance, you need ACTION!

5 Steps To Success: 

1. Get yourself in a position to proceed: Got a house to sell yourself? Have your own home on the market & gaining interest, ideally with an offer, even a low one, that you can go out viewing with;

2. Sort Out Your Own Finances: Have you been to an advisor who can access the whole of the market and got yourself an Agreement in Principle (AIP) so you know what you can afford?

3. Make That Offer: You have viewed the house, you love it, don’t waste a second longer, get that offer forward to put yourself in poll position. Don’t play games with asking prices, if you want it? Show your hand and offer what you are willing to. Hesitation will lead to disappointment;

4. Offer Accepted: Ask for the condition of the property being removed from market to give you the most confidence to proceed and sign that mortgage agreement as soon as possible to get the surveyor underway. If you want the seller to play fair, then you in turn need to play fair and respond at speed. 

5. Don’t Delay Solicitors’ Instructions: Get on to a local solicitor immediately and instruct them to act as soon as you get that offer accepted. When you have your mortgage offer and all is well, get the search money paid straight away. 

It’s an exciting time, relax and enjoy it as well but just don’t delay - don’t sit on paperwork, fill it in and return it then pretty soon the keys to that beautiful home will be all yours! Congratulations!! 

Dictionary Definition: Gazump (of a seller) to raise the contracted price of a property after having informally accepted a lower offer (from an intending buyer). If I had a £1 for every time I have heard a disgruntled buyer tell me they have been gazumped i would be blogging from my yacht in the Cayman Islands sipping on a Gin ‘n’ Juice! In reality, genuine gazumps would see me sat on Blackpool Pier with half a stout. In this current market with such a shortage of property to sell, the best prospects are receiving multiple offers which inevitably leaves at least one person out in the cold! Then they will make statements to the agents such as “I will offer more” or “you have to act in your clients’ best interests” hmmmm, let me just dissect that for a second. If a property receives more than one acceptable offer and the agent assists the vendor in making a decision between the two, (because let’s face it, the agent actually meets with the prospective purchasers and obtains essential information such as funding and solicitor details) results in the vendor receiving what they would like and settling on one buyer, then surely, the only gazumping going on around is caused by buyers that insist on putting forward higher offers after they have already been told that another party had been agreed. 

“At the going down of the sun, we will remember them”