Free Viewing Trips to Polaris
If you have missed this opportunity, don’t worry, we have more available on our Polaris World resorts site.
Travel, Dublin to Polaris World in Spain, for the weekend, on a FREE viewing trip with our flight departing March the 8th, returning March 9th.
Come and see how good it all is for yourself.
Should you use Online Agents?
Should you use an online estate agent?
Q: If you sell privately, what is the key in selling your home?
A: Buyers.
There are many other factors involved in selling, such as finding top tips to sell your home, or you may need to find a company that provides online conveyancing, or you may need to investigate what a (HIP) Home Information Pack actually is before you buy one online.
However, the one thing that you will need to address is finding buyers for your home.
The question now should be:
Where can I get a buyer for my home, through a local estate agent or with one of these new online estate agencies?
EPC´s for rental properties soon
Energy Performance Certificates for Rental Properties
From October 1st, 2008 all properties made available for rent will require an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The report will be required for new tenancies only and will be valid for up to 10 years.
As you can imagine, the demand for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC´s) will be vast. With only qualified Domestic Energy Assessors being able to complete the EPC´s, there could well be a backlog leading to delays in rental agreements being able to be put into place.
Fortunately, as the reports will be valid for up to 10 years, there is nothing to stop you getting ahead of the game and ordering your EPC now. Additionally, if you alter the property it may even be worth buying a new Energy Performance Certificate. Landlords who regularly let to students will have heard many ask what the bills are. This is an excellent way to keep your property let by demonstrating the heat retention.
Gatehouse Estates Property Management has already arranged for a fast, efficient, professional service and with fees starting from just £70 plus VAT. Discounts are available for large property portfolios.
email us here for a quote, or call 01480 433933.
Gatehouse ‘Rental’ in Bedford
With property prices so high and the cost of buying having been increased with the Home Information Packs (HIP’s), property renting has become very popular. Gatehouse Estates Property Management have seen such an increase in properties let out that we have expanded and now occupy the whole ground floor of the premises at 50 St Loyes st, Bedford. Since our recent move, we have seen a significant increase in lettings as all of the properties are displayed in the shop window. The team of professional lettings negotiators are on hand to advise landlords on everything from the letting value to handling maintenance of the properties.
Sell your own property
Use an estate agent, or sell your own property (FSBO)
With costs rising all around, we are looking to save money. The cost of selling your property can be significant. It’s not only the estate agent’s fees that are significant. The Government have introduced the Home Information Pack ( HIP’s) which most homeowners will now have to buy, before they can even place the property on the market. The conventional property lawyer’s fees are also significant and savings can be made here by using an online conveyancing service.
Conveyancing searches
When selling my own property,What Searches are carried out and why? – In the Uk, when you now sell a property, you are obliged to provide information regarding your property that is not just about the physical structure. Most of this information is now provided to the buyer within the form of a Home Information Pack (HIP). However, ’searches’ is a term loosely used by conveyancers and estate agents. Here is a brief explanation of some of the searches involved in a property sale:
Local authority search – If there is a Home Information Pack (HIP) this search will be included in it. This search reveals details of matters such as the planning history, proposals for new road schemes, planning breaches, tree
preservation orders, conservation areas and other matters over which the council have control and may affect the enjoyment or value of the property. Your mortgage lender (if any) will require you to have one of these.
What is a Home Information Pack?
What is a Home Information Pack?
A Home Information Pack (“HIP”) contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know about a property. The Pack includes an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), containing advice on how to cut carbon emissions and fuel bills. Also included are documents such as a sale statement, searches and evidence of title. Packs are now required for the sale of four bedroom properties and larger. Smaller properties will be phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified. The seller orders and pays for the HIP at the point where a property is put on the market. It is provided to the Buyer free of charge. If you are a seller, we can arrange for a HIP to be prepared on your behalf. For further details, contact us on: 01480 434290 or zoe@gatehouseestates.co.uk
For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.
For buyers, the Pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.
Online Conveyancing comes of age
On-line conveyancing
Save yourself a great deal of money. The traditional ways of having your house sale legally processed have long gone. With the advent of on-line shopping, banking, blogs, forums etc, we are all now used to secure server log-ins and generally feel more in control when we are able to track progress on-line.
House sale conveyancing has come of age. You can now order your free quote for selling, or buying, on-line. You can even order your Home Information Pack (HIP´s) and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) on-line.
Gatehouse Estates are able to provide quotataions for HIP´s, EPC´s and Conveyancing packages. Once you have decided to go ahead with a Conveyancing deal, you will be allocated your own log-in username and Password. From this point forward, you will be able to remove a great deal of the frustration that people have had to endure in the past, namely waiting for an update about the next stage in the process of buying, or selling, your home.
Want to know more? Call 01480 434290 or email zoe@gatehouseestates.co.uk
Top Tips To Sell Your Home
Top Tips to sell your home
There´s no doubt about it, the UK property sales market has slowed down. Whether it´s as a consequence of the introduction of HIP´s, the increase the Chancellor made some years ago to the amount of Stamp duty, or simply the fact that wages just haven´t kept up with the rise in house prices….. The net result has been a market slowdown in sales numbers and numbers of properties becoming available to buy.
If you want to sell your home now, it´s not as easy as it was. There are ways to improve your chances of a sale once you have a viewer though. While these suggestions are not new, they will help to guide anyone to maximize the charm that their property offers.
Here are some tips to think about when selling your property:
Create a good first impression
Walk outside, stand back and have a long critical look at your home. Imagine you are looking to buy it. Now imagine you are looking at it for the first time.
Take a notebook and write down your own critical comments. It may be that the hedge needs a trim, the front door needs a re-paint, the drive needs weeding and some new flowers could brighten up the borders.
Kerb appeal is vital because many potential buyers will first drive by your home before deciding if they would like to view it. Get the kerb appeal right and you have just increased your chances of selling.
Redecorate, redecorate, redecorate!
Walk around the inside of your home and cast a critical eye over the decoration.
Try to smarten up any damaged paintwork with a fresh lick of paint. Your goal is to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, so stick to neutral colours. Bold and bright colours may be your preference, but remember it´s easier for someone else to imagine your property as their home if they aren´t being dazzled by lime green walls!
Get rid of the mess
It´s very easy to ignore the clutter when you have lived amongst it for several years. Try to create a space that someone else could imagine their possessions in. The aim is to make your home as light and airy as possible.
The time invested in clearing away ornaments and collections that will distract a potential buyer, is time well spent.
Get it fixed
Household maintenance is not everyone´s idea of fun. Try to get those little jobs done now. A light bulb that doesn´t work, leaking taps, creaking door hinges, a squeaky floor board… It doesn´t take long to sort and will make a buyer have positive thoughts about your home rather than giving them the opportunity to leave with a negative thought.
Don´t forget to get the doorbell fixed. You may never even know your viewer was there!
Get fussy about your Bathroom and Kitchen
Nobody likes other people´s mess: Bathrooms and Kitchens are notorious places for us to leave our personal clutter.
Keep worksurfaces clear in the kitchen to show how large the space really is and put all of those personal items away in the bathroom.
Get the lighting right
A home has to convey a feeling of warmth and comfort. Even though it´s daylight, turn
some low lamps on in the corners of rooms that are away from windows. Always turn the bedside lights on, even in the day. This creates a welcoming feeling without being obvious.
Always open blinds, curtains (or anything else you have blocking the light out). Nobody wants to live in a dark home.
Outside, always leave a welcoming light on, if you have one. Don´t forget, a viewer is likely to walk or drive past first before making an appointment to view.
Tidy bedrooms
There´s nothing worse than seeing someone else´s bedding or clothes strewn about a bedroom floor when viewing a house.
Tidy away clothes in the bedroom, this helps make the room look more spacious and accommodating.
Cupboards
It seems ridiculous to suggest that you keep your cupboards and storage spaces tidy, but most viewers will try to imagine whether their own clutter will comfortably store in your home.
Try to create new storage areas, like under the bed in boxes.
Get the garden sorted
Give the garden(s) a small makeover. You don´t need to go out and buy new plants, you just need to cut the grass, clear the paths of weeds and children´s toys and tidy away any old tatty furniture.
Clearing overgrown bushes away from any windows helps to let the light in.
Pets and Smells
Before your viewer visits, find somewhere else for your dog. Your viewer may not be a dog fan and the last thing you want is a viewer concentrating on where your dog is, rather than the house.
Ideally, most pets need to be placed somewhere where you have complete control and the viewer either doesn´t know of their existence, or appreciates that you have made the effort to show your home, not your pet.
Gatehouse Move To Godmanchester
Gatehouse ´Rental´ have moved from their office in St Neots high street to a new office in Godmanchester.
The move was inspired by an increased demand from tenants in the Huntingdon and Godmanchester areas. As Gatehouse already had an office in Godmanchester, it seemed sensible to move to where the demand was. The office is located on the corner of The Causeway (by the river) at number 63 Cambridge street. Hours of business remain the same, but the telephone number has changed to 01480 433933.
To view a selection of properties available visit www.gatehouserental.co.uk
Surfing in the Algarve
Portugal has been attracting surfers to its shores for decades. It offers quality surf year long with excellent sandy beaches and point breaks. It delivers a decent sized surf peak and, with waters never dropping too low, offers a great year-round destination for world-class surf and a wonderful culture to match.
The Algarve is well known amongst the surfing fraternity for its lively Atlantic coastline. The areas with the greatest quality and quantity of waves are the south west of the Algarve and the west coast, going all the way up the country to the border with Spain. The surf found to the far west of the region offers some amazing surfing conditions in a beautiful back drop of cliffs and bays. Swells are generated out of the Atlantic Ocean arriving along the Portuguese coastline with train like regularity and the Algarve benefits even more due to its geographical make up of bays and points. There is surf to suit all standards of surfer in the Algarve. The south coast tends to have nice waves during the bigger winter swells but the further you go away from the west coast, the smaller they become. It is these two very different coasts that make for such a special surfing location. With one coast facing south and the other facing predominantly west, if there is any swell around there will always be waves somewhere. Depending on the swell direction, it only takes an ocean swell of 2 or 3 feet for the better breaks to start working.
surfing in the Algarve
Summer on the west coast will usually see clean waves from waist to chest high (depending on the height of the surfer!). Either side of summer, the west coast produces consistent swell that can be nicely over head. The west coast can have regular 15ft swells and Carrapateira has been known to hit 25ft!
With an enviable climate and year round waves the Algarve is fast becoming one of the continent’s most popular surfing destinations. It is also home to one of Europe’s most established surf camps – ‘The Surf Experience’, based in Lagos. Their package includes half-board, transportation, equipment hire, and tuition.
Across the length and breadth of Portugal, surfers of all standards should find what they are looking for. If you want to experience unique European surf in the sun all year long then this should be your first choice.
