Your Right Move » For Sale

A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying

Zanet — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:35:59 +0000

The Buying Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now I’m about to reveal my normal process for buying a property. Years ago a walk along the local high street and a visit to each estate agent was my only option while taking a day off work. Today its all changed. Far from my priority to visit shops and talk to estate agents, I can now search for my ideal property at any time a like from the comfort of my current home.

Until recently I only really bothered with Rightmove. More than 90% of all UK Estate Agents choose to be members of Rightmove. It’s the largest and most established site with a boasts of 4 times more property than any other house buying site. Though it would be ignorant to think that that is where your search should finish. Findaproperty, Fish4homes and Zoopla are well established and worth a search. The new kid on the block is Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo. This has only a few properties, but it looks likely to grow and is worth keeping an eye on as I’m a believer that this might just succeed far beyond its predecessors as its entirely free for sellers and it uses Google maps to the full.

So what do you need before searching to buy a property?

buying your house online

Below are a list of what you need in effect if you entered these site with the basic four details you would probably get some good ideas of what you can buy for your money.

Where you want to live eg. place name or post code
The Minimum number of bedrooms required
Your Minimum price
Your Maximum price

Other details may be useful but for our favorite 5 you’ll find it will get you started

www.Rightmove.co.uk

Rightmove.co.uk is the UK’s number one property website. We are not estate agents but we aim to be the place for UK home movers to find details of all properties available to buy or rent.

postcode
radius of postcode up to 40 miles
Type of property eg. flat or house
Minimum number of bedrooms
Maximum number of bedrooms
How recent it was added to the site (anytime, 24 hours or last 2 weeks)

www.findaproperty.com

FindaProperty.com claims to be one of the leading property web-site with a comprehensive search facility for house-hunters to find a home – both sales and rentals.
It now publishes the details of over 626,614 properties to buy

place name or post code
Minimum number of bedrooms
Minimum price
Maximum price

www.zoopla.co.uk

Zoopla recently announced that it has acquired UpMyStreet.com, one of the UK’s leading and longest standing property information websites, for an undisclosed sum. You can’t ignore Zoopla and its claim of being the UK’s leading market resource for a property finder to search property for sale, find houses and flats to rent, see house prices paid and current property values all in one place.

place name or post code
Minimum price
Maximum price
Type of property eg. flat or house
Minimum number of bedrooms

www.tepilo.co.uk

Tepilo is an alternative way to buy, sell or let your property and it’s free. You maintain 100% control and pay 0% commission! Search across the UK and get advice from me along the way

place name or post code
refine with price
refine with distance

Advanced Details
property type
bedrooms
Bathrooms
Receptions
Outside Space
Parking
Tenure

www.fish4homes.co.uk

Claims to be the leading property website, fish4homes, celebrates a decade helping agents generate enquiries.
claims 276,653 houses and flats for sale
it looks a little run down the site with its latest news almost a year old!

The ten steps below cover the main stages you will go through when buying a home.

Work out how much you can afford
Get a mortgage agreement in principle
Choose your home from the list above.
View the properties as soon as possible.
Hire a solicitor or conveyancer
Make an offer
Have a survey and valuation
Finalise your mortgage
Exchange contracts
Organise your move

Over the coming weeks we are running some simple tests on the online sites we use to help our visitors buy a property.

The tests will include :

Which property site is the most usable?
Which site has the greatest number of properties?
Which property site provides the easiest search?
Which site provides the best support?
Which property site is best value for money for a buyer and seller?

10 Downing Street For Sale

Zanet — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:16:42 +0000

10 Downing Street isn’t for sale, but if it was…

With Right Move, Tepilo, Zoopla, Up my street or Find a property, we are a nosey bunch in the UK. If we aren’t buying property, we love to know what Mrs Jones paid for hers down the road. Or what the neighbours house looks like on an estate agents site. 10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as “Number 10″, is the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now invariably held by the Prime Minister.

Just imagine if 10 Downing Street was for sale

So what if 10 Downing Street was for sale? well we know its not that simple if you want to move into that address and it certainly isn’t based on price alone. Though imagine for a moment if it was a simple as an asking price…

Zoopla recently valued the residential portion of 10 Downing Street, worked out under which PM value was lost and gained, calculated the stamp duty payable in April 2011 (at 5%, that’s £225K) if it was for sale on the open market, and identified and worked out the value of other 10 Downing Streets around the UK.

Here are their reported results for 10 Downing Street:

Gordon Brown currently worth a £4,574,831
Tony Blair when he left was worth £5,037,251
John Major £1,644,558
Margaret Thatcher £1,804,952

Zoopla also reports that property prices have risen since the last election in 2005 in each of the party leaders’ constituencies

by over 12% in David Cameron’s;
by just over 5% in Nick Clegg’s
by almost 19% in Gordon Brown’s

So there you have it, thanks to Zoopla we now know it’s not been the best property boom in recent times, which of course we knew already.

No related posts.

Highest House Prices According to Rightmove

Zanet — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:37:01 +0000

According to Rightmove we now have the highest house prices since 2008

House prices rose 2.9% in April according to Rightmove. Although the average house price is now at its highest in the country, this is not reflective of all UK areas. In fact many are lower.

The best advice is to look at your own area as an isolated situation as the UK average disguises a lot of hidden issues.For example, 30% fewer properties were brought to market this month compared to April 2007, and 0.5% fewer than April last year. So it’s not a recovery by any means, just the interesting figures to consider from Rightmove.

“Not a Housing recovery though” - According to Rightmove

This is not a housing market recovery though as the average is due to increases in the South West and London holding its value. London average asking prices are at nearly half a million pounds. This is a historical high, as sellers in the capital drag their heels in bringing fresh property to the market.

This means the average asking price in England and Wales is now at an all-time high of £243,737 – up 0.5%, or £1,237, on the previous record, which was set in May 2008.

According to Rightmove director Miles Shipside, he reported ”In real terms prices are actually down 9.9% as had prices had kept pace with inflation, as measured by the retail price index, they would now stand at £270,459, the property website explained.”

Do you need an Estate Agent

Zanet — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:16:28 +0000

It’s not the first time we have asked the question, Do you need an Estate Agent in this day and age? With the mighty online agents like Zoopla and Rightmove, the little estate agent down the road needs to offer something different to make his value worthwhile.

We are looking at the debate from the perspective of someone wanting to sell their property. The options include advertising online only for a much smaller fee of around £500 rather than the 1 or 2% for an Estate Agent which can cost around £3000 to £7000 depending on your property price.

If property sells well in your area then you may wish to think about advertising on a free web site like Tepilo. If you go direct to Rightmove then regularly review your on-line advertisement, your asking price, the photographs of your property and the description.

For's and Against's - Do you need an Estate Agent

For’s and Against’s – Do you need an Estate Agent

The argument for having an Estate Agent

You should get a few extra viewings as they keep lists of potentially interested buyers
They will be able to show people round when you aren’t available
They may have a better understanding of the local market than yourself and can use this to negotiate a better price on your behalf
Some buyers may not trust buying any other way as they may remain suspicious if there is no Estate Agent
You may recover the cost of the Estate Agent as some buyers will deduct the calculated cost of not having one.

The argument against having an Estate Agent

They tend to dictate the photos and advertising, so you lose some control
You can change the price or details at any point with immediate effect.
You may have a greater motivation to get the best price whereas an estate agent may undersell your house by tens of thousands of pounds to achieve a sale and commission
If you sell quickly because the price was in the buyers favour, you could be paying out a lot of money for very little work
They see the property as the client sees it as they also are not as attached

So is this a harsh discussion if you are an Estate Agent?

Or what is your view if you are a seller.

Do you need an Estate Agent in todays market of online selling?

Should you use Zoopla with Rightmove?

Zanet — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:27:59 +0000

In our house I always default to Rightmove and thereafter to Zoopla. I do use Zoopla which is more than others do in my household but I did make me wonder why do i use it. Not everyone agrees with me, in fact I’m amazed how many people I know only use Rightmove. So do you use Zoopla in addition to Rightmove?

I decided to run a test and see what percentage of properties can I find only by using Zoopla. The comments i hear all the time is why bother with Zoopla when you have all the properties on Rightmove!
Is that true though

Well lets do an experiment and see what the results are.

I will set a random criteria and i have no biased in this experiment as i genuinely want to see the outcome

Experimental Name : Should you use Zoopla with Rightmove?

Area : Swindon SW6 - Within 1/4 mile radius
Any property added at anytime
Any amount of bedrooms
Budget £200,000 – £250,000
See the criteria in screen shots below

So the results? Well Rightmove has one property more…

Rightmove : 23 properties for sale found

Zoopla : 22 results for SW6 property for sale within 0.25 miles from £200,000-£250,000

Should you use Zoopla with Rightmove?

Will Zoopla’s 22 properties be the same as the 23 Rightmove lists?

Well I went through each one to find the results and interestingly Zoopla is more generous on its 1/4 mile radius as is seen from the diagram below. Taking the map circumference 2 of the 22 properties Zoopla showed were outside the radius. So we would have to remove them to make the experiment like for like.

Well I was shocked as there were 8 out of 20 properties on Zoopla that were not on Rightmove!

Rightmove

23 properties in total
11 unique to Right move
12 shared with Zoopla

Zoopla

20 properties in total if taking the same radius as Rightmove
8 unique to Zoopla
12 shared with Right move

Rightmove Combined Zoopla will provide 31 properties that is 26% extra property

In other words using Rightmove only gives you 4 out of 5 properties.

For me that answers the question for any serious buyer. Should you use Zoopla with Rightmove?

A resounding yes ! Do you agree?

Rightmove improves property listings

Zanet — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:46:46 +0000

Rightmove is already the UK’s largetst property listings website, but now things have become even better for the huge listing site.

A recent survey revealed that potential property buyers complained that often the properties viewed in the search results were often out of date. So a team of developers have now improved the quality of the results.

Rightmove now provides an improved property listing

Rightmove claim this new update will improve the data quality and involves the removal of out-dated sales and lettings properties using a range of new filters and detection controls. The data quality programme has been introduced following consultation with estate agents. The aim was to establish what would represent a fair period of time for certain properties to be left on the site.

Quality and accurate property listings

Rightmove comments regarding the property listings : “The data quality measures we have introduced emphasise Rightmove’s commitment to maintaining an accurate property search facility for home-hunters and a fair and highly effective advertising environment for our member agents.Given the frustration that inaccurate or misleading advertising causes for home-hunters, we felt it right to introduce measures which restrict the amount of stock left on the site when it’s no longer available. This activity is equally frustrating for the majority of Rightmove member agents who keep their advertised properties in order and up-to-date.”

Rightmove started the data quality programme in January with the removal of over 50,000 ‘for sale’ properties, which had been cross-referenced with the Land Registry to reveal they had already been sold. So its been quite a clean up on the listings.

The data quality measures were widened this week to target properties indicated as being unavailable for excessively long periods of time such as resale properties listed as ‘Sold Subject to Contract’ and lettings properties listed as ‘Let Agreed’. Over 80,000 properties will be removed under this new measure.

All Rightmove member agents have since been kept informed of each new data quality measures. The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Update: It’s worth noting that this was a change in the property listings which is hidden data, not the actual presentation of the listings themselves, so little differences will be seen.

How to sell your house on Rightmove

Zanet — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 12:46:59 +0000

Selling your house on the Rightmove web site is certainly a great way to be seen and find many more potential purchasers. But how do you get on there? Most good estate agents are experts in selling properties and will know that a web prescence is essential for capturing the market of people moving into the area. So the next question follows: how do you choose a reliable Estate agent in the UK market with a good Rightmove presence?

You won't see a RightMove estate agents in your road

As 25% of buyers found their property on the Rightmove web site, it is a priority to make sure your agent can advertise your home on Right move. You may find it is worth paying more to choose a proactive agent who will
ultimately achieve a better price for your property.

Before you commit yourself to one agent, take narrow down your estate agent list to approximately three finalists who you want to invite to do a valuation. Make sure you ask them how they will invest in marketing on behalf of the vendor and should, at the very least, take photos of your property. Also ask how long it takes to go live on Rightmove as it could take up to a week and yet shouldn’t take longer than a day or two after approval.

Rightmove enhanced advertising options

You may want to speak to your chosen agents about the Rightmove enhanced advertising options, Showcase and Premium Display to help sell your home even faster. You may need to negotiate with each agent to get the best commission rate though the lowest rate doesn’t always mean the best service.

Check out the estate agents profile describing their business. Does your estate agent belong to Ombudsman for Estate Agents or the National Association of Estate Agents. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is also acceptable.

Don’t forget if the estate agents don’t impress you, it’s unlikely they’ll impress your Right move.co.uk visitors.

How to advertise on Rightmove

Zanet — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:15:53 +0000

Is it possible to advertise on Rightmove for free ?

Many seeking to sell their homes online, want to advertise on Rightmove. Rightmove is the biggest property websites in the UK. Understandable as more than 90% of all UK estate agents list on Rightmove.

It appears that sadly individuals selling their homes directly cannot list their property on Rightmove without an estate agent.

Should it be free to advertise on Rightmove

This is due to Rightmove’s advertising policy. All properties advertised on their site should comply with the “Property Misdescription Act of 1991″. This Act was designed to protect the public from estate agents that stretched the truth about a property. It was devised to provide protection to the general public making it illegal to make false or misleading statements.

So are there any other ways that an estate agent can offer access through there registration with Rightmove? Any way to supervise the statements made and thereby approve the submissions for a minimal cost?

It’s worth noting there used to be a few estate agents that did comply with the act. For a small fee they enabled you to advertise on Rightmove.

Good news!.

Well I thought so, until I contacted The Little House Company online estate agency
In the past, they were are able to list your property on Rightmove for a small fee, until Rightmove decided to block the idea.

I decided to contact The Little House Company to find out what had changed since they couldn’t now directly advertise on Rightmove.

Nick Marr founder of The Little House Company told us, “We offer an online estate agents service that does not include listing on Rightmove anymore. We were working with a number of agents but Rightmove sent us a legal notice asking us to stop. They felt we were amounting to reselling their service. We now simply recommend or refer our clients to this panel if they want a Rightmove listing”.

Nick continues, “We offer a full online agents service apart from Rightmove. Despite us being registered estate agency in the eyes of the law and the fact we produce compliant listings Rightmove are uncomfortable with us on their website as we promote private sales. They receive complaints from estate agents and we will never be on that website whilst we offer consumer choice with our services”.

“One of my main competitors www.mypropertyforsale.com has given up private listings so that he can have his properties on Rightmove. If we did the same it would be yet another private sale business squeezed out of the industry”.

Will you be able to advertise on Rightmove in the future for free?

Maybe we will see things change in 2012. But currently Nick Marr told us “We contributed to an OFT report last year which concluded: The OFT’s study into home buying and selling FEB 2010 found that the housing market remains dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition between them on price. As property prices rise during housing booms, so too do estate agents’ fees. Overall satisfaction with estate agents, however, has improved in recent years, according to research conducted as part of the study. Where there are problems with transactions, consumers generally do not think the estate agent was at fault. The OFT believes that innovation in this sector, in particular through online services, could have a dramatic impact on the cost of buying and selling a home”.

So there we have the reasons why you can’t advertise directly on Rightmove, but there does seem to be some good alternatives to consider.

We will review some of these alternatives over the coming weeks. What do you think? Should you be able to directly advertise on Rightmove web site?

End stamp duty holiday looms

Zanet — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:12:18 +0000

It’s noteworthy that the end of the stamp duty holiday looms for first-time buyers with just 5 months to go, sellers with homes worth £250,000 or less should acknowledge call to action

First-time buyers should be aware that the 25th October marks just five months to go until the stamp duty holiday ends. Under current arrangements, first-time buyers purchasing a property under £250,000 don’t have to pay any stamp duty. After 25th March 2012, all properties between £125,000 and £250,000 will incur a stamp duty levy of 1% of the purchase price, reports a spokesman from The Robinson Jackson Group

Stamp Duty Exemption Set to Continue

Stamp duty holiday?- £250,000 buys you a lot of property!

Estate agent Robinson Jackson says the deadline is particularly important to buyers in South East London, North Kent and the Medway as there are plenty of starter homes in this catchment: “We’re incredibly lucky that almost 900 of the properties we have for sale at the moment are priced at less than £250,000. In many instances, a budget of just £100,000 to £150,000 can buy you a good sized flat or small house. Not many London and Home Counties estate agents can say that so we’re telling first-time buyers to pick up the phone to us now as we want to help them make the most of their budget,” says Peter Jackson, co-founder of the estate agents that has 30 branches and departments in London and Kent.

Thinking of selling? Act now

And it’s not just first-time buyers who should sit up and take notice of the 25th March deadline. Sellers should also appreciate that now is the time to sell a property that would make a good starter home. Peter goes on to say: “If your home is worth £250,000 or less, now it the time to think about selling. We’re anticipating an influx of buyers looking to squeeze in a purchase before the stamp duty holiday ends but they’re going to be disappointed unless there’s more starter homeson our books. We have a ready-made audience out there looking to complete by March 2012.”

Time is of the essence

Peter Jackson says that the stamp duty holiday could bypass first-time buyers: “We are urging those wishing to take the first step onto the property ladder to start their search now. People have to factor in the time it takes to find, view and complete on a property. Once an offer has been made it’s not usual for completion to take two or three months, especially if there is an associated chain. Now is the ideal time to start looking and making serious offers.”

The stamp duty holiday was introduced to stimulate the property market but it’s not until now that mortgage lending conditions are starting to improve. Peter says that with the right guarantees and flexible approach, first-time buyers can secure a mortgage of up to 95%: “Property prices are stable, we’re still in the stamp duty holiday period and there are some better mortgage products coming to market so it’s a good time to pay us a visit and find out what’s within your budget. However, first-time buyers who fail to make offers in the next two months might find they miss the boat and will end up paying a 1% stamp duty fee. So please act now!”

Peter concludes by saying: “There’s a small window of real opportunity here for first-time buyers and sellers of starter homes worth less than £250,000.

Pick up the phone or visit us in branch to find out how we can help you before the deadline is upon us.”

The stamp duty holiday has certainly helped many – do you think it should extend into next year?

Phil and Kirstie – 11 seconds

Zanet — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:41:27 +0000

We all love Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. Their success includes,

Location, Location, Location;
Relocation, Relocation;
Location Revisited;
The Property Chain

it’s noteworthy of the one point they often mention, but could easily be missed. According to Phil and Kirstie when you wall in through the door of your
potential property, the first 11 seconds is all they need to ascertain the interest and initial impression.

11 Seconds includes hallway

If that’s the case then maybe the room that needs more attention than most and gets so little attention that it’s not even vowed as a room - the entrance and hallway

How important to keep it fresh the hall way bright, clean and clutter free.

Rather than fighting through cuts like a trip to Narnia and tripping over shoes, the aim should be to provide maximum space and homeliness.
Apart from decluytering and a neutral colour scheme, add a few mirrors and a couple of healthy plants.

Phil and Kirstie say it takes just 11 crucial seconds

A recent discussion asked why are Kirstie and Phil so succesful? There is no mistaking they have a chemistry that is unique to them, you would almost assume they were married the way they treat each other. Kirstie’s flustering and off-the-cuff opinions tended to bemuse and mildly irritate Phil in equal measure – although touchingly in private he often picks fluff off her coat, a gesture usually restricted to partners or parents. It certainly works for them and its viewing figures.

Phil and Kirstie – Our Conclusion

So in conclusion remember 11 seconds is almost all you have to make a positive impression. That’s not a very large window, but one that you can certainly improve once you are conscious of it. So we beleive Phil and Kirsties tip is about right. If anyone has found this article useful please let us know.