Whether you’re buying or selling, the process is always riddled with stress, anxieties and unanswered questions – especially in today’s housing market.
But help is at hand from Roger Punch of Marchand Petit in Devon who, with more than 50 years’ experience, is one of the South West’s most well-known agents. Here are his top tips for securing a sale – or buying at a bargain price.
Selling
- Interview several estate agencies before choosing the best. Ask if they have sold many other properties in the neighbourhood; how long did they take to sell? Be sure they’ll put an experienced negotiator in charge of your sale – not the new boy.
- Keep a parking space free for viewers. You don’t want a viewing to start on the wrong foot with your buyer having to thread his way into a parking space two streets away.
- First impressions count so make the outside look cherished with clean windows, walls, paths and driveways. A power wash can work wonders. Hide the wheelie bins.
- Get a friend to cast an objective eye and nose over your home. Are there any smells of damp dogs, nappies or worse that you’ll be immune to but which will have the buyer gasping for fresh air?
- Make sure every room has an obvious function, be it a kitchen, study, play room or home cinema.
With more than 50 years’ experience, Roger Punch of Marchand Petit in Devon is one of the South West’s most well-known estate agents
- If your house has an obvious flaw, such as a kitchen that is too small, call in a builder to give you an estimate for knocking through a wall or adding an extension. Show the written estimate to the buyer.
- Price the house accurately by checking the competition on the property portals. If you are asking more than the house down the road, have good reasons ready for prospective buyers, such as you have a larger garden, new kitchen, two bathrooms, a new en-suite. Be prepared to give a little. The average seller only gets about 92 per cent of the asking price.
- Reclaim your garage. If your garage is full of junk then it not only fails to fulfil its purpose, it’s a sign that the storage in your house is inadequate. Sort it out.
- Keep your neighbours informed about your sale. Then, if they see you conducting a viewing you can make the necessary introductions and the buyers will feel welcome. That sure beats them being glared at over next door’s fence.
- Not everybody likes animals so if you have a viewing, remove any cats, dogs, snakes, rats. Make sure your children are presentable. You may love him but the sight of a teenager grunting from his bed while listening to deafening music may put off a potential buyer.
When selling, do the basics well – fill vases, light fires and pay attention to lighting
- Tidy up your garden. Keep lawns trimmed, flower beds neat and patio furniture clean. But don’t over-complicate your planting and create such a gardener’s paradise that your buyer feels intimidated. Not everyone has green fingers.
- Some conservatories – notably the small lean-to variety – are a turn off to most buyers. If you have one of these then give it a proper function, perhaps as a ‘book nook’ or a mini-orangery. Do not let it be a shelter for your unused rowing machine or exercise bike.
- If you haven’t got a very good ‘eye’ for interiors, call in an expert home-stager. A one-day make-over may seem expensive but these people make their fees back by helping sell your home in double quick time.
- Do the basics well. Fill vases, light fires and pay attention to lighting. A few well-placed table lamps are visually soothing and they also get rid of dark corners.
- Selling a house is about selling a lifestyle. Give your buyers leaflets from the local council or tourist board showing colour pictures of the local parks, country walks and river views.
- Be friendly and welcoming to your viewers. Offer them coffee. Tell them about the local schools, nurseries, child-minders, sports and arts amenities and any coffee house and gastro pub nearby. But don’t give too much away. There’s no need to tell would be buyers how long the house has been for sale. Don’t let on if you are desperate to sell quickly to secure your own new home. Play your cards close to your chest. During a viewing, one former client painted a lovely word picture of her village as a country idyll with church bells on Sundays and the hunt passing by outside. When I phoned to ask the viewer what she made of her visit she said: ‘Lovely cottage but the village is not for us, I’m a hunt saboteur!’
Buying
- Don’t judge a building from the outside and don’t rely on Google earth or Street View, which are invariably historic.
- Visit the property several times before you make an offer. Ideally go there in the week and the weekend at different times. Look out for signs that you or your family may not feel safe there. Defaced signage, skid marks on the road, graffiti, litter and uncared for neighbouring properties should all flash up warning signs.
- Having roughly decided on the area you want to live in, focus on your favourite road. You can improve a property but you can’t change a neighbourhood – so don’t compromise. The best long-term buy is usually the worst property in the best street.
- Don’t put in a ‘silly’ offer to start negotiations. It will probably result in you annoying the seller and losing the deal.
- Make notes. You may later have trouble remembering everything about the house, especially if you have to see more properties on the same day. So jot down details such as the state of the window frames, the proximity of the main road, the distance from the shops.
Visit the property several times before you make an offer. Ideally go there in the week and the weekend at different times
- Make a wish list of what you need from the house. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want? Is a good size garden or home office important to you?
- Study plans for the local infrastructure. You may love the fact that your chosen house has country views across fields and valleys. Check there are no plans for suburban sprawl to wreck it all.
- Make sure the vendor is aware you know your stuff. I once had a buyer in Cornwall who asked ‘what time does the tide go out on a Saturday?’ Credibility blown!
- Don’t overestimate your own DIY skills. Installing a kitchen or a bathroom may look simple on television but it’s not that easy. If you are buying a house with a renovation project in mind get a tried and trusted builder to talk you through what is involved. Perhaps it would be best to leave it to him or her.
- Keep in mind the other members of your family. The stream at the bottom of the garden my look tranquil but could it be a danger to your toddlers? The steep staircase may be cute but could granny manage it if she came to stay?
- If the property has under gone building work recently then make sure the seller has a Building Control Certificate.
- Take care if you are moving to the countryside. You may be attracted to the bucolic Archers-style way of life but are you really happy to be woken up by chickens every day? Will smells from the pig farm add to the charm of your garden? If you share a country lane are you ready to be held up by cows coming back from milking? The country folk were there first and they’ll be there long after you leave.
- Be friendly but don’t give the seller too much information. If you say, ‘I’m desperate to move this month because my wife is evicting me,’ then the seller is likely to stick to his asking price.
- Never make an offer immediately. Remain flexible and negotiate on other terms such as closing dates or fixtures and fittings to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
- Apax Partners made a £203m takeover approach last October for Kin & Carta
- Digital services provider Valtech came out in December with a £239m deal
Apax Partners is out of the race to buy Kin & Carta after a rival put forward a higher bid for the digital technology consultancy.
The private equity group made a £203million takeover approach last October for Kin & Carta, which advises firms on technology strategies, claiming it was ‘better placed’ to help further the company’s growth.
It subsequently increased the offer to £220.3million in December, meaning investors would receive 120p per share compared to the previous proposal of 110p.
Acquisition bid: Private equity group Apax Partners made a £203million takeover approach last October for Kin & Carta, which advises firms on technology strategies
Later that month, Valtech, a digital services provider whose largest shareholder is investment firm BC Partners, came out with a 130p-per-share deal valuing the business at £239million.
Apax had until the end of trading on 8 March to lodge a higher bid, but the company refused to budge, meaning its offer has now lapsed.
Founded in 1964 by future Labour peer Robert Gavron, Kin & Carta was initially a printing business called St Ives, named after the town where it was located.
Over the following decades, it expanded to become Britain’s biggest printing firm, producing annual company reports and popular magazines like The Economist, Vogue, and Time Out.
By the time Gavron stepped away from day-to-day management, St Ives had a market value exceeding £400million.
But during the 2000s, the group began struggling as the publishing world shifted online and print journalism suffered a significant slump in revenues.
After recording its first-ever annual loss in 2009, the firm began transitioning to a more digital-focused operation when it acquired marketing and data business Occam.
St Ives exited the printing sector following the sale of its print management division to Paragon Group in 2018, the same year it was renamed Kin & Carta.
In its most recent annual results, the company blamed ‘macroeconomic challenges’ leading to longer sales cycles and more cautious spending among clients for its revenue flatlining at £195.9million.
The firm’s adjusted operating profits also declined by approximately 18 per cent to £18.5million amid more difficult trading conditions across the Americas.
Kin & Carta shares were 0.3 per cent lower at 128.2p just after midday on Monday, although they have surged by around a quarter over the past 12 months.
- The estate agency revealed that profit before tax fell by 34% to £7.9m
- It also added that lettings revenue jumped 16% to £101.2m
Foxtons revenues generated by house sales slumped last year, but the estate agent’s performance was buffered by a jump in rental income.
The London-listed group’s sales revenue fell 14 per cent to £37.2million in 2023 while the number of houses sold sank by 11 per cent year-on-year, reflecting higher mortgage rates and weaker mortgage availability.
But Foxton’s annual revenue rose 5 per cent to £147.1million, as lettings revenue – which accounted for about 70 per cent of turnover – jumped 16 per cent to £101.2million despite a 6 per cent fall in the number of properties letted.
The London-listed estate agency reported saw a 34 per cent drop in profits before tax to £7.9million
It reported a 34 per cent drop in profits before tax to £7.9million, largely as a result of one-off costs including closing some of its branches.
Commenting on the fall in house sales, Foxtons said transaction volumes ‘were at some of the lowest levels since 2008 and 2020, years impacted by the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 market shutdown respectively.’
However, Foxtons noted that mortgage rates had begun to dip below 4 per cent towards the end of the year, from levels of around 6 per cent 12 months earlier, helping to lift demand.
Guy Gittins, chief executive officer, of Foxtons said: ”Our strategy to deliver growth through sales market cycles by delivering lettings growth is working, delivering resilient earnings for the year despite a weak sales market and the investment we made in fee earners.
‘We are on track against our medium-term target of delivering £25million to £30million of adjusted operating profit, through organic and acquisitive growth and supported by improving market conditions.’
In recent times, Foxtons has largely benefitted from its letting business. The UK capital is home to the country’s highest rental prices, which have seen enormous increases since 2021.
This is in part because landlords who have seen their mortgage payments spike have passed on the extra cost to their tenants.
Higher rents equal more commission for lettings agents – and the firm also earns interest on tenant deposits which it holds.
Office for National Statistics data shows that average rental prices in London were up by 6.9 per cent in the 12 months ending November 2023.
In addition to a healthy 28 per cent year-on-year jump in its sales business, Foxton’s scored a 36 per cent increase in lettings sector market share last year
Foxtons shares were down 3.02 per cent to 57.90p in early afternoon trading on Tuesday.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown said: ‘Estate agents will always feel the pain at times of economic stress, but Foxton’s market share means it’s in a better position than some in the short-term.’
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Own New in the UK has launched a mortgage product that will enable borrowers to take out a loan with an interest rate under 1% for those buying new builds – is this the new era of home financing, and will it catch on in Europe?
The Own New Rate Reducer product launched with Halifax, Virgin Money, and Barratt Developments today – 26 February – along with other housebuilders across the country joining from 4 March.
‘It could unlock lower mortgage rates and reduce your monthly payments, whether you’re a first time buyer or an existing homeowner,” Barratt Homes said on its website.
How does the Own New Rate Reducer work?
Dependent on the build stage of your chosen home, Barratt Homes said it could contribute either 3% or 5% of the purchase price towards your move.
The contribution goes directly to your mortgage lender (through the 3rd party Own New), which could subsequently reduce your mortgage interest rate by up to 3.19%.
Own New founder, Elliot Darcy, told the Financial Times: “Our ethos is to make home ownership and mortgage lending in this country open to more people and we are confident that the launch of the Own New Rate Reducer will achieve that.
“Alongside the national lenders and housebuilders who have signed up to the scheme, we believe that Rate Reducer will be a significant boost to many people’s home-buying dreams.”
Darcy also highlighted to the FT that “this is just the product” to stimulate the housing market and to give more people a “helping hand and initial boost” to get onto the property ladder.
However, many experts have criticised the new product, including Matthew Jackson, director at mortgage advisers Mint FS, who told Sky News: “Why would lenders and developers sign up to such a scheme? Is it to benefit buyers or themselves? I suspect it is the latter, with the removal of Help to Buy, lenders have a huge hole in mortgage lending and developers are struggling for sales.
“Without a doubt developers will use these affordable mortgages to increase house prices, meaning a premium will be paid for own new stock, and the payment shock at the end of the product will be enormous.
“Will the buyer be advised correctly? Doubtful. This has disaster written all over it.”
Will mortgages with rates below 1% catch on in Europe?
The Own New Rate Reducer is only available to those in the UK. For Europe, no such product is yet to be introduced.
As highlighted by Statista in a November 2023 report, mortgage interest rates tend to be lower in the Nordic countries due to the financial stability and reliability of its borrowers.
“Other factors that influence the mortgage interest rates include inflation, economic growth, monetary policies, the bond market and the overall conditions of the housing market,” Statista said on its website.
It also notes that more stable markets also tend to have higher average prices with France, Austria and Germany among some of the highest new dwelling prices in Europe.
Statista also recently highlighted how mortgage interest rates soared in Europe in 2022, resulting in many countries seeing rates double in just a year.
“During the COVID-19 crisis, mortgage rates in Europe were at their lowest, as countries tackled the economic effects of the pandemic. With inflation rising, central banks gradually increased the interest rates, resulting in higher mortgage borrowing costs. In Hungary, the average mortgage interest rate reached close to 10% in the first quarter of 2023, up from about 3.5% in 2022,” the data platform said.
Jacob Rothschild’s death yesterday at 87 could result in a Succession-style battle between his heirs for his sprawling property and investment empire.
A colossal figure in the City, he bestrode the Square Mile for several decades.
Starting at the family banking group NM Rothschild in 1963, he left 17 years later after falling out with his cousin Sir Evelyn de Rothschild over a merger with rival SG Warburg.
At the time, it was the talk of the town. One financial journalist described it as the ‘the most notorious bank-family split in City of London history’.
Striking out on his own, he took charge of RIT Capital Partners, which is worth £2.6billion and a stalwart of the FTSE 250.
Legacy: Jacob Rothschild (pictured), who died yesterday at the age of 87, was a colossal figure in the City who bestrode the Square Mile for several decades
His deal-making skills and easy charm saw the business grow fast, while his market commentaries were highly anticipated, such as when in 2019 he described the post-Brexit deadlock as the UK’s biggest political challenge since the 1956 Suez crisis.
While doing all this, he also co-founded wealth manager St James’s Place in 1991, money manager GAM in 1983 and made an unsuccessful bid for British American Tobacco in 1989, which, had it come off, would have been one of the biggest take-overs of all time.
A source close to the family said: ‘He was viewed as an establishment figure. Business-wise he was far from it. He took plenty of risks.’
To this day, RIT Capital remains one of the most popular trusts in London with offices based in Spencer House overlooking Green Park.
Its investments are varied and include WeBull, the New York investment platform, and Motive, the logistics group.
In the UK, the firm backs technology investor Firstminute Capital. The annual return of 10.7 per cent remains impressive to this day and RIT has turned a £10,000 investment in 1988 to £345,000 in 2024.
But the big question is who will step into Rothchild’s shoes and what happens to his 13pc stake in the business.
To the Rothschilds, leadership succession is treated like that of an accession to the throne in a monarchy – not unlike the fictional Roy family in the popular TV series Succession.
It is an obsession that has enabled them to keep their name alive while other traditional City families – such as Kleinworts and Warburgs – have disappeared.
For many years, Nat, 52, appeared to be the natural successor, ‘a chip off the old block’ who moved effortlessly in the world of high finance. But his father disliked his playboy lifestyle and rebellious streak.
Born in 1971, he is the youngest child and as the only son is heir apparent. But he does not have a direct stake in RIT Capital, but instead holds an indirect holding through the family’s private equity firm Five Arrows.
He upset his parents in 1995 when he eloped with socialite Annabelle Neilson, but the marriage lasted just three years.
Relations with his family became strained and, in 2016, Nat refused to invite his father to his second wedding to former glamour model Loretta Basey.
He has since rebuilt his name with Volex, a cable manufacturer to Tesla.
But it is his sister Hannah, 61, an author, and Jacob’s eldest daughter, who has emerged as the frontrunner.
Known for her savvy and calm head, she has a 10 per cent stake in RIT and sits on the board as a non-executive director.
A divorced mother of three, she is also chairman of Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild charitable foundation in Israel.
Whether Hannah or Nat win out, both will have big shoes to fill.
RIT Capital Management said in a statement: ‘RIT is proud that its association with Lord Rothschild’s family interests continues via his daughter, Hannah Rothschild, who has served as a Director of RIT for over a decade.
‘The majority of the beneficial and non-beneficial interests relating to the Rothschild family are in respect of shares held via trusts, companies or charitable foundations where Hannah is a beneficiary, trustee, or is able to exert significant influence.’
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This challenge has become more apparent in recent years after the Brexit vote and the pandemic, when investors withdrew their money over fears of a property crash.
By comparison, closed-ended funds such as real estate investment trusts (Reits) do not suffer from a liquidity mismatch, as they have a fixed pool of capital that is not affected by investors buying and selling.
In terms of funds to buy, Ms Admans recommended CT TR Property Trust which is mainly invested in listed property shares, with physical property accounting for a maximum of 15pc of the portfolio.
The geographic split is 25pc to 50pc UK, with the remainder in Europe. It is currently trading at a discount of 7pc to net asset value.
“The manager, Marcus Phayre-Mudge, has deep sector experience and has built up a strong track record of generating income using a differentiated approach to property investing,” Ms Admans added.
John Moore, of wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin, recommended PRS Reit which invests in new-build family homes for the private rental market.
“Even though it is one of the scale players in the sector, it only manages 5,000 units, which is a drop in the ocean of [the Government’s] 300,000 per year new homes target – so there is huge room for growth,” he said.
“Yet the share price has not reflected any of that – it trades at a substantial discount to net asset value and offers a yield of more than 4.5pc.”
In addition, Ms Admans tipped Finsbury Global Property and Schroder Global Cities Real Estate. Both are open-ended funds, however they invest in Reits and listed property companies, removing the liquidity risk.
Shares in property companies
There is a chronic shortage of housing in the UK, and it could be wise to invest in companies that are working to address this issue.
Vistry and Persimmon are among the housebuilders who stand to benefit from the pledge to build more housing. Mr Moore said: “There has been a lot of movement in Vistry’s share price since interest rates picked up – even by the sector’s standards.
“But it should be in line to benefit as greater efforts are made to reform the planning system and provide more affordable housing, while offering a yield of nearly 6pc in the meantime.”
A degree to sell a house? British universities are becoming a joke
I’ve been accused of being anti-aspirational when I question the value of degrees, as though I am determined to make universities a privileged-only zone and stop talented low-income kids from becoming lawyers, doctors, teachers, scientists.
I’m not.
Everyone should get to go to university if they want to. And of course, we need those professions. I also don’t want to be too mercenary.
If there is a subject that you love, and learning about it makes your heart sing, then you should go forth and graduate – but embark upon that degree with your eyes open to the long-lasting financial agreement you are entering into.
I had no clue. I was a particularly naive 18-year-old who went to university simply because it was the next step. It never occurred to me that I was making a commitment to hand over a significant portion of my salary for years to come.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do and, looking back, I wish I had taken some time to think and try my hand at a few jobs rather than just going with the (educated) herd.
It took me ten years to find the thing I wanted to do – journalism – and I even did a masters in it. But I can honestly say that everything I needed to know I learnt on my first job, at a press agency, where I worked hard and was paid appallingly, received no bylines, but benefited from the best training in the business.
I don’t think this is journalism-specific. I suspect that most careers are learnt on the job and not in the lecture hall.
We all make mistakes, but I’ve still got £21,000 to pay off for mine.
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