Latest Property News in Exeter, Devon

Details: Published: 02 October 2023; Hits: 500

Oliver answers a question from a buyer...

A: The agent you are dealing with is absolutely right in asking to see proof of your financial position. The relevant section of The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Conduct states that the agent must take all reasonable steps to establish the source and availability of a prospective buyer’s funds - and pass this information to the seller - so if he didn’t, he would actually be in breach of the Code and if the sale subsequently fell through over money matters, his client would have legitimate grounds for complaint.

You are under no obligation to disclose this information if you don’t want to. However, the agent would then have no choice but to tell his client that your financial position couldn’t be confirmed. Ultimately, it is the seller’s decision whether or not to accept any offers, but the agent would be doing less than his duty if he didn’t recommend an appropriate course of action. If the seller wanted to accept your offer, the agent might well suggest for example, that he continues to actively market the property until appropriate reassurance was established.

Of course, your reluctance to reveal such details at such an early stage of negotiations is perfectly understandable. However, the sale is unlikely to go anywhere until you do – except on the kind of conditional basis above.

Get involved - ask Oliver a question! Message us, email us or give us a call.

Details: Published: 02 October 2023; Hits: 516

In this article, Oliver answers a question from a seller. And the answer is...

A: Your estate agent will advertise your house, make sure that the details are seen by potential buyers and arrange and attend viewing appointments but yes, there are a few things you can do to help the process to a speedy completion with minimal stress...

Presentation for viewings - Generally speaking, a well-presented house smells fresh and is clean and tidy with worktops free of washing up, etc. Your agent may advise you on specific points to take it a little further – perhaps with some de-cluttering or a little redecoration – it is of course up to you to put this advice into action.
Leave viewings to the agents – Try to be out when viewings take place. It may be useful for prospective purchasers to know how easy the neighbours are to get along with, but owners also tend to point out things they would change if they were to stay, which can then come across as negative however unintended or well-meant.
Instruct a solicitor/conveyancer as soon as possible. This way, any pre-sale paperwork can be done in preparation so once a buyer is found it’ll be all systems go for the quickest possible transaction timescale.
Your solicitor/conveyancer will need some documents from you, so dig out and gather together information such as proof of identities, guarantees and details of work carried out at the property, paperwork on issues such as subsidence and additional insurances, etc. The earlier your legal representative has these, the earlier they can start to prepare the necessary legal documents for a sale.
Reading and responding quickly to requests from lenders, legal companies and estate agents will help things move along swiftly.
And if you plan to use a removal company, get quotes early on – the last thing you want is to have to rush around at the last minute to find a removal company, only to find that you’ve been charged over the odds!

If you'd like to ask Oliver a question, message us, email us or give us a call!

Details: Published: 02 October 2023; Hits: 438

We are elated to have been shortlisted in the 2023 allAgents Customer Experience Awards, for no less than four awards:

- Best Estate Agent for Exeter

- Best Lettings Agent for Exeter

- Best Estate Agent for EX1 postcode area

- Best Lettings Agent for EX1 postcode area

The allAgents Customer Experience Awards is the UK's largest awards scheme for the property industry, and it's alll based on actual customer reviews.

Will we win all 4 awards? We've got to wait until Friday 1st December to find out!

Details: Published: 03 September 2023; Hits: 393

Join our Q&A with Graham. If you have a property-related question, just ask!

No-one really wants to talk about wills, but it's a good idea for homeowners at any stage of life. So, let's find out the answer...

A: Well, it’s not absolutely necessary, but it would be sensible.

If you are relatively young, the whole subject of making a will may sound a bit morbid – not to say premature! Nevertheless, you have just made probably the biggest joint investment in your lives, so you want to be sure that both your interests are equally protected.

There are two different types of joint ownership...

If you own the property as ‘Joint Tenants’ – in other words, what most people actually think of as joint owners - then each of you should automatically become the sole owner of the entire property if the other dies, irrespective of whether you are married or not.

If however, you own the property as ‘Tenants in Common’, the surviving partner has no automatic right of inheritance and the deceased’s share becomes part of their estate to be distributed, in the absence of a will, according to the rules of intestacy - which in practice means that it goes to any living relatives in a laid-down order of precedence, or even reverts to the Crown.

Of course, if you are married or in a civil partnership, that doesn’t apply as the spouse automatically comes top of the list. But if you’re not, from a legal standpoint you are only co-habiting and the only recourse open to the surviving co-owner would be to buy out the deceased’s share.

To be on the safe side, I would advise making ‘mirror’ wills, which basically match and reflect each other so that each partner is equally protected. Better to be safe than sorry.

For more advice on home ownership or any other property-related matter, send us a message or call our highly experienced team on 01392 204800.

Details: Published: 03 September 2023; Hits: 404

We're super excited and extremely proud to have been announced as a finalist in the Residential Agent category in the Exeter Property Awards - we've all to play for in October!

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