Latest Property News in Exeter, Devon

Details: Published: 05 December 2024; Hits: 263

A covenant is a binding legal obligation that comes with ownership of a particular property. Forming part of the Title Register (deeds) and generally imposed by the original owner or developer, covenants apply to the property itself and therefore automatically transfers with ownership.

Although not policed by local authorities as they are essentially private arrangements, covenants are enforceable by the granting of injunction through the courts.

They stipulate specific things that the property owner either must or must not do and can be both positive, for example an obligation to maintain the boundaries - or restrictive, including such things as not being a nuisance to your neighbours or not carrying out any trade from the property.

Historic covenants on older properties can be quite quaint, reflective of a former way of life, for example, not being permitted to extract water from the land for public sale, or a ban on keeping a horse and cart on the premises – not things we’re likely to fall foul of and unlikely to cause any major legal complications in the conveyancing process.

However, those on newer homes and residential developments are more realistic of life today. The original builder or developer may have placed restrictive covenants designed to protect the look and amenity of the estate, stipulating things like a ban on the parking of caravans, a prevention of building on a specific section of the land, or certain alterations such as converting a house into flats. Such covenants can be enforced by any resident against any of the others - and they often are.

Remember, covenants are property specific and will be flagged during the conveyancing process. To check any legal obligations, see your original deeds and/or consult a solicitor.

If you’d like to discuss this more, give us a call on 01392 204800 and chat with our experienced team - we’d be happy to help.

Details: Published: 11 November 2024; Hits: 413

Bamboo has long been a popular choice of plant for UK gardens – it’s fast growing, evergreen, frost hardy and easy to look after, and is great for creating stylish, natural garden screening.

Of late, there has been a lot of noise about the invasive nature of bamboo and the damage it can cause. There have been reports of it raising neighbourly disputes and impacting house sales, and some have likened it to the notorious Japanese Knotweed.

Not officially classed as an invasive plant in the UK, there are several bamboo species readily available – some more invasive than others. Each variety falls into one of two basic categories based on the type of their root system – running, or clumping.

Running bamboos grow a network of long rhizome roots, which can spread up to 30ft horizontally underground and become almost uncontrollable, lifting fences and penetrating drainage systems and building structures, causing cracks in walls and potentially even subsidence. The clumping varieties have a root ball system with U-shaped rhizomes that grow upwards rather than outwards. If left untended though, even clumping varieties can become invasive.

It’s currently not a legal requirement for UK home sellers to declare the presence of bamboo in their gardens; surveyors are increasingly recommending further investigation into potential bamboo infestation; and more buyers are requesting that sellers get it removed, so buyers do need to be aware of the potential risk. However, it is possible to identify the type of a specific plant by simply looking at the roots and do factor in its distance from the property and those neighbouring.

Check out www.bambubatu.com – it’s a great site packed with lots of useful information about the plant, which, if carefully chosen and kept well-tended, can successfully enhance a beautiful garden without issue.

If you’d like to discuss your specific case further, give us a call.

Details: Published: 08 November 2024; Hits: 308

The Autumn edition of the Experts in Property Distinctly Westcountry magazine has arrived!

It showcases a selection of the most desirable homes for sale across the Westcountry.

Pop into our office on Southernhay West to pick up your copy.

Details: Published: 21 October 2024; Hits: 398

Our in-house auctioneer, the well-respected and highly acclaimed Richard Copus is a Fellow of the National Association of Valuers & Auctioneers, an Honoured Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents, and an industry trainer for Propertymark.

Richard shares his thoughts with us on the current status of property auctions...

Online auctions are here to stay, but never forget the advantages of the auction room

Covid saw a major shift in auction practice from so-called ‘ballroom’ auctions (live ones held at real venues) to online events. Whilst the reasons for this were fairly obvious, with social distance restrictions in place, why haven't real auctions bounced back?

Before Covid, there had been a movement towards online auctions, facilitated by greatly improved IT and internet connections. There is a strong argument that online auctions open up the marketplace, particularly to investors buying so-called ‘streetliners’, where they do not want to view the property that they are interested in and can rely on the accuracy of material information provided by the auctioneer. Similarly, telephone and proxy bidding does not have an immediate connection with a sale.

However, why are so many auctioneers continuing to auction properties online, which would clearly be better sold in front of a live audience? Are auctioneers becoming lazy as a profession?!

There is certainly the argument that it is much easier to deal with an auction from the comfort of one's office or living room, with the computer clicking up the bids automatically as they come in, and it is cheaper and much less time consuming for the auctioneer. But that is not what an auctioneer is trained to do.

A good auctioneer will be able to use their people skills and personality in an auction room to motivate bidding, and they will be able to inspire bidders by the way they conduct the auction. Getting the first bid in is often like trying to move a mountain and a mix of humour and repartee can spur on the first bidder. Changing the increments when the bidding gets tough to suit the mood of the room often leads to a renewal of bidding; I've reduced gaps from £2,000 to £50 at times to get the ball rolling again. Encouraging the underbidder's partner to nudge their other half to make that extra bid when it is clear they want to buy the property; all these things are impossible to do online.

Once an auctioneer has given up live auctions for more than a year, it is a fact that it is psychologically difficult for them to start auctioning in the room again. The thought of standing up in front of a crowd of people becomes a fear rather than an excitement, and the thought of the adrenaline rush and exhilaration of a successful sale just doesn't register anymore. So, they shouldn’t leave it too long!

An auctioneer has a legal duty to obtain the best price for their client - as does an estate agent - and there is no doubt that some properties do sell better in the room by their very nature.

I sold two properties last year for which I could not have achieved anywhere near the price I did, had I auctioned them online.

One was the auction of a village hall. It was a controversial sale and we and our clients decided it would be best to hold the auction in a live setting where everything was transparent, and all concerned could see exactly where the bidding was coming from. The room was packed with members of the community alongside prospective bidders. The price guide was £50,000. After the first few bidders had dropped out, we were left with two people bidding against each other. The atmosphere was electric. Both were determined to buy the property and the body language between the two of them as they bettered each other's bid would have made good prime time TV! I eventually dropped the gavel at over £100,000. It is highly unlikely that such a high figure would have been obtainable in the benign atmosphere of an online auction and our clients were very satisfied with the price achieved, and with having been able to see exactly what had happened.

The second was the auction of a grade II listed, detached Georgian town house in need of substantial TLC, but with lots of character. I decided to hold the auction in the property's drawing room because it had a wide bay window where I could site the rostrum, and bidders would have a view straight over the beautiful garden. Again, the room was full. The price guide was £500,000. Bidding started at £510,000 and our clients would have been happy to achieve a bit more than that. Bidding was very slow initially and I had to do all I could to keep the bids coming in. That is the point at which a good auctioneer will crack a few jokes to relax the bidders and create an inviting atmosphere. At around £550,000, I was left with two bidders. It was like trying to draw blood out of a stone for the next quarter of an hour, but blood I did draw, sometimes waiting two or three minutes for the counterbid. 27 bids later we achieved £607,500 for the property! An embarrassing round of applause followed, which was a great feeling and made me more than happy in the knowledge that what I had achieved for my clients I could never have done with a rigid online model.

So, horses for courses. Online auctions are here to stay and have become mainstream in auctioneering. But any Tom, Dick or Harry can manage bidding on a computer, and auctioneers are qualified property professionals. We should never forget the advantage of auctions in the room. There is most definitely still a place for them, as I have illustrated above and, at the end of the day, I would argue that you are only a real auctioneer if you can practice live auctions.

Details: Published: 08 October 2024; Hits: 364

With auctions becoming mainstream and the many programmes on TV showing people that they are nothing to be afraid of, more and more people are thinking - is my property suitable for auction?

Contrary to popular belief, most properties are suitable to auction - but it's not always the most appropriate method. If you have a conventional house in good condition, are not in a particular hurry, haven't found somewhere to move to yet and want to open up the market to the largest number of people, then the normal method - which is known as Private Treaty - is the best way to sell because buyers who are in chains will be able to buy it, which they cannot do at auction.

But that still leaves a very large number of properties which should sell better at auction.

Auction is a very precise way to sell property. Your house is marketed heavily for around 5 weeks. At the end of this period the auction takes place and, as long as the reserve is met, as soon as the gavel or virtual gavel falls, that is the point of exchange of contracts. There is not going back for the buyer who pays 10% of the purchase price immediately and completes a month later.

So should you go to auction?

If your property needs a lot of work doing to it, then auction bypasses all those people who will otherwise offer on it, get their surveyor round who finds every fault imaginable with it and then renegotiate the price or drop out. In an average or bad market, you may achieve less, but you receive the benefit of a much quicker and a secure sale. In a good market you will realise at least what you would have achieved months later normally.

There are people out there who only like to buy at auction because it is a very transparent method of sale and they know they will be paying market value for the property. These are typically small builders and investors. If your house is structurally unsound and difficult to mortgage, then auction attracts these people who have the money in the bank to buy straight away, as well as the confidence to make that calculated risk, and the resources to overcome any issues.

Properties that are unusual are ideal auction candidates. A house with panoramic sea views which is a bit of a one-off will attract people with money from wealthier parts of the country who will bid against each other; an old toll house on a busy road which will provide a quirky home for someone but which is impossible to value; an old village or church hall with potential to convert into a dwelling; all these are best to offer for sale at auction.

Importantly, when a family member has sadly died, sometimes the beneficiaries will not agree on what the family house is worth. The courts hold that auction is proof of the best price having been obtained for a property, as long as it has been marketed for at least one calendar month. This takes the stress out for the family and is why many solicitors will recommend auction in these circumstances.

If you're lucky enough to have a piece of land suitable for development, then auction will pitch bidders against each other and could result in a price much higher than expected to be achieved. Similarly with farmland, woodland and small paddocks which are types of land in short supply, auction can prove profitable.

If you are a public organisation, charity or large company when transparency is all important, then auction is the correct method to use because everybody knows what everybody else is bidding and there are no secrets deals to be had.

Last but not least, clients who want a quick and secure sale should sell at auction. Many of us do not want to wait months selling our homes with all the insecurity that entails. Auction gets around that in one fell swoop. We might achieve a bit less, we might achieve a bit more, but we know that once that gavel falls the buyer cannot pull out (or in the very rare event that he or she does we can keep the 10% deposit) so the stress is minimal and we can move on quickly.

So, if your property is one of the above, then you should definitely look at auction as the best method of sale.

Our auctioneer, the esteemed Richard Copus is a Fellow of the National Association of Valuers & Auctioneers, an Honoured Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents, and an industry trainer with Propertymark.

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