Tag Archives: property

Thoughts on the Spring Budget 2021 – still a little ‘Father Christmas’ but, thankfully, less ‘Mr Scrooge’

Ban on Letting Agents’ Fees – boon for the tenant or the clunking fist of needless government interference?

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‘The road to servitude is paved with government intentions’ as economist Friedrich Hayek might have said. His prophetic ideas are pertinent today, where we are on the cusp of a government ‘initiative’ to ban letting fees. As always with bureaucratic interference, a busybody’s desire to help the ‘vulnerable’ ends up as the economic version of playing the piano with boxing gloves, where the cure can often be worse than the ailment.

Any ‘fule kno’ that agents in response will simply raise their fees, which are usually around 10%, to landlords. The inevitable consequence will be higher rent levels for impoverished tenants. Continue reading →

Is the humble For Sale Board the answer for weary home sellers, in the sluggish pre-Brexit market?

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The double dose of pain from Stamp Duty hikes and a faltering Brexit have induced torpor into the Residential Property Market. So it is an opportune moment to review marketing techniques that will help deliver a sale, even in these turgid times.

Those who sneer at the For Sale Board and dismiss it as ‘Prehistoric’ or think of it as an agent’s conspicuous self-aggrandisement, are guilty of a gross misunderstanding. You, the consumer, maybe losing out. Continue reading →

Agent’s embellishing the truth about the value of your home is harmless flattery or darn right duplicity?

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Let’s face it, everyone loves a bit of shameless flattery. Whether it’s about your looks (“Darling, you look FABulous in that size 30 fluorescent bell tent) or your abilities, a compliment is intoxicating with accompanying rewards, yet it costs nothing, unless, of course, it is misleading and puts you in the promised land and here’s the rub…let me explain.

When you want to sell your property and you call an estate agent, you rely on them to give an honest impression of value. However, we inhabit a property owning culture where, not content with merely seeking shelter from the outdoors, owners now expect their home to perform beyond the call of duty, functioning as a quasi-pension as well as a tax-free savings scheme. There’s every expectation that upon a sale, it not only pays for the next property, but in later life, helps the children with their own deposits and then finally, refurbs the family retirement nest egg.
Continue reading →