agent Archives | Lawler & Co.

Should you decorate before you put your house on the market?

Opening the doors to strangers to come and judge your property. Scrutinising every inch of the property and deciding if they like it is a nerve-racking experience. We can feel defensive if someone doesn’t like our house, and it is vulnerable to let people come and look at our property, which is usually such a private space.

When selling a property, viewers will look at everything with a very critical eye. And as a nation of house-loving homeowners, it is understandable that many of us want to get our homes ship-shaped before launching them to the market.

But how far should you go? Should you fully redecorate your house? Fit a new kitchen? Landscape the gardens? Or is the best thing to do nothing more than a deep clean?

It is possible to get bogged down with the preparation that it becomes a form of procrastination, and sometimes you can end up with a snagging list as long as your arm, and you never launch the property to the market. The longer this process takes, the further you are from your new dream home, and your perfect buyer might be missed.

So what should you do instead?

Make a list – rather than randomly doing all those jobs you’ve been putting off, make a list. This way, you can tackle the jobs methodically and group similar tasks together to save time and possibly money.

Decide what to do – Look objectively at the list and decide what needs to be done and what is not necessary. There are often tasks that you want to do to the property, but they will not help you sell your home or, indeed, might not make any difference to a potential buyer.

Check with your estate agent – show your list to your agent and get advice from them about tasks necessary to make your home saleable and attractive to a buyer. After all, our team knows what a buyer is looking for and what they will absolutely not care about, so you can cross off any of those tasks that won’t make any difference and get the ball rolling with your launch to the market.

There needs to be a line drawn as, unless your property is all brand new, you could invest lots of money and time refurbishing the whole house, and you won’t benefit from it because you will have moved.

It is highly likely that the huge list of jobs you have made for yourself, overwhelming yourself in the process, might end up being only a few small items. And then, without delay, you can attend to these things and get your home on the market for sale, putting the wheels in motion for your sale and moving to your new dream home.

For more advice on preparing your home for sale, speak to our team of experts with absolutely no obligation.

www.lawlerandcompany.co.uk

Lawler and Co. are expanding! Romiley, Woodley and Bredbury

Take advantage of our opening offer on fee’s limited to the 1st 25 instructions.

Arrange your free, no obligation valuation with Mark Buckley – A Senior member of the team with over 16 years experience and significant knowledge of the local market.

Having successfully managed offices in the Stockport & Cheshire area for many years he knows exactly what both buyers and sellers expect from an agent and works to exceed those expectations. He prides himself on his fair and honest approach to estate agency and this integrity is reflected by the number of recommendations he receives from previous clients. If you are considering moving home this year or would like to arrange a valuation in Romiley and surround areas please contact us on 0161 300 7144 or e-mail Mark@lawlerandcompany.co.uk

Is now the right time to sell your property portfolio?

Alan Cooper MARLA Hazel Grove Branch Manager talks about whether now is the right time to sell property portfolios.

We have been approached recently by a number of landlords enquiring about whether now is the right time to sell their portfolio of properties and whether there is a demand for properties with sitting tenants.

We have therefore looked at this and tried to give a balanced view.

Alan Cooper MARLA Hazel Grove Branch Manager

Having dealt with rental properties for many years, we understand the pressures that landlords have been under in recent years. Legislation has been on the increase:

* The removal of tenants paying referencing fees;

* Mandatory EPC’s having to have a minimum of an ‘E’ rating;

* EICR Electrical reports now mandatory every 5 years;

* Installation of smoke and CO alarms;

* Changes to the “Right To Rent” legislation due to Brexit;

* Changes to Capital Gains Tax;

* Changes to “second home” stamp duty and

* Changes to the Digital Tax Regulations (MTD).

Whilst the EPC, EICR, and smoke/CO alarm changes (in conjunction with the Gas Safety Record) have certainly helped to ensure that rental properties are in a better, more efficient and safer condition, there is always an expense to be paid which (quite rightly), falls on the landlord.

The rental market through this period has remained strong and some of that expenditure has been absorbed due to the increase in rent.

However, there is more legislation being proposed and the “Renters Reform Bill” is due to be heard in parliament through 2022. If these do get passed it would be heralded as the most dramatic changes to tenant/landlord legislation since the the Landlord & Tenant Act in 1985. Some of the changes that are being proposed are:

* The scrapping of “no fault evictions” – in essence the scrapping of The Section 21 Notice and changes to the Section 8 notice with the process moving through the courts.

* Lifetime Deposits meaning tenants can move their deposit from one property to the next

* Rogue Landlords Database which can be accessed by tenants and agents

* Increasing the minimum EPC rating to “C” from the current “E”

* An amendment to the Dogs & Domestic Animals Accommodation Protection Bill which relates to tenants having pets at the property

These are due to be heard in Parliament this year but, at the time of writing, no date has been set.

Whilst the legislation has been changing, so have the rental figures that are being achieved and whilst the legislation can be seen as a “con” there are also “pro’s” to balance this out.

* You have a property that will continue to increase in value and can be sold

* You get a regular income on a monthly basis

So, is now the right time to sell your property portfolio?

House prices have never been higher and the demand for properties does not seem to be diminishing. We expect mortgage interest rates to continue to rise through this year and the phasing out of Mortgage Insurance and Tax Relief will continue to put additional pressure on landlords.

As a result, Lawler and Company have now established a section of our business to specifically cater for this section of the market. We can offer advice on whether to sell with a sitting tenant or whether to sell as an empty property; What sort of impact this has on the type of buyer that you are aiming the property at and how that impacts on the price that will be achieved; Whether to sell your portfolio as individual properties or to sell them as one portfolio; What method of sale will best suit your needs and we are able to offer special rates for landlords selling more than property.

Should you sell your rental portfolio? Our teams at Lawler & Co. are on call to help with this and any other queries you may have.

Marple Office

36 Stockport Road
Marple
Stockport
SK6 6AB

Tel: 0161 914 7620
marple@lawlerandcompany.co.uk

Hazel Grove Office

128 London Road
Hazel Grove
Stockport
SK7 4DJ

Tel: 0161 300 7144
hazelgrove@lawlerandcompany.co.uk

Poynton Office

60 Park Lane
Poynton
Cheshire
SK12 1RE

Tel: 01625 448 001
poynton@lawlerandcompany.co.uk

Market Update from Alan Cooper MARLA Hazel Grove Branch Manager

Is the housing market slowing down? Will demand for properties slow down with the increases in cost of living and the impending Interest Rate Rise?

These are questions that we, as Estate Agents, get asked all of the time. Whilst we cannot predict the future, at this current time the answer to both of these questions is quite simply there are no signs that the market is going to slow down or that the interest rate rises will have an impact on buyers demands for properties.

All that we can say is that now is an excellent time to sell. The market continues to be strong. We have had more properties come to the market this January than we did last January. Buyers continue to want to purchase properties and demand is such that this normally means that there are “block viewings” and “best and final offers”. This does ensure that we are able to achieve the very best possible price, from the very best buyer for you.

However, this is also a great time to buy a property. The mortgage interest rates are still very low; house prices are continuing to increase which means equity being immediately accrued and the cost of borrowing is still less than the cost of renting. Being in the best possible position to purchase is really important. Having your mortgage approved and an Agreement in Principle available is essential to secure a property. Also being in a position to proceed is crucial. Being a First Time Buyer or in rented accommodation is always the beginning the process, but if you have a property to sell, then making sure that is under offer (SSTC) will ensure that the moment you find a property you can jump straight in and make an offer.

As you can see from the graphs below, taken directly from Rightmove, more people are choosing Lawler & Co as their preferred agent than any other local agent.

To find out why, book your valuation here.

The above data is derived purely from Righmove.co.uk’s internal statistics and advertisers on 01/02/2022. May be subject to specific geography or search criteria and is provided ‘as is’ for general interest only. Rightmove makes no warranty as to the data’s suitability for any purpose and accepts no liability for any action or inaction taken as a consequence of its use. For a full list of all competing agents contact marketing@rightmove.co.uk

The end of the Stamp Duty holiday..what happens now?

The stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland came to an end on 30th September 2021. Hundreds of thousands of house buyers have taken advantage of savings that have been on offer since the tax break was introduced in July 2020.

Since July 2021, the amount buyers have been able to save reduced. But homes priced at or below £250,000 buyers did not have to pay stamp duty.

And now it changes again. Are you aware of the new changes?

What are the stamp duty rates from 1st October?

From 1st October 2021, if you are buying a main home in England, you won’t need to pay any stamp duty on the portion of the property priced at or below £125,000.

If you’re buying a main home from 1st October 2021, you won’t pay any stamp duty on the portion of the property priced at or below £125,000. The next £125,000 to £250,000 you will pay 2% tax. Anything you spend between £250,001 and £925,000 will incur 5% tax, rising to 10% for properties priced between £925,001 to £1.5 million. If you spend above £1.5 million, you will pay 12 per cent in stamp duty tax, as below:

Stamp Duty Land Tax rates from 1st October 2021	SDLT rate
Up to £125,000	Zero
The next £125,000 (the portion from £125,001 to £250,000)	2%
The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000)	5%
The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million)	10%
The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5 million)	12%

If you’re buying a property, you can work out how much you’ll pay by using the Rightmove stamp duty calculator

Tax rates are higher for those buying a second home.

Will first-time buyers pay stamp duty tax?

Great news! First time buyers in England and Northern Ireland won’t pay any tax on homes priced at or below £300,000. 5% on a property priced between £300,001 and £500,000. However if your first home is priced above £500,000 you won’t be eligible for a saving.

Still not sure on how much stamp duty you will have to pay? Our teams at Lawler & Co. are on call to help with this and any other queries you may have.