Express Estate Agency Blog

As we all know, borrowing restrictions from all the major lending institutions have been extremely tight recently and, with banks and building societies effectively having their pick of applications, maintaining a squeaky clean credit score has become ever more important.  Here are 5 top tips you ensure that your credit history doesn’t close any doors.

1. Make sure that you have a credit history

Although it might seem as though lending institutions would look upon you more favourably if you never borrow money or get into debt, in fact what this means is that you have no credit history for them to check and so are quite likely to have any borrowing applications rejected.  One of the easiest ways to get around this is to apply for a credit card, use it on a regular basis (but without going over 10% of your designated limit) and to make your payments on time every time.  Many people don’t realise that just having access to credit is not enough to build up an excellent credit score – you have to actually use it, but without coming anywhere close to maxing out.

2. Make sure that you are on the electoral register

Actually, this is one of the first things to confirm.  Credit agencies use the information on the electoral register to check you out, so it is vital to ensure that your name is on there.

3. Pay, and pay on time

Paying late is one of the deadliest sins in terms of protecting your credit score, but not paying at all is the biggest one of all.  Whether you set up a direct debit or standing order, write the due date in a diary or set a reminder on your mobile phone, always make sure that your payments are in on time.  If you use online banking services, remember that it can take several days for the payment to go through, so give yourself a few days’ grace.  If, for whatever reason, you find that you unable to make all or part of a payment, don’t just ignore it.  Contact the company that you owe and discuss the situation with a view to coming to a suitable arrangement before you find yourself dealing with a debt collection company or faced with a County Court Judgement (CCJ).  Remember too that it is not just credit card companies which will penalise you for late or missed payments, and defaulting on a loan payment will also adversely affect your credit score.

4. If you are continually turned down for credit, then find out why

Being continually turned down for credit will look bad on your credit history, so if it does happen then find out from one of the credit agencies why and then work to rectify the issue.  In addition, don’t make lots of credit applications within a short space of time as this may have you perceived as a debt just waiting to happen.

5. Try to build up an emergency fund

When you are already juggling bills, it can be hard to try and put some money on one side, but having an emergency fund to help deal with those unexpected things in life can make the difference between getting by and maxing out your credit cards.

Ensuring that your credit rating is in order and your finance is in place are the first steps in being able to move forward with your property purchase.  Once these have been taken care of, you can then concentrate on achieving the best purchase price for the property of your choice.

Sometimes our circumstances in life mean that we need to sell our largest investment, our homes, quickly and without taking a huge financial hit.  Is there anything that you, the seller, can do to speed up the process and ensure the best possible price?

1.   Avoid traditional estate agents.  Not only are many failing to find buyers at all in the current market, but according to the January 2010 Hometrack Report, when they do manage to sell it is taking an average of 8.6 weeks.  Depending upon the price range and the location of the property, in many cases it is taking much, much longer.

2.   Price your property attractively.  The odds are stacked heavily in favour of buyers in the current housing market and holding out for top prices could result in a lengthy period to sell or complete failure to find a buyer.  Express Estate Agency specialises in selling properties quickly through clever pricing (at around 5% or more lower than market value) and unrivalled online advertising.

3.   Go where the buyers are.  Unlike the traditional approach to selling properties, Express Estate Agency proactively seeks buyers who have their finances in place, their solicitors appointed and are ready to move quickly, and then matches them to sellers who are willing to make a slight reduction on their asking prices and also need to move fast.

4.   Make sure that your property gives a great first impression.  From the minute prospective buyers take a first glimpse of your house, they will be measuring it up, so make sure that your garden is free of toys, that any hedges or trees are neatly clipped, that the lawn is cut and that front and garage doors are freshly painted.

5.   Make sure that the interior of your house is clean, tidy and presentable.  Always ensure that any ongoing DIY jobs are completed before you put your house on the market and that all regular maintenance is up to date.  As well as giving it a thorough spring clean, give it a de-clutter too.  Apart from making your property look much bigger, potential buyers need to be able to imagine how their own possessions will look when they move in and giving them a depersonalised and clutter-free view allows them to do this much more easily.

6.   Tone things down.  Taste in colour and pattern is highly subjective, so by making your surroundings look more neutral you will automatically appeal to more of your potential buyers.  Whilst it may not be to your taste, you will only have to live with it for a short space of time and you can return to your own preference once you have moved on.

7.   Make sure your potential buyers can see instantly what each room is for.  You might use your third bedroom as a store room, but if it does not look like a bedroom, your buyers will think of your house as having two, rather than three bedrooms and bid accordingly.  The same goes for living and dining rooms.  If you use all or part of either as a work area, for example, then make other arrangements while your house is up for sale so that viewers can see the full potential of the room as it is intended to be used.

8.   Make sure that your house smells nice.  It might sound like a trivial thing, but there is nothing more off-putting to potential buyers than strong pet, tobacco or cooking smells.

The housing market might be tough for sellers at the moment, but quick sales are still very much achievable if you adopt the right strategy.

Getting that all-important first foot on the property ladder and starting a family – two of the biggest decisions that people make in life and two occasions when they can so often be heard to ask ‘Is there ever a perfect time?’ and wish that they had a crystal ball.

At the end of the day, investing in a first home will always require a slight ‘leap of faith’, because none of us can ever know precisely what is around the corner and how our circumstances might change in the future.  We can either let that thought paralyse us into inactivity and spend the rest of our lives pouring money down the drain as we pay out month after month for extortionate rental payments, or we can take our courage in both hands and take the plunge.  Having said this, there are of course times when market conditions are more favourable than at others and the knack of making a good investment is in being able to spot those times…and then taking a deep breath and jumping in feet first.

So, how does all this relate to first-time buyers who are thinking about making their move?  Well first of all, the government has of course offered a helping hand by temporarily removing the 1% stamp duty on property purchases up to £250,000.  While some believe that the maximum gain of £2,500 will do little to help first-timers, it does go a long way towards paying the legal fees and removal costs which would normally have to be found above and beyond the deposit on the property.

In terms of house prices, the aim should naturally be to ‘buy low and sell high’.  Although certain areas prices increases earlier this year, the biggest rises being in London and the South East, most experts agree that a price boom is unlikely anytime soon.  In fact, most predictions are that prices will remain pretty flat throughout 2011.  One thing is for sure though, and that is that they will inevitably begin to rise at some time in the future, so for those in a position to buy now while prices are still low, the market certainly offers some great opportunities.

The restriction on mortgage lending is one of the biggest bugbears at the moment, as are the hefty deposits that buyers are being expected to find.  The Bank of England, however, did announce that it expects the situation to ease slightly during the coming few months, with not only more deals becoming available, but also smaller deposits being required.  For those who already have a bit put by, this could open up more opportunities and sooner than expected.

So, is there ever a perfect time to buy your first home?  Well, certainly some times are better than others, and for those who are in a position to buy before prices begin to spiral out of reach again, now could well be as good a time as any.

A bereavement is, of course, one of the saddest reasons for having to sell a residential property.  With all the fond memories which are frequently associated with the house of a loved one, the temptation can often be to delay any action almost indefinitely.  For both practical and emotional reasons, however, it can often be advisable to deal with the sale sooner rather than later.

1. Maintenance Issues

Clearly, when a house is unoccupied after a bereavement, the lawn doesn’t stop growing, the paint will continue to peel and, without being heated or aired properly, there is even greater potential for the weather to do its worst and for the property to fall quickly into disrepair.  All the time that this is happening, the house is becoming less and less saleable and the price it is likely to fetch is decreasing.  This can either mean having to spend sometimes large amounts of money further down the line to restore it to a reasonable condition before putting it on the market, or accepting perhaps much less than the property is worth in order to sell.  Having a house sitting empty over the winter months of course makes it especially vulnerable if it is unheated, with the added danger of burst pipes.

2. Security

An empty house, and especially one which is still packed with the deceased’s possessions, is naturally more vulnerable to break-ins.  In cases where the property is in a rural or isolated situation, burglars will think nothing of turning up with a truck and stripping a property bare, and this has even been known to happen in the case of houses which are not being carefully watched in cities and towns.  All too often, neighbours merely assume that the relatives of the deceased have arranged for the contents to be removed and so do not think to alert the family or the police.

3. Logistical Problems

In many cases, the house of the deceased may be at some considerable distance from the family members who are left to dispose of the property.  Arranging for traditional estate agents to deal with the sale when you are perhaps hundreds of miles away can cause both stress and logistical problems in terms of access for viewings and so on.

4. Cash Tied Up

As difficult as it can often be to dispose of the property of a deceased loved one, the fact is that the house is still a disposable asset which, if sold, could free up cash to improve the lives of those left behind.  In most cases, the dearly departed would rest far easier knowing that they were able to contribute, for example, to a child’s or grandchild’s education.