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Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents »
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Home Infomation Pack (HIP) »
NAEA & ARLA
For further information on NAEA and ARLA, please take a look at our
accreditations
page.
Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents
Unlike many of our competitors, Godfrey & Barr joined the Ombudsman Scheme (OEA) in January 1998. This is a free dispute settling service, that offers everyone buying or selling a property the opportunity to receive a high standard of professional service, derived from a code of good practice and has the added advantage of an independent redress system in the background. The code of practice requires higher standards from Estate Agents than legislation alone demands. The service is completely free to members of the public. Member Agencies have agreed to abide by the Ombudsman’s decision. The OEA code of practice has been drafted to ensure that estate agents always operate in the best interests of clients and treat fairly and reasonably all applicants. Legislation has now been passed that from 2007 all agents must join the scheme.
Marketing Sales
If you have a home to sell, we will be pleased to value the property and prepare a marketing appraisal. We will provide you with our opinion of the correct asking price and how your home can best be marketed, to ensure a smooth and successful transaction. We will advise you of an upper and lower price level, which normally allows some latitude for negotiation. We may suggest that you embark on a pre-marketing campaign, whereby we ‘test the water’ with selected purchasers, who we feel may be best suited to your home. Formal marketing will commence with the preparation of printed colour sales particulars often with floor plans, or a brochure; whichever is more appropriate for your type of property. We will commence by contacting various buyers that we feel may be suitable for your home.
We advertise in the local media, particularly the Hampstead & Highgate Express, the Hendon & Finchley Times Group, our own Fabric Magazine, Property News and other glossy media including our own in-house newsletter, In addition, your property will be promoted on our Web Site. Should you require specialised tailored marketing, including the production of a brochure or specialised advertising, these will be agreed in advance and charged for separately. Most viewings will be accompanied by a member of our negotiating staff, both from a security aspect and because we find that we receive more honest feedback, than our clients receive directly from applicants.
Marketing methods do vary, dependent upon the type of property and the interest that we receive. For instance, we sometimes advise our sales clients to sell by informal tender. This is a method whereby best bids will be submitted within a specific time frame and considered by the vendors on a due date. Additionally, we may recommend asking for ‘offers in excess of’ a certain figure, particularly if the property is unmodernised and the full potential is not immediately obvious. Whatever method you choose, you are assured that all our negotiators are experienced enough to advise you correctly in any given circumstance.
Our negotiators tend to work with their own applicants, building up a rapport, sometimes over many weeks and months with each potential buyer. Our buyers are assessed not only on the offers they make, but also on their ability to purchase, an aspect that is often overlooked. For example, it is sometimes better to consider a slightly lower offer from a non-dependent or cash buyer, than from somebody involved in a chain.
In any event, in order to ensure that the best possible advice is given at all times all offers and the Partners supervise negotiations. Once a sale has been agreed, we often recommend a ‘lock out’ agreement for a specific period of time. Whilst Godfrey & Barr normally continue to show the property, the vendor may agree not to enter into negotiations with any other buyer. This should avoid ‘gazumping’ whereby the vendor accepts a higher offer, having already accepted the first offer. It also concentrates the purchaser’s efforts to proceed to exchange of contracts within the required time frame. We feel that it is fair to give the buyer a reasonable time frame to work to, given the requirements of the seller, knowing that providing they perform as agreed, they will not be unfairly dealt with.
Home Infomation Pack (HIP)
Under current legislation every property of 3 bedrooms or more that comes on to the market from 10th September 2007 will require a Home Information Pack (HIP). Godfrey & Barr are able to provide you, the vendor, with this service, which will be charged for in addition to our standard fees by our HIP provider. The cost for producing the HIP will vary, depending on whether the property is Freehold or Leasehold, registered or unregistered. In all likelihood the charges for most Freehold properties should not exceed £500, Leasehold properties will be slightly more. The HIP must include the following compulsory documents: An index, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), Sales Statement, Land Registry, Title Plans, Local Authority Searches and Leasehold Documentation. These must be applied for before the property can be marketed. It is a legal requirement that the above documents are compiled into a 'HIP'. There are fines for vendors and their agents who do not comply with the above legislation.
If you are thinking of selling and wish to beat this deadline, please call us NOW on 020 8458 9119/ 020 8959 9000 or fill in our valuation request form
