Sorry about the Silence!

Ok so I'm going to first apologise for not writing anything on here for ages, I've just been so busy that I haven't had a moment where I've either had the time or the energy to write a long post.

But anyway, here it is - What I'm going to try and do from now is record videos and write less so you might want to look at the Youtube channel for Hawk & Chadwick and see what comes up on here as you might find it interesting.

I'll try to write a few more blog posts about the local markets and what's happening on a national scale, and how that affects us locally.

Please share this blog as more readers means I'll write more posts!

Thanks for reading so far.

Alasdair

Photographical science, dear Watson

 Since I started Hawk & Chadwick I’ve always had a bee in my bonnet about Estate Agents and their god awful pictures. Just go look on any major portal right now and I’m willing to bet my left kidney that within the top 10-15 listings you’ll find photographs that appear to have be taken by somebody who forgot their orthopaedic shoes when they left for work that morning. 

 It’s infuriating because when you think of the service you expect when marketing your property with a local professional, you’d be well within your rights to be outraged if they can’t even operate a camera and show up without a tripod. Equally you should be outraged by third party image manipulation with clearly false blue skies being pasted into the background of dreary images. 

 I know I might sound like a grumpy old man, but the fact of the matter is we are now working in an environment where the first thing a potential buyer or tenant is going to see is a photograph of the front of your house, or possibly one of the internal rooms. They will make a split second decision on whether to view your property based on that image, and so it has to be bloody good to catch their attention.

 Let me explain why that is the case. When our eyes our open, our vision accounts for two-thirds of the electrical activity of the brain. Approximately 40% all nerve fibres connected to the brain are linked to the retina, and more of our neurons are dedicated to vision than the other four senses combined. And as if that’s not nearly enough, your brain processes visuals and images 60,000 times faster than it does text. Now you know why an image is worth 1000 words. 

 When you extend this biological predisposition for visual stimuli into the screen-ruled social media world we live in with far more people walking into lamp posts than ever before, it starts to really add up. Recent studies found that nearly half of all Internet users have re-posted a photo or video they have found online, and Tweets with embedded images receive 150 percent more retweets – same for Facebook posts that are image rich. Agents who post social media content with relevant images get 94 percent more views than content without images. 

 The bottom line is that strong imagery elicits an emotional response in the viewer. So to be all dandy about it, what I do as a photographer of your home is to convey that homeliness and that sense of warmth, comfort, attraction, safety and the welcoming nature of home to the observer (who hopefully will later become an enquirer, a viewer and then a tenant or buyer) – of course, there is a large amount of that which depends on who that person is and their purposes and mindset when viewing the photograph, but looking at the scientific data mentioned earlier it absolutely stands to reason that putting in the effort required to present your home smartly and professionally and with the absolute best quality images available is what I like to call a No Brainer.  
 And listen, I’m not about to fly into some uber-technical tirade about the Rule of thirds, The Golden ratio, the Fibonacci sequence or something else that sounds like a Dan Brown novel. Yes, those techniques exist and yes they’re relevant but the main thing to take away from this is that just having images is good, but it’s not enough. High quality and attention to detail within your images, and how they are presented to the general public (i.e. the people who ultimately will be the key to your financial advancement) is VITAL to succeeding in a marketplace where you’re trying to attract the buyer that’s thinking of buying your neighbour’s house across the street. You need Every. Single. Competitive. Advantage. 

 Start with excellent pictures. Then pick an agent who has a verified track record of success in using them.

I'll just do my own inventory

Let me start by just telling you what an incredibly bad idea that is.  No, really - it's the worst idea you've had, ever. Doing your own inventory for your property can only be compared to attempting skydiving without instruction, or attempting to fly a helicopter after a heavy absinthe binge - possibly even lion taming while blindfolded and wearing a meat coat.

The problem is, you might be lucky and have a situation where nothing happens - you might even have ran tenancies for years without any problems, but to coin a term - one swallow does not a summer make.

For those who haven't a clue what I'm on about, let me explain something. When a tenant agrees to rent a property, the landlord will often make a reasonable effort to give the property to their new tenant in a good condition - clean, freshly decorated and in a generally operable and liveable condition. Many tenants do their best to look after this and return things in a pretty good state, but there's always been this grey area - is it like a hotel room, or do i treat it like my own house?  Hmmmm....

Now without getting into the legal semantics and boring the pants off everyone lets just say that the way it works in 2016 is that a tenant pays a deposit (usually between 1-2 months worth of rent) to the landlord who holds the money against any damage and returns it at the end of the tenancy - the deposit has to go into an approved scheme and be properly protected.

"So who decides what's damaged and what isn't? Surely things wear out over time?"

Exactly, young gwasshopper. That's what the inventory is for - you have to hold some kind of record of what it was like at the start, in order to be able to prove that there is a difference at the end - savvy?

So what happens if you write your own inventory on the back of a fag packet - well, besides obviously missing things out and ending up with a huge tangled mess when you get to the end and your tenant turns out to be a qualified solicitor or a housing officer....or worse a letting agent....the other problem you have is impartiality (which, incidentally, is why getting your letting agent to do your inventories is equally daft) because you can be accused of twisting things in your favour.

So what's the solution? Well, as usual being the author of this article I get to have the pompous self righteousness to dole out advice as I see fit, but in all sincerity the best option you have is to approach an AIIC qualified inventory clerk and have a robust detailed inventory carried out on your property.

The level of detail will ensure that far from having to resolve disputes at the end, there simply won't be any - if you leave no margin for error and no grey area, then there can be no argument and everything will be fully signed and squared away meaning you and the tenant can walk away at the end without a bad word between you.

An inventory clerk also takes note of things such as meter readings, ensuring you and your tenant aren't paying more than you should be for utilities and bills when tenancies change. It keeps everything in the open, documented and very fair.

Having a hyper detailed inventory also compels the tenant to look after your property and to report and problems promptly. It's just one of the many ingredients that go in to making managing property a breeze rather than a headache.

Another hidden benefit is if you are able to file away your inventories you can look back and create budget projections for the replacement of larger items, meaning you can really nail down your cash flow and start thinking very clearly about allocating budgets which will allow you to expand your portfolio.

For every tenancy I put in place, I insist on using a fully qualified inventory clerk - yes, sometimes our clients choose to save money and do their own, and yes sometimes it goes without a hitch and they escape any bad weather - but it's a risk I certainly wouldn't take if I had the option, and in the property game where risks should be eliminated, it would seem counter intuitive to adopt more exposure.

So there we are, don't be an inexperienced lion tamer - and don't let pride come before a fall (sorry, that was a terrible pun) - it's only going to cost you money if you don't use a professional, and for the sake of less than £150.00, that's not a lot to protect you from deposit disputes at the end of your next tenancy.

What impact will the St Albans Sink Hole have on Property Values?

What impact will the St Albans Sink Hole have on Property Values?

Everyone will have heard about the huge sink hole which opened at 1.30am this morning on Fontmell Close in St Albans. The huge hole has led the evacuation of many residents with approximately 40 homes without electric, gas and water, and a rapid response from authorities to assess the damage and fill the hole to restore the foundations of the street.

The big question on everyone’s lips though is how this will affect the residents in the road. Obviously besides the impact to their daily lives and a ‘how long is a piece of string’ answer to any deadline for fixing the hole, the spectre of having potentially lost acres of equity in their home has the capacity to leave some owners sick to the stomach with worry.

Several sink holes have carved gaping holes in the ground across the country in recent years, leaving many scratching their heads and asking questions about why houses were built on such sites in the first place. The geological history of this part of St Albans shows that many areas in and around St Albans were extensively used to mine sand, gravel and clay – this area notably being used for many years as a brickworks where the brickmakers dug huge ‘bowls’ to mine the clay for bricks from the soil. This mining activity (which was later filled in) and bedrock instability due to acidic groundwater eroding the limestone bedrock could be a contributing factor to the potential for more sinkholes across the Bernards Heath area including Seymour Road, Beech Road, Marshall Avenue, Watson Road and the land underneath local amenities such as The Pioneer Skate Park and two local schools.

Pretty much every other article you can find on the sink hole will tell you where it is, how big it is, how it formed, what caused it and the science behind sink holes. Though I may know a little about sink holes, I won’t tout myself as an expert on that front – best to ask a geologist.

The main focus of this piece is the impact on pricing.  So, is it going to affect house prices?  Well, if I told you that a house right next door to a sink hole will be worth the same today as it was yesterday before it appeared, would you call me a liar?  Probably.

And would you buy it? Probably not.

That’s addressed the question of perceived value, so yes – arguably there will be less buyers interested than there were before, which means that values may potentially drop on that road. The other factor to take into account however is the repair methods employed in rectifying the damage caused by a sink hole.  Many are fixed using foamed concrete to allow water to pass through into the limestone bedrock whilst reinstating a solid foundation for construction of buildings, roads and infrastructure on top. This is the method that was used in Hemel Hempstead last year.

The problem, as far as I can see, is that nobody really knows where the eroded caves in the bedrock actually are, and therefore we have no current method of predicting where the next sinkhole will appear.

This sounds like scaremongering – and while I’m not a statistician (I can barely even say statistician without a lie down afterwards) – and although there HAVE been incidents where properties in the area have suffered from subsidence, and indeed one sinkhole opened up behind the Pioneer Club which has been monitored by the council for some time, I should imagine that the probability of another sink hole opening up right underneath your house or your child’s school is low. Many of these buildings have been here for quite some time without any major incident, so I shouldn’t be too concerned.

The best and most recent case study of how this geological nightmare can impact on housing is with the sinkhole which appeared in February 2014 underneath Oatridge Close in Hemel Hempstead. In March, a local agent was selling a 4 bed property on that road just feet from the hole for £420,000 which is in line with asking prices at the time, if a little under the norm, but many of the properties on that road belong to Hightown Praetorian and Churches Housing Association, with many of the flats being shared ownership. What is really encouraging is that sales haven’t slowed down by a huge amount, and the prices seem to have retained a somewhat positive trend, which contrasts the expectation that suddenly all prices on that road would plummet into the hole as well.

Some properties on the site did require demolition and have been replaced by town houses on newly replaced foundations. Many mains connected services called for extensive works to be put in place to support any future building work, but this to me just highlights the need for an extremely robust buildings insurance policy which covers residents in the area for such eventualities, particularly if you know about the possibility of sinkholes or geological activity.

All of this does raise the question of whether issues that have a geological or structural impact, whether a present factor or a calculated risk, have as much of an impact as social problems such as poor schools, high crime rates and lack of community – it seems that the latter drag prices down at a much higher rate than the former.

In any event the ultimate price that the owners and residents of Fontmell Close will pay will be determined by the buyers who look to own homes on the road in the future. The biggest factor to bear is ensuring that any remedial works and geological surveys are carried out and the paperwork is retained by the owners to pass on to buyers in the interests of transparency and cementing trust.

Under the new Consumer Protection Regulations the concealment of a sinkhole nearby could give rise to a lawsuit from the buyers (assuming they somehow manage to not hear about it on the news, which would be a miracle in itself) if it was later proved that the agent and the owner had omitted this information from the sales particulars – the principle of caveat emptor (buyer beware) is not as much of a solid foundation as it once was, if you’ll excuse the pun.

Roundly speaking, homes directly on the rim of the crater may experience some depreciation, but on the whole the impact will be minor due to the huge demand for St Albans property and the massive national demand for housing. I advise that owners ensure that buyers are confident in the steps that will have been taken to rectify the problem, and that some assurance can be given to them on ensuring the property is not at risk. The best way to do this is through producing paperwork from the council and specialist contractors concerning the work undertaken to plug the hole.

Undoubtedly, some buyers will run a mile, but in a market where demand outstrips supply to such a degree that open days can attract tens of buyers, an upfront approach and a realistic but keen price will see vendors walking away without too much of a limp.

UPDATE EDIT: 01/10/15 19:28 GMT. Some incorrect observations changed – credit to Andy Kilvington.

Should you PAT test? by Mick Jackson of MJ PAT Testing

Here's a great article written by Mick Jackson of MJ PAT Testing in St Albans as to why PAT testing of appliances is relevant and important for Landlords.

"I know it’s not the sexiest of subjects and eyes tend to glaze over at the mere mention of Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), but read on, you may save yourself some money and maybe more!

Firstly let me put things straight, PAT is NOT a legal requirement for anyone. It never has been nor is it likely to be.  Secondly its does not have to be carried out every year, both of these things have been put out by the more unscrupulous companies out there touting for your business.

So what is the point in having PAT carried out in the first place? 

There are many rules and regulations that say you are required to maintain electrical appliances under your control to ensure a safe environment. None of the regulations give you guidance as to how you manage this. This is where PAT comes in. It is a standard of inspection and testing of appliances that meets all the requirements of these regulations and allows you to know that, at the time of testing, you are complying with the law. You, as the ‘duty holder’, are responsible for the maintenance of electrical appliances.

The National Landlords Association recommends that PAT testing is carried each time a tenancy changes OR every two to three years. Houses of Multiple Occupation are slightly different and the Local Authority will probably request that you have PAT testing carried out every year in common areas.

The latest H&S guidance note (107) relating to PAT is available on the Health and Safety website. 

Alternatively please visit the faq’s section of my website www.mjpat.co.uk  for more information or call me on 07795185619 for free no obligation advice."

Property in St Albans for under £180,000

Yes!  It's possible!  They do exist!

Fear not, unlike Unicorns, pots of gold at the end of rainbows, and free lunches it is (contrary to popular belief) possible for even those on a budget to buy a property in St Albans.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34317696.html

Take this example of a great studio flat in St Albans - about 10-15 minutes walk to town, within striking distance of the park, just a stones throw from Batchwood Golf and Racket club and moments away from the M1 junctions 8 and 9 and the M25 by car, with the A1(M) slightly further away, Redbourn, Hemel Hempstead AND Harpenden easily accessible from this location, a convenience store just yards away and free on street parking, this is an absolute gem for a first time buyer.

Does is stack up investment wise? Yes, in fact it's not too bad considering the average yield in the St Albans area - your capital growth might be a little slower than you might prefer, however if you give it a little leg-up you could ask £695 per calendar month and at this price you'll see a nice return of 4.8% which is above average for St Albans.

Why not try making an offer and see what the owners say - you've got nothing to lose!

It's on with Your Move but I can only see it on Rightmove and not on their website - hurry or it might be gone!!!

Tory Housing plans may not tackle the Housing Crisis

An interesting article, well worth investigating whether the new Conservative government, after regaining power on May 8th for another 5 year term of government imposed austerity, will really have the desired impact on the matter of housing for millions of vulnerable people.

The matter must be handled very carefully indeed, that much is for certain.

http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2015/05/13/comment-tory-housing-plans-will-not-tackle-the-housing-crisi

The Top Most Expensive Sales in the UK 2014

So everyone by now has seen my local round up of the top ten most expensive roads in Harpenden, but what were the most pricey Sales nationally in 2014? From the Yahoo Finance article;

"Estate agents were counting the profits last year after a record-breaking 13,400 properties sold for more than £1 million. 

A £50 million penthouse topped the list of biggest sales. The luxury apartment on Princes Gate, in London's swanky Knightsbridge was sold in July of last year - netting the Treasury £3.5 million in stamp duty fees in the process.

A strengthening economy saw house prices in London shoot up by 16.3 per cent, which helped boost the number of million pound-plus deals by a fifth. As a result, the capital made up 96 of the top 100 sales."

You can read more here in the Yahoo Finance article.

Where do people move the most in St Albans?

Continuing the theme of interesting local data, take a look at this list of the top 5 roads where people move most often in St Albans.  It's quite revealing to see that on these roads people tend to make a quick stop before moving on, and very few residents remain for long periods.

The prices are the average current values at the time of writing and sourcing the data, and the last column are the number of Sales that have taken place on that road since 1995 according to Land Registry data.

The top moving street, London Road has had an average of just under 19 Sales per annum since 1995. This will have a great deal to do with the fact that London Road is in excess of 1.5 miles in length and accommodates over 600 residential properties.

Park View Close on the other hand, with just 128 addresses noted and 289 Sales (an average of just under 15 Sales per annum since 1995) the density is much higher.

These seem to be the roads that are the 'stepping stones' for first time buyers, or have been quick investment vehicles with the turnaround suggesting they are equity-hungry and could be a good investment.

1London Road£452,963374 Sales

2Camp Road£363,645336 Sales

3Hatfield Road£303,799326 Sales

4Dexter Close£288,915314 Sales

5Park View Close£285,549289 Sales

Data sourced from Mouseprice.co.uk

Want to know if any of the properties on the market in these roads really is a good investment for you?  Well, I think I've demonstrated my pedigree! I can help you crunch the numbers and work out what's going to work best for you. Come and have a chat at my Hawk & Chadwick offices in Harpenden or call me on 01727 226 253 or 01582 346 111.

Deposits and the Deregulation Act 2015

Here's a great bit of information from the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) for Landlords who are confused about the protection of tenancy deposits. Contact the TDS for more information and guidance.

"If you received a deposit before 6 April 2007 and the tenancy became statutory periodic after that date, you now have until 23 June 2015 to make sure it is protected.

The Deregulation Act has clarified several points in deposit protection law, and TDS has published some guides to help you understand the changes.

Click here to read TDS's guide to the Deregulation Act, and click on our handy infographic below to quickly see where you stand with all your tenancy deposits." 

For more in depth property advice, speak to Hawk & Chadwick Ltd on 01727 226 253

Check out the Harpenden Property Blog too!

Since it's been such a massive success in such a short time, we decided that rather than try to combine the two towns, they deserve their own sites, so here's the sister page for the Harpenden Property Blog;

http://harpendenpropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Please take a look and let us know what you think!

Most expensive property in St Albans

8 bedrooms for £2,500,000 in St Albans, bar the new build property listed by Collinson Hall this is the highest price home in the town.

It's on with Savills, Strutt & Parker and a couple of others.
Worth a look if it's in your budget!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/48346921

Cheapest property in St Albans

Following on from my last post on the most expensive roads in St Albans, I thought I'd see what is the lowest priced property in town.

I skipped the park homes and land available to find something more permanent and residential.

I found this property on Rightmove and wanted you to see it:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/51456974

It's on with our friends over at Space Estates and well worth booking a viewing in to pick up a piece of St Albans property for a rock bottom price.

Most expensive roads in St Albans

I found this quite a revealing bit of information. The most expensive streets in St Albans based on transactions since 1995.

The prices shown below are the average prices paid for properties on those roads. Interesting to note that the entire top 10 is in seven figures!

1 Pondwicks Close £1,784,797

2 Homewood Road £1,572,798

3 Marshals Drive £1,500,694

4 York Road £1,496,909

5 Faircross Way £1,372,328

6 The Park £1,317,890

7 Cunningham Hill Road £1,235,682

8 Sunderland Avenue £1,207,225

9 Kensington Close £1,143,536

10 St Peters Close £1,114,804

Data sourced from Mouseprice.co.uk

House Prices in Hertfordshire - who gave us more, Labour or Conservatives?

Now here's some interesting statistics.  The graph below shows the trend in house prices in Hertfordshire since David Cameron's Conservative party came to power in May 2010 in coalition with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrat party.



In 2013 the market suddenly rocketed upwards and has been on a steady increase ever since. Now compare this to the chart below which details the performance of house prices in Hertfordshire under the Labour government term, starting with Tony Blair in 1997 and ending with Gordon Brown in 2010 (Gordon came to office at Number 10 in May 2005)



It's interesting to note that the general performance of both governments generally seem to have had a positive influence in rising house prices, which is handy for those owning property, although Labour have clearly had to carry the can for the economic collapse during their term.

This analysis is important as it gives an impression of how different governments deal with creating wealth through housing - the Conservatives seem to be able to generate property wealth much more rapidly than Labour which shows how their respective policies to government operate.

It'll certainly be interesting to plot the rise (or fall!) of house prices in Hertfordshire over the next five years with the next government.  What do you think will happen to house prices if we have a UKIP / Labour coalition?  What if Conservatives remain in power?  Post your thoughts in the comments below.

If you're interested in knowing what YOUR home is worth, contact me directly over at Hawk And Chadwick on 01727 226 253 or 01582 346 111.

St Albans and Harpenden House Prices - Have we hit the top of the market?

I was doing some research today and looking through house price data, and found this information which I found really interesting and so I have decided to share it with you.

The graph above shows the House Price growth in Hertfordshire since 1995. You can plainly see the astronomical growth enjoyed in the Hertfordshire region, topping out at today's average price of £410,175 (source: Zoopla.co.uk).

But how does this pan out in the St Albans and Harpenden area?

Well, narrowing things down, in St Albans the prices are above the Hertfordshire average at £495,183 with an average asking price of £691,585 (meaning most properties currently on the market are over valued by 14%) so take that into account when making your offers.

Just up the road in Harpenden the average home owner enjoys 43.38% more equity in their property with an average house price of £709,980. Interestingly though, the latest data suggests that Harpenden prices have started to cool in the last year with home owners feeling the stinging ripples of the softening London housing market.

Prices are down on average by just £1,503 in the last year, which may seem like a drop in the ocean, but this cooling could be hinting at a soft market correction, which may indicate that now is the time to sell if home owners are to retain their equity.

What do you think?  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Landlords must improve Draughty Properties

Landlords must improve draughty properties

St Albans and Harpenden Landlords may be interested in reading through this article, particularly if you are the owner of an older property that lacks double glazing, modern doors and insulation measures. It will soon be law that Landlords must improve draughty properties to comply with new EPC guidance.


Luckily most homes in the local area already have significant improvements since the introduction of EPC’s and HIPS in 2005/2006, but some older homes that are new to the market may be caught out by the new laws which could significantly impede any plans to generate an income from empty property.


Not only this, but properties with low EPC ratings give tenants and buyers significant leverage when making offers due to perceived higher heating bills. Since Landlords must improve draughty properties it is worth spending the extra to provide adequate insulation and draught prevention measures where required.


“Landlords with properties rated F and G will be unable to let them out from 1 April 2018 as new legislation will see landlords banned from renting out England and Wales’ draughtiest homes.


The regulations also mean that from 1 April 2016, tenants living in F and G rated homes will be able to request improvements, such as more insulation. The landlord will then be legally bound to bring the property up to an E rating.


Almost 10% of England and Wales’ 4.2m privately rented homes* currently fall below the E rating. (Source: Government statistics, February 2015).


It is estimated that….[Read More..] “






For more information on how you can improve your EPC rating, refer to the existing EPC for your property which you can access on The EPC Register by using your postcode and searching for your house number. Once you open the EPC, it will contain guidance on improvements that can be made to boost your EPC rating. A re-assessment will cost anywhere between £40.00 and £100.00 to complete, with certificates usually dispatched via email within three working days.