The site has never been put out on the market; yet, somehow it has managed to worm itself on to the market, indeed it has even been offered back to me at least twice.
There are those in property who make it their business to operate on the principle that if they shovel enough ‘dung’, some of it may stick. They call themselves agents (and often make first contact in the guise of a buyer). They know next to nothing about the development they are selling. Yet, they want to charge the buyers a couple of large percentage points to sell a site they know nothing about and have no mandate to even sell.
Unfortunately, this is the state of the market; literally anyone with a mobile phone can call themselves an agent. In one respect, this can be a good thing, it means the market is open for business for anyone, and therefore it attract a lot of entrants. On the other side, this means you have to deal with a lot of nonsense to get to the reality of the underlying situation.
After being in the trade for a while you tend to develop a nose for who is a serious buyer, and who is a chancer.
There are means and ways of confirming whether the buyer is the real deal. Firstly, you can ask the lawyer to confirm proof of funds. Be very careful in how this is conveyed to you, as the letter can be worded in a clever way so that an impression is created that they have the funds, when actually they do not.
Secondly, look at the law firm they are using, a serious buyer will have a heavy weight law firm to back them. With one of our buyers I actually knew one of the partners in the firm acting for them, and was able to do a discrete check in the background to ensure our buyers were good for the money before sending contracts out.
Thirdly, any serious buyer should be able to operate within a tight but reasonable time frame. There is no need to have lawyers going back and forth for months. If you give enough string this is what tends to happen. Often lawyers aim is not to get the deal done, but to cover themselves from any liability, and in doing so they may unnecessarily extend the time taken to get a deal done.
Potentially an exchange can happen in a day. After all it happens every time there is an auction, followed by a swift completion in four weeks. This is the beauty of an auction, there is certainty of sale for the seller, and time frames are defined, assuming the reserve price is set at a reasonable level.
Finally, it’s a small world and it doesn't take long with online platforms such as LinkedIn, to check out whom the buyer is; and if you don't know them, you will find someone who does.
Agony Agent is here to help!
Q: Could you share some tips on replacing my BTL bathroom please?
A: If you need to replace the bathroom in your property, you are probably already prepared to spend a bit of money doing so. However, there are ways to save money whilst protecting your investment in the long term.
There’s a difference between a cheap bathroom and one that’s good value. The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true to a point, as you might spend less on a cheap bath in the short term but if the material is thin, it’ll crack more easily and you may end up paying out for another much sooner than you’d like. If your bathroom is small, a shower is preferable to a bath. However, there are lots of bathroom suites designed for small spaces, so see if you can fit a bath in with a shower over it, before writing the idea off completely. On the subject of showers, a powerful shower is something many prospective tenants will check for before agreeing to let the property, so opt for the best one your budget will allow.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest threats to any bathroom is mould, the spread of which is something every landlord dreads. Simple steps, such as the effective application of sealant, mould-protect paint, tiled walls and floors and a good extractor fan should help prevent damp and mould – but your tenants will need to play their part too by wiping up any wet areas, regular cleaning and opening a window when using the bath and/or shower.
In terms of colours, neutrals are always best as they don’t date as quickly. White is a must for a bathroom suite for the same reason. One part of a bathroom that’s almost guaranteed to look past its best quickly is the grout – which can be hard to get back to pristine white. Consider a darker grout if you don’t want to have to tackle the white once your tenants leave. An alternative would be to have aqua panels, these are large sheets of PVC that look like tiles. Having these in place will remove the need of regrouting, they are a little more to buy, however, what you are spending on the cost of the panels you will be saving on the labour of having tiles fitted.
Once the suite is fitted and the tiles/aqua panels and flooring are in place, consider adding some storage space (if there isn’t some already), a nice blind at the window and a decent-sized mirror – if your budget allows. These little touches could make all the difference when marketing your property to prospective tenants.
