Kings Residential

I have a house for sale in Stretford and it is not selling. It has been on the market for 5 months and only had about 2 viewings. My neighbour who went with the expensive agent up the road has had loads of viewings and has sold the house in about a month. He can afford the expensive agent because he is a bit flash and bragged recently about spending £20,000 on a new kitchen and bathroom. I updated my house in 1966 just in time for the World Cup Final and it is still going strong. They just don’t build ‘em like they used to. I am asking £5,000 more than my neighbour but I have a garage that my father installed just after the war (it even had electricity installed). My neighbour has one of those horrible concrete and pebble-dash things with an up and over door whereas mine has craftsman installed wooden doors. My father last painted the garage in 1947 and still looks great.

Gordon.

Dear Gordon,

Reading between the lines, this is nothing to do with the agent but more to do with the fact that your neighbours house has been kept up to date. Although many period features are highly desirable. generally an out-dated kitchen and bathroom will do your house no favours. I would have to look at the house but my suspicion is that you are over-priced. You should consider considerably updating the house or reducing the price to attract a buyer

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I’ve lost the will to live. My husband is the the worldsv worst DIY’er and has tried to do many things and never got them right. He just seems to make a mess of things.I’ve seen a new build property I have fallen in love with which needs no work doing. My property has been on the market for just under a year and won’t sell. I have changed agents but still can’t sell it. What can I do?Wife of a DIY disaster

Dear Wife of a DIY Disaster

DIY is best approached from one angle, via the yellow pages and the workman section. Without seeing the property I can only suggest two things, first is the obvious one; get a workman in to sort out all the disasters you have created and secondly drop your price considerably by 10-15% of the asking price and that will spark more interest in your property.

The general rule is everything will sell for the right price. Have a word with your Estate Agent and ask if they can recommend a decent workman, usually they will have a handyman working for them or can point you in the right direction. Finally, chuck away all your husbands DIY equipment and buy him some golf clubs.

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My apartment in Manchester is a fabulous home, and I now have to move due to a job relocation. My favorite colour is Pink and my whole apartment is painted in different shades of this, I love it, it’s fully accesorised and looks great, however it hasn’t sold. After 2 months I am getting worried, the deadline for me to move is getting nearer and I have seen a property I want to buy. What can I do?Cindy

Cindy

It’s admirable that you have created a home for yourself that you love, however you have made your property very individual and this is costing you a buyer. Neutralise your home, de-accessorise and paint it cream and white.

You are isolating yourself from a huge chunk of purchasers. If you were a bloke into rugby and beer, would you buy a Barbie pink flat? I very much doubt it.  Although…. some of the guys I used to play Rugby with may just be interested. I will drop them an email.

You’ve seen the property programmes, you can’t switch the TV on without having a head on collision with a designer painting a home various shades of white or beige. They do it for a reason, it works! Just console yourself that your next home is waiting to have your unique design scheme.

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The estate agents keep asking me if I have got my mortgage arranged and I feel it’s none of their business. I really feel as if it’s an intrusive question. Is it just so they can get more sales commission selling me a mortgage?

Rita

Rita

An estate agent has to make sure that any offers that are discussed are realistic and that the potential purchaser is in a proceedable position. The Estate Agent is obligated to do the best for their Vendors.

If a potential purchaser cannot get a mortgage or cannot afford a property then it wastes the vendors time and the agents time doing the viewing. If you are a vendor you would want the viewers to be in a proceedable position to purchase your home, not just a tyre kicker or a time waster.

What I would suggest is that you get a mortgage certificate from your bank, building society or mortgage broker qualifying you to the level you can spend. This puts you in a much stronger buying position when offering on properties.

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My house is for sale in Urmston and the estate agent is pestering me to get a board put outside. I don’t like the idea that friends will be talking about moving and I don’t want the neighbours to know my business. Do I need a board?

Kenneth

Kenneth

If you want to sell your home, a board can help, it’s good that the neighbours and friends are talking about you moving, they may have a friend who wants to move to the area.

A board is a really useful sales tool plus it’s help viewers to locate the property, especially in the winter months when it’s getting dark earlier. So don’t delay get that board organised today.

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I am an animal lover and have two cats who are quite elderly, as we are heading into a cold period of time they don’t like to get out much and therefore have to use the Cat trays, I have one downstairs and one upstairs, I don’t notice the smell however viewer have commented on it.I have asked the agent if they have had any feedback and they have mentioned people have commented. What could you suggest?

Kimberley

Kimberley

Pets can be a problem, and housebound ones are especially problematic, short of getting them stuffed and put in glass cases I would suggest shipping them out to a friends house for a while, just to help sell your home.

Cats and cat tray odour can be quite unappealing and you may not register it as you are living with them. It’s a short term inconvenience for a long term gain.

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I need a Letting Agent in Manchester. I have a two bedroom apartment in Manchester. I have just discovered that the initial 6 month tenancy comes to an end in one week!!! I just totally forgot as I was away on holiday. I need a tenant fast can you help…?

It is so important for a landlord to get the property back on the market as soon as your tenants give notice. This way you are giving yourself one month or is some cases two months to market the property, carry out viewings and reference the tenant so that you have a new tenant lined up and ready to move as soon as your previous tenant moves out, thus cutting your void periods.

You have now lost nearly three weeks of extremely valuable time which will most certainly result in a void period. This means every day the property is empty you are losing money.

At Kings Residential we strive to make sure all managed properties are placed back on the market one month prior to the tenancy ending or as soon as notice is received. This way our viewings agents have more than enough time to secure the next tenant which results in a happy and void free landlord.

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We are pleased to announce the opening of our newest office in Stretford. We have the largest and smartest premises of all the Stretford agents and we are targetting Stretford, Old Trafford, Urmston, Flixton and Davyhulme from this branch.

For a listing of houses for Sale in Stretford follow this link

For a listing of houses for Sale in Urmston follow this link

For a listing of houses for Sale in Old Trafford follow this link

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My flat in Manchester City Centre is rented to a tenant who is not paying the rent. He seemed such a nice boy when he handed over the 1st month’s rent. I am based in London and I am getting very frustrated as every time I call I get his answer phone.

I would be interested to hear how you found this tenant being such a long distance away.

Landlords sometimes think they can save a few quid on the agent fees by finding their own tenant. Sometimes this works out OK but I hear too many stories just like yours.

Bad tenants will purposely seek out private landlords as the checks that they carry out are minimal. The long distance landlord is even better (for the rogue tenant) because it is a long journey to the North West and when you get here they may be out or on holiday.

If you don’t handle things properly you can end up in court for harassment and then getting an eviction is almost impossible. To do things properly you need to make several visits and really need to be on the spot.

My advice is to talk to a solicitor to get this guy out as soon as possible and then use a reputable agent next time. A lot of the real rogue tenants just don’t apply in the first place as they don’t want to lose their application fees when they are rumbled.

At Kings Residential we would take care of this situation for you on our Fully Managed service. We have a strict protocol for handling arrears and the tenant knows from the outset that we will make promises regarding charges and eviction and we will keep those promises.

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