David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

DIY to me is a bit like that tenth pint of Kronenbourg (other gold-coloured liquid refreshments are available) – seems a good idea at the time but you then spend a period of time regretting it.

You see, I have this theory that professionals are professionals for a very good reason – they’ve trained long and hard to become very good at what they do.  So why do people, with no real knowledge or experience of a subject, suddenly think they can become an overnight revelation?

Selling homes is no different.  A growing number of websites are extolling the virtues of people marketing their own property rather than using the professional services of an estate agent.

I know on the surface it might seem a way of saving a couple of thousand pounds but the harsh reality is that opting for the DIY route to a house sale could end up in you not only beign out of pocket but possibly on the wrong end of the law.

We all know it’s popular to knock the estate agency profession and criticise it for not doing a lot for its money, but there’s a very good reason why the vast majority of people choose to use the services of a professional estate agent – and that reason is that a good estate agent will justify his fee many times over.

It’s not only a case of an estate agent being able to negotiate a better price for a property – which in itself can immediately offset the fee charged – but there is much legislation which has to be abided by in the house-selling process which the layman might not be aware if and could easily fall foul of.

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, Equality Act 2006, Data Protection Act 1988 and, perhaps most pertinently, the Property Misdescription Act 1991 are just some of laws which can easily be broken when selling a house if you are not careful.

Here are a few other points to bear in mind:

The sheer cost of advertising and promoting a property – if you decide to sell you own property these cost have to be incurred whether you end up selling it or not

• estate agents validate applicants prior to viewing
• estate agents arrange financial checks on potential buyers
• estate agents don’t run the risk of getting too personally involved with the buyer and so are in a better position to deal with financial negotiations
• estate agents are able to talk to all parties involved in the sale including solicitors, surveyors, financial lenders, builders, contractors such as builders/electricians/damp proofing specialists
• a good estate agent will belong to at least one professional body which means compliance with that organisation’s redress scheme.

Still fancy doing it yourself? Just remember that tenth pint!

David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

Well, here we are: another year, another round of summer holiday adverts bombarding us on TV – and another batch of New Year resolutions which, if they haven’t already bitten the dust, are looking as fragile as an MP’s expense claim-form.

However, resolutions apart, January is always a time of year for a bit of a fresh start. The shortest day is behind us, festive excesses are behind us (though in many cases still worryingly visible all around us!) and in front of us lies a year which will hopefully see confidence return to the economy generally and – from a very selfish point of view – the property market specifically.

If there’s one thing the Christmas holidays can guarantee to uncover, it’s the realisation that many homes are just too small for families as well as the seasonal in-laws visit. One solution, of course, is to tell the in-laws there’s no room at the inn – albeit falling short, perhaps, of suggesting they share the nearest shed with a load of smelly sheep and cows.

Alternatively, you could decide it’s time to move to larger premises – much better idea! I’m not sure how many people move because they have genuinely out-grown their existing home as opposed to those who just fancy a change, but I suspect the vast majority fall into the former.

So if you’re resolving that next Christmas, something has to give, and you don’t want it to be your ongoing relationship with the in-laws, why not take the plunge now. After all, what price can you put on family harmony!

David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

IMAGINE the scene. You’ve decided it’s time to sell your beloved ten-year-old Mondeo. You contact four motor magazines on price guidance. One suggests £1,900, the second £1,800, the third £1,950 – and the fourth suggests £2,900.

For a fleeting moment you might start planning what to do with the ‘unexpected’ extra grand in your pocket. But then reality kicks in and you know in your heart of hearts that the extra crispy bank notes just aren’t going to materialise. The fourth magazine has simply bumped up the price to tempt you to choose them to advertise your car. Common sense prevails and you opt for the £1,950 deal – you didn’t want that holiday in Greece anyway!

So why, I ask, don’t people apply the same logic to their home when it comes to selling?

I know it is human nature, particularly when it comes to our homes (which are our pride and joys and far nicer than anyone else’s home after all!), to want to make a maximum return when selling. But if you ask three estate agents to value your home and one is 20 per cent above the other two, what does that tell you?

Of course you’d like to achieve that extra £20,000, but is it realistic? It is always true, and certainly so in the current market, that there can be a significant difference between a marketing price and a price achieved. If you want to know what properties are really selling for, take a look at the Right Move website and click on house prices.

Properties are selling at the moment, but they’re selling to smart buyers who are very aware of what a property is worth. Marketing your property for £20,000 more than buyers are prepared to pay is a waste of everyone’s time – not least the agent which is attempting to achieve the extra money. If you’re prepared to hang around for months waiting for a viewing, let alone an offer, you might be tempted to take the gamble.

If you want to move sooner rather than much later, well – remember the Mondeo?

David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

BUYING a new home is one of the biggest decisions we ever make and, in most cases, requires a consensus of opinion between at least two people, normally, even in this liberated age, between man and woman. And here the fun begins.

Surprisingly perhaps, given the ability of the sexes to engage in vociferous and extended discussions over all manner of minor issues, my experience when it comes to house purchases is that the balance of nature works remarkably effectively.

Without wishing to appear at all sexist here, women (generally speaking I stress!) tend to go with a gut-feel as to the home’s touchy-feely value. Men, on the other hand, take a more practical stance. They’ll look at the width of the garage to make sure the new car will fit without losing its wing-mirrors and they’ll consider that, whilst wonderfully located for the nearby supermarket, the rush-hour traffic will add an extra half and hour to their journey to work.

This balance between ‘feel-good’ and practicality usually works well in determining the correct decision. It’s a decision which invariably takes a while to reach but given time it does come. I guess you could call it the balance of nurture.

On occasions, a person will turn round to me and say, ‘what do you think?’ Now, I’m not normally one to sit on the fence, but this is clearly a dangerous moment – more so when a couple can’t agree between themselves!

With all the tact I can muster, this is the time to remind people that settling on a new home is very much a matter of personal choice – and then prey like hell your mobile, for once, rings at an opportune time!

David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

Any Queen fans out there? No, not the corgi-loving one! Did you know that next week will see the 36^th anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody reaching number one. 36 years – can you believe it!

It got me thinking what else was happening 36 years ago. Margaret Thatcher became the Conservatives’ first female party leader, Charlie Chaplin was knighted by the Queen (the real one this time) and proceedings in Parliament were broadcast on radio for the first time. Oh, and the average cost of a house in the UK was £11,700.

Of course the cost of any item is always relative to earnings. The average wage back in those wonderful days of platform shoes and football riots was around £8,500. You don’t have to be a Carol Vorderman to work out that a home was actually much more affordable back then than it is now.

Of course, back then, a house was something you lived in, not an alternative investment to the stock exchange. There’s no doubt that getting your foot on the property ladder in 2011 is a more challenging task than it’s been for quite some while, but that isn’t stopping the insatiable desire of people to become home-owners. What it is meaning is that mums and dads are increasingly having to dip into their savings to help fund deposits for youngsters already struggling to cope with the demands of 21^st century living and, if they’ve been through university, already laden with a considerable debt.

Still as Freddie sang, easy come, easy go, will you let me go…

David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens, takes a look, sometimes with a little tongue in cheek, at the property scene.

THE run-up to Christmas is well and truly underway – you can tell because Easter eggs are starting to appear in the shops! No, I jest – well, unless anyone knows differently of course!

The one thing you can guarantee this time of year is that people become increasingly distracted by the ever-lengthening festival that Christmas has become. I lose count of the number of times I hear, ‘we must do so-and-so, but let’s leave it until after Christmas now’.

Let’s all look forward to Christmas and enjoy it once it arrives, but let’s not put life on hold for six weeks. House-moving, like most other things, is something which can be put on hold for a few days either side of December 25, but right now the market is moving along very nicely and doesn’t want or need any unwarranted hold-ups, thank you. And that’s the voice of a reasonable, rational man speaking – not just an estate agent.

This is a good time to invite your agent to come along and value your home. Even if you succumb to Christmas anaesthesia before making the ultimate decision to place you home on the market, at least you’ve set the ball rolling!

RUSSELL O’Connor has been appointed Block Management Manager at leading independent estate agency firm, Boydens.

Russell is based at Boydens’ Colchester office and is responsible for a seven-strong team looking after more than 70 developments across north Essex and south Suffolk, encompassing some large blocks of apartments including Mistley Quayside and The Mill Apartments in Colchester.

Russell, who has 11 years experience in estate management in Essex and London,  said: “I have arrived at a very busy time for Boydens. We have had a very busy 2011. Clients like the fact they are dealing with a locally-based company because it means we are able to react quickly to their needs. We also place the emphasis on a service which is both personal and transparent. Each contract is tailor-made to match the client’s specific needs.”

Boydens’ block management portfolio includes converted listed buildings and modern purpose built blocks. As members of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) it offers a professional service at all levels. The firm has offices in Frinton, Braintree, Kelvedon, Sudbury and Ipswich as well as Colchester.

LOCAL NSPCC volunteers are celebrating after their 22^nd annual book fair in Colchester raised a record £26,500.

Some 30,000 books, CDs, DVDs, games and jigsaws vied for people’s attention when the doors opened at Holmwood House School in Chitts Hill, Lexden on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 and 30.

Elisabeth Borg, Chairman of the NSPCC Book Fair Committee and consultant at Boydens estate agency, a long-time sponsor of the event, said: “In the current economic climate when all charities are having to work very hard to maintain their income, this is a fantastic achievement.

“We’ve come a long way since our first book fair in 1989 which was a one-day event and raised around £5,000. It is now the largest non-corporate NSPCC fundraising event in the eastern region.

“We are very grateful to our sponsors, Boydens, the Army for providing men from the MCTC to help with transporting all the books and particularly to Holmwood House School for allowing us to use its excellent venue. But it is the public who we really rely on to donate items and then support the fair itself.”

David Boyden, Managing Partner at Boydens, said: “As a long-established Colchester business, we are delighted to support this very important event and are delighted this year’s book fair has proven to be a record-breaker.”

BUYING and selling a house prompts a wealth of questions. David Boyden, Managing Partner of Boydens estate agency, which has offices in Colchester, Frinton. Braintree, Kelvedon, Sudbury and Ipswich, selects the ten most often asked questions and provides the answers.

Q. What are your fees?

 A. Fees do vary from one agent to another. However, as with most aspects of life, the cheapest option is rarely the best option. Grill you agent over exactly what he will be doing to sell your property. Someone who charges next to nothing is quite likely going to be doing next to nothing!

Q. How quickly will my house sell?

 A. Ah, the six million dollar question. The key to a property selling is correct pricing. The vast majority of houses which are on the market for more than a few months are over-priced for the current market. An experienced agent will have a very good idea of what any given property will sell for and if the property is marketed at that price, it stands a good chance of a swift sale.

Q. Where will you market my property?

 A. This will vary from agent to agent and is often reflective of the fees being charged. At Boydens we combine local newspaper marketing with traditional media further afield and national and international internet marketing via such sites as Right Move.

Q. What is the best time of year to sell my house?

 A. There are traditionally active times such as spring and early autumn but to be honest the market these past few years is nowhere near as predictable as it used to be in terms of busy and slower times. At any time of year, there are people seriously looking to buy so there is nothing to lose by marketing your home at any point during the year.

Q. Do I have to have a For Sale board outside my house?

 A. It’s surprising how many people are reluctant to have a board up, often because they don’t want the neighbours to know they are planning to move. Naturally, we never insist on a board but it can be a valuable means of creating awareness that your home is for sale, particularly if you live on a busy route.

Q. Will one person be dealing with my house sale?

A. We always try to strike a balance between having someone who will be your usual point of contact and making sure other members of the team are up to date with your situation should your normal contact be off or out of the office when you call.

Q. What experience/qualifications do you have?

 A. We have an ethos of encouraging all our sales staff to gain professional qualifications via the National Association of Estate Agents or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and nearly all our senior staff are licensed members of the NAEA. I ask myself why an estate agency wouldn’t want to be allied to its professional body, but some are not.

Q. Will I be tied in by a long contract?

A. It is normal practice if you are using just the one agent to market your property – what we call sole-agency – to agree to a period of time when that agent has sole selling rights. However, that period of time should not be excessive and certainly not the 16 weeks I have heard some agents tie people into. What does this say about their confidence in their ability to sell your home? You should talk to your agent and mutually agree a fair period of time.

Q. What price will I get for my property?

 A. If ‘how long will it take to sell my property’ is the six million dollar question, this one is the ten million dollar question! Every single property is different and must be viewed at first hand by an experienced agent before a market value can be established. Just because your neighbour’s house sold for £250,000 last month doesn’t mean you house will fetch the same. For one thing, did it actually sell at £250,000 or did you just see it marketed at that price – the two are often different. Secondly, your neighbour’s house may be a lot more or less ‘sellable’ than your own depending on its internal condition, extensions etc. The key is to rely on the advice of an experience agent and not on anecdotal evidence or sheer desperate hope.

12 members of the Boydens staff participated in this very well supported 2.5 mile run around Colchester Castle Park.  All funds raised going to the Mayor’s charities.

Well done Birkett Long Solicitors in organising this ‘TENTH’ successful event.