New venue for Tudor Estates Network Auction’s September auction

Our September auction will take place at our new national auction room at the Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch on September 4^th.

The move to the famous Cumberland Hotel in the heart of London’s West End raises Tudor Estates Network Auction’s auction profile even further and makes it even easier for buyers to attend and bid. 

Making it easy for buyers to bid enhances the chances of a successful sale and online bidding has also successfully been introduced in addition to in person, proxy and telephone bidding. 

Richard Worrall has also joined Network Auctions as Auctioneer and Partner Development Manager. Richard is a well-known and experienced auctioneer who will be working with Network Auctions’ partner agents in growing their auction businesses as well as helping from the rostrum. 

The September auction has lots included by seller clients including lenders in possession, local authorities, executors, PLC’s and asset managers as well as properties from private individuals and investors. 

This wide range of sellers ensures an interesting selection of lots including public houses, family homes, fully let and vacant investment properties, land, commercial premises and properties with redevelopment potential.   

National expertise combined with local knowledge creates the opportunity for clients to enjoy a successful sale. This combination of national, local and regional marketing, coupled with good quality advice on guide prices and reserves, makes for a positive outcome. 

The full catalogue will be available approximately two weeks before the sale. 

If you have a property that you are considering disposing of, David Kirkman of Tudor Estates Network Auctions will be pleased to discuss the best method of sale with you. 

David Kirkman of Tudor Estates Network Auctions can be contacted on 01702 346818 or by email at davidkirkman@tudorestates.co.uk or via their website at www.trustintudor.co.uk

Richard Worrall joins Network Auctions as Partner Development Manager

Leading UK auction house Network Auctions are delighted to announce that experienced auctioneer and property professional Richard Worrall has joined them as Auctioneer and Partner Development Manager. 

Richard, who started his career in estate agency in 1985, was a Director of Thompson Wilson in High Wycombe between 2001 and 2011 before becoming consultant property auctioneer to the Property Sharing Experts Group in the West Country. He has also acted as consultant auctioneer for many estate agents across the UK. 

Richard joins Network Auctions to develop their growing partner agent network and to help provide even greater communication between members as the organisation looks to build on its successes and the strong foundations laid to date. 

His appointment coincides with Network Auctions moving their London based auction room to the iconic Cumberland Hotel in London’s West End. 

Toby Limbrick, Director of Network Auctions said: “We are delighted to secure someone of Richard’s calibre for this important role within our growing business. Richard has an exceptional record of developing auction business and of working with estate agents and is ideally qualified to help us take Network Auctions to a new level.” 

Richard Worrall said: “I am delighted to be joining Network Auctions at this exciting time. They already have an excellent network of agents with whom I look forward to working and adding to in the weeks and months ahead. 

Our move to the Cumberland Hotel auction room will help raise our profile even higher and we have exciting plans for a new auction service that we will be announcing in the coming weeks.” 

Richard expects to be very busy in his new role but, away from the office, likes to play and umpire cricket, take part in amateur dramatics as well as cook and enjoy the odd glass of real ale. 

Tudor Network Auctions can be contacted on 01702 346818 or via their website at www.trustintudor.co.uk/auctions

Tudor Estates Network Auctions new London auction room

Following their highly successful move to holding their regular auctions at the Glaziers Hall in central London two years ago, Tudor Estates Network Auctions have announced that they will be holding their future auctions at the famous Cumberland Hotel at Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch in W1, a venue long associated with successful auction sales.

The new location at the Cumberland Hotel is superbly located in the very heart of London with excellent public transport links and connections and the facilities at the hotel are first class.

David Kirkman at Tudor Estates Network Auctions said: “Running our auction sales in Central London for the last two years has proven to be a huge success as it has opened up our regular sales to an increasingly large number of potential buyers. Our time at the Glaziers Hall has served us well but we are now growing at such a rate that we felt it was important that our auction room and facilities were also upgraded.

The Cumberland Hotel is an iconic venue with a long history of holding successful auctions and our partner agents, their clients and potential buyers will benefit from the even greater exposure we will be creating by this move.”

Auctioneer and Network Auctions Director Guy Charrison added: “The market exposure for our auction sales is now immense with online bidding having become an integral part of our offering alongside the traditional “in the room”, telephone and proxy bidding arrangements.

The move to the Cumberland Hotel adds to this exposure and, because of its excellent central location, will, I am sure, result in even more bidders being present in the room at our sales.”

Tudor Estates Network Auctions first sale at the Cumberland Hotel will take place on Wednesday 4^th September at 1pm and Tudor Estates Network Auctions are now inviting lots for inclusion.

For more information or to discuss including property in a forthcoming auction, please contact David Kirkman of Tudor Estates Network Auctions on 01702 346818 or by email at davidkirkman@tudorestates.co.uk or via their website at www.trustintudor.co.uk/auctions

Do you have any advice on getting valuations?

The first thing you need to bear in mind is that valuing property is not – and never can be - an exact science. In the end, your home is worth precisely what someone is actually prepared to pay for it - and that can be hard for any agent to predict with absolute accuracy, whatever the state of the market. 

That said, some agents do tend to be over-cautious in their valuations. Others, meanwhile, routinely over-value - with every intention of talking the vendor into accepting a price reduction almost as soon as they have won the instruction! 

The standard response to this conundrum, of course, is to get a number of valuations (normally three) from different agents, and then simply eliminate the highest and lowest in favour of the one in the middle. Nevertheless, it is not impossible that one of the other valuations is actually nearer the mark. 

So, how do you tell?  The important thing is to understand how each agent arrived at his or her figure. What did they base their opinion on? You need to see evidence of the prices achieved for similar properties in the area – known in the trade as comparables. And you need to understand not only the similarities the agents have taken into account, but also the differences. Is your home in better or worse condition? Does it possess additional features? Does its location compare more or less favourably? Also, you need to know the age of these comparables. Precisely how long ago did those properties actually sell for those prices? If it was a while, you need the agents to explain what has changed since, and what adjustments they have made in order to take account of those altered circumstances. 

These days, of course, you can do quite a lot of checking yourself, online: websites like www.myhouseprice.com and www.ourproperty.co.uk provide data on sale prices gleaned from the Land Registry. However, you really shouldn’t need to. Any agent worth his or her salt should provide you with all the evidence to support their valuation, without you having to ask for it. 

So – my advice is to go for the agent who makes the most convincing case for their valuation – whatever the figure they arrive at! 

I put my home on the market recently.One couple showed some initial interest, but they don’t seem in any hurry?

There has long been a belief among some people that when it comes to striking any kind of a deal, displaying too much enthusiasm is a bad negotiating tactic. This is a belief by no means limited to the property market – as you will know only too well if you’ve ever advertised a car for sale and had to endure a succession of people walking round it shaking their heads, kicking the tyres and bemoaning the fact that it’s pale blue instead of just about any other colour! 

Nevertheless, given the way the property market in particular has been over the last four or five years, buyers “playing it cool” have certainly become increasingly commonplace. This is partly due to the fact that during this period, they have been somewhat spoiled for choice – and the good news here is that this is now beginning to change, with reports from across the industry suggesting that demand is starting to outstrip supply once again. 

At the same time, however, there are those buyers who deliberately choose to play it cool, even when they have actually found a property that they really like! 

It’s hard not to regard this sort of behavior as more than a little cynical, since as often than not it is predicated on the assumption that if they hang on long enough, the poor vendor will cave in and accept a lower offer. 

Needless to say, if a buyer ever asks for my advice on this issue, I always say the same thing: when you find a place you really like, don’t mess around. Be decisive, make your best offer right at the outset – and make sure that all the parties involved know that you are genuine. If you act unconcerned, you can hardly complain if neither the vendor nor their agent takes you seriously. Other offers, sometimes even lower ones, are quite likely to be preferred to your own, if the people concerned simply act positively.   

Obviously, I don’t know the precise details of your circumstances – or that of the couple you mention, come to that – so I probably shouldn’t comment. Suffice it to say, however, that if they aren’t showing any real commitment, then I would definitely look elsewhere!

Since my house went under offer, my agent has continued to send me other offers – one of them actually lower than the one I have already accepted! Why?

This is one of those issues often raised as an example of how unprofessional estate agents can sometimes be. However, the plain fact is that your agent is actually legally obliged to pass on all formal offers right up until contracts are exchanged. Remember, it is only then that anything becomes legally binding on either party. Up to that point, your buyer is perfectly entitled to change his or her offer at any time – and by the same token, you are equally free to accept another offer altogether. Hence the legal obligation on your agent to continue passing offers on. 

Now, this might make sense in the case of higher offers. But why on earth would an agent continue to pass on any that are lower? Isn’t this just a case of taking the legalities a little too literally? 

Not necessarily. In certain circumstances, a slightly lower offer may actually be in your best interests. Imagine, for example, that you absolutely must move by a certain date. You’ve already accepted an offer, but your buyer is trapped in a slow-moving chain (a not-uncommon state of affairs at the moment), and time is starting to run out. Under those circumstances, a marginally lower offer from, say, a cash buyer – someone who can effectively guarantee completion within your time frame – may well be worth considering. 

There is a broader point here, too. Particularly in the kind of market we are currently experiencing, when buyers are rather spoilt for choice, offers of any kind are not necessarily that easy to come by. This is not to say that you should instruct your agent to continue actively marketing your home. But, it does mean that you shouldn’t be too quick to turn your nose up at any serious offer that happens to come your way. 

However…if when all’s said and done you really are set on accepting a particular offer, irrespective of any others that might materialise, then you can always absolve your agent of his legal duty by confirming your wishes in writing.

Increasing the opportunities to bid helps Tudor Estates Network Auctions achieve another excellent sale

Tudor Estates Network Auctions auction held in Central London on 1^st May achieved a sales success rate of 74% and saw bidders from across the UK and Europe getting involved.

Prior to the auction, a record number (418) of legal packs had been downloaded from the Network Auctions website. 

The May auction was the first time that Tudor Estates Network Auctions had provided an online bidding facility and, whilst none of the online bidders were successful, it kept auctioneer Guy Charrison busy as he juggled online bids with bids in the room and telephone and proxy bidders.

There were some notable sales at the auction including: 

Lot 1:  A flat requiring modernisation in Milton Keynes which carried a reserve of £62,500 was sold in the room at £79,000. 

Lot 25: A fire damaged house in Powys requiring a total re-build. This property had a reserve of £10,000 but with three telephone bidders as well as bids in the room, eventually sold at £26,000, a significant 160% uplift on the reserve figure. 

Lot 26: A commercial property in Leicester which was reserved at £160,000. In total there were three bidders in the room and one telephone bidder from Germany. The gavel eventually came down at £252,000. An excellent price especially considering that the property had previously been available at £225,000 on the open market.

Guy Charrison said after the auction: “With lots for sale from all corners of England, Scotland and Wales it is important that we create the opportunity for potential buyers to bid by whatever method they choose. By adding online bidding we have improved the opportunities for our seller clients to sell and our buyer customers to buy. An undoubted success” 

Network Auctions operate across the UK with a network of partner agents and therefore provide local expertise with national exposure. 

Tudor Estates Network Auctions next auction is scheduled for 3^rd July and will, once again be held at the Glaziers Hall near London Bridge. 

David Kirkman of Tudor Estates Network Auctions can be contacted on 01702 346818 or by email at davidkirkman@tudorestates.co.uk or via their website at www.trustintudor.co.uk/auctions

I’m what you might call a first-time seller. Can you give me some general tips on how to go about it?

Choosing the right agent is the best place to start. Don’t simply go for the one who values your home highest (they’re just trying to buy your business), or the one who quotes the lowest fees (in estate agency, as in most things, cheap rarely equals good). Basically, you want an agent who really knows the local market and will give you reliable, professional advice and quality personal service at all times. Personal recommendation is always preferable, but failing that, your best bet is to go for a well-established, owner-operated local agent – one whose whole business depends on delivering quality service, rather than hitting arbitrary targets set by “head office.” If you really want to keep stress levels to the minimum, then it also helps to choose an agent who can offer a complete “one-stop” service, including things like conveyancing. Your asking price is obviously hugely important in determining how quickly and smoothly your sale proceeds. But it’s not easy to get it right. You naturally want the highest possible price, yet at the same time you don’t want to scare away the buyers, which you certainly will do if you ask too much – particularly in the current market. In reality, there’s a lot more involved in pricing than simply looking in other agents’ windows and adding a few grand on top just in case there’s a real sucker on the loose. So, my best advice here is, listen to your agent. Next, you yourself can make a big difference by ensuring that your home is presented in the best, most saleable condition. A neat garden; fresh paintwork inside and out; clean and tidy rooms; sparkling windows and pleasant smells can all work wonders. Finally, I would strongly recommend that you take the time to gather together any planning consents and/or building regulation approvals for work you’ve had done on the property, together with all relevant guarantee certificates (for things like gas and electrical installations, woodworm, damp-proofing, double glazing and so on). Much less stressful to do it in advance than in a last-minute panic!

I’m thinking of buying some land with a view to building on it. Do you have any general advice?

The best piece of advice I can give you is simply this: think very carefully about what you’re considering taking on! Of course, for many people, building their own property is the ultimate dream, and can be uniquely satisfying. It can even be relatively cost-effective. Nevertheless, the potential headaches and pitfalls are almost too numerous to mention. We’ve all seen those TV programmes! Obviously, you can employ an architect and project manager to handle the whole thing on your behalf, but this can be pretty expensive. Alternatively, you may like to make enquiries locally to see if there are any other people who might be interested in forming a self-build group. At least this will mean you're not tackling things all on your own – which is the only other choice. In fact, this is not necessarily a problem, but dealing with planning and building control departments, builders, suppliers, public utilities and all the rest can all too easily turn into a real-life nightmare. But be that as it may…if you really are one of those relatively rare people who thrive on this sort of challenge, then obviously your first step is to track down a suitable piece of land. That in itself is no easy task. After all, we live in a fairly small, crowded island. Obviously, if you’re not particularly fussed where you live, then this will be less of a problem. But that’s not true for most of us. Some estate agents – although by no means all – do deal in land. Alternatively, there are a number of websites these days that specialise in this area. Nevertheless, you need to bear in mind that buying land without planning permission can be a huge gamble – while conversely, land which already has planning permission is obviously going to be a lot more expensive. Believe me, I’m not trying to put you off. After all, it’s only a year or so ago that the Housing Minister himself was singing the praises of self-build, and launching a new initiative to encourage it. But then again, precious little has been heard of that initiative since – and of course, we now have a different Housing Minister…

How much difference will last week’s Budget make to the housing market?

In practice it’s much too soon to tell. Nevertheless, opinion does seem to be pretty sharply divided. Much was made of the new Help to Buy scheme. This comprises two elements. The first is a new shared equity scheme, starting next month, and designed to help people buy new-build homes up to a price ceiling of £600,000. Essentially a revamp of previous schemes, it means that someone with a 5% deposit will be eligible for a Government loan of a further 20% - effectively making it possible to buy a new home with a 75% mortgage. This has of course been welcomed by the house-building fraternity. However, previous schemes have proved fairly ineffectual. The second and more significant element is a new £130-bllion mortgage indemnity scheme, whereby the Government will effectively stand as guarantor for people taking out up to 95% mortgages to buy any property, old or new – again up to a price ceiling of £600,000. The aim is to stimulate the housing market as a whole – particularly, for example, helping those so-called “second-steppers” who want to move up to the next rung on the property ladder, perhaps in order to accommodate a growing family, but who are currently constrained from doing so by lack of savings or even negative equity. A good idea? In theory, yes. However, serious questions are already being raised. For one thing, the scheme isn’t due to start till next January – so what’s going to happen in the meantime? Why would anyone struggle to buy now, if in a year’s time they can do so with a nice comfy taxpayer-backed mortgage? On the other hand, why would lenders run the risk of offering any high loan-to-value mortgages between now and next year, when the guarantee scheme kicks in? Some in the industry therefore see this as potentially sending the market into hibernation for the next 9 months. But in any case, should the Government be involving itself (and all of us) in artificially supporting the market in such a way? I’m not so sure. Could the Chancellor have done anything different? Certainly – he could have announced a root-and-branch reform of the Stamp Duty regime. Now that really would have helped stimulate the market. But of course, it would also have hit the Government right where it hurts most, in the wallet!

I called in to see my agent this week and found a member of staff removing the Office of Fair Trading logo from the shop window. What’s going on?

What has happened is this. In common with similar bodies in other industries, The Property Ombudsman scheme - which provides both sellers and buyers with access to a free, fair, and independent complaints arbitration service - operates a Code of Conduct which up to now has been officially approved by the OFT. This gave agents like yours, who have signed up to the code, the right to use the 'OFT Approved' logo. Now, however, for reasons best known to the powers that be, it has been decided that the OFT will cease its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme from 31st March. As a result, the right to display the logo is being withdrawn from that date. Your agent is simply being particularly conscientious in removing it well in advance. From April 1st (yes, I know what you’re thinking!) responsibility for approving such codes of conduct will pass to the Trading Standards Institute. Again, don’t ask me why. But in any case, the TSI hasn’t yet got around to deciding how the new system is actually going to work – let alone devising an appropriate logo for it! In view of this, you might expect the TSI to give agents who are signed up to The Property Ombudsman’s code of conduct a reasonable period of grace before the old OFT-approved logo must be removed. Not a bit of it! Instead, the TSI is insisting that all trace of the old logo – not to mention any reference to the OFT on stationery or other printed documentation – must be completely eradicated by the April 1st deadline. The result: agents up and down the country will be forced to remove the OFT logo without being able to replace it with anything else – thereby not only incurring the expense of having to reprint all their documentation at least once this year, but also causing entirely avoidable concern to customers like yourself! Of course, from the public’s perspective, the only thing that really matters is whether all this means any diminution in the degree of protection that The Property Ombudsman offers? And fortunately, the answer here is a resounding No!