The North west London property ‘kicked off’ 2007 with a consistent demand for buying properties in St Johns Wood, Maida Vale and surrounding areas. Demands for lettings were also very high during 2007.

Sale prices peaked in the summer due to a high demand from buyers. The market changed dramatically for a period of about 5 months (February-June): in most cases, there was more than one potential buyer for each property and prices were soaring. Buyers were outbidding each other. Estate agents introduced a sealed bid system to identify the highest offers. The news for potential buyers came as a shock with a 15.6 per cent rise over the past 12 months, pushing the average price of a property in NW London up to £350,000

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Popularity: 57% [?]

Mandatory Deposit scheme

In April 2007 the government made it mandatory for all landlords and agents to keep a deposit taken in from a tenant in one of the tenancy deposit schemes. There are two schemes which landlords and agents have to be a member of; these are the Custodial Scheme or the Insurance Based Scheme. To briefly break these down the custodial scheme is run by a third party and the bond is given other after collection from the tenant. Any disputes that are brought up by either party are then run through the alternative dispute resolution or ADR. The Insurance Based Scheme is where the landlord or agent will pay a fee to the third party but still hold the deposit themselves; again any dispute can be run through the ADR. The process should be seamless to the tenant and no charges are brought to them, and they should be able to get their deposit back within ten days.

Fears of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme allayed

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Popularity: 55% [?]

Whoever is responsible for selling the property is liable to constructing the home information pack before the property is put on the market. In most cases this will be the instructed Estate Agent or Agents, however if you are selling your property privately then you will still need to construct a pack. If a potential buyer requests a copy of the pack then you must provide this complete with a copy of all the compulsory elements within fourteen days. The packs are always free for the buyer and cannot be sold at any point. As stated earlier in the article if you have instructed an estate agent they will construct and provide the packs for you and should provide it on request to any potential buyer, however there are other ways to construct a pack if you are a private seller and not using an estate agent.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

I know HIP’s are old hat by now but there still seems to be some confusion over them so here is a comprehensive guide to HIP’s for buyers.

It is now by law that every property marketed in England and Wales require a HIP or Home Information Pack. The main essence is to provide all the essential information that a home buyer would need at the very beginning of the buying process. The packs are free for the buyer and the information should be requested for any property that you may be interested in. Legally any seller must provide a home information pack within fourteen days of the request.

So what exactly is included in the home information packs and why is it necessary? Many people believe that they are a waste of time and do not provide any valuable information for the consumer, plus a recent survey suggested that three quarters of buyers do not ask to see the pack and the majority do not even know what information can be found in them. The information that can be found in the hips is compulsory (required) or option (authorised), taking a look at the required information this includes the following.

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Popularity: 24% [?]

Immigrants Filling Vacant Properties

The expectations of tenants has been steadily rising over the years, no longer will people be happy with a poorly decorated second rate flat or house. With the increase in rent prices over the years this has led to the increase in expectations and has forced many landlords to modernize and update their properties as many more people opt for renting over buying from different walks of life. It is now not uncommon for many young professionals to be renting their luxury flat or house rather then get a mortgage, this offers them the flexibility that may be required in a dynamic and changing social and job related world that they live in.

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Popularity: 9% [?]

Property Advertising

Over the last few years the internet has been playing a huge role in how the property market and real estate professionals operate in terms of marketing their property. With over 70% of all first time enquiries for buying and renting property now coming through the internet it can be seen as to why the modern day agent needs to ensure their online marketing and property portfolios are kept not only up to date but as visible as possible. The shear range of sites and the amount of property available is staggering and there are pages and pages of sites that can be found on all the major search engines.

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Popularity: 10% [?]