As property search agents we regularly instruct surveyors on behalf of our clients to carry out full building surveys and valuations – whatever the value of the property in question,  and we were therefore very interested in a story in The Telegraph this week about the increase in litigation from homebuyers against surveyors.

According to some solicitors there has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of people attempting to sue their surveyors. Falling house prices have led home-owners to launch proceedings against surveyors for over valuing their properties in the first place.

For most buyers, a valuation for mortgage purposes is for the bank – not the buyer.  This means that there is no recourse for the buyer if the valuation is incorrect, even though it is the buyer who has to pay for something that is essentially worthless!

Although we are property search agents, our job does not end once we have found the client their perfect property – and we always recommend that our clients pay that little bit extra for a full structural survey and valuation, whether they are buying a pied a terre in the city or a mansion in the countryside. Without a good survey you don’t know what you’re investing your money in, and although obvious warning signs such as subsidence cracks and damp can be readily spotted, more serious structural issues are often not as obvious.

If your dream home should be hiding any problems then you can decide whether to walk away, or re-negotiate the deal to compensate for any work that is recommended by your surveyor. At Manse & Garret Property Search we do everything within our reach to ensure that our client is buying at the right price.

Technorati Tags: House prices in London, London Buyer's Agent, surveyors

Tags: House prices in London, London Buyer's Agent, surveyors

Finding a property with outside space in central London can sometimes seem quite a feat (especially if property finding isn’t your raison d’etre, as it is for us London buyer’s agents here at Manse & Garret Property Search!)

With summer approaching the number of buyers eager for outside space increases; competition is fierce and flats with good roof terraces are very quick to go under offer, often sold to keen buyers enticed by the idea of entertaining friends and family on a warm summer evening surrounded by the bright lights of London.

Speaking as a London Buyer’s Agent, I am particularly referring to roof terraces, rather than the humble patio garden, as they are quite the in thing in property and quite understandably so. Patio gardens, often on the lower ground floor, overlooked by neighbours and more often than not lacking in natural light find it hard to live up to The Roof Terrace which is much more likely to provide breath-taking views of London, great entertaining space, and an excellent opportunity to sunbathe, if that’s your thing.

Flats with patio gardens are usually on the lower ground and ground floors; less popular with buyers, especially the security conscious, and so tend to be 10-20% cheaper than a flat on the same road, but higher up. A flat on an upper floor with a good roof terrace, however, is likely to be worth about 10-20% more than a flat on the same road without outside space and will sell much more quickly, and if you are a property investor, it is worth noting that a property with a roof terrace is much more likely to be rented out more quickly and produce a better yield.

If you’d like to find a property with a roof terrace to rival Vista at the Trafalgar and Kensington Roof Gardens then give the best London Buyer’s Agents, Manse & Garret Property Search a call today.

Technorati Tags: London Buyer's Agents, London Flats, London property, London property finders, London search agents, outside space, summer

Tags: London Buyer's Agents, London Flats, London property, London property finders, London search agents, outside space, summer

Musings of the Mayfair London Property Finders

A tenant has successully complained about  her Lettings Agents for failing to ensure the Landlord of her flat was registered under an appropriate Tenancy deposit scheme, before handing over her deposit.  This meant that the Tenant has had to pursue the Landlord, so far unsuccessfully, to return her deposit

The agents, Global Realty who have 2 offices in London have been ordered to pay the Tenant’s deposit plus £200 for aggravation by the Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer.

Whilst the Ombudsman agreed with the agents that the Landlords actions were not the fault of the agents,  in failing to properly protect the deposit, the agents had disadvantaged the Tenants and led to a situation which could have been avoidable.

In our capacity as residential property finders dealing with both sales and lettings, our contracts include a requirement for Lettings Agents to lodge the deposit with an appropriate scheme and prove they have done so, regardless of the rental value.  At present only rents under £25,000 per year are covered however we insist that Agents acting for our Clients lodge all deposits with such schemes.

After all, no-matter if you’ve paid £6,000 in deposit or £60,000 – all Tenants want their deposits back don’t they?!  

For more information contact the best London Property Finders here

or look online here.

Technorati Tags: London property finders, Mayfair Lettings Agents, Mayfair Property Finders, Property Ombudsman, Tenacy Deposit Scheme

Tags: London property finders, Mayfair Lettings Agents, Mayfair Property Finders, Property Ombudsman, Tenacy Deposit Scheme