December will soon be here which means that in homes across the country, cardboard doors will be opened every morning in the traditional countdown to Christmas. 

At M&M we like to 'mix it up' and will once again be 'reversing' the traditional advent calendar with a calendar that gives back. The idea is instead of opening the door to a chocolate every day, we will be doing the giving in support of our local homeless charity - The House of Mercy. 

Throughout this year we have carried out various events in support of The House of Mercy, however I'm aware that some of you may not know them or what they are about, so for those of you that dont know The House of Mercy was established in 1991 to provide hostel accommodation and support to single homeless people. There are currently 3 hostels in Gravesham that provide accommodation for up to 22 people, with another one on its way. Residents can stay for up to 6 months, during which time they are assisted by trained staff with housing and job applications with a view to returning to 'normal life'.

Every day among our staff we aim to bring in one of the following items that will be given to The House of Mercy in time for Christmas; Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Shaving Gel, Shower Gel, Soap, Shampoo, Disposable razors, Deodorant Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Socks, Single Duvets, Single Duvet Covers, Pillows and Pillow Cases, Chocolate/Sweets. 

Should any one wish to help us support this worth while cause please drop your donations into the office. 

Remember any donation would be greatly appreciated, and no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted!

Should you wish to find out more about The House of Mercy you can visit their website by clicking here. 

With the weather getting colder it's important that we all protect our properties.

The below is an extract of an email that we send to all of our Tenants of our managed properties to ensure that they are looking after our Landlords investments as best they can and prevent any costly repairs, however this advice is not just helpful to tenants but anyone living in a property....

''Over the holiday period, many tenants will wish to go away and visit relatives and friends.  We would ask you to observe some simple precautions if you intend to be away from the property for longer than 24 hours during the winter period (from the beginning of December to the end of April).  For most properties it will be necessary to:

- Keep the central heating on a low or normal setting to maintain a temperature of between 55/60 degrees F and leave the trap door to the roof space open; OR

- Turn off the water supply, and shut down and drain any central heating boiler and associated pipework.  To do this, you will need to turn off the water supply at the main stopcock and open all taps, hot and cold, to drain water from the roof storage tank and pipes.  Circulating water central heating systems will also need to be drained (and refilled on return before re-starting).

Whilst this is general advice, the characteristics of each individual property may be slightly different. If you are unsure how to take appropriate measures to protect the property whilst you are away, or if you plan to be away for a week or more, please do not hesitate to contact us.''

I hope this information is helpful, but also serves to illustrate just how serious and conscientious we are in protecting our Landlords investments and ensuring our tenants have a stress free holiday period!

Should you have any queries or would like to find out more information about how we can take the stress out of rental for you please do not hesitate to contact the team. We are here to help and look forward to hearing from you! 

Buying and selling a property through auction has never been easier thanks to the Modern Method of Auction (MMA). At M&M we are pleased to be able to offer this approach to our buyers and sellers as an alternative to the ‘traditional’ method of sales.

It’s exciting to be able to offer the MMA route as it not only offers the security of sale for both parties involved it also imposes a timescale for an unconditional exchange and completion within 56 days!

Whilst traditionally the Auction market was limited to cash ready investors, MMA has evolved to be inclusive to a wider variety of buyers and sellers. Similar to ‘ebay’ a purchaser will need to create an auction account and then will be able to ‘bid’ on properties in the comfort of their own home.  Once a buyer is confirmed they will pay a reservation fee and sign an agreement, from this point there will be 56 days for completion allowing buyers ample time to arrange a mortgage if required.

We love the security and transparency of this approach too. Being completely in the public domain there is no fear of gazumping and the renegotiation of an agreed purchase price is completely removed.

You can read our step by step guides to buying and selling through MMA by clicking on the links below. Alternatively, our team would love to talk you through the process to determine if this is the right route for you …you have nothing to loose!

Selling your property through Auction

Buying your Property through Auction

I read a very interesting Article today in Property Industry Eye which confirmed that High street agents achieve more viewings, more offers, and in almost three-quarters of cases a 5% better price than online-only firms.

The research, from The Advisory – an independent consumer advice group for house sellers – says that internet-only agents are very reliant on the portals.

It says that while Rightmove generates 52% of viewings, it generates only 36% of offers and 27% of the best buyers, whilst High street agents generate 48% more viewings, 64% more offers, and in 73% of cases a 5% higher sale price.

On a £250,000 sale, that translates to a loss of £12,500, claims The Advisory, if an online-only firm has been used.

It  adds that agents could be selling themselves short – and could be charging up to 4% commission plus VAT and still achieve a better result than an internet-only listing service charging £849.

A total of 202 sales were studied, and The Advisory says it makes no claim that its findings are definitive – just relevant.

It has not clarified the number of sales that went through online or high street agents, but  yesterday evening stressed that the research was largely into ‘passive intermediary’ versus ‘proactive local estate agent’.

An earlier section of it queries the wisdom of sellers using online agents on the basis that professional house sellers do not.

It says that professional sellers include builders offering part exchange, corporate asset managers, and banks disposing of repossessed properties. The research says: “Interestingly, we don’t know of any that use cheap online estate agents.

“Instead, they choose to put their sales in the hands of local, no sale no fee, high street estate agents.”

The Advisory is run by Gavin Brazg, who says that he is also a professional seller, managing a team which buys and sells houses on behalf of corporate relocation companies and developers offering part exchange. He says that sellers who do sell through an internet agent could be “stepping over the pounds to pick up the pennies”.

Article Source: Property Industry Eye 8/11/2018

To read the full research report from The Advisory click here; https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/estate-agents/online-vs-high-street/

This week there has been a number of compliance and regulation changes that Landlords need to be aware of. In this blog I'm talking about the Deregulation Act 2015. 

The Deregulation Act made changes to prevent 'retaliatory' evictions and all new tenancies starting on and after 1st October 2015 had to adhere to new guidelines as to when and how a section 21 notice could be served. 

Back in October 2015 the introduction of the Deregulation Act meant that at the commencement of every tenancy a Landlord or their agent had to be able to demonstrate that the following had been given to their tenant;

- Valid EPC (You can view the EPC register by clicking here.

- Gas Safety Certificate

- The most up to date version of the Governments 'How to Rent' Guide. 

- Prescribed information in relation to the deposit

From 1st October 2018 the above now applies to ALL tenancies. 

What does this mean to you?

If you have a tenant who is currently on a periodic tenancy that commenced prior to 1st October 2015 the Deregulation Act applies so should you wish to serve a Section 21 notice (commonly known as a 'no fault' notice) then you must be able to prove that you have served all relevant, up to date, documents on the tenant. 

The Deregulation Act also changed the service of the Section 21 notice. When issuing a Section 21, landlords will be required to use Form 6a. The new form has combined the two previous types of notices (s.21 (1)(b) and s.21 (4)(a)) into a single notice for both periodic and fixed-term tenancies. The two old forms should not be used from 1 October 2018.

Tenants must be given at least two months’ notice by their landlord or someone acting on behalf of them, before they are expected to vacate the property. The amount of notice required to give to the tenants differs where a tenancy is periodic. For those who pay their rent quarterly, at least three months’ notice will be required, or where the periodic tenancy is half yearly or annual, at least six months’ notice has to be given (which is the upper limit of notice that can be provided). The notice remains valid for six months where two months’ notice is required, and valid for four months where more than two months’ notice is required. Where validity of the notice ends, a new one will need to be served providing that court action was not started.

Obviously for our managed properties we are compliant with the above.  For those Landlords that manage their own properties please do not hesitate to contact our office to discuss our management services and ensure compliance. It’s a complicated business and you really can't afford to get this wrong. 

Right, now back to the audit!!!

Sarah