COVID19 Update for our Clients

We do hope you are safe and well in these unprecedented times.  We wanted to provide you with an update on how we are currently operating and the guidance specifically available for the property industry.   On the 20th April 2020 the Law Society has collated the current information on Home Moving and Conveyancing to cover essential moves and those contractually binding.  You can find this information here.

Some of our team have been furloughed but rest assured our office is continuing to function as normal with staff now working remotely as per Government guidance for the safety of our team & community.

There should be no interruption to services, but please bear with us if any delays in response occur. Please contact us on the usual number 01923 773 616 and on the emails salesandlettings@trendandthomas.co.uk or neil.guilfoyle@trendandthomas.co.uk. We will be happy to answer any property questions you may have.  We are working hard to stay up to date during the rapidly changing scenario.

During this time our on-line presence is vitally important and we remain on all the mainportals, Rightmove, Zoopla and Primelocation as well as our own website and all the main Social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, IGTV, Twitter and Vimeo.

Where possible, we have carried out filming or received footage from clients, to create short video tours so we can continue to virtually market properties under the current conditions.  Please contact us should you wish to know more about our Virtual viewings and please visit our IGTV or Vimeo page for these.

With regard to viewings, we are happy to organise a real-time Facetime or Zoom walk around where possible, for example where the property is either empty or the client is comfortable to carry out the walk around with the viewer and ourselves linked in.

 

Sales Progression – Communication is key and we will work hard to progress your sale from exchange to the handover of keys, liaising with mortgage advisers, conveyancers and solicitors with all the tenacity and attention to detail that you expect from Trend & Thomas.  We will also keep you informed at every stage. It has never been more important to have a good agent working on your behalf to keep your sale on track and with our local expertise we will do just that.  We have had several successful completions  in recent weeks and expect to continue to do so despite these challenging times.

You may well have seen that we are also providing a strong presence on Social Media in a more community focused direction.  In these uncertain times we feel it is important to support our town and locals as best we can.  

We have been doing our best to communicate with you regularly and we will continue to do so.  On a personal note if anyone needs a pint of milk, some eggs, or a prescription picked up then please contact us.  We have helped out a few clients over the past few weeks and as we live in the Town centre it is much easier for us to do.

Stay safe and well and keep in touch.

Neil Guilfoyle – Director

COVID 19 Update for our Landlords & Tenants

Dear Landlords &Tenants, 

We do hope you are safe and well in these unprecedented times.  We wanted to provide you with an update on how we are currently operating and the guidance specifically available for Landlords & Tenants. 

Some of our team have been furloughed but rest assured our Rental department is continuing to function as normal with staff now working remotely as per Government guidance for the safety of our team & community.

There should be no interruption to services, but please bear with us if any delays in response are experienced. 

The past week, being the end and beginning of the new month, are our busiest for receiving tenants’ rents and we have been encouraged to see these coming in as contracted.  However, this may change on a day, week and month by month basis ~ please be assured we will work through any issues on a case by case basis and keep you updated at every step. 

For your reference, the Coronavirus Act 2020 came into force on the 26th March 2020 and this emergency legislation prevents new eviction proceedings from being commenced for a three-month period; from the 27th of March the court service has suspended all ongoing housing possession action for 90 days.  Further information with regard the Government support available for tenants and landlords can be found via this link.

The Government has also published guidance for landlords and tenants who may be affected by current events to explain the measures relating to the Coronavirus Act 2020. This can be found via this link.

In line with public health guidance which advises that people stay in their current home unless absolutely necessary, the Government has also recently published advice on home moves during the COVID-19 outbreak. Home moves are still possible but if not essential, home buyers and renters should delay moving to a new home while measures are in place to fight coronavirus. More information on this advice is available here.

We are doing our best to keep you informed as advice changes and we are attempting to keep our community supported with our social media as we know how isolating this can all be. Please keep up to date with us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter and please do download our Ricky Town colouring book if it will help you relax during this lockdown.

Ricky Town Colouring Book Download

Please do contact us by phone 01923 773 616 or email to salesandlettings@trendandthomas.co.uk if you have any queries, we will do our best to answer your concerns.  We understand this is a worrying time for everyone and we intend to provide our services in a respectful way to the benefit of all involved.

 

We will follow this update with further more specific information in the next few days.

Stay well

Neil Guilfoyle – Director

TREND & THOMAS ESTATE AGENTS

Declutter for January

How many of you have thrown out NY resolutions in favour of throwing out your clutter? 5 Top tips to help you along.

With us in and out of houses many times a day, a decluttered space really is a big game changer when it comes to letting or selling your property.

Clearing out some clutter to allow a potential buyer or tenant to insert their own thoughts on how they would feel living in your home really can make a difference to the success of the viewing.

Decluttering doesn’t have to be religious and zealous like some people might profess but it’s a whole lot easier than giving up meat or alcohol for January and just might make you feel refreshed for the new year….and sell or let your home quicker.

Top 5 Marie Kondo tips summarised below….give it a go…we are!

1. TIDY ALL AT ONCE

Set aside at least two days to completely overhaul your home. If you tidy little by little you will be tempted to shift the remaining clutter into those clean areas and chaos will quickly resume. By tidying everything at once, you will be forced to break any messy habits to uphold the cleanliness of your entire home.

2. TIDY BY CATEGORY, NOT BY LOCATION

Sort through all your books at once, even if you have a bookcase in every room, the same applies for clothes and paperwork and so forth. This forces you to consider possessions as part of a collection, and helps determine what is worth keeping and what you should throw out.

3. PUT EFFORT INTO FOLDING CLOTHES

It might seem like a tiresome chore, but putting more effort into folding clothes can reap long-term rewards. Watch the video tutorial below and learn Marie Kondo’s technique; basically any item of clothing (including underwear) should end up as a compact rectangle. You then stack these little soldiers in neat rows, enabling you to identify individual items of clothing at a glance and pull them out without disrupting everything else.

4. CREATE A STATE OF CHAOS

Do not be afraid to make a big mess before you tidy up again; consider it part of the ‘healing’ process. Pull out absolutely everything and dump it on the floor creating a state of chaos. Sort through each and every item, placing them in either a keep or toss pile. Make sure you actually discard the toss pile before you start rearranging the keep pile – you do not want to be tempted to hold onto anything you originally decided to trash.

5. DISCARD SENTIMENTAL OBJECTS

We have all be gifted something that we hate, but feel obliged to keep it due to sentimental value. It is time to readjust that type of thinking. These items have already served their purpose as a symbol of a fulfilling relationship. Keep hold of that warm gooey feeling but sensitively offload the unwanted gift.

_____________________________

There’s even a new Netflix show by the Queen of decluttering, Marie Kondo, to help you along…Netflix – Marie Kondo show details

The Guardian also discusses Marie Kondo but amusingly muses, it might spark a domestic row 😉

Guardian article on Kondo & domestic bliss 😉

 

Our Viewing Day Checklist for Sellers & Landlords

Trend & Thomas Viewing Day tips!

Prior to marketing your property we will have chatted to you about the unique elements of your home.  These can become useful selling tips, how friendly (or distant!) the neighbours are, proximity to good schools, red kites in the garden!  Make sure you pass these on to us and we will build our marketing with these in mind.

In order to ensure we work with you to maximise the success of your viewings we have also prepared for you a thorough checklist of things you can do prior to a viewing. Speak to us about anything you would like explained further and always ask us if there is something we can do to make the process easier, we accompany all viewings unless otherwise arranged.  Viewings are our forte!

Our Viewing Day checklist for Sellers & Landlords:

• A quick tidy up including a vacuum and sweep is a good start
• Tidy your entrance and water any pots you have to make things looked cared for
• Remove any post or flyers
• Consider opening a window to air your home out, let us know and we will ensure we have shut these afterwards
• Make the beds.  You’d be surprised how many people forget this!
• Have the dog taken out for a walk or left with a friend. Let us know about any cats – if they can be outside for the viewing even better but at least if we are aware of where they might be we can ensure we move quickly past them.
• Clear all dishes and clutter from the kitchen and put out fresh clean tea towels
• A clean oven is always a good idea prior to viewings as people often open the oven
• Empty all your bins and bring in any street bins and recycling
• Ensure wet towels are in the wash and put out fresh folded towels in the bathroom
• In the winter months ensure the heating is on well before the viewing and definitely light the fire if you have one. In the hotter months ensure we are able to open windows should your home need fresh air.
• Box up any clutter that has accumulated and pop it in your car if nowhere else!
• Leave any necessary keys out for us in a pre-arranged spot – window, back door, garage and loft keys etc
• Turn all your house lights on and remember any under bench kitchen lighting, porch lights & garden lighting – we will do this on arrival even during the day but great if you have beaten us to it.
• Consider Home Staging if you really want a huge impact – chat this through with us in more detail
• If you have a parking space consider moving your car so viewers can park in your space – this will make their experience more enjoyable and put them in a good mood to view your property
• A fresh vase of flowers does wonders as does lighting a scented candle, it might sound a bit cliché but fresh coffee really does smell great and can often mask any recent food smells.

Trend & Thomas asks, Is OnTheMarket.com InTheMarket?

You may have heard the rumble of activity amidst the online property portals open to Estate Agents recently and we wanted to give you our summary of the situation and how it will affect our clients and marketing plans.

Last Monday saw the arrival of a new online portal called OntheMarket.com

This portal does a very similar job to the existing market leaders Rightmove and Zoopla with one very large difference – this portal is owned and operated by a consortium of Estate Agents. Emerging quite simply because Agents were tired of the duopoly of the big players causing mounting fees and very little in return. The fees were increasing, functionality was not improving and Agents felt duped that they were losing control of their marketing choices.

For this reason the concept behind OntheMarket.com was excellent. An advertising and marketing choice created by Agents, for Agents with hugely reduced fees in comparison to the existing portals & potentially providing much needed competition to the market with the hope it would reduce the stronghold of Rightmove and Zoopla.

All admirable goals and we support the concept wholeheartedly. Trend & Thomas not being shy of a little competition to the market…with 6 Estate Agents in the High Street it’s not a game for the faint-hearted! However, in order to shake things up, OnTheMarket.com had one very serious condition – in order to join, benefit from hugely reduced fees and gain shares in the burgeoning company – you had to drop one of the other main portals – Rightmove or Zoopla.

The arrival of OnTheMarket.com has been a long term process and we have been watching the development of the portal over the past 12 months along with the reactions of Rightmove and Zoopla, other Agents, the press and most importantly, the public.

OnTheMarket.com launched last Monday and we have watched the week with interest.

Our findings after week one:

• Not enough budget to provide TV Advertising to match the competition
• Not enough budget to ensure market leading functionality
• Not enough diversity of properties listed to make it the go to portal for buyers, tenants.

So after a year of research and debate Trend & Thomas would like to announce our 2015 advertising and marketing decision – we will be staying with Rightmove & Zoopla.

Despite the great shake up OnTheMarket.com can give the industry and the attractive reduction in fees, we have come to the decision that the best interests of our clients are foremost and the giants of Rightmove and Zoopla have much bigger budgets, better current functionality, more exposure to the public and more back end support to fix issues and develop future technology.

While we herald the success of OnTheMarket.com we don’t feel it will currently give our clients & their properties the best advertising and marketing exposure. For the time being it will actually reduce the number of people being exposed to their property. From our research in this first week of OnTheMarket.com there is over 80% more online activity via Rightmove alone in our local area, than there is via OnTheMarket.com

We will continue to monitor developments and report any updates and news to you, but for now we are staying with the market leaders for the sole benefit of our clients.

OnTheMarket is not currently InOurMarket – but you can help us with our research by answering our poll: