Confused by conveyancing....

Starting with... what it actually is. A new survey by Reallymoving.com really suggests Brits are really ignorant about the realities of the property exchange.

Thirty-seven per cent didn't know what "conveyancing" meant; 54% thought conveyancers organised the survey; 16% thought the conveyancer negotiated the price of the property on their behalf.

Amazingly, that 37% who had no idea what conveyancing was only dropped to 23% when the poll was narrowed to include homeowners who've been through the process themselves. Reallymoving have published a guide in response... here.

Happy Reading,
J.

Rightmove In Top 10....

From 'Estate Agent Today' they report that Rightmove climbed into the top ten web domains in June alongside the BBC website, Google and Facebook.

The latest statistics were produced by web monitoring agencies including Comscore and counted UK page visits for the month.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “To be amongst the top ten web domains in the UK is a notable achievement for us.

“Rightmove is synonymous with home-hunting but this underlines our position as one of the most popular overall consumer brands on the web.”

Despite concerns that the World Cup could bring a slowdown in search activity, Rightmove measured an 11% increase in pages viewed on its website compared with June of last year.

Shipside added: “In spite of the World Cup distraction, it’s a sign of growing pent-up demand that people continue to search for properties.”

I would have thought that the World Cup proved no distraction for the people of Moray, perhaps only the England v Germany game, when I could hear cheering for each German goal echoing around the area !

Only another 4 years to wait, by which time Rightmove should have cemented its place in the top 5 and Wayne Rooney will be at his prime (perhaps...).

Seems incredible but still many local agents are not listed with them. When buying a house 'out of area' it's the first port of call for all potential purchasers.

Off to the Highland Games in Forres this weekend, please say hello if you see me there, I'm always keen to meet any of my blog readers.

Until next time,

Mr J

Bored about Boards....

Estate agency boards have returned to the streets of conservation areas in London’s Kensington and Chelsea after a 15-year ban expired.

The re-emergence of the For Sale and To Let signs in some of London’s finest streets have prompted fury among local residents.

Agents said the streets could be fairly targeted after the lapsing of the Regulation 7 restrictions first imposed in 1995, and said that once one firm put boards back up, the others had to follow or risk losing business.

It emerged that Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council wanted to renew the ban but there had been disagreement over how extensive it should be. Last year, it applied to extend the ban to 80% of its area, but the Secretary of State refused permission.

Other London boroughs, including Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden and Westminster, have also sought Regulation 7 controls.

Meanwhile the reappearance of boards in Kensington and Chelsea from the likes of Hamptons, Savills, Marsh & Parsons and Foxtons has prompted heritage groups to call for a blanket ban across the whole of central London.

Amanda Frame, chairman of the Kensington Society, said: “The more the boards go up, the more it shows they need to be controlled. The agents are cutting their own throats by putting them back up. It blights all areas, not just those with conservation status.”

Ian Dungavell, director of the Victorian Society, said the boards were “an anachronism” in the internet era.

The conservationists have an unlikely ally – in the form of an estate agent.

Ed Mead, of Douglas & Gordon, said: “My view is very strongly that boards should be banned – period.

“I think they are a blight and they are just used to advertise the agency. Why on earth, at a cost of £6 a board, should an agent be able to blight a street when everything is done on the web these days?

“A ban would get rid of much of the stigma attached to the estate agency industry.”

Personally I can't help but smile when I see David's new boards (above), they certainly brighten up any street - they match the shop wall paper in case you hadn't noticed.

Hope you're not 'board' reading this - Until the next time.

Mr J

Celebrity House Sitters...

From the ever popular 'Rat & Mouse' blog.....Thanks guys !

Ever wondered who would be the UK's preferred celebrity house-sitter? Me, neither. But thanks to a survey of moneysupermarket.com users, that data is available:

1. Jeremy Clarkson (28%)
2. Christine Bleakley (23.9%)
3. Sarah Beeny (23.8%)
4. Cheryl Cole (14.2%)
5. Lord Alan Sugar (6.3%)
6. Wayne Rooney (3.7%)

The results are surprising. Remember, these are people entrusted to look after a gaff while the occupants are away, so catching Bleakley in the shower isn't a possibility. And what possible value will the presence of Clarkson add? To anything? The lovely Sarah Beeny? I suppose you could always leave a note asking her to do a bit of remodelling if she's time.

Poles Apart.....

An extraordinary recent poll by Barratt shows:

71% rated home ownership an eight or above in importance (out of ten)
46% rated marriage as important
44% gave having children the same rating
27% considered an active social life an eight or more
Between the ages of 18 and 24, that 71% rises to 81%

How many wished to live in a Barratt house though ?

The poll doesn't say...

Surprisingly Yours,

MR J

Now leave your home.....!

It's a new show, planned for BBC 1, looking for six individuals with ambitious grand designs.

The show will fund the projects through to completion, and film the process. But - and here's the twist - only the "winner" (judged by an as-yet-unannounced property "guru") will get to keep their home.

It's like Britain's Got Talent, crossed with Grand Designs, crossed with Property Ladder, crossed with Fame Academy.

Oh dear....things are set to get ugly.

Mr J

ASBO's for Landlords..?

LANDLORDS of Edinburgh's "party flats" could be served with Asbos under new plans to crack down on trouble sparked by visiting stag and hen groups.

Edinburgh Central Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said the Scottish Government had agreed to consider changing the law to make it easier for councils to tackle the problem.

Residents plagued by drunken revellers causing a disturbance in the early hours have long been campaigning for action.

The existing law allows tenants in short-term and holiday lets to be served with anti-social behaviour orders, but because stag and hen groups are only in town for the weekend, it is not seen as a practical way to deal with the problem.

Ms Boyack said she had held a "very constructive" meeting with communities minister Alex Neil on the issue and was now optimistic about progress on the issue.

She said: "The minister has agreed to examine options which would mean amending the Anti-Social Behaviour Act to extend the capacity of serving notices not just to tenants but to landlords and owners of short-term and holiday lets.

"The suggestion is councils could have the power to require landlords to do certain things such as a limit on numbers, noise insulation and so on, and they would have to have enforcement powers and a backstop to enable them to serve a stop notice if there was persistent non-compliance with orders."

Mr Neil said: "I am sympathetic to any resident who has to put up with anti-social behaviour linked to a party flat.

"I am grateful for Ms Boyack's input on ideas to tackle this issue and this government will consider legislative change where this can make a difference."

The meeting between Ms Boyack and Mr Neil came after yet another incident a few weeks ago when police and an ambulance were called to a flat in Grove Street, near Haymarket.

Neighbour Stan Player, who has petitioned the Scottish Parliament for action to deal with party flats, said: "We got wakened at 4am with a lot of noise and shouting. I phoned the police about 5am, then it was just getting worse and worse so I phoned again at 6am.

"Then at 6.30am all hell let loose. It sounded like a fight, people bashing against doors and it seemed to be happening in the stair.

"An ambulance arrived, there was someone in the stairs screaming in real agony, then there were lots of police cars. We believe there was a woman seriously assaulted."

Mr Player welcomed the move to allow landlords to be served with Asbos as a step forward. "That would be a help," he said.

Good idea I think - Let me know what you think to it......

Until the next time,

MR J