Viewing Essential - Nova News Editorial September 2015

How many times do we read this in Estate Agents literature, on the internet and in their adverts. The description of the property and the photographs go a long way to encouraging the general public to view individual properties.

I was always being encouraged to “wax lyrical” in my property descriptions although I can’t say that I was particularly good at it. Certain Agents have got it off to a fine art and their eloquent descriptions make all the properties feel like they must be seen.

Similar remarks apply to the photographs. These tell you a great deal about each property, some agents carry more photos than others. In a brief search of Rightmove recently I looked at over 400 properties in all price ranges and the average number of photos was just under 12 per property with 5% carrying 4 photos or less and property over £500,000 displaying an average of around 20 pictures. The most photos for one property was 51, may be a little overkill there.

The point I make is that every picture tells a story, but does it? Quite often you hear prospective buyers say that they didn’t go and look at a property because they didn’t like the photo in the paper or on the internet. My wife and I were looking at a property on the internet the other day and there looked like the roof of another property behind it, off putting to some no doubt, on closer inspection, and by enlarging the picture we found it was a shed in the garden. A small point but as a buyer we should use these pictures and descriptions as a guide, we must satisfy ourselves by visiting the property personally or getting someone to view it for us. What we don’t get, unless we visit the property is a feel for the place. Houses can have a warm or a cold feel, evident as soon as you walk through the door. You will often hear an agent say that a house has “got it” that certain something that is not easy to describe.

It may be that you have insufficient time to look at every property or you live some distance away. One of the services I offer is to assist buyers by looking at houses for them prior to purchasing, or their own viewing For a modest fee I can report back on matters such as the surroundings, nearby busy roads, the aspect which was not evident in a photo and a multitude of other matters that a buyer may want me to look for.

I can’t call myself Phil Spencer but you will get sensible advice at a more modest charge than his rates!

Andrew Mason Independent Valuer 07507 928008
Email andrew.mason1551@gmail.com