Where to begin, 2020 has been a very strange year and for some it’s sadly been the worst year possible; people are facing huge disruptions and changes to their lives which none of us could have predicted. If we go back to 12 months ago, I don’t think any of us could have even imagined where we’d be now, in and out of lockdown and not knowing what the future holds…
For many businesses 2020 has been a hard year for them, facing months of not being able to trade and with the restrictions currently in place even when open most businesses are looking at largely reduced capacity meaning ultimately reduced income and trying times ahead. Estate Agents initially closed up shop just like everyone else when the lockdown was announced on 23rd March and the market essentially ground to a halt. Without being able to conduct any appointments including viewings, valuations and all other important stages of the house buying process we were all left motionless… however this was 100% the right thing to do in order to make a change and fight the virus.
During the lockdown we carried on working in the background from home and took the time as an opportunity to reflect on ourselves, iron out the creases and make sure that when we do return to our offices, we hit the ground running and are more streamlined than ever. Part of this included the introduction of Video Tours, something which we are very proud of as we designed, created and perfected them ourselves. The quality of our video tours is something which we have received many compliments for and they were instrumental in securing a large number of lets and even a handful of sales before the lockdown restrictions were lifted for Estate Agents in May.
Thanks to our preparations, the week we reopened we were inundated with potential buyers and vendors looking to sell their homes; and after just 5 days back in the fold we secured some 15 sales on properties ranging from £100,000 all the way to £500,000… it was fantastic! This initial flurry did not stop, and honestly has not stopped yet. Every week we are securing more sales than ever, the prices we are achieving for our clients are higher than ever and we’re seeing record breaking achievements across the board and in all areas of Plymouth.
In order to thank our wonderful NHS and other key workers who were out there face to face with the virus whilst we were safely in our homes, the managers and directors of Cross Keys decided to implement a discount on our sales and lettings fees of a 50% reduction for NHS and keys workers as a huge thank you from all of us; this deal was to last until the end of 2020 and is potentially going to be extended into 2021. This has been a huge part of our success this year and we are thrilled that so many people have benefitted from something which we are very proud to offer.
As 2020 draws to a close most of us are looking forward to Christmas and the new year with optimism and are also looking forward to leaving what has been a tough 12 months behind us. So on behalf of all of us here at Cross Keys, we’d like to thank our clients both old and new for your continued support; and we’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are looking forward to working with you all in 2021 and for many more years to come!
As many of you will know, the rainy season is already upon us and we have seen some heavy downpours in the last month or so. You may be one of those people that likes the autumn and winter more so than spring and summer but for the majority of home owners / renters / sellers this is the time of year that sees where the faults in your property are.
Have you had a slate from the roof come off? Is there a crack in your render that has now allowed an unsightly damp patch to appear? Has your chimney had any water ingress? Do your windows have cracks in the frames that might be letting water in?
If the answer to these questions is “NO” then count your blessings and move on to the next section where we will talk about energy efficiency. If the answer to any of these questions is yes then please take my advice and deal with them sooner rather than later. A small problem now that is left unresolved can result in catastrophic issues in time to come.
A small crack in your render can easily be chased out and filled rather that in a few month time needing the whole wall being hacked off and re-rendered. Replacing a slipped tile may only take a day or two to get fixed but water coming for a prolonged period could result in the timber starting to rot or ceiling collapsing or the electrics failing where the lighting is.
Water will always find a way, your job is to make it as hard as possible for the water to get in. If the water does get in and the temperature starts to fall, then consider the ramifications of moisture in the fabric of your house. If this moisture freezes, then untold amounts of damage can occur and usually this will lead to expensive and unwanted bills at a time of year where we normally have other important things to spend our hard earned cash on.
Maintenance is not a sexy subject that grips everyone and get them excited but there is an old saying “Prevention is better than a cure” and regular updates on your property is highly recommended to ensure that they are in the best possible condition in order to withstand one of our winters.
Moving on from maintenance, we need to consider the effects of not having enough insulation in our properties. Insulation is relatively cheap but highly effective at keeping our homes not only warm but also energy efficient. There are currently a lot of schemes around that are offering either free or hugely discounted fees for installation of the best quality insulation. Keeping your home warm isn’t just for your comfort but also helps ensure that your property is being looked after because at the end of the day, warm and dry will always be better that cold and damp.
I really hope that you have found this blog informative and helpful, it may seem like these subjects are trivial but trust me, they do help to make sure your property is in its best possible condition for both living in and for selling. If you are a tenant, it is also really important to inform your managing agent or landlord if you have any of these issues or other minor problems, especially if it concerns water or moisture inside of the home. A dripping tap left dripping for a long time could escalate from simply needing a washer to be replaced to needing an entire kitchen unit or worktop needing replacing.
Like they say in Game Of Thrones “Winter is coming” be prepared.
The housing market has been on fire since estate agents were tasked with returning to work in May. Everyone bought a house thinking it would be exactly what they needed, Lockdown proved them wrong. It wasn’t just the lower/smaller end of the market that wanted that extra space that they did not have but also the higher end including the town and country market.
Historically there have been a few agents that are well renowned for dealings with high end town, city and country property set, Cross Keys Estates was not in this category, however I can safely say that we have not only breached this market but are currently sitting pretty high in the rankings for the marketing of these exclusive and desirable residences. Recently a client of our lettings department had their property on the market for quite some period of time going from one of these country agents to another. By chance we had a conversation and I explained what we do for our properties in order to secure sales on them. The client decided that they would like to try the Cross Keys way and gave notice to the agent currently trying to sell their house. This property was out of Cross Keys normal marketing area by quite some way plus it was a listed building worth almost one million pounds. We went out to take new more lively photographs, did our three dimensional floorplan and researched the area and all the things that made the location desirable for potential buyers.
After 48 hours we had a fabulous set of property particulars to show the client who happily signed them off and we placed the house on the market on the Monday morning. After 7 days of marketing we had completed three viewings and received offers from two of those viewings resulting in a sale being agreed above the bottom “Guide Price” meaning that from initial conversation to agreeing the sale took less than 7 days. Now this could been seen as bragging, however we have now had numerous examples including a stunning detached six bedroom family home in Derriford, another detached property in a gated community close to the city centre, a double fronted Victorian villa in Stoke Village, a large semi-detached family residence in Hartley and a stunning refurbished farm house in Cornwall to name a few, all having asking prices over £500,000.
I believe that our success with the higher end of this market comes from the fact that we offer bespoke, premium marketing with fully properly produced video tours and fantastic 3D floorplans alongside a clever pricing strategy which allows for a fully immersive buyer’s experience. We believe that this is essential for the larger family homes as potential buyers prefer to look at these properties online and do their homework before coming up with a shortlist for viewings as many of the buyers have been relocating from the east coast.
Cross Keys Estates place customer service above all else, we have dedicated managers that are there for our clients at all times, we have staff that are either fully qualified to offer you advice or are many years experienced and very happy to help no matter what the problem.
If you are currently trying to sell your property with what you think is an appropriate agent but getting nowhere, ask yourself this “could Cross Keys Estates succeed where most of the normal agents are failing?”. My answer to you is yes, we can. Please call either Jack Fi, Rob or Jon on 01752 500018 to find out more about how to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
So here we are, like a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis, well may be that is over the top a little bit but hey, it feels like we have been held captive in our own little bubble with no joy or freedom for a while now.
Some families have realised that with all the fantastic weather that we have had they now want to change up so that they have a suitable garden for them to enjoy.
Since the government stated that we could reopen our doors on Thursday 21st May, Cross Keys have been inundated with lots of leads on all kinds of properties across the board from larger flats to maisonettes, from terrace houses to detached ones but the most common theme that comes through has been that they all want to upsize either accommodation or outside space. This is the same for the rental market.
One of the consequences from spending so much time in your home is the question “Does this home work for me?” With lots of people taking the opportunity to work from home, a lot of you are considering changing up your property so that you have a dedicated office space. Some families are looking to change up so that their children can have a dedicated play room or even a room to home school.
With all that being said, I want to take some time to talk to all the vendors and landlords that are out there currently with your properties on the market or about to place your properties up “for sale” or “to let”. Consider what it is about your property that might make it appealing to the general public. Are you looking to upscale? If this is the case what can you do with your property that will make it stand out? What special features can you accentuate? The main thing to remember is that presentation is key.
According to a news article, Landlords and Vendors putting their homes on the market are being told to show off gardens in marketing photos as house-hunters search for that coveted outdoors space.
Usually most browsers have previously been interested in what the kitchens, bathrooms and interior features look like, but this period of lockdown has altered our perspectives on what is important to us and what we are now looking for according to research by the property portal Rightmove.
Unfortunately small flats just do not have the space that we now desire, combined with fact that there are so many flats and apartments currently on the market without any outside space at all, means that they are now losing out to houses which have now become more popular with the buying and rental market, especially four and even six bedroom houses.
Some house hunters are taking the decision to move further out from the town and city centres. Suburbia and further in to rural areas are proving more and more popular as these places have been purposely designed for family life with larger houses and generously proportioned gardens usually coming as standard. Many people would usually have been priced out of larger homes with big gardens, but indications suggest they are willing to accept a slightly longer commute to work in order to cast their nets wider for that more affordable and suitable property.
Some of the more sceptical elements of the press believe that this surge in demand will be short lived due to the possible financial problems that the shutdown will have on the economy in the not too distant future, however, Cross Keys are not seeing any signs of this nor do we expect to as here in the West Country, we tend to be shielded from the larger problems that the capital and other larger cities experience.
Some of the adverse effects of this lockdown has had on the public include relationship break ups, loss of employment or the 20% loss of income due to the furlough scheme which have led to the rise in rental enquiries.
Rightmove research for the BBC, based on the website’s data and a survey of 4,000 potential movers, has suggested 49% of renters and 39% of buyers have changed what they are looking for as a response to living in lockdown.
As half of those asked wanted to work from home, a third of movers wanted a better domestic workspace with good internet and a spare room now higher up on wish-lists.
Searches by buyers for homes with gardens on Rightmove were up 42% in May compared with the same month a year ago, and increased by 84% over the same period among renters.
During these unprecedented times we’ve been quietly working in the background to ensure that we minimise the disruption to our clients in both our sales and lettings departments by implementing certain aspects and features which we consider to be vital moving forward with the ‘new norm’. Here’s a quick update for you:
Video Tours – As previously mentioned, we are currently unable to conduct viewings on any of our properties as we are following the government strict advice to keep both our valued clients and our wonderful colleagues safe. This however is very inconvenient for those of you who are looking for a property during the lockdown, therefore we have taken the time to create quality, detailed video tours which we aim to be head and shoulders above the competition. This feature has assisted us to continue with some levels of activity, especially within our lettings department, in which the video tours have been vital to the numerous lets we have agreed during the lockdown. Not only do our video tours allow us to conduct ‘online viewings’, but they also help landlords who are not able to visit their empty properties be able to see that we are checking up on the property for them and it is in good order. This feature is here to stay and will be available to all of our clients as another marketing tool to generate the highest levels of interest for any property. Currently we have 38 properties available with these video tours, including our entire available letting stock and this number is growing by the day.
New Website – alongside our investment in quality video tours, we have also taken this time to reflect on our website, which has had a makeover in order to make our home www.crosskeysestates.net as user friendly as it can possibly be and to incorporate our comprehensive marketing strategies for our clients properties.
Virtual Valuations – During the lockdown we have provided a number of virtual valuations via Facetime, Skype or photographs provided in order to provide our professional Propertymark Accredited valuation service to those who need us; however we do recommend that in order for us to give the most accurate valuation and provide an in-depth account of the service available from Cross Keys Estates that we attend any property requiring a market appraisal once the government advises us that it is safe to do so. Should you require any advice with regard to the sale or marketing of your home then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Preparation for Re-opening – In anticipation for when the government’s advice is for us to return to our office we have implemented some changes in order to ensure the safety of both our clients and our team, such as moving all working stations around to ensure the 2m rule is in place at all times as well as installing hands-free antibacterial hand wash stations upon entry into our offices. We want to keep you safe!
We want to hear from you – Thanks to all of you, our wonderful clients, alongside our fantastic team we are able to move forward from these unusual times as Plymouth’s Recognised Number 1 Estate Agent and continue to support the community that we love so much! But any good business is forever looking for ways to improve, so if you have any suggestions for us, we’re all ears.
Lastly, thank you to all of our fantastic key workers, without you we wouldn’t be able to look forward optimistically about opening our doors once again!
So here we are in unprecedented times and for once everyone is in the same circumstance. This is a disease that does not discriminate against anyone at all. I do not profess to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination but I have been watching the daily updates from the government and that has been enough to keep me obeying the guidelines on everything from social distancing to how to do my shopping and more importantly how to keep our business going.
There have been many new words that this disease has created such as furlough, how many people had even heard of furlough before last month, let alone Covid19. At Cross Keys Estates we have taken many measures to to ensure that the safety and welfare of our staff and our customers comes before profit. We were the first estate agent in Plymouth to issue personal protection equipment to all our staff, here is another relatively new phrase for the masses (PPE), we issued all staff with hand sanitisers, disposable gloves and face masks. To start with, I think most of them thought it was a bit excessive but as the days and weeks have passed I am so pleased that we took this measure. We were also the first agency to close our office doors to the general public ahead of the government’s advice that followed 2 days later.
All these actions at the time seemed to be quite drastic but have now become the norm for most businesses. In the last month we have heard many upsetting stories about how devastating this disease has been for many people, weddings that have had to be cancelled, holidays, festivals, concerts, sporting events and even such things as charity events which bring in much needed money to help such good causes. I think that one of the worse things that has happened during these times is the isolation that has had to come with it, so sad to hear about families having funerals where only five people can attend, hospital patients that need the love a reassurance from family members that are not allowed to see them. We currently have a member of staff in exactly this situation and our love and best wishes are with her and all of her family.
As a result of this distancing and isolation that we have had to embrace, we have brought forward our plans for a new website. Due to come in to play in July/August time, we thought that somehow now would seem more appropriate. Our new website went live this weekend enabling us to have the extra facility of doing property video tours. Obviously we can only go to unoccupied properties at this moment in time, we have started with the properties that are available for renting and I am pleased to say that all of our vacant rental properties will have a proper video tour available to watch from this weekend onwards. Once we have got all of these live, we will then make a start on all of our sales properties that, again, are unoccupied, with the hope of getting these live by next weekend 24th April.
We have had several enquiries for potential buyers wanting to arrange viewings on some owner occupied properties. We have had to say categorically “NO” even if the owners are willing to show potential buyers around themselves, the answer is still “NO”, viewing a house is not deemed as an essential thing to do according to government guidance and we would never put either the home owner or their family nor the people viewing a property in such unnecessary risk. What we would advise to all potential buyers, is to look at our new website, take the video tour, not a virtual one with lots of different moving photos but an actual video tour starting from the front door all the way through the property. This should hopefully give you a very accurate impression of the property. If you have any further questions that you want answering, you can email them through to sales@crosskeysestates.net where one of our distance working staff will be more than happy to answer it for you, however please bear in mind that it will not be possible for anyone to actually get moved into a property until such times as the government guidelines have changed.
If you are looking to rent one of our available properties, we now have the ability to action your rental requests completely remotely, meaning that you will not need to come in to contact with anyone else and therefore complying with all guidelines set out by the government to comply with any end date to the current restrictions.
Finally, I thought I would tell you about another great thing that is happening during these difficult times. Cross Keys Estates joined forces with Fuel Catering to make a charitable donation. We gave £200 which Fuel matched. This meant that between us, we made it possible for the nursing home in Stoke Village to get many much needed freshly prepared meals. We also had a request for a Plymouth family where the husband has terminal cancer, they have three small children and all five have had to go in to self isolation for obvious reasons, making it impossible for them to get any shopping done. Together with the help of Fuel, we were able to get 20 meals to them. We later got a text from the family expressing their gratitude as life at the moment for them just does not allow them to leave the house. It was a very small thing for us to do but a massive thing for the family. It is nice to be nice in these circumstances and hopefully the whole world will look back on these times once this is all over and remember that the most important things in life are your family, your friends, your community and your sense of morality.
