What Can You Do to Avoid Squatters Taking Over Your Property?

One of the more problematic effects of the recession is that more people appear to be squatting than before. By its nature, squatting isn't something that is measured, but estimates are that 20-30,000 people squat and most squatting takes place in London.

In the past, this has mainly been in commercial or residential properties that are empty. Now though we are starting to hear of bizarre cases where a home owner goes on holiday or in one case, a man took his dog for a walk, only to find that when they came back home, someone had moved in!

One of the surprising issues when it comes to someone occupying an empty or abandoned property they don't own or rent, is that even if they enter the property without the owner's permission, as long as they haven't broken a lock or smashed a window to gain entry, they aren't actually breaking the law! The reason this 'loop hole' exists and where the phrase 'squatters rights' comes from was due to a change in the law back in 1977, which introduced Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 stopping landlords from using violence to evict tenants. Squatters have somewhat 'hijacked' this clause and used it to remain in their property.

Where squatters start to break the law, is when they visibly break in to the property, steal any of your goods or refuse to leave when asked. At this stage, the police can't just 'break' into your home until you have proved to them that you are the rightful homeowner or tenant. At this stage and with this evidence the police should be able to act on your behalf and ensure the perpetrators are evicted.

Ideally, to avoid this truly horrible situation you need to ensure that if you leave your home empty for a week or more, you take the same precautions as you would to avoid your home being burgled.

Top three ways to avoid squatters taking over your home!

1. Good quality ie locks window locks and 5-lever mortise deadlocks (Approved by Association of British Insurers 'ABI' and Master Locksmiths Association)
2. Install an alarm fitted by a firm approved by the National Security Inspectorate or the Security Systems Alarm and Inspection Board.
3. Never leave your home open, even if you are just popping out!

To make sure that you can always prove you own the home/are renting it, keep the evidence somewhere safe such as a copy of the mortgage bill or utility bills at a family member/friends or solicitors.

If you are likely to be away for two or more weeks, you will need to check your home insurance as it may require you to alert your home insurance company and secure extra cover. Insurance for your property if it's left for more than 30 days will require special clauses such as damage from broken or leaking pipes, malicious as well as accidental damage from someone entering the property and, ideally, ensure it pays for somewhere else for you to live if for any reason someone occupies your home.

Should You Sell, Buy Or Rent Out an Inherited Property?

It is tough when you've lost a loved one and then have to work out what to do with the home they leave behind. Should you sell the property? Buy it yourself? Rent it out for a while or the long term?

To help, the first thing to do is not to rush into a decision. Give yourself a few weeks to adjust to the situation before you do anything - take some time to grieve if you need. The next step is to sort out everything left in the home. Ideally don't strip the place bare as it's easier to sell a property with some furniture in and it's safer too. Depending on how long you are likely to leave the property empty for, make sure you follow our Empty Homes tips

Are you Inheriting the Property with others? The next step is to start to work out what your options are. Of course the property you are inheriting may be shared between other family members. If there is a surviving spouse, for example, you may all decide it's easier if they stay in the home from a familiarity perspective. Alternatively you might decide that it's better the parent sells up and moves closer to you.

Top Tip: Draw up your will! Don't forget that ideally before you officially inherit the property, it's important to have your own will drawn up (and potentially put the property in a trust if you have children of your own) to ensure that if anything happens to you, your wishes are carried out.

Next, it's important to chat to other family members that have inherited the property with you and try and gain a consensus of what to do.

Options on What to do when you have Inherited Property Sometimes it's as easy to buy the property yourself if it's the size you want and in the location that you want to live in. This can be straightforward if you are a lone child and require some tricky negotiations if you have brothers and sisters!

Option One: A Family Member Buys the Property

Ideally you need to get an agreement drawn up between you which includes how the property will be valued and how other siblings will be compensated (if required) for their share of the property. Your legal company should be able to guide you through this process at the same time they are carrying out probate.

Option Two: You Decide to Sell the Property

If you aren't the only sibling selling the property may well be the best option, especially if there is any disagreement on who should own the property or how to move forward. This way everyone can take their share and do what they want with it.

The important thing to do is to decide who's going to manage the sale of the property and agree the minimum that you will all accept. If it helps, even get this in writing between you so no-one can change their mind latter on. If necessary, your legal company will look after the sale, but they will charge you for it.

If for any reason you need a 'quick sale' then you can turn to private buying companies such as:-

ARC Property Group
Quick Move Properties
Move With Us

However, they will a discount of up to 15% off the market value of the property. So if they value your property at £200,000, they will only pay around £170,000. The advantage is that they will be able to do this within a matter of weeks, so it takes the uncertainty out of selling the property.

Alternatively you can prepare the property for sale and then put the property on the market. Make sure however you chose your agent very carefully as you need to be able to trust them to enter and exit an empty property.

Option Three: Keep and Rent out the Property

To rent a property out, you need really to commit to doing this for six months or more. It's important to be aware that renting a property isn't just about finding a tenant, taking deposit and sitting back and banking the rent.

You also need to make sure that you all own the property correctly from a legal perspective, so you MUST discuss this option with your legal company prior to making any decisions.

Over the last five years, that have been major changes to the law and most of these legal changes are in favour of the tenant, not you, the landlord. If you don't abide by these laws, then the tenant in some cases can even sue you for £3,000!

Ideally, if you are renting a property out for the first time, use a letting agent. Make sure this is a letting specialist as opposed to a company that does sales and rentals as many estate agents don't know how to run a lettings business properly.

If you want to manage the tenant on-going, then instead of full management, you can choose a 'Let Only' option where the letting agent finds the tenant and moves them in legally, with an inventory done, and even collect the first month's rent. After that you can manage it. However if you don't want calls at 1am in the morning to say there is a problem with the property - go for full management!

To be sure you are legal from marketing stage, make sure the property has:

1. Energy Performance Certificate

2. Gas Safety Certificate

3. Electrical Safety Certificate OR self certifying that the electrics are safe

Once you have found a tenant, you will need:-

1. An up to date tenancy agreement.

2. To protect deposits in a tenancy deposit scheme.

3. To carry out credit checks on the tenant.

Finally remember that any excess rental income versus allowable costs you receive could be taxable, so you'll need to check this out too!

Three Step Guide on How to Haggle in the Current Property Market

The current market is back in the doldrums and when the property market is falling, past experience tells us it's a great time to bag a bargain and buy a house at a discount that you are unlikely to get in the coming years. Here's a step by step guide on how to buy a property by haggling down the price.

1. Get your finances sorted!

The key success to securing a bargain property is to be able to buy quickly. This means you need to have either cash or as good as cash with a hefty deposit and a lender that is capable of making funds available in a few weeks, rather than the normal six weeks they take.

2. Find a legal company which can exchange quickly

The legals for buying and selling a home can take months. Much of this is down to poor conveyancing companies. So if you want to bag a bargain, it's vital to ensure you work with a legal company that can work to tight deadlines and isn't reliant on one person to do the work, in case they go sick or on holiday.

3. Understand where to get property bargains

Property bargains are secured when people are desperate to sell. There are lots of reasons why someone might sell a property at a bargain price which include:-

(a) The three 'D's -Death, Divorce and Debt

Sadly things happen in life to homeowners that force them to have to sell their property at less than it's worth. If someone dies, a partner might need to sell up as they can't afford the property anymore or they need to move nearer to friends and family. If a couple aren't getting on and divorce is the only option, not everyone can afford to stay in their family home, particularly with so many families having two working parents. Debt is a rough thing, particularly in these difficult times, so when it really bites, selling up and releasing the equity is sometimes the only option.

(b) Repossession

For a property to be repossessed, the procedure takes sometime - it can be six months or more. If the owner has been to court they will often be given/be advised to try to sell the property themselves to get the best price they can rather than have the property taken off them and sold on incurring increased fees for doing so by the lender. This can be a great source of bargains, but can be like finding a needle in a haystack, unless you are happy to hang around the courts. They are either sold through agents, to 'quick sale' companies or via local auctions.

(c) Chain falls through

If someone has sold their property and made an offer on another one, then their buyer pulls out, this can cause a chain to breakdown unless another buyer can be found at short notice, so a great time to be able to offer less than the property originally sold for - as long as you can move within a matter of weeks to replace the previous buyer.

(d) New Build Properties

Developers run businesses and businesses have targets to achieve. So at the end of the year, or even the half year, the sale of one property might mean bonuses all round for the developer's staff. This is when dropping a property's price is worthwhile. As is selling off the 'last two' properties to free up expensive site sales offices and staff.

(e) Half and Half Homes

At the moment, buyers are making offers on properties which are either pristine and ready to move into or a wreck which needs a lot of work (new kitchen and bathroom, re-decorating). Half and half homes which are partly pristine and partly a wreck therefore just aren't selling, so after a long time waiting for a buyer, vendor's are more likely to drop their price. These properties can take a while to secure at a bargain though, as it often takes vendors more than six months to realise they aren't going to get the price they had hoped.

(f) Properties needing substantial work

Many people want to do a up a property, but that doesn't really mean they want to get their hands dirty. Most 'do-er uppers' are really looking for somewhere they can move into then upgrade the decoration and put in a new kitchen and bathroom. The real bargains come when a property needs gutting - or already has been, if it's been fire damaged, wrecked by previous owners. So less buyers trying to compete to buy these properties means you are more likely to 'bag a bargain'.

(g) Properties with 'undesirable' neighbours

Most properties are sold when they sit next to another property or overlook lots of beautiful countryside. Those though that have a pylon in the back garden, front onto a busy road (although less so in city centres), next to schools, or a dilapidated property, tend to sell for a lot less than those in a better location. In a falling market these are the toughest properties to shift, so you can make pretty low offers and if the vendors can still move on, your offer may well get accepted.

So if you want to haggle to bag a bargain in the property market, it's essential to sort out your finances, sign up a proactive legal company and find properties where vendors are likely to be 'motivated sellers' and let you have the property for less than they would when the property market is buoyant.

What To Do If You Are Thinking Of Selling in 2014

The property market is starting to change. With renewed confidence in the market aided by the Help to Buy Scheme, whether people are taking part or not, more buyers are definitely out there than there have been for a long time.

And with demand for property on the up, from a sellers perspective, things are getting easier to move too. With property prices in some areas recovering to 2007 levels, it means less homeowners are in negative equity and with just a 5% deposit to have to find, its possible to contemplate moving on.

For those who tried to sell up during the credit crunch but couldn't, it's also worth thinking about trying again, especially if your property is in a price bracket which would appeal to first time buyers. First time buyers, according to CML, tend to spend up to £150,000, but bear in mind, this includes London, so it's likely to be £150,000 to £250,000 in London and Home Counties and under the £100,000 mark everywhere else.

So Who Should Sell in 2014?

If you want to trade up and you don't have a big deposit, as long as you can afford mortgage rates of 5-7% over the next five years, then it's definitely worth thinking about trading up and taking advantage of the Help to Buy Scheme.

You can typically secure mortgage rates of 3% for Help to Buy on an new build, whereas the scheme for existing homes rates are around 5%.

You need to check what's happening market wise to make sure the 'pick up' reported in the media and house price surveys is actually happening in your area. Look on sold property prices on the likes of Rightmove and Mouse Price to see if properties are selling near to or for more than 2007 levels. If they are still selling for a lot less, talk to local agents who have sold properties similar to yours and see what prices they have secured.

If you are looking at trading down, then the most important thing is to move when it suits you. It may be that you have been stuck in a property you can't sell but are getting divorced and are desperate to move on. It may be that you are in debt or a member of the family hasn't been well and when these life events happen, it's more important to try and move on to a better place than worry about maximising your property's price or rushing into buying something which isn't right.

It will be difficult to find somewhere to live in most areas, as you will probably be competing with first time buyers who are after one and two bed properties.

Key steps you need to take if you are thinking of selling in 2014 are:-

1. Check on sold property price data to see what similar properties have been selling for
2. Talk to local agents who have sold properties similar to yours as to what price they are getting
3. Make sure you speak to a broker about financing your move and a local Help to Buy agent

Then, work out whether you should sell your property as a 'show home' or just as it is. Since the credit crunch, with such good mortgage rates with high deposits, people don't have the money (or time) to do up properties as much as before. Those that do want a wreck to do up are typically after a bargain price, so it's a good idea to chat to local agents about whether you sell the property without any work doing to it, or spending say 1% of the asking price painting and decorating so someone could 'move in' and start living there from day one.