Falcon Blog

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Published: 18 November 2015

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Buying a home can be an overwhelming task and for you it is important that you get the right help from professional estate agents. If you are looking for a property in Plymouth then we can provide a complete buying service that is designed to find the very best home for you at a price which is affordable to you. We can also help you with the legal bit, the conveyancing. We also have specialist mortgage advisers to help find the very best deal for you in the market. 

Come in and speak with us and we will work to establish all the things in your future home that you really need and the things that you would like. We then get busy and the search begins. As and when we take a property on the market that we think you should have a look at we will text you the information and give you a ring and hopefully arrange to meet you there so that you can see it in the ‘flesh’.

Have a search on our web site and start browsing through some properties.

Stages of Property Purchase

Here is a brief summery as to the various stages of the buying process:

• Agree your purchase. After viewing the property that you feel is the right one for you, you will need to let your agent know how keen you are. Then it’s time to make an offer on the property through us. We will then submit it to the seller and have a good chat with them about the possibility of selling to you. Hopefully after a few phone calls your purchase price will be agreed!
• You'll now need a solicitor who will sort out the purchasing legal work, at the same time they will act for your mortgage company in preparing the mortgage deed.
• You’ll now need to have a meeting with your Independent Financial Advisor who will talk you through the whole process.
• Your mortgage provider chosen during your meeting with your mortgage advisor will arrange for the property to be valued. If you want a fuller survey you will need to arrange that in addition, we can help with a recommendation here. Don't wait until the last minute to get a second opinion - it wastes time, causes aggravation and costs more money.
• Your solicitor will apply for the title document, the searches from the council and raise questions with the seller’s solicitor - boundaries, what's being left, what guarantees go with the house.
• Your solicitor works for you, but his master is the mortgage company. His job depends on them being happy that the property complies with the terms of the Council of Mortgage Lenders Guide to Lending Instructions.
• Once the mortgage offer is in, and all the legal documentation is sorted you can then 'exchange contracts.'
• The exchange is the first point at which the buyer and seller is legally obliged to go ahead with the transaction. At this stage, the buyer pays a deposit to the solicitor - typically 10% of the purchase price. In the agreement will be the 'Completion Date.'
• The completion date is the day you actually move and the property is transferred or 'conveyed.'

Buying Costs

• Solicitors Costs are split into two sections; the solicitor’s fee, and the costs the solicitor will incur on your behalf (the disbursements). When you speak to a solicitor they normally give you quote which excludes these charges. Don't choose a solicitor on price and use a solicitor who is based in the City; local knowledge is best
• Solicitors Fees range from £495 plus vat to up to £850 plus vat for more expensive properties. Leasehold properties involve more work so expect to pay anything between £150 to £200 extra. The disbursements add another £300 to £400
• Stamp Duty. 
  
• Up to £125,000 there's no duty to pay
• between £125,001 and £250,000 it's 2% of everything over £125,000.
• if you are buying at more than  £250,000 you now pay an extra 5% of the difference between £250,000 and the purchase price.
• once you go over £925,000 it goes ballastic at 10%
• Most mortgages other than the standard variable rate mortgage will incur an arrangement or allocation fee. They vary from lender to lender. The better the deal - the higher the fee
• The mortgage valuation generally includes a survey. The surveyor will point out the main defects in the property. If you want more re-assurance, then you can have a Homebuyers Report for £400 or a more detailed Structural Survey. Arrange the survey at the same time as the mortgage, it will be cheaper and save time. The 'fault free' house has yet to be built. Interpreting surveys is an art and generally at the first reading surveys never read well. Speak to us - we can help

Buying Timescale

• For the average sale we always recommend an estimation of at least eight to ten weeks to get to the point where you've got your mortgage offer and the solicitor is happy to press the 'go' button. Twelve weeks is not un-common
• The 'exchange of contracts'; you pay your deposit and the contract becomes effective. At this stage both buyer and seller are bound to see the deal through
• Completion day is typically one/two weeks after exchange, although occasionally it can happen on the same day
• Completion is the day the property becomes yours. The contract will say something about having the deal done by noon. In practice it's down to the length of the chain involved as the money starts at the bottom and is transferred all the way up. Completion day is fraught with delays. You can't have the keys until the house is paid for
• Talk to your solicitor; if you need to be in by a particular day, tell them. If you agree a completion date with the seller, remember to tell your solicitor!

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Published: 16 November 2015

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The Plymouth property market is fast moving and extremely competitive with demand often outstripping supply in the most popular areas. We feel that being good at what we do isn’t good enough, what we do has to be better than our competitors and from what we hear from our clients, it is! We understand that today’s buyer is tomorrow’s seller. We want you as a client in the future so it is part of our make up to go that extra mile for both buyers and sellers. Whatever it takes we do our very best for you, this way, firstly you will hopefully come back to us and, secondly, we will get you a better result today.

Falcon has always been at the forefront of marketing. We were the first agent to use floor plans and full colour. We’re always pushing boundaries – now we even sell homes through our various social media channels, using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. So, once we’ve been out to have a look around your property and provided you with some solid, research backed marketing advice we are ready to get going with the marketing.

Our marketing is based around these essential strands:

• A high visibility office: people still love to visit us! Why not come in and discuss your property needs with the best free cup of coffee in Plymouth. (Well that’s what we have been told anyway.)
• National Marketing: by this we mean websites. We invest heavily in web marketing. The sites we use are rightmove.co.uk, zoopla.com, primelocation.com, falconproperty.com plus plymouthproperty.co.uk and the new website onthemarket.com. Through our membership with the Property Sharing experts your property will also feature on over sixty other websites which is probably more websites than any other agent in the City.
• Eye Catching Marketing: we work hard to showcase your property and catch the eye of buyers across the country. Our standout photography along with floor plans help excel your property to the widest audience, plus we now offer fully responsive virtual property tours, its literally like being there. We believe in making your property stand out from the competition and that’s just what we do.
• Our staff: we employ mature sales people who have all been through the buying and selling process for themselves. They are paid on a ‘pooled’ commission basis so that they work together as a team to ensure that all our clients get the very best service. We still believe in the old skills of calling out our properties and feel the best results are obtained by getting to know the properties we are selling and the requirements of our clients – this is something a computer program can never do on it’s own!
• You’ll also get one of our eye catching for sale boards to set the tongues wagging in the road, but that’s all good, the more people who see that you are on the market, the greater your chances. Plus for sale boards are still one of the best marketing tools we have.

We will be accompanying all the viewings and provide you with productive feedback afterwards. There is no substitute for good communication with our clients.

Our personal service continues up until the keys are handed over as we monitor and help sales through to completion.

Our Philosophy

• We will treat you as we would wish to be treated ourselves with friendly, efficient and honest support and advice
• We will never elaborate on the facts or withhold information from you to benefit ourselves
• We will never promise you anything we cannot deliver
• We will make time to explain the whole process in detail and make sure you are fully informed of our plan to market your property and agree service levels so you know exactly what to expect
• You will have complete transparency in our dealings with you. Everything is documented to ensure a complete record of progress
• Our years of experience of the local markets mean that we promise you an accurate market appraisal, not a false overvaluation to win your business
• You will always have a named point of contact and know who to go to for advice. However, we would encourage you to come into the office and meet all our staff (every one of whom will be familiar with your property so that they can expertly deal with potential buyers)
• By being constantly in touch with both the buyer and the seller our service becomes proactive - we become aware of any potential issues and we are able to deal with these before they become a problem

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Published: 16 September 2015

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Falcon may wish to contact you by post, telephone, fax, email, SMS and other electronic methods of marketing which may become relevant in the future ("Future Methods"). This would be done in order to provide you with marketing information about the products and/or services and/or special offers of Falcon, and those of the Selected Companies.

If at any other time you wish to change your mind about direct marketing from Falcon by a particular method, please tell Falcon by using the contact us page on this website or in the privacy policy on this website. You should use these contact details if you have any other questions about the way in which Falcon processes or uses your personal information.

Falcon is your "Data Controller" under the Data Protection Act 1998 (the "Act"). The Act defines your rights as an individual in relation to how Falcon uses your personal information. For more details about this please go to the privacy policy.

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Published: 10 September 2015

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Ok so you’ve found your property now you need to find a mortgage! We can help. The first bit of advice is to speak with a financial advisor at the outset, as you start your property search.

It’s not so much about finding a mortgage but in the current economic climate it’s about finding the right mortgage for you and this can be as much of a challenge as finding your perfect property. Where do you turn for mortgage advice when buying or selling a property? It will come as no surprise to you that we can help in this area.

If you are looking for mortgage advice we can recommend some mortgage experts who we have worked with for many years. Chris Pascoe and Mike Perkins are independent Mortgage Consultants and our preferred financial services partners.  They can offer you independent advice and solutions for your mortgage, pension, retirement planning, investment and protection needs.  

Being independent they can access all available products on the market and can source the perfect fit for your needs, that’s ‘whole of market’ advice with access to exclusive deals and rates – and they will do all the paperwork for you.

Whether you are just starting out on the property market, moving home, looking to re-finance to get a better deal, or thinking of venturing into the buy-to-let market they can help you through the whole process. They appreciate that helping you manage your finances is a sensitive issue so they talk straight and deliver fast. 

They can help you with every aspect of your money management from debt consolidation to tax planning.  Whatever your needs, they’ll be happy to offer their best financial advice with a friendly approach, delivering an informed view of the best products on the market.  

Feedback has been consistently excellent and we are confident they can find you a tailor made solution, explained in language you can understand!

If you would like some help with planning your mortgage, we find this BBC Mortgage Calculator helpful: http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/mortgagecalculator.shtml