It’s New Years Eve, the last of the turkey has finally been devoured and thoughts drift between the upcoming 12 months and the year we’re leaving behind. In today’s post, we’re going to concentrate on the latter, giving you a selection of our greatest hits from 2018.
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading our blog over the last year and have received heaps of value from our musings. We always write with you in mind, rather than us, so we genuinely hope you’ve found our advice practical and useful.
If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to subscribe to our blog (on the left if you’re viewing on a desktop computer ⬅️, down below if you’re on a mobile device ⬇️) so you don’t miss a thing in 2019.
Without further ado, here are 10 of our favourite posts from 2018:
Gazumping: What Is It And How Can You Avoid It?
Gazumping is, unfortunately still alive and kicking in the property world. In fact, it could be argued that there has been a resurgence of this dastardly deed in recent times.
In this piece, we explain in detail what gazumping is and, more importantly, what you can do to lessen your chances of it happening to you.
Read the full article: Gazumping: What Is It And How Can You Avoid It?
Do Smells Sell Homes? The Top 5 Scents For Property Viewings
Up next we have an altogether more light-hearted article for you to peruse, but it’s an important one, nonetheless.
We all know about kerb appeal and the importance of home staging prior to viewing, but what about the olfactory system and its role in human behaviour? Can you affect a buyer’s subconscious by stimulating their sense of smell?
Find out here: Do Smells Sell Homes? The Top 5 Scents For Property Viewings
What Is A Property Chain? Petty's Guide To House Chains
This article looks at one of those jargonistic terms everyone knows, yet few fully understand. We explore property chains in depth here, looking at how they work and what can cause them to break, as well as giving you a few pointers on what you can do to keep your link strong.
We also dig into some associated terms, too, such as ‘upward chains’ and ‘chain-free’ to give you a comprehensive guide to this oft-used piece of property lingo.
Get the lowdown on property chains here: What Is A Property Chain? Petty's Guide To House Chains
Dos And Don'ts To Get Your Rental Security Deposit Back
Rental deposits are not chicken feed these days, so ensuring you get yours back is essential. The thing is, many tenants are unaware of the main reasons why landlords refuse to return deposits, which leaves them at a disadvantage from the start.
In this article, we spill the beans and give you the top five reasons for lost deposits as well as exploring a few actionable ‘dos and don’ts’ tenants can use to make certain their deposit is returned to them at the end of their tenancy.
Make sure you keep your deposit by reading this: Dos And Don'ts To Get Your Rental Security Deposit Back
Void Periods: Tips To Help You Avoid Them And Keep Your Rental Filled
One for the landlords amongst you now...and it’s all about the dreaded void period (sorry to put a downer on your New Year’s Eve!). Any experienced landlord will tell you that minimising void periods is an essential part of running a successful buy-to-let business, but how do you do it?
Well, you can start by reading this: Void Periods: Tips To Help You Avoid Them And Keep Your Rental Filled
What Interior Paint Colours Help Sell Houses?
If you read the ‘Smells Sell Homes’ article above, you’ll know that there any many factors at play during the course of a viewing. Obviously, your home’s visual appeal is up there (it’s probably the most important of all), so how do you maximise your property’s attractiveness to the widest possible audience?
This article explores five of the best colour schemes you can use to your advantage when staging your home for sale: What Interior Paint Colours Help Sell Houses?
Flying Freehold: What Does It Mean And What Do You Need To Know?
Ever seen the term ‘Flying Freehold’ and been left scratching your head? Scratch no more, friend, scratch no more.
In this post we cover everything from what a flying freehold is, through to some of the problems that may arise, including borrowing concerns. We also discuss what your best course of action is if you’ve found a property you like with a flying freehold in place.
Read more here: Flying Freehold: What Does It Mean And What Do You Need To Know?
Landlords, Should You Allow Tenants To Keep Pets?
Landlords and pets are commonly regarded in the same way as oil and water...they just don’t go together. At least they never used to! Lately, however, a few canny landlords have started to buck the trend by listening to the market, and they’re reaping the rewards.
As with everything, though, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about allowing pets in your properties, and we explore the best way to go about it (as well as the benefits of doing so) here: Landlords, Should You Allow Tenants To Keep Pets?
Collective Enfranchisement: A Guide To Buying The Freehold Of Flats
Fancy a little light reading? Okay, maybe not, but this article is an important one for those looking to purchase the freehold of their block, and we were overwhelmed by the response it received when we first published it.
If you know someone who is thinking of getting together with their neighbours to gain the freehold of their building, you might want to share this one with them: Collective Enfranchisement: A Guide To Buying The Freehold Of Flats
I'm A Landlord, Should I Sell My Buy-To-Let Property?
The final post from our 2018 top 10 is one that has seemingly been in the news since January: namely, should landlords call it a day and sell their investments? The media has had an absolute field day with this one, so we thought it only right and proper to chime in with our opinion on the subject.
In this article, we go over the media’s take on the situation, explore the figures involved, discuss the merits of selling and holding, and we even break out the crystal ball and gaze into the buy-to-let future (as best we can, anyway!).
If you want to read our thoughts on this year’s biggest property story in full, click through to: I'm A Landlord, Should I Sell My Buy-To-Let Property?
Petty’s top 10 posts of 2018...done!
That’s it! Our top 10 posts from 2018 all packaged up into one neat little post.
All that remains now is for us to wish each and every one of you all the very best for the coming year. We’ve got a good feeling about 2019 here at Petty’s, and we hope you feel the same way too!
Naturally, if you’re looking to buy or sell, rent or let, we’re here to help you every step of the way, so please do not hesitate to pick up the phone and call our friendly team of local property experts when our office reopens on the [????].
Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog...you wouldn’t want to miss out on good stuff like this now, would you?
