HOW MUCH IS THAT PROPERTY REALLY WORTH?
Well judging from the BBC programme about cheating estate agents, it looks like we're all alone in the property game. Estate agents are the ones who tell us how much the property is worth. But now we have to take everything they say with a pinch of salt (in Foxtons' case - a whole truck full).
So how do we do this?
Well the best way to get a rough idea, is to see what other similar properties on the same street sold for. A rough estimate only, but if the property that the agent wants to plug you is £50 000 more dearer...smell a rat.
You should scan your estate agents windows looking for prices of similar properties in that area. But remember the prices displayed here are what the estate agents hopes to achieve, not the price it actually sells at.
To know what they truely sell for, let your fingers to the walking online.
Land Register Online can provide you with the copies of title registers and title plans all downloadable in PDF format. The title register includes ownership details and, for most properties which have changed hands since April 2000, the property price information. If not registered...no info. Downsides of this website is that you can only make a enquiry between Mon to Sat 7am to 12 midnight. You can still browse at other times. Another bummer is that they charge £2 for information needed.
My House Price is a database that charges £1 for every enquiry and what you get is just the property price only. They do however offer discount packages.
Our Property claims to have the largest database of English, Welsh and Scottish properties bought since 1st April 2000. I don't seem to get many fruitful results from their search engines though. A free service.
Net House Prices is a very easy to use service which I favour above the two above. And it's free! It also contains very helpful links on local schools, flooding risk and crime rates in your area of interest. A search option is also included to look for property avaliable to buy. I did a search on the place we're renting out at the moment and it was amazing (and shocking) to see the price leaps from year to year.
In all of the above services, registration normally takes place approximately 3 months after the property gets sold.
Property price checks can also be invaluable information for people wanting to buy property for the sole purpose of renovating for a profit. It can show up the ceiling price for that particular type of property on a certain street. The ceiling price is the highest price achieved for a similar property in the same area. Hence what you do to your property has to be pretty special for it to break that ceiling price.
Credit for the above information must be given to Sarah Beeny's book 'Property Ladder'. Her first ever book spawned from her TV series 'Property Ladder'.
I'm also an avid reader of the magazine in which she is the assistant editor...guess what...it's called 'Property Ladder'currently at its 5th issue.
posted by Property Blogger @ 10:07 PM
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