the greene blog

Greenwich Developer offers to pay your mortgage for a year

Jess de Bono — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:24:20 +0000

I’d heard on the property grapevine that developers like to give you that little bit extra to encourage you to buy, but I recently heard about a developer in Greenwich offering a really great incentive.

They have an Open Day on 24^th and 25^th July 2010. If you go along to the open day and reserve an apartment that weekend, you get all the following paid for a year:

Your mortgage (interest only)
Your ground rent
Your service charge
Your utility bills
*Terms and conditions apply.

Have a look at their website, the apartments are pretty swanky - wouldn’t mind one myself, better check my diary…

Saturday 10am – wake up

Saturday 12pm – go to hairdressers

Saturday 3pm – buy an apartment in Greenwich

http://www.uniondevelopments.co.uk/theatro-open-day

Greene & Co - Family Fun Day raising money for Grief Encounter

Jess de Bono — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:22:12 +0000

Greene & Co. have gone through a lot of planning and organisation but it is finally here. Our Fun Day is this Sunday 4^th July at the Hornsey Cricket Club Crouch End and it is going to be a fantastic family fun day out. The thing about this fun day is that it is raising money and awareness about a great London charity Grief Encounter, who dedicate their time to helping bereaved children and their families. We are really looking forward to the day, there will be loads of family entertainment and a special performance from the Shalon Monks from Britain’s Got Talent which is going to be incredible. Now all we have to do is cross our fingers for good weather.

Are property prices coming down?

Jess de Bono — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:33:11 +0000

Since the abolishment of HIP’s some interesting things have been happening in the property market. According to Rightmove “the market is starting to turn due to increased competition among sellers and fewer potential buyers”. This could be a great time to buy, as each day more properties are coming on the market and prices are also dropping. Our Managing Director, David Pollock had this to say about the current market situation.

“The London market is a different market place to the whole of England. London is in a bubble and therefore it is always a little dangerous to base house buying and selling strategies on whole of UK indexes. Having said that the abolishment of HIPS in the long run will be great for the London and UK market but without doubt there is going to be a period of adjustment. Will prices in London go up, go down or stay the same. Is now a great, average or poor time to buy or sell? The experts don’t and cant seem to agree. My advise is see property firstly as a home and secondly as an investment, its when you do it the other way round that things start to go wrong.”

We will have to wait until the emergency budget is announced to see the true effect on the market as many fear that capital gains tax could be increased but we wont find out until everything is revealed tomorrow.

HIPS - going going gone

Jess de Bono — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:37:19 +0000

Today HIP’s have been suspended which means that people who wish to sell their property no longer need to provide these. This comes as a great relief to many agents, our Managing Director, David Pollock has given us his opinion on this change

“Like most agents, we are delighted to see HIP’s get abolished. In our opinion, they have been an absolute disaster on two fronts. Firstly, they took away any spontaneity in the market, if someone was thinking about selling and just wanted to test out the reaction that putting their property on the market would get, to see if there are buyers out there for it, etc, it would cost them £300 to get the HIP done first.

Secondly, no one ever truly bought into using them, ranging from solicitors to buyers to sellers to agents. There will be no tears shed here about their demise”

House Prices Rising

Jess de Bono — Thu, 06 May 2010 08:45:43 +0000

The housing market seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment. Asking prices have risen for 11 consecutive months with and increase last month of 0.7%. The average entry level price for a house is approximately £155,242. If you are looking to buy a house for the first time now could be a good time to get hunting as prices are going to continue to increase, and although stamp duty does not apply on purchases under £250,000 for first time buyers they still need to have a significant deposit to get into the market.

An article from find a property ““The building blocks are present for a sustained recovery, but we do need lenders to step up to the plate and free the purse strings for first-time buyers. That will not only help the buyers themselves, but also the market overall and the wider economy.””

It could also be good to look into a property for investment purposes as there is currently a huge demand for rental properties in many areas of London, which means there are people out there looking right now! But this is not something you should enter into lightly. A huge amount of research is required to find the right investment property however there are many avenues which can help you along the way. Getting your finances in shape is also one of the keys to getting started with property investments, as depending on how long you keep the property expenses will vary.

To read more about the topics above click on the link below

http://www.findaproperty.com/displaystory.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&storyid=23504

Open Days – having great success!

Jess de Bono — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:18:33 +0000

One of the best ways to check out a property you are interested in is at an open day. This is also a great way to speak to the agents and find out what you need to know about the property. Greene and Co West Hampstead has had lots of success with their open days and believe they are one the best ways to show off a property on the market.

Stephen Matthews Director of our West Hampstead shop said “It is a very good way of generating multiple offers and interest”

An article from the ezinearticles.com/Do-Open-Houses says “The biggest beneficiary of a public open house is often the agent holding the house open. Open houses give agents an opportunity to meet prospective home buyers and sellers face-to-face in a relatively non-threatening environment. An open house can be a source of future business leads for the agent.”

Its not only beneficial to the seller to have most of the viewings on one day but it is also takes the hassle away from the buyer have to schedule after work viewings – really the days are a win win for everyone!

Greene & Co. raising funds for Grief Encounter

Jess de Bono — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:04:30 +0000

One of the best things a company can do is give back to the community that helped to create it. Greene and Co. have supported the local community through various projects over several years, this year we are supporting a truly special and deserving charity, Grief Encounter.

Grief Encounter support children and their families during the loss of one or both parents. The loss of someone you love is difficult for anyone but it can be extremely taxing on a young child who can’t quite grasp what is happening around them. This is where Grief Encounter becomes an invaluable organisation. They have many avenues which help support, care and guide children and families through the most difficult time they will face.

We are aiming to raise in excess of £10,000 for this wonderful charity. If you would like to find out more about them please click here. If you would like to help us with our mission please click here to donate.

Stamp Duty – good news for first home buyers

Jess de Bono — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:07:27 +0000

Good news for people who are looking to buy their first home this week, with the government announcing that first home buyers who purchase property under £250,000 will be exempt from paying stamp duty. This is a great benefit for first home buyers and it will be a great saving which they could possibly now add to their deposit or it will simply allow more people who may not have previously been able to enter the market to purchase a home of their own.

David Smith from the Times commented that “Alistair Darling’s Robin Hood coup in last week’s budget was the two-year stamp-duty holiday for first-time buyers of homes up to £250,000, paid for by a permanent increase in the duty to 5% on £1m-plus properties. Clearly, there will be mixed feelings about this.

Despite the skepticism, stamp-duty holidays work, as previous experience has shown. Provided the bureaucracy can identify who is a genuine first-time buyer — a divorced wife or husband who was previously a joint owner will not count — this should give the market a boost, which is why the housing industry has welcomed it.”

Stephen Brown, Director of our Crouch End shop has said that “if we start seeing banks lend more then this will be a nice saving. Hopefully the stamp duty saving should be good for first home buyers as this will give more money to their deposit.”

Either way you look at it this will help more people purchase their first home which is a good thing!

Is now the time to sell or let your property?

Jess de Bono — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:44:55 +0000

We have found that in Crouch End house prices are going up due to the shortage of properties on the market, and that demand is outweighing supply. If you are looking in Crouch End have you found this to be the case?

Interesting information from the RICS website states that “The supply of new properties coming on to the rental market has fallen for the second consecutive quarter possibly bringing an end to the downward trend in rents that has been in place since the autumn of 2008, says the latest RICS lettings survey. This follows five quarters of negative readings, and is in marked contrast to April last year when 58 percent more Chartered surveyors were reporting falling rents, an all-time low for the survey.”

Stephen Brown, Director of our Crouch End shop has said “rental shortages are occurring, and rental prices seem to be going up. 3 properties at this shop alone went for considerable higher prices from when they were let a year ago.”

If you are looking to sell or rent out your property now could be the time to do it!

New River Village - The perfect place to buy or invest

Jess de Bono — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:53:51 +0000

New River Village, which is located next to the Pump House Restaurant and bar has great amenities and is in a fantastic location. 469 residential units make up the village, you will find varying unit sizes from studios all the way up to 4 bedrooms. These units have been designed with style and sophistication, and the development also offers a concierge service, gynasium and spa facility. Located less than 200 metres from Hornsey train station, its a stones throw away from the excitment of the city centre. This is definitley a place to check out if you are in the market for a new home.

Click here to go to the Greene & Co website to check out our listings for this development