'THROUGH THE KEYHOLE'…a weekly blog from Richard Morris
All things property, house prices and 'interestingness' from Newton Fallowell Managing Director.
In this three-minute read, I look in more depth at the Government guidelines released last week which kick-started the property market in Loughborough, East Leake and Charnwood.
On Wednesday last week, it was officially announced estate agents in England could go back to work as part of the Government’s phased relaxation of the lockdown.
We have taken our time under lockdown to ensure we have enough Personal Protective Equipment, we have also stocked up on santisers, social distancing signs and prepared our Be Clean Be Safe protocols and policies. .
We’re ‘open for business’ again, but only because we are fully ready to do so thanks to preparing in advance. In practice this means all out of office activities are safely ressuming and in particular, contactless in-person viewings and property valuations for those intending to sell a home in the coming weeks. However, I have taken the responsible decision for our offices in Loughborough, East Leake and Kegworth to remain closed for the time-being as we are still able to operate efficiently working remotely from home. This is likely to change in the coming weeks and months and I'm monitoring things daily.
The key parts of the Government’s advice for people looking to move or purchase a home are summarised below. We want to reassure home sellers and buyers in Loughborough, East Leake and Charnwood we will be following these guidelines thoroughly.
BUYERS: Initial viewings should be carried out virtually wherever this is possible, and estate agents should help you to do this. We have many Facebook Live videos of properties up on our Facebook Page here https://www.facebook.com/newtonfallowellloughborough/
BUYERS: All physical viewings should be limited to members of the same household, and open house viewings should not take place.
BUYERS: When physically viewing properties, where possible, you should avoid touching surfaces, wash your hands regularly, and bring your own hand sanitiser. The number of people on a viewing should be minimised to those from your household that have to be there. If you need to be accompanied by small children, you should try to keep them from touching surfaces and ensure they wash their hands regularly.
SELLERS: If people are being shown around your current home, you should open all internal doors and ensure surfaces, such as door handles, are cleaned after each viewing with standard household cleaning products.
SELLERS: As most people choose to, we recommend you leave your property while viewings are taking place to minimise your contact with those not in your household.
EVERYONE: Anyone involved in any aspect of the home moving process should practice social distancing in line with public health advice.
MOVERS: When moving between properties, you and those in your household should try to do as much of the packing yourself as you can. Where this is not possible, you should speak to removal firms in advance.
MOVERS: If you are particularly worried about the risk of infection, then speak to the professionals involved, your estate agent, landlord or removers as they may be able to put in place extra measures.
We’re expecting a very busy few months as buyers and sellers who have been put on hold by lockdown are now released.
Property portals reported record numbers of people visiting their sites in the 24 hours after lockdown, and we look set for a busy summer, especially as overseas holidays look unlikely to happen.
And we are ready, and looking forward to serving our clients safely, sensibly and successfully.
Thanks for reading.
To read the full document visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
Richard
Persistently banging on the door some 20 years ago with huge enthusiasm and a cheeky smile,
Richard landed the job of tea boy and trainee for then local independent Hartleys Estate Agents in Loughborough.
Armed with an exhaustive collection of industry knowledge later and Richard has ended up in the driving seat of his own
family run company Newton Fallowell, established in 2015 with offices in Loughborough, East Leake, Kegworth and Kegworth.
