The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 and how it affects you

At Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents we often get questions about The Property Misdescriptions Act, what it stands for and how it helps us to better represent you. 

To help you understand the Act we have assembled this quick guide!

A GUIDE TO THE PROPERTY MISDESCRIPTIONS ACT 1991

The description of your property, which we give to potential buyers, is crucial in helping them to decide whether they want to buy your house.

The more complete the information, the more chance you have of making a quicker sale.

The Property Misdescriptions Act of 1991 was introduced to make sure that the information sellers provide about their property is truthful and accurate.

In short, it says that everything that is said or written by an estate agent must be true and that the public must be able to rely on estate agents’ information without asking for further proof.

It is an offence for estate agents to make a false or misleading statement about property, whether verbally, in writing, pictorially or by omission.

We rely on you our vendors to provide us with precise and accurate information for our property descriptions, including improvements and alterations, the availability and nature of services, such as gas, electricity and drainage, the working order of equipment, the precise tenure, or extent of your ownership.

We may therefore ask you, or your solicitor/conveyancer, for documents which prove details about your property.

We also ask that you tell us immediately if there are any changes to your property as this means that we must amend the sales description.

If we cannot verify information or obtain verification we may not be able to include it in the property description or advertisements.

Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents fully supports the Act and is a member of The Property Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents.

I you would like to discuss anything to do with the Act or our commitment to fair property descriptions please contact our office.

With your help and honesty we will promote your property to its fullest extent, ensuring that all descriptions are accurate, realistic and reliable. 

You can read  the full Act HERE.

We hope this has proven insightful for you!

For more expert advise call Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents on 01484 536799. Or arrange for a free valuation to find out how much your Huddersfield home is worth.
 

Latest RICS Residential Market Survey Results

Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents brings you the results from the August 2014 housing market survey undertaken by Chartered Surveyors across the country.

"Price momentum firm but demand moderates further"

Key Finds

• Price momentum remains strong at the headline level

• Buyer enquiries edge down for the second consecutive month

• Mixed sales picture emerging across the UK

The Message

The RICS Residential Market Survey for August 2014 shows that price momentum remains strong in the main. This is despite agreed sales of properties falling for the first time since September 2012 and the second consecutive decline in new buyer enquiries. The slightly softer demand picture is noticeable across the majority of England.
Consumer nervousness may be coming from speculation over a Bank of England interest rate rise and when that might occur. It is also felt that the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) recommendations introduced in April have resulted in  a restriction in finance to certain potential buyers and leading to a lengthening in transaction completion times for others. While lender caution is reported to be the primary cause of these delays, shortages of conveyancers and other skilled staff are also cited as issues.
While buyer enquiries have dipped slightly in recent months, price momentum still remains strong at the national level, significantly this is not been buoyed up by London prices but instead elsewhere across the UK. 

Looking Ahead

While confidence in continued price growth over the next twelve months is good, forecasters have nonetheless decreased their expectations for growth to 2.3% from 2.5% previously.
While expectations for sales growth have calmed a little since the introduction of the MMR, both remain firmly positive. Indeed, it might be that the softening in activity is temporary and could be resolved as everyone adapts to the new lending rules.
In the rental market, tenant demand continued to grow steadily across most areas while new properties available to let decreased very slightly again. Rents are expected to continue edging upwards in the near term and to grow by an average of 2.3% over the coming 12 months.

For more expert advise call Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents on 01484 536799. Or arrange for a free valuation to find out how much your Huddersfield home is worth.