fish4homes research reveals the nation’s tallest home buying tales
With the credit crunch biting hard, 60% of Brits are pulling the wool over prospective homebuyers’ eyes in a desperate attempt to sell their property. In fact, 54% of homeowners pretend that they live in a quiet and tranquil area, when they are actually surrounded by nightmare neighbours!
The research from online property expert fish4homes, (www.fish4homes.co.uk), shows that half of those surveyed are happy to cover up the little things, such as sneakily rearranging furniture to cover up red wine stains and cigarette burns so as not to put off a potential buyer. Some even (14%) shave minutes off the walking time to the nearest corner shop and public house to make the property look closer to local amenities then it actually is.
It isn’t just the small things that Brits are happy to tell porkies about. They also admit to lying about the reason they have decided to move (53%), citing they need more space and a larger garden, when in fact they are moving to escape their crumbling homes. In addition, people renting or selling properties regularly lie about home improvements with one in five (19%) claiming to have fully replaced a roof, when in fact only a few tiles were fixed many years before.
This liberal fibbing across the UK is not without its consequences. 40% of home hunters revealed they would walk away from a house if they discovered they had been lied to. Almost a third (29%) would use the deception as a bargaining tool to get the house price down and one in ten would even complain about the vendor to the estate agent.
Stewart Black, head of sales for fish4homes, comments: “These results show that homeowners are being sneaky when it comes to selling their homes and is a warning to all potential buyers. Brits need to approach house hunting with caution, the fish4homes tips show how to catch out the liars and make the most informed decision possible when purchasing a house.
For the homeowners out there, our research shows that honesty is definitely the best policy. They need to be completely transparent about all home improvements and honest about people who live in the area, if they begin to try and cover things up this could affect how easily they sell their home”.
Handy house hunting tips from fish4homes:
- Always make sure you take a list of questions with you to ask at a viewing – it is important you get all the possible information before buying a house
- Ask to see proof and guarantees of all home improvements – this allows you to make sure it was actually done and show you when it was carried out
- Knock on the neighbour’s door and introduce yourself! You shouldn’t just listen to the seller’s views regarding your potential neighbours
- Take a driving tour around the area – it’s good to see your future neighbourhood and the type of people who live in it
- Arrange for a trusted tradesman to give the property a once over before you exchange contracts
- Visit the area out of hours – areas can dramatically change when the lights go down
- Have a look under large pieces of furniture, this will give you a clear indication of the state of the carpet throughout the house
- If you do find out you are being lied to make sure you check up on every other aspect of the house – you never know how many lies have been told!
- Investigate other house prices in the area – this will help you make an informed decision when putting in an offer
- Make sure you get a structural survey on the property - this protects you against potential property problems
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