Don’t laugh!

March 13, 2018 by Rob Kahl at Scott & Stapleton

I cant believe that it was just a week ago that I was writing about the snow and how cold it was. This week it seems that Spring has finally sprung and we have hopefully left the last of the cold weather behind us.

There have been the normal tell tale signs that the warmer weather is upon us. This of course includes Daffodils blooming, Easter eggs in the shops and of course the Broadway heaving with people having a mooch about or a coffee and cake. Last weekend it took me about 10 minutes to drive from Hadleigh Road to our office in the Broadway and I must have stopped at the Zebra crossing opposite the church to let about 50 people across.

It is lovely to see and no wonder that we have even more coffee shops opening. This week sees the opening on The Brunch Co opposite our office and sadly we said goodbye to the greengrocers that was next door; apparently this too is to be a coffee shop and art gallery. If the queues at The Corner Club are anything to go by there should be plenty of business for everyone as Leigh still seems as popular as ever.

Spring is also a time when if you are thinking of selling or renting a property you may have to do a little bit of work, sorry.

During the winter months people don’t expect much from gardens or even venture out and look at them. It never ceases to surprise me that people would buy a house without even going out in to the garden but it is very common. If it is raining or snowing as it has been recently or even if it is dark, people don’t bother going outside and make their decisions based on the interior alone.

The time of having a crackling log fire going or the heating cranked up to ensure your house is toasty warm for potential purchasers may now be over but there is a whole lot else to do. It may still be a bit wet and soggy but that lawn that you haven’t thought about for 4 months is going to need a cut, plus trees and shrubs are going to need a cut back and tidy and you might also need to think about a coat of paint on the shed.

Don’t forget about that front garden as well. Arguably this could be even more important than the back garden being your first impression to your potential purchase. This needs a tidy and cut back and a good clean. Any maintenance after the recent cold weather will need to be done now and give that parking a good jet wash and clean but beware!.....

This week I visited a flat in Southend. It was a big first floor flat in Stornoway Road that we have taken on the market for £190,000. The tenant had recently vacated and left it very well, but the landlord has decided to sell now instead of rent. As I said everything had been cleared and the property had been cleaned but it was obvious that the tenant hadn’t been out in the garden for a while. Luckily the garden is fully paved so doesn’t need anything doing to it but taking it on the market for sale I needed to take a photo.

My colleague Lisa (yes, she of the accident is back and in full flow again) was inside doing the floor plan and I thought I would go and take a photo of the garden. The bedroom at the back had a door leading to a small balcony with timber steps leading down to the garden. I went out without thinking and on the third step down slipped on the moss that had built up on the steps and proceeded to fall all the way to the bottom bouncing down each step on my bum!

I had tried to grab hold of one of the rails and wrenched my arm but it was mostly my pride that was injured the most and my brand new suit that I had worn for the first time that day. Luckily Lisa was there to be supportive but I am not sure who laughed the most? If it was Lisa who was there, the office when I told them on my return or my wife when I had to go home and get changed out of my moss covered green and wet suit?

So let that be a lesson to you . If you have decking , patio or treacherous steps leading out to your garden make sure they are clean and presented well but for heavens sake don’t make them so dangerous that your potential purchaser or tenant cant walk out there. You want your house to be remembered for the lovely interior or the delightful garden not the one that was the death trap!

P.s

I often do a bit of a straw poll in the office and with friends about what subject to write about for my next blog. Absolutely everyone this week that I have spoken to has mentioned the potholes on the roads in Leigh after the recent cold weather.

I am conscious of turning my articles into my own personal ranting outlet and so not sure I can devote a whole blog to potholes alone, but I will say that some of them are so big I am thinking of putting For Sale boards on them and offering them as building plots!

This article is by Rob at Scott & Stapleton 
42 Broadway | Leigh-on-sea | Essex | SS9 1AJ
Tel: 01702 471155 
Email: rob@scottandstapleton.co.uk

To read all of Rob's previous property blogs, please click the link here