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About Humberstones Homes
Front of Humberstones Homes offices located on the busy Hagley Road West central to Quinton, Halesowen and Oldbury.
Humberstones has been established since 1937 in the field of commercial property and expanded into the residential sector in 2002 becoming Humberstones Homes.
We deal with all types of residential properties, from apartments to larger detached homes. Geographically, our office is well placed to serve our clients within Birmingham and the West Midlands whether they are looking to sell or rent their property.
The business is owned and run by Adam Wyn-Griffiths and Ian King who combined have over 30 years hands on experience in estate agency both coming from corporate backgrounds. Ian has a degree in estate management as well as being a fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents. Humberstones Homes are also a member of the OEA (Ombudsman for Estate Agents) and follows the OEA code of practice.
Our fees are competitive with no hidden extras and we offer an efficient mailing service for our large database of buyers, by email or post. As well as being advertised on our website our properties are also promoted through rightmove.co.uk, Zoopla.co.uk, propertylive.co.uk and will appear in newspapers including the Express and Star/Chronicle and Birmingham Property News. We provide floor plans and extensive internal/external photographs for each property and sales details can be downloaded 24 hours a day from our website.
This is backed up by experienced staff ready to attend to your every need whenever you call.
We pride ourselves on offering all our clients a personalised service from the outset, which enables us an opportunity to build a rapport and trust with a view to helping people through what is one of their biggest life events – buying a new home and moving house. Our aim is to give good honest advice and only promise what we know we can deliver. In the current market it is vital that properties are valued correctly as there is a thin line between a realistically priced and over valued house.
Our People, Services, and Jargon Buster
Our People
Staff, Local Knowledge and Professional Associations
Staff
At Humberstones, we work very hard to recruit the most enthusiastic and energetic people we can find. We also take training and staff development very seriously.
We give our team of highly motivated staff regular training to ensure the best service for you, our customer. We provide regular updates including personalised marketing reports, viewing feedback and weekly sales progressing.
We only sell houses in your area – so you are our only priority. We are located on the main Hagley Road West, adjacent to the Post Office, local amenities, a popular school, the Parish church and we are on a main arterial route into Birmingham City centre. We have a long standing reputation and have been selling property and businesses since the 1930’s. Every potential buyer will receive full colour brochures with unlimited internal photographs.
Local Knowledge
If you want to sell your home fast and at the best possible price, you need an agent who knows the local property market inside out. Being exclusively local – we know your neighbourhood. We know your street and we know pretty much the right price to ask for your home to find the right buyer.
Professional Associations
Rest assured by the fact that we are part of the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents). We are also members of the OEA (Ombudsman for Estate Agents) Scheme – a free, fair and independent service for buyers and sellers of residential property in the United Kingdom.
Sales Particulars
Full colour sales particulars with unlimited digital photographs.
Advertising
Extensive local and national advertising via our website, rightmove, fish4homes property liveand the local press.
Tips
Presenting your home for viewing to ensure a sale.
When it comes to property, first impressions count, so make sure yours is looking its absolute best. Making the most of your home doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and a few inexpensive improvements can make all the difference...
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer and, starting from the pavement outside, take a complete tour of the property. Work out a plan of action, and if necessary, draft in a friend or an objective other for a second opinion – you’ll be amazed at the cracks and crevices, often that have gone unnoticed for years, that suddenly come to light.
Once you’ve made a list of what needs to be done, work out a budget and prioritise accordingly.
Speak to your estate agent to get an idea of who your likely buyer will be and what kind of things will appeal – there is no point making changes which aren’t important to them.
De-personalise. Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. You don’t want buyers to be distracted by personal belongings. Buyers need to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are there!
From day one quote a realistic asking price rather than having to reduce the price at a later date.
Decorate your property in neutral colours. If paintwork is looking worn, discuss possibilities with your valuer.
Ensure viewings can be arranged at reasonable times.
Freshen up carpets by getting them professionally cleaned.
Remove signs of pets or children during viewings.
De-clutter to show a room’s potential, give a sense of space and allow the viewer to imagine themselves living there.
Clean windows and pull back curtains to make your home look fresher and brighter.
Tidy the garden – ensuring the lawn has been mowed etc.
Make the most of the available space. If a room has previously been used as an office space/box room, it’s worth putting in a bed in the room to show people it will work as a spare room.
Empty rooms won’t be as appealing as furnished ones, always aim to give the property a ‘lived in’ look, even if you’ve moved out. Make an effort to ‘dress’ the property in advance.
Buyers will probably be wise to the smell of freshly ground coffee but smell is incredibly important. Open windows to eliminate any strong cooking smells and banish pets to neighbours.
Never discuss the cost of the property with the buyer. You are employing an experienced agent to negotiate on your behalf and get you the best possible price for your property.
Keep the pavements cleared.
Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes the buying emotion.
Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
Jargon Buster
Buying property opens up a whole new world of jargon.
APR: Annual Percentage Rate – a basic rate of interest.
Arrangement Fee: A charge made to arrange a loan, covering things like administration and management fees. IFSs are legally bound to disclose their fees, as are stockbrokers.
Buy to Let: Buyers with enough funds for a deposit can buy properties and rent them out, which pays the mortgage and generates income.
Completion: When house buyers and sellers breathe a sigh of relief - this is the final legal transfer of keys for cash.
Contents Insurance: Protection for items in your home and your personal possessions, in case they are lost, stolen or damaged.
Contract: A legal agreement between a buyer and a seller. It doesn’t always involve signing a piece of paper, so beware.
Conveyance: When buying a house, the conveyancing process establishes exactly what your buying, checks all the legal documents, including title deeds, and carries out searches before completion. Best left to a solicitor or specialist conveyancer, unless you’re a legal eagle.
Deeds: When signed, sealed (quite literally) and delivered during the completion phase of a house purchase, the title in the property passes to the new owner.
Deposit: A down payment on a property or item to secure it against other purchasers. Usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price.
Disbursements: Costs such as stamp duty, Land registry fees & search fees charged to the acting conveyancer or solicitor but then paid for by the purchaser.
Equity: For homeowners, equity is the difference between the market value of the property and the amount still owed on the mortgage. So, effectively, the equity in your house is what you own, and your mortgage company owns the rest. If the mortgage is bigger than the current value of the home, the difference is called ‘negative equity’.
Exchange of Contracts: The date upon which the signed contracts are exchanged between both parties solicitors. There is then a legal commitment between buyer & seller.
Freehold: Ownership of both the property & the land it stands on.
Ground Rent: Rent paid to the owner of freehold land by a person who has a lease.
Land Certificate: Document issued by the Land Registry to the owner of registered land as proof of ownership.
Land Search: A formal application for an inspection of the Land Registry register. A certificate is issued showing the current situation of the land in question.
Leasehold: A type of ownership of property, where the property is held on a lease for a fixed period of time.
Local Search: Questionnaire to a local authority by a purchaser’s solicitor to verify whether a property is affected by any pending planning proposals etc.
Mortgage: A loan made against property.
Mortgage Offer: Formal offer of a mortgage issued by a building society, bank or other lender after the survey.
Mortgage Term: Period of time over which the mortgage loan is to be repaid.
Office Copy Entries: Land Registry term for copies of registers & plans, officially marked, ‘office copy’.
Ombudsman: A public servant who investigates and deals with complaints from individuals about their treatment by a range of businesses.
Pre-contract Enquiries: Enquiries made by the purchaser’s solicitors to the vendor’s solicitors requiring information on the property being purchased prior to completion.
Probate: When someone dies, an Executor has to obtain clearance to act before the assets can be transferred to those who will inherit. This process is normally called ‘getting probate’.
Remortgage: Switching your mortgage from one lender to another without actually moving home. Competition in the market is fierce and it’s increasingly common to ‘test the market’ every few years, seeking a cheaper mortgage. Those who hop around from one special rate to another are affectionately called ‘rate tarts’.
Repayment Mortgage: A mortgage where each month you pay some interest and some capital and the outstanding loan reduces over time.
Retention: If essential repair work to a property is required the lender may retain a proportion of the mortgage until the remedial work is completed.
Stamp Duty Land Tax: Government tax on the sale of land & property based on the sale price. At present the tax is 1% up to £250,000, 3% from £250,000 – £500,000 & 4% over £500,000. Properties with a sale price of less than £175,000 are exempt from stamp duty.
Subject to Contract: Nothing is legally binding on either party until exchange of contracts.
Survey: A check by the mortgage lender to make sure the property you are proposing to buy has benn valued correctly.
Tenure: The vendor’s title to a property.
Title Deeds: In relation to property, these documents prove the right of ownership.
Vacant Possession: This means that the property being offered will be vacant upon completion of the sale.
Vendor: The person who is selling their property or land.
