About Us
As a Marcus Grimes purchaser you can be sure of a friendly and professional service that will try to help you achieve the successful purchase of your new home. We will advise you from the outset on what the process of your acquisition will involve. We will first have to establish your identity (Anti Money Laundering Regulations) by taking copies of either your passport or drivers licence together with a copy of a recent (last 3 months) utility bill for the property where you are presently living. We will need details of your chosen solicitor and if you are obtaining a mortgage, we will also need your financial advisors details or confirmation from your bank or building society. Finally, if you are selling your present home we will require your estate agents details to check the progress of your own sale. We know what will be involved in the sales process, so along the way, we will check to insure that all the elements are proceeding smoothly and promptly. You will be kept informed throughout and by working together we will drive the sale through as quickly as possible, to what we all hope will be a successful and stress free purchase for you.
As a Marcus Grimes Vendor you can expect to be treated as a very important person. We never lose focus of the fact that it is the vendor that pays us, the vendor who is the client and the vendor for whom we must achieve the best price. From your first contact with us, you will see the depth of our service commitment to you. We will take time to properly access your property and then carefully consider the likely market value, how best to do this and advise you on what you can do to maximise both the value and the saleability in order to achieve success. Our busy High Street locations and eye catching shop windows will display your home prominently. Our massive internet platform subscriptions will show your property across the key web portals of Rightmove and Onthemarket. Our professional photographers are capable of creating stunning images of your home and we can back this up with beautiful glossy brochures with informative floor and site plans. We will craft your presentation to show everything off at its best, to draw in more viewings and give you the greatest chance of selling. Once you have agreed terms the next stage of the process starts, which is where good traditional High Street independent agents such as Marcus Grimes REALLY earn their fees. Nobody is better at driving a sale through to exchange of contracts than we are. Our staff training hones the skills needed to insure you know from the outset, exactly what your buyers position is, even before you accept an offer and thereafter pursue each element of the chain process from top to bottom. Our goal is to get your sale to exchange of contracts as quickly and as painlessly as possible. It’s what we do and do well! Call your nearest office today for a confidential chat about the possible sale of your home.
Tenants fees
Following a change in legislation we no longer charge tenants an administration fee prior to taking up a new tenancy. Once you have passed through standard referencing you will need to have ready one month’s rent in advance and a further rent deposit equivalent to 5 weeks rent.
Pets
Some landlords will accept a well-behaved pet or pets in their property. We will require details of the pets, so that this information can be added to the tenancy agreement.
What to expect if you decide to rent a home through Marcus Grimes Estate Agents
Once an agreement to let a property to you has been made in principle, we will require confirmation of your identification to comply with our legal obligations under Anti Money Laundering regulations. Next you will complete a simple form providing us with the information we need to carry out a referencing. This is provided by a third party specialist referencing company who will contact you directly to complete an online form. This should take no longer than 10 days if your referees are efficient and prompt in responding to the questions posed by the referencing company. If the results determine you require a guarantor then this will be discussed with the landlord. If the landlord is still happy to proceed subject to a satisfactory guarantor, then the exact same process will need to be gone through.
On the day of taking up occupation, you will be met by a professional independent inventory clerk, who will have previously prepared a document which sets out a schedule of condition, together with photographs of every element of the property. You will be expected to go through this document with the clerk, agreeing any notable issues of condition. The meters will also be read at this point and we as agents will notify the utility companies and local authorities of the change of occupier details. You will have already paid across to us the rent and security deposit. Rent is payable monthly in advance and should paid on the same day each month. The security deposit is held in a protected clients account and is insured under the Tenants Deposit Scheme. www.tenantsdepositscheme.com
We will come and make an inspection of the property initially after 3 months and thereafter every 6 months. This gives you the chance to talk to us about anything that you think might be relevant to the property. Unless, specifically required by the landlord, our tenancy contracts are for a minimum period of 12 months.
When you come to leave
We will require one month’s notice in writing of your intention to quit the property and end the tenancy. This should be no earlier than the end of the initial contract period. For example. If you moved in on January 1st and wanted to leave after a year, you would be required to provide not less than a month’s notice in writing from not later than the 30th November.
Cleaning and gardens
We ask all our landlords, before letting their property for the first time to have their properties professionally cleaned internally together with the windows, oven and to steam clean the fitted carpets. By providing this level of cleanliness at the outset it makes things easier for the tenants to understand the standard of cleanliness we expect the property to be in in when they leave. Tenants are therefore expected under the terms of their tenancy agreement to provide the same level of cleanliness when they leave. The same is set out regarding the gardens, if the property has any outside space.
Check out and return of deposit
We agree a convenient time for you to meet the inventory clerk on the day of your departure. They will assess the property inside and out, using the same document you signed at the outset of your tenancy. Any concerns are raised at this meeting. Meters are also read. If you decide not to attend the check out then any issues flagged by the clerk will be raised with you directly. Once the inventory clerk has completed the check out and returned the keys to us, you will not be allowed to return to the building, even to carry out works or repairs, so it’s highly advisable to attend to anything prior to this meeting. Assuming all is in order your security deposit will then be returned to you. If a dispute arises regarding the deposit, then the element which is not disputed is returned to you immediately and the monies which are disputed are sent to the TDS together with the correspondence, whereupon a case examiner will make a decision and an award. This decision is binding on both sides and is not subject to appeal. This would not effect either parties statutory rights under civil law.
Landlords service options and fees
We offer a two tier lettings service to our landlords: Find a Tenant only or Fully Managed (in all cases if we fail to find a tenant there is NO FEE)
Find a tenant only
Please note that all our fees must by law, be quoted to INCLUDE VAT. Under these instructions from the client we would simply find a tenant and provide professional service up to the point of the tenants moving into the property, thereafter the landlord would assume the management of the tenancy, including complying with al current and future legislation and annual safety certification. Our fees would amount to 12% including VAT of the first 6 month rent or £660 including VAT, whichever is the greater. In addition we make a one off charge at the commencement of the tenancy of £354 inc VAT to cover referencing, the future cost of check out and liaising between the landlord, tenant and the TDS. We can then take the property back to market to find fresh tenants on the same basis. Please see details of what our Find a Tenant Only service option provides below.
Find a Tenant Only service includes;
- Market appraisal and pre-letting advice
- Photographs and floorplans
- Inclusion on this web site, Rightmove and Onthemarket
- Staff attended viewings
- Third party referencing of applicants
- Third party referencing of guarantor (if required)
- Instruction of pre-tenancy interior clean, carpet clean and oven clean (on behalf of landlord)
- Arrange the preparation of inventory by professional independent inventory clerk (on behalf of the landlord)
- Preparation of tenancy agreements. Preparation of Right to Rent document. Preparation of TDS document.
- Reading of meters and informing utility companies and local authority (not telecoms)
- Arranging of check with both tenant and inventory clerk
- Acceptance of security deposit from tenants, equivalent to 1.5 months rent, held in our government approved and insurance backed TDS (Tenants Deposit Scheme). 2 months rent as deposit if the landlord agrees to a pet or pets at the property
- Acceptance of first months rent from the tenants, which we pass onto the landlords nominated bank account, less our agreed fees and any disbursements.
Fully Managed
Please note that all our fees must by law, be quoted to INCLUDE VAT. As the name suggests this option provides our landlords with the most comprehensive service in the letting and management of their investment. Our fees would amount to 12% including VAT of the monthly rent received on a month by month basis. In addition we make a one off charge at the commencement of the tenancy of £354 inc VAT to cover referencing, the future cost of check out and liaising between the landlord, tenant and the TDS. We can then take the property back to market to find fresh tenants on the same basis. Please see details of what our Fully Managed service option provide below.
Fully Managed services (includes);
All of the provisions set out in out Find a Tenant only service PLUS;
- We become the first point of contact for the tenant.
- Provision of professional independent inventory report
- Initial inspection after 3 months, plus written report to landlord
- Regular subsequent inspections 6 monthly thereafter throughout the term with written report to landlord
- Gas safety certification. We also advise on electrical safety and smoke/CO2 alarm safety
- Renewal discussions with the tenants 6 weeks before the end of the term
- Day to day maintenance and management of the tenancy
- Rent collection, payment of disbursements, monthly statement.
- Annual statement for HMRC returns (by request only)
- Serving of statutory Section 21 notices on the tenants
- Providing the inventory clerk check out at the end of the tenancy
- Handle the return of the security deposit and liaising with the TDS where necessary.
Cancellation fee
Should the landlord withdraw from a letting, following successful referencing of a suitable tenant, then we would raise an invoice to cover our out of pocket expenses of £300 incl VAT.
Thank you for your viewing request. We will contact you shortly to confirm your appointment.
