Dina Pittore, marketing manager at Linden Homes Midlands, guides us through the advantages of Part Exchange and explains how ‘virtual house selling’ puts sellers in the driving seat.
Can you tell us a bit about Linden Homes Midlands and which areas of the market you tend to focus on?
Linden Homes has now become part of the Vistry Group which brings together Linden Homes and Bovis Homes. We are proud to manage both brands under our region as we build award-winning homes across the country in prime locations, striving to create sustainable new developments. Our region has various developments in Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire And Bedfordshire. We have developments in vibrant locations such as Brampton or more rural locations such as Market Harborough and Witchford, Sutton. Our collections mostly consist of three-, four- and five-bedroom homes, but also at certain locations we offer one- and two-bedroom homes and apartments.
Many of your buyers make use of your Part Exchange scheme, what are the main advantages of doing this?
Our Part Exchange scheme is an amazing incentive, as it offers a lot of benefits to the customer such as:
- It’s an easy process and we support the customer all the way
- We act as a guaranteed buyer without numerous visitors viewing our customer’s current home
- The customer doesn’t have to move out from their current home until the new home is ready for them
- No agents’ fees and no chains
- PX scheme can also be used in conjunction with other incentives
You’ve been supporting buyers who have a property to sell through the lockdown with ‘virtual house selling’ advice – what has this involved?
We have adjusted quickly to the circumstances of the recent lockdown and along with our agents we use for the Part Exchange process, we have started offering virtual appointments to discuss our customers’ requirements and help them with filling out applications for it.
Valuation of our customers’ current property has been carried out virtually before being converted to a desktop valuation. Customers have been encouraged to provide property information through the initial application form and support it with their own property photos and video tours – effectively putting them in the driving seat when it comes to selling their home!
To complete the valuation process, our agents get additional information regarding the property from various resources including extensive information exclusively available for agents, Google Maps, Street View, information about amenities nearby including schools, shops, leisure facilities etc.
Buckwood Leys, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Do you assist your sellers with other sides of their sale, such as the application process and the legal aspects?
We would always provide support to our customers throughout their journey with us where required. This could include help with filling out forms and advising on legal support by suggesting a panel of various credible legal firms that comprise of non-affiliated, independent professional companies that have been recommended to Linden or Bovis Homes by previous happy customers. This panel is continuously monitored to ensure that the quality of service always remains high.
Have your buyers been keen to make use of technology to discuss their properties with you during lockdown?
Yes, using technology was inevitable in present circumstances. People of course have their own preferences in communication channels, so we have been as flexible as possible to accommodate all choices from the telephone communication to the video conferencing via FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, etc.
Do you think that this could become the ‘new normal’ way of selling properties even now the government has announced plans to reopen the market and allow viewings again?
We have certainly discovered a few good ideas during the lockdown that will remain available to our customers after the re-opening. New generation tends to do things online more and more, preferring to gather all information before visiting the development or even making the first contact with us – therefore, such tools as virtual tours of our show homes and online mortgage checker would remain and be very useful even after the re-opening. Also, for those who may not be available to visit the development for various reasons at the time, offering virtual appointments would still be useful.
Do you think the lockdown will entice lots more people to consider moving home after spending so much time in a space which might not feel right for them?
Definitely. Staying at home for such a long time has made everyone very aware of their needs and current home’s pitfalls and has made a lot of people realise how desperately they need more space, an office area or the bigger garden. We shall also consider the potential ‘baby boom’ in some foreseeable future after this lockdown, which can also make families consider the requirement for that larger house.
Ashton Rise, Market Harborough, Leicestershire
How do you think the increased possibility of working from home longer term for many might impact on the design of new build homes in the future?
It’s interesting to see how a lot of companies quickly adjusted to the remote working requirement and actually found a lot of benefits in it. So, I expect to see many more flexible working arrangements going forward that could benefit both employees and employers. For those who would work more from home as the new norm, having an office space would be an absolute must. And as demand generates supply, incorporating office or study areas in the new home designs may become more popular.
We recently ran a campaign across all our developments showcasing homes that offer convenient office space, as we recognise that is a key feature for many buyers. We have a number of four- and five-bedroom house types across the region that are specifically designed to offer studies/offices.
What schemes does Linden Homes Midlands have in the pipeline over the coming months?
We have recently launched an extensive Key Worker scheme, where in addition to the public sector professions eligible for the scheme, including NHS, police, education, fire service, MoD and many others – throughout 2020 we are extending our Key Worker scheme to include all those professionals who are classed as key workers under the Covid-19 outbreak, plus those who have offered their services as an NHS volunteer during this challenging time. Key Worker Package includes £500 off every £25,000 spent on a new Linden/Bovis home plus flooring contribution up to the value of £3,000. And in addition to this, you could also take advantage of the government’s Help to Buy scheme, where you could buy your brand new home with as little as a 5% deposit.
For those who need to sell their current property, we offer our standard Part Exchange and Assisted Move Schemes.
Until the end of May, we are still able to offer our customers help with their mortgages as we run the 12 months mortgage paid* campaign, although it shall be stressed that this scheme is subject to terms and conditions.
And finally, what has the lockdown taught you about the culture of your company over the last few weeks?
Firstly, that everything is possible and keeping a positive attitude will help you go through with any challenges. And secondly, that we have an amazing team of people; everyone has been working very hard to adjust and adapt to new challenges and it was great to see the united front of people who worked as a team. Our sales executives have been available seven days a week to ensure they are supporting all of their customers (present and new) regardless of the circumstances. And the management team has worked intensely on prioritising health and safety across all sites and regions, implementing all required measures to ensure that the company always operates within the Governmental Guidelines and keeps all employees and customers safe.
*Subject to terms and conditions. Available on selected Linden Homes Midlands region homes and developments only, not in conjunction with any other offer. Paid as a cash lump sum upon legal completion and calculated as the cash equivalent of monthly mortgage repayments from legal completion for the period of 12 months based on a typical 90% LTV mortgage, a lender rate of 1.87% and a 35-year term. Cash lump sum capped at a maximum of 3% of the purchase price, subject to lender’s criteria, qualification and acceptance of cash incentives. Not applicable to second home owners or investor purchasers. We reserve the right to withdraw the incentive at any time without prior notice. Full details are available upon request.
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