Getting in on the Auction

by Kate United States

Selling homes via auction has proved popular in the past with British homeowners especially those looking for a quick sale however in today’s sluggish market sale values are down by 44% year on year according to the Essential Information Group. No longer is a vendor assured a sale at auction because buyers are becoming further and fewer between, and those who are coming to auctions to buy property can afford to be much more choosy.  What this effectively means is that vendors really have to step up to the mark if they want their home to sell, and to sell at a good price.

 
To prepare your home for auction you need to set the reserve price in consultation with the auctioneer, prepare a contract with the terms and conditions for the sale, and then have your home in a state of readiness and open it up for viewings.  The more flexible and open you are with viewings, the more people will come and see your property and the greater the potential interest you will drum up ready for auction day.  However, when you open your home for viewings you want to make sure it wows would-be vendors, which is why it is becoming increasingly popular for vendors to give their home a mini-makeover ahead of the auction day.
 
In Australia Auction Squad are on hand to assist would-be auction vendors to realise their home’s full potential, and now thanks to Real Estate TV, British buyers can watch the Auction Squad in action from Monday the 21st July at 10.30pm and learn how to use a small budget to make a big change to a property about to go to auction. 
 
The Auction Squad, led by presenter Johanna Griggs, visit a different home each week and transform it from lacklustre lot to reserve-busting success.  British vendors hoping to sell their home – at auction or even traditionally – will learn a lot from this show and what’s more, Auction Squad is inspiration and entertaining television.
 
See the Auction Squad turn ugly concrete courtyards into urban oases, watch them finish half done renovation jobs, learn how to revamp your kitchen for less and then join in the drama and tension as auction day finally arrives.  Watch the Auction Squad in action on Real Estate TV from Monday the 21st of July on Sky Channels 273 & 274, on demand on Virgin TV and at www.realestatetv.tv.
 

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but what effect does the ‘Ugliest House on the Block’ have on your property’s sales appeal?

by Kate United Kingdom

In the current economic climate, selling a house isn’t proving easy.  As mortgages are more difficult to come by and buyers are biding their time before putting in an offer, every savvy vendor knows that everything from curb appeal to de-cluttering their home has to be done if they are to achieve a quick sale or a sale at all.  Therefore, imagine how unfortunate some vendors are when they find they are trying to sell their pristine home at the same time as someone else in the neighbourhood is living in the ugliest and shabbiest house on the street.

 
In a brand new series entitled ‘Ugliest House on the Block,’ which is airing on Real Estate TV at 8.30pm from Monday 14th of July, that is just the scenario that the show’s participants find themselves in.  The participants are groups of neighbours from across America who have made every effort to turn their homes into castles and who are suffering as a result of living on the same street or block as the ugliest property around.  In ‘Ugliest House on the Block’ they get the chance to fight back and preserve their properties’ values.
 
‘Ugliest House on the Block’ encourages groups of neighbours affected by slovenly and lazy homeowners or less well off and overwhelmed house occupiers to band together and nominate the house that most lets down their entire street.  The neighbours who are deemed to live next to the ugliest house on the block win a makeover for the offending property to push not only the value of the ugly home right up, but to secure the values of all the other houses on the street, and to improve the entire neighbourhood.
 
It’s perfect timing for Real Estate TV to begin airing this reality TV show as right now homeowners across the UK are well aware that they must do all they can to ensure that their home stands out and maintains its value.  It’s highly likely that many such Brits will relate all too well with the suffering neighbours in ‘Ugliest House on the Block’ whose best efforts are almost laid to waste by the lack of effort of just one homeowner on the street.
 
Tune in to Real Estate TV from Monday the 14th of July at 8.30pm on Sky Channels 273 & 274, on Virgin TV and on demand at www.realestatetv,.tv to make your own mind up about the ugly homes, the disgruntled neighbours, the ugly duckling to beautiful swan transformations, and ultimately the offending house occupiers who ‘allowed’ their homes to get in such a state in the first place.

Switch over and discover

by Kate United Kingdom

Whether it is the grisly life of Jack the Ripper or the notorious story of Sweeney Todd, about which the acclaimed movie of the same name was recently released, there is a deep, dark fascination with the sordid side of the famous east end of the capital, its past and also its rising.

 
The question is where did it all start?
 
Real Estate TV is airing the popular series ‘Living In’ and on the 8th and 28th July at 7pm you will have the opportunity to see ‘Living in Docklands’ a fascinating programme on how the area that we know today as Docklands first came about and why it has such a predominant role in how we see London today.
 
Tune in to Living In Docklands on Real Estate TV, Sky Channels 273 & 274, Virgin TV or on demand at www.realestatetv.tv. For more information call 0800 781 8802.

The Unsellables

by Kate United Kingdom

At a time when the UK property market is proving tough for estate agents and sellers alike, when the perfect buyer is getting harder to find, even more so than a mortgage, what more can we do to achieve sale success? If ‘why won’t our house sell?’ is a question you are regularly asking yourself and you need some inspiration on how to get smart and active in the property market then the hit Canadian show ‘The Unsellables’, brought to the UK exclusively by leading property channel Real Estate TV, is essential viewing. It has captured the imagination of Sofie Allsopp who, from a family of property experts (sister Kirsty Allsopp), has turned her skills to helping homeowners sell their properties across the pond giving us in the UK the opportunity to learn from their chintz mistakes.

 
From dated décor and filthy interiors to cluttered closets and messy bedrooms, The Unsellables tackles the most unsightly and ‘unsellable’ listings on the property market and encourages desperate homeowners to prepare for a sale.
 
Battling with homeowners’ questionable personal taste and long-standing attachments to household clutter, Sofie and her co-host Anthony Sayers cajole eleven people across the thirteen episodes into giving up the mementos and vivid colourings in order to appeal to the right buyers. From crowded bungalows to dated, drab houses Sofie and Anthony guide, revamp and restore houses to their full glory of tidy turnkey properties, but will the owners take the property duos advice to achieve the sales they desperately need?
 
Frank and Amy in episode 1 have bought their dream home and need to shift their current property to avoid paying two crippling mortgages; can Patricia in episode 3 get her four children to help with their home overhaul in order to get a viewer through the door? Viewings aren’t a problem for Susan and Bob in episode 6 who have had over fifty showings but no one showing them the money, will their efforts be enough to seal the deal?
 
Tune into The Unsellables every Monday at 10pm on Real Estate TV at Sky Channels 273 and 274 or view the series on demand at Virgin TV and at www.realestatetv.tv.

Real Estate TV Website Re-launch

by Kate United Kingdom

 

Real Estate TV, (RETV www.realestatetv.tv), the multi award winning UK based television channel and multi-media company that forms part of News Corps’ Fox International Channels’ network, is pleased to announce the re-launch of their online presence from July 2008.  The re-launch of the website coincides with a complete redesign of the simulcast company’s online presence, and the new look site will be launched in a series of phases from July. 
 
Responding to specific viewer demand, the first phase of the launch will bring online complete UK property market coverage and presence for Real Estate TV.  This new comprehensive level of coverage of the United Kingdom for RETV will feature everything from regional guides to regeneration news, from mapping tools allowing users to pinpoint developments for sale within reach of specific amenities for example, to video rich content showcasing properties for sale and even UK city profiles.
 
Backing up listings of attractive developments and individual homes for sale across the United Kingdom, Real Estate TV’s video content will allow viewers to learn more about the specifics of a given location or even a given developer for example.  The mapping tools will help guide a user’s property searches, and the unique toolbox that the RETV website will incorporate will enable all online Real Estate TV users to find professionals and support services – from conveyancing specialists to mortgage lenders.
 
In harmony with the company’s rapidly advancing development in terms of its television-based programming, the upgraded and enhanced online presence will ensure that viewers of the channel and users of the RETV website are completely and fully informed about every essential aspect of the UK property market.
 
The second phase of the website re-launch in August will include complete international real estate listings together with holiday rental listings.  These will of course be supported by country specific text and video based content.  Country guides, market news, destination reports and even web exclusive video content will enhance the overall free online service that RETV offers its viewers and users.  The mapping tools for the international section of the website will enable users to search homes for sale or properties to rent in proximity to beaches, golf courses, ski areas, restaurants or resorts for example.
 
From September onwards the enhancement of the Real Estate TV website will be complete with the incorporation of fully integrated contextual video, cutting edge mapping displays and dynamically generated contextual links for example.
 
The re-launch of the site will bring online a brand new look for Real Estate TV, but the re-launch is about far more than just aesthetics.  In conjunction with the overall advancement of the brand following the January 2008 controlling stake purchase by Fox International Channels, the re-launch is about providing viewers and users of RETV with the most comprehensive and all-embracing property-based resource where they can find everything – from informed opinion to property product, and from inspirational or aspirational programming to specific individuals to assist with a real estate related matter at their fingertips.
 
As an advertising platform for developers, agents, property market solution providers and real estate professionals, the new look Real Estate TV website will be a high-grade, targeted way to showcase services, developments and specific properties to waiting and focused audience demand.  The multi media advertising platform that the website will provide will enable advertisers to choose how they profile their product, with opportunities available for everything from contextual-based advertisement placement to video-based promotion.
 
The exciting re-launch of Real Estate TV’s online presence will be another huge advancement for the brand as they forge ahead with their dual campaigns to provide their advertisers with the ultimate level of multi-platform promotional visibility and their viewers and users with the most comprehensive, useful and easy to use and access guide to all things property.
 
For more information please visit www.realestatetv.tv.

Dubai: Still the Next Big Thing?

by Kate Dubai

 

When Dubai is mentioned, images of high-rise buildings, high-success industry, new-found celebrity culture, ‘Media City’, and profit from excellent rental returns spring to mind. Dubai has become the best known of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has achieved international acclaim for its real estate development, putting it firmly on the map. The second largest Emirate after Abu Dhabi, Dubai was well-situated geographically – between Europe and Asia – for business and property development, and the mere 7-8 hour flying time from the UK as well as having no capital gains or income tax, only enhanced its appeal.
 
This initial development of this once primarily Arab Emirate, now home to a fast-growing population of which 80% is from overseas, resulted in a shortage of rental properties and therefore a large number of people reaping large profits from the real estate market. Now, however, there are signs that this most well-known Emirate is moving into a new era, as is documented in Real Estate TV’s ‘Next Big Thing Dubai’ programme showing on 11th May on Sky channels 273 and 274 and on demand on Virgin TV and at www.realestatetv.tv.
 
The programme allows viewers to discover why Dubai can still be seen as the ‘Next Big Thing’, even following its huge development of recent years and will allow an insight into the future for this powerful Emirate. ‘Next Big Thing Dubai’ considers the effect of new transportation links that are under development, such as the new metro system due for completion in 2012 as well as new roads being developed, and also the effect of the new industry that has moved in, making the Dubai economy now around 94% non-oil related.
 
Dubai’s plans remain ambitious, and in looking towards the future, impressive developments are in planning or already taking place, in the ever-prevalent drive to attract tourism. Alongside this, recent legal changes have made it easier for foreign property investors, giving them greater protection in an uncertain world. Dubai’s constant evolution has kept it ahead of the game in terms of growth and development and it is this that could see it head towards an even brighter future. As Jo Sinnott, presenter of ‘Next Big Thing Dubai’ concludes ‘Dubai is growing even faster than before and for property investors, could once again be the ‘Next Big Thing’.
 
Tune in Sunday 11th May at 10pm to Real Estate TV on Sky Channels 273 and 274 and on demand on Virgin TV and at www.realestatetv.tv to watch ‘The Next Big Thing Dubai’.
 

Are You a Property Virgin?

by Kate United Kingdom

A brand new reality television series is coming to Real Estate TV.  Looking at the trials and tribulations of first time buyers, the reality television series which is having its British premiere on simulcast company Real Estate TV’s cable and satellite channels, is aptly named ‘Property Virgins.’  

Hosted by Canadian real estate agent and property guru Sandra Rinomato, ‘Property Virgins’ witnesses the presenter guiding a new group of first time buyers through the realities of purchasing their very first home each episode, and in so doing she instructs her audience in understanding and working the market.
 
There has been so much media interest in the changing fate of the first time buyer in the UK in recent weeks, where house prices are falling but mortgages are becoming harder to get.  As the Canadian real estate market closely mirrors the British market and there are striking similarities between the fate which is faced by property virgins in each country, the timing of the Canadian show’s premiere on British television could not be more appropriate. 
 
Speaking about the timing of bringing the series to a British audience, Mark Dodd, Managing Director of Real Estate TV stated: “It’s a perfect addition to our programming because our audience is very interested in aspirational programming and we understand that many who watch Real Estate TV also want to find a way in to the British housing market.” 
 
The show has been an unmitigated success in Canada and we are expecting very high viewing figures because it’s a great show to watch.  “The presenter is not only highly skilled, she is very witty and sharp and you can expect to meet some real characters on ‘Property Virgins’ as well as viewing some interesting real estate!  In other words, expect to be entertained and informed!”
 
For British buyers, Ms. Rinomato is a refreshing change to the estate agents many of us are used to dealing with who are really only interested in getting a good deal for the vendor.  Sandra Rinomato is a crusader for the property virgin, and if you want to benefit from her wisdom and be entertained by her no nonsense style of telling it how it is, tune in from 2nd June.
 
Catch the antics of the property virgins each night at 9.30pm on Real Estate TV, Sky channels 273 and 274 and on demand on Virgin TV and at www.realestatetv.tv.