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Every landlord wants good tenants. The ideal tenant pays the rent on time and looks after the property with respect. They fix little problems like lightbulbs and report big problems like plumbing. They stay for several years, saving you the hassle of looking for more tenants, and ensuring your property doesn’t stand empty. But how do you find these good tenants? And once you’ve found them, how do you make sure they stay? During our time working as lettings agents, we’ve seen what works. Read on for some ideas!

When you sell your Guildford property through an estate agent, your agent should be working hard for you, prioritising your needs and ensuring your property sells quickly, for the right price. Part of this process is property marketing, like taking photographs, creating floor plans and advertising your property online. This kind of marketing comes as standard at Cobbles, and we always include it in our fee. We believe that any good estate agent should do the same. In this blog, we look at how Cobbles markets properties for its sellers, and what you can expect when you choose us to sell your Guildford property.

Gazumping is when someone else makes a higher offer for a property than you have, after you have had your offer accepted. In this blog, we look at the gazumping problem and how to avoid it happening to you when you’re buying your new home in Guildford.

The internet is a valuable tool for house hunting, but some of the information it gives us can be confusing. If you’re planning to sell your house, you probably know that most property portals have an area where you can view house prices in your area. This allows you to see exactly how much your neighbours bought their house for, and in what year. This can be a useful guide, helping you to know what to expect from your own valuation. But if an estate agent gives a significantly higher or lower valuation than the average for your street, you’d be right to wonder why. In this blog, we look at why your house might have a different value from others in the street.

At Cobbles, we pride ourselves on the great service we provide to landlords – you can read our testimonials here. In addition to our personal efforts, we also employ some of the latest tools and technology to make life easier for our landlords. As part of this, we use a unique landlord platform called My Property File to keep everything running smoothly, even outside office hours. In this blog, we look at My Property File and how it takes the headache out of renting property.

Your rental property will usually be your home for at least the next twelve months, so it’s important to be clear on the details from the outset. The size of the property and the monthly rent will be clearly shown on any property website, but other matters, like what the rent includes and where you park your car, might not be. To be sure you’re getting the right property for your needs, and to be sure you can afford it, consider asking these questions before you sign the tenancy agreement.

Most people who rent houses are responsible for their own rent. However, some tenants are only able to rent a property if someone else – usually a parent or friend – guarantees that the rent will be paid. This person is called the rent guarantor. In this blog, we look at why some of Guildford’s tenants need a guarantor and how the process works.

Council tax is one of the highest taxes people in the UK have to pay, and failing to pay it when it is your responsibility results in penalties. That’s why it’s very important for tenants to understand whether or not they or the landlord have the responsibility for paying council tax. Paying council tax usually falls to the person or people who live in the property, but there are exceptions. Let’s take a closer look…

Last July, the chancellor created a stamp duty holiday, freeing buyers from the burden of paying stamp duty land tax on top of the price of their new property. This holiday will end on 31st March. If you’re planning to move home this year, we believe that acting now gives you the best chance of benefiting from the current tax break.

As Guildford goes into Tier 4 and many shops and services close yet again, it’s easy to see why so many people are turning to the internet for shopping, banking and entertainment. What about selling houses? Online-only estate agencies are attracting clients in these troubled times, but we believe you’ll always have a better experience with a local estate agent like Cobbles. Here’s why: