Pennine Ways terms and conditions

Getting your property valued

We ask that all decision-makers be present at a valuation if possible – however we do understand there may be special circumstances where this is not possible.

We offer a no-obligation, verbal valuation service for free. If you need a written valuation, the charge is £250 +VAT. Please contact us for more information.

Selling your property

Unlike many estate agents nowadays, we charge NO joining fee. In fact, apart from the cost of your EPC (if you need one), we charge you nothing until we have sold your property. Not sure if you have an EPC already? We can check this out for you, at no charge.

Tenant information

Rental valuation:

Verbal Valuations

Pennine Ways Lettings shall provide a complimentary verbal valuation of the Property. This service shall include attendance at the Property, following which Pennine Ways Lettings will contact the Client to discuss its recommendations.

Written Valuations

For a comprehensive written in-depth valuation, Pennine Ways Lettings provides this service at a fee of £195.

Fully Managed Properties

We charge 12.5% of all rent received.  This includes the cost of managing the property, including site visits and the cost of the collection of rent etc.

In-going fee                                                                         

There is an in-going fee of one calendar month’s rent subject a minimum of £500 charged which covers the cost of advertising the property, conducting viewings, carrying out and preparing a detailed condition report of the property providing a pen drive with dated photographs.  It covers the cost of the organising and preparing of property to be let which includes the gathering of appropriate certificates including electrical safety certificates, portable appliance certificates & landlord gas safety certificates. Please note where our properties are continuously managed by us and where there is a change of tenancy our in-going fee is reduced to £395 thereafter.

Deposit fee                                                                            

Where a fully managed landlord requires Pennine Ways Lettings Ltd to hold a deposit on their behalf and to register with the My Deposits Scheme there will be a fee of £125. The fee of £125 includes inspection of the property at the end of the tenancy and the first 2 hours of negotiation to return the deposit.

Any time spent in relation to the return or retention of the deposit, as well as any work undertaken beyond the scope of general management duties (including, but not limited to, liaising with solicitors), shall be charged at a rate of £50 per hour.

Introduction Only

Our letting fee is equivalent to one month’s rent, subject to a minimum of £500. This fee covers the cost of advertising the property, conducting viewings, carrying out credit checks, preparing a detailed condition report, and providing a pen drive containing dated photographs of the property.

Please note that any maintenance or renovation works are subject to a charge of 20% for both Full Management and Introduction services.

Tenancy Agreement Only

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a Tenancy Agreement preparation service at a fee of £200. This service includes the preparation of the agreement and provision of two copies to the Client.

To Rent Collection Only Service

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a Rent Collection service, under which a fee of 10% of all rent collected from the Property shall be payable to Pennine Ways Lettings.

New Database Legislation

In accordance with New Database Legislation, Pennine Ways Lettings shall register clients for a fixed fee of £150. Any additional compliance work required beyond client registration shall be charged at a rate of £50 per hour.

Condition Report only Service

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a Condition Report service at a fee of £200. This includes a copy of date-stamped photographs and provision of two copies of the Condition Report to the Client.

To Arranging A One Off Rent Increase

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a One-Off Rent Increase service at a fee of £100. This includes reviewing the tenancy details, preparing the appropriate rent increase notice or documentation, and notifying the tenant of the proposed increase in accordance with current legislation.

Credit Check and Referencing

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a Credit Check and Referencing service at a fee of £150. This includes carrying out credit checks, obtaining references where required, and assessing the prospective tenant’s suitability prior to the commencement of a tenancy

Site Visits

Pennine Ways Lettings offers Site Visits as follows:

  • Basic Property Check – Free for fully managed clients. This includes a preliminary inspection of the property. For non-managed clients, a fee of £50 applies.
  • Written Report and Timestamped Photos – A comprehensive report including written observations and date-stamped photographs, available for a fee of £150.

Energy Performance Certificate                                 

Where a landlord requires Pennine Ways Lettings Ltd to organise an energy performance certificate there will be a fee of £125.

To organising certificate

Pennine Ways Lettings offers a Certificate Organisation service at a fee of £30 or 20% per certificate. This fee covers arranging the required certificate on behalf of the Landlord, with a minimum charge of £30 per certificate.

Statements Posted by Royal Mail                             

If a landlord prefers to have monthly statements posted by Royal Mail £12.00pa will be deducted from your landlord account annually.

Holding Fee                                               Equal to One Weeks Rent

This fee holds the property for up to four weeks in total which puts all future viewings on hold with other prospective tenants until a decision has been reached about whether the property can be offered to you.

The Holding fee includes the cost of credit check (regardless of the number of applicants)

Deposit/Bond                                            Equal to five weeks rent

Equal to five weeks rent, which is held by the agent against non-payment of rent or damage to the building or contents.  Normal wear & tear is allowed.

We do not accept guarantees from the “DIGS” scheme.

We are members of Mydeposits, the Property Redress Scheme, Client Money Protection, The Property Ombudsman, NRLA, and approved Trading Standards codes.

Client Money Protection Insurance

Pennine Ways Lettings Ltd is pleased to confirm we have Client Money Protection Insurance cover with WRB Underwriting, a Lloyds of London Underwriter.

Client Money Protection (CMP) was brought into effect in 2017 to protect and safeguard client money received from tenants that is passed through a letting agent.

Complaints Procedure

Pennine Ways complaints procedure as required by the property ombudsman can be found by clicking here.

Auctions

In certain circumstances we will recommend selling your property or land by auction, particularly if it would be difficult for buyers to secure a mortgage. An auction is a useful method of achieving a quick cash sale.

Auction terms and conditions for sellers

 

  • A guide price will be agreed with you and disclosed to bidders.
  • A reserve price will be agreed with you but kept confidential between seller and auctioneer. This is the figure below which the auctioneer cannot sell your property.
  • Your solicitor must undertake all local and other searches and provide special conditions of sale, and all relevant legal documentation to prospective buyers. As auctioneers, we are not responsible for any errors in this documentation.
  • We are not responsible for errors or omissions in the sales particulars.
  • If we sell your property – whether at auction, before or after the auction – our sole agency fee is 1.5%, subject to a minimum fee of £1,500. This is due immediately on completion.
  • We ask for a contribution of £500 +VAT for general advertising and marketing. We will also require an £85 +VAT per insertion contribution towards print advertising where requested.
  • We recommend having a For Sale sign, and there is no charge for this.
  • There is no charge for viewings. We always arrange accompanied viewings where possible.
  • It is the auctioneer’s right to:
    • cancel or change the date and venue of the auction
    • amend the lotting order
    • regulate the size of bidding increments
    • refuse bids
    • determine disputes between bidders
    • charge a buyer’s premium.
  • As the seller, you must not bid. We, as the auctioneer, may bid on your behalf up to, but not including, the reserve price.
  • Any agreement for Pennine Ways to auction your land or property may be ended either by you or by us with at least 30 days’ written notice. If you decide to withdraw your property from auction for any reason, a nominal withdrawal fee of £500 will be payable.
  • If a buyer who has been registered with us or had any negotiations with us buys the property within 12 months of the end of the agreement or the auction date, our fee will apply.

 

Auction terms and conditions for buyers

  • We prefer to take bids from people who attend the saleroom in person, but arrangements can be made for telephone bidders and proxy bids.
  • Prospective buyers can send a signed bid and a note of the maximum price they are prepared to allow the auctioneer to bid on their behalf. These can be mailed or hand-delivered to Pennine Ways, Westgate Chambers, Haltwhistle, Northumberland NE49 9AQ.
  • Your bid must be an exact figure, for example £10,050. We cannot accept wording such as “£100 over the highest bid in the room”.
  • Any instruction to bid must be accompanied by a bank or building society draft made payable to Pennine Ways Cumbria Ltd. The draft should be for 10% of the maximum bid price, plus the buyer’s premium (usually 7.5% of the maximum bid price). Alternatively, you can provide credit or debit card details. If successful, we will debit your deposit and buyer’s premium on the day of the auction, so please ensure you have sufficient funds in place on the day.
  • A telephone/proxy bid is binding, and means we have full legal power to sign contracts on your behalf. There is no charge for this, and we accept no liability for a bid not being made for any reason.
  • Interested parties may wish to offer on a property before the auction. This is fine, but their offer will be subject to the buyer’s premium of around 7.5%. This must be paid immediately on acceptance of the offer and is non-refundable, should the buyer decide to withdraw.
  • On the fall of the hammer, the highest bidder who equals or exceeds the reserve price is contracted to buy.
  • Contracts will be signed and exchanged before the highest bidder leaves the auction room.
  • We, the auctioneer, can sign contracts on your behalf if you are not able to do so as the seller.
  • The buyer will pay a deposit of 10% of the hammer price on the day of the auction, along with the buyer’s premium, which is usually around 7.5% of the hammer price. There is no VAT payable on the buyer’s premium.
  • Completion normally happens 28 working days after the date of the auction, when the remaining 90% of the hammer price must be paid.

NB – detailed terms and conditions are sent to prospective sellers and buyers when they enter into an agreement with Pennine Ways.