Property
Hastings & Co are solicitors and estate agents based in the Scottish Borders offering a full range of legal and property services. As one of the largest property solicitors in the Borders, and internet marketing specialists, we are committed to providing a seamless service to save you time, stress and money.

For the property buyer we offer a full purchase conveyancing service and our dedicated team have considerable experience in hand-holding through the entire Scots Legal process.

If you are thinking of selling, our Estate Agency service includes a free marketing appraisal and property valuation. For joined-up-thinking, ask about our integrated estate agency and conveyancing package where you will also benefit from timely legal advice, paving the way for a smooth transaction. You may find the articles published here useful when considering your marketing strategy.

Legal
As general practice solicitors we are able to advise on legal matters to provide peace of mind for yourself and your family. For example, have you updated your will in recent years? Also, we can help with business related issues such as debt recovery, employment matters, leases and agreements.

The Property Shop is open for business six days a week (Saturdays 9am - 3pm) at 28 The Square, Kelso and at 22 Market Place, Selkirk. Tel: 01573 225 999
Call in to pick up particulars and property guides and for friendly conveyancing and marketing advice.

For Legal Services contact our head office at 15 The Square, Kelso.
Tel: 01573 226 999

July '08 Property View
Much has been said and written in recent months on the state of the property market in the UK. While there is no doubt that the market generally has slowed, it is certainly not in freefall and traditionally the Borders has always taken the middle way, avoiding boom and bust. So don't believe everything you read in the press: there's nothing like a bad news story to get the press excited.
Recent reports and the first recorded fall in UK house prices should be taken as a sign that the market has stalled - or in some cases had a reality check - but in general prices in Scotland seem to be bucking the trend.
The main thing that is missing is confidence and the feel good factor and given the daily diet of gloom we have been suffering it is hardly surprising that buyers are wary about investing when they might fear a fall. Negative equity is only relevant if you have an unrealistic level of borrowing and need to sell in a buyers' market.
We have never been blessed with buyers taking out mortgages for 10 times their income and betting on a rising market to keep them out of hock. That seems to be a policy of desperation peculiar to the overheated markets of London plc but the million pound bonus culture probably gets no further than the Watford Gap, let alone this side of the border. So what if it's not a boom market? The end of the boom was 'predicted' back in 2002 and while the doom and gloom stories continued to be rolled out it didn't quite work out like that. I recall being interviewed for a property market special Border TV's Lookaround did at the time and gave a fairly upbeat forecast, while others were talking of the market peaking. In fact, prices doubled over the next five years so anyone who cashed in at the 'peak' of the market would have real problems getting back on the ladder.
In June 2002, commenting on the market conditions in the Borders I wrote: "Whatever happens with the market elsewhere, the local conditions have not previously been victims of the boom and bust syndrome and while any advice to buy at the top of the market in anticipation of further growth should be tempered with caution, an investment in the quality of life available in the Borders is one that few would regret."
We have to remember that a house is an investment - but an investment that you enjoy as a home whether it is your main home or a holiday 'second' home. Until recent years it was not seen as a short-term investment to make a quick buck. This was a product of shortages brought about by demand exceeding supply but that is no longer the case as can be seen from the range of incentives available from the developers who have built here in the recent past.
A house purchase is not a short-term investment. The cost of stamp duty generally prevents a quick turnover profit except for the fortunate few who are in the right place at the right time - particularly if sellers begin to be panicked by all the negative talk and let it go well below value. No-one gains from the prophets of doom and despite the headlines, there is every prospect that with a little common sense we should come through any current difficulties triggered by some high profile events which have led to a crisis of confidence.
The underlying popularity of the Borders remains and once buyers have the confidence to commit we can expect demand to pick up. In the short term, there is no doubt that in some sectors, such as new developments, supply is currently outstripping demand and the simple laws of economics will apply with lower prices or packaged incentives designed to attract buyers.
Developers are in a different position. They need to sell. It is their life blood. Homeowners on the other hand, are usually buying another property and so long as they are buying and selling in the same market, they should be relatively unaffected. Whatever they lose on the swings they should gain on the roundabouts. What is required is a bit of common sense and a willingness to adjust their position in the market as required. There is no point sitting doing nothing like a rabbit in the headlights and smart sellers realise that they are not operating in a vacuum - often it is a case of out of one pocket and into the other.
Ron Hastings July '08

Lies, damned lies and statistics
The facts don't lie but then it depends what facts you produce to support an argument. As a lawyer, I am well aware that facts can be interpreted in many different ways and at a personal level each of us makes a subjective assessment of things as we see them.
On a day-to-day basis we don't operate in a world of absolute truth. In these days spin is no longer associated with the washing cycle but an accepted practice from Government down (or up, depending on your point of view). We see the press making headline news out of nothing. It is interesting to see just how much partial reporting there has been since the Northern Rock crisis broke last autumn. It's almost as if there has been a concerted campaign to talk the market down and get the facts to fit the story. Snap-shot assessments of the market fall into the same category of lazy reporting. For example our sales for April 2008 were 100 per cent up on the previous April and December was also double the previous year. Our annual sales for 2007 were up on the previous year and sales for the first quarter are about level. Hardly a crisis: but not a boom either. Last April was our worst month in 2007. So while we could suggest a booming market as sales have doubled, that would be a misrepresentation of the bigger picture. The fact is, we had far more properties on our books so you would expect to see more going through. Taking a partial view really doesn't mean very much. One month's sales figures, just like reports of one month's lenders figures for mortgage lending, mean very little in isolation and you need to consider the bigger picture with a longer lens and not look at facts in isolation; ignoring underlying issues like, in the case of mortgages, the lenders moving the goalposts and slowing their processing down to a snail's pace.
Ron Hastings July '08