A local estate agent has issued her advice to first time buyers
Mia Power is a sales negotiator at J&D Estate Agents(Image: Supplied)
There are four Liverpool postcodes that are proving most popular with first time buyers, according to an expert. Mia Power, 22, from Kirkby, is a sales negotiator at J&D Estate Agents in Walton.
Despite only being a full-time member of staff for a year, Mia has already reached £1m in property sales. Mia originally studied teaching at university, and while education remains a long-term interest, she’s proud of what she’s achieved in the property world. Speaking to the ECHO, Mia said reaching the million mark is unusual for someone who has only been in the firm for 12 months.
She said: “Usually it takes quite a while to build up your numbers, but with the amount of sales that I’ve gone through in the last year it’s brought me up to £1m.”
When asked how she’s achieved this milestone, he said: ”I enjoy getting the sales in. I like speaking to the customers. I like building relationships with people. I think that’s what makes me want to carry on doing it.
“I feel like having a personal touch is why people want to go ahead with our sales. With a lot of the other estate agents, the majority of the things are online.
“I make sure that I’m calling people. We do a lot of face to face as well. We always invite them to come in if they’ve got any questions. I find that’s probably the best approach to go with.”
Mia said the summer months are the best times for people to sell. She said: “I’m trying to do as much as I can while the market is busy. July to September are usually the busiest. So we find that’s the best time for people to sell and get properties on the market.”
When asked which Merseyside areas first time buyers are “fighting over” at the moment, Mia cited the postcodes of L4 (covering Anfield, Kirkdale and Walton), L6 (covering Anfield, Everton, Kensington, Fairfield and Tuebrook) and L9 (covering Aintree, Fazakerley, Orrell Park and Walton).
Mia said these areas are particularly attractive to people because of their lower house prices compared to other areas as well as proximity to the city centre and local amenities.
County Road in Walton, L4(Image: Liverpool Echo)
She said: “L4 is a really popular area in particular because it’s so close to the city centre. We find it’s really popular for investment properties in particular.
“This week, we’ve had four new instructions [to sell] four different properties in the L4 area and the phones this week have just been crazy because we’ve got big open house viewings. Everyone’s placed an offer before the viewings because they don’t want to miss out.
“Amenities are a big thing. For investors who want a family to move in, the local schools are important. For those who want HMOs [house in multiple occupation] they like being close to town because they want the students to be able to travel to and from the university.”
Mia recommends that first time buyers have a mortgage agreement in principle. This is when you give an indication of how much you could borrow towards the purchase of a property.
Mia has made over £1m in property sales over the last year(Image: Supplied)
Mia said: “We want first time buyers to be in the financial position to be able to go ahead with the purchase straight away once they’ve placed their offer so there’s no delays. We find that keeps the sellers happy as well because their sale will go through quickly.”
Looking back, Mia is glad she chose to work in this field. She said: “I thrive off getting sales completed. It’s an achievement every time one goes through. That keeps me interested in the field.”