Our Services

Sales and Marketing

In order to minimize risk to an organisation, it is important that every step of the marketing and sales process is carefully considered, including legal and financial requirements.

The marketing and sale of a scheme can be very labour intensive and can put a huge strain on existing staff resources. Many of our clients find it far more cost effective to outsource this area of their work to Stagnell Fox.

We have extensive experience of the marketing and sale of affordable homes and with our dedicated sales team are able to offer a complete marketing and sales service to ensure that all of your properties are sold to priority applicants within agreed sales targets. We even deal with the monthly returns to your local Homebuy Agent, upload your schemes on their website and attend their housing shows. We are also able to offer assistance with specific areas of the marketing and sales process in order to assist with short term resource issues.

Marketing Solutions

Sometimes despite the best planning, outside factors come into play which can make it difficult for you to sell your homes. Stagnell Fox is a specialist affordable homes organization with a wealth of experience in marketing both sale and intermediate rental properties so why not let us help you find the solution.

We like to pride ourselves on thinking “outside of the box” and we want to help you to find innovative and affordable solutions to your immediate problem. This could be anything from reviewing your existing marketing strategy and/or procedures to devising a completely new approach to marketing and sales. Contact us today to see how we can help.

Marketing Strategies

To comply with funding requirements and to ensure your homes are sold within their marketing periods it is essential that a marketing strategy and plan is prepared well in advance of proposed sales. We are a sales orientated organization and can help you prepare your marketing strategies and plans to ensure that your properties are sold without any delay.

Furniture Packages

Purchasers don’t only have to think about the cost of buying their new home, they also have to consider if they will have sufficient funds to furnish the property once they move in. Any savings they have will normally be utilized on meeting initial purchase costs and, where required, a deposit to secure a mortgage.
Furniture packages can be an effective marketing tool for sale properties. Imagine showing prospective purchasers around your show home and telling them that when they buy one of your homes it will be furnished in a similar style to the show home! This will put your marketing one step ahead of the rest and help you to sell your homes swiftly. Restricting this incentive to those who meet your target exchange of contracts and completion deadlines can also help reduce the length of the sales process.

Signage, Hoardings and Banners

Site signage, hoardings and banners should form an essential part of your marketing strategy and should be erected immediately start on site is achieved. This is the ideal opportunity to make sure prospective purchasers know about your homes straight away. Good marketing is about not missing opportunities!

Brochure Design and Advertising

In order to promote your affordable homes effectively, particularly when selling off-plan, a well designed brochure for your prospective purchasers is a key marketing tool.  Stagnell Fox can provide you with a complete service including copy writing, photography, drawing floor plans and printing.

We are also able to design and copy write advertisements and provide you with competitively priced media schedules.

Access to your Target Market

As an organisation that promotes the availability of affordable homes over a large geographical area, we have access to those people who are searching for an affordable home.  We are the affordable homes specialists and our website is the first port of call for many people looking to buy their own home.

We have a unique on-line eligibility assessment facility for those interested in buying or renting a home.  An electronic copy of the eligibility assessment form is automatically forwarded to the email address of your choice immediately it is completed so that you can assess if prospective purchasers qualify for your home.  This allows you to invite prospective purchasers to view your properties within minutes of receipt.

Marketing Suite

Selling off-plan is now accepted as the norm and to do this successfully it is important that you have a marketing suite ready ahead of practical completion. Most people buying a home, particularly first time-buyers, will want to visualize what their new home is going to look like and can be reluctant to reserve a property without having first seen your marketing suite. House builders know that a marketing suite is essential and often have these available for a considerable time prior to practical completion. Stagnell Fox can provide a complete marketing suite service tailored to your budgetary requirements. We provide an initial consultation service to ensure that we can provide a marketing suite designed for your target market and within your budgetary requirements. The service we can provide includes:

• Consultation
• Design
• Internal decorating
• Furnishing
• Window dressing
• Light fittings
• Soft furnishing and accessories
• Landscape gardening
• On-site office installation including telephone and broadband connection.

Scheme Specific Micro Web Sites

A scheme specific web site can be a good marketing tool. We can provide an interactive micro web site which enables prospective purchasers to zoom in on apartment and house layouts, check availability, and arrange a viewing. Full details of the specification, including images of the show home and exterior of the development can be included, together with local area and eligibility information. By including the web site address on your advertisements or other promotional material prospective purchasers are directed straight to your micro website where they can find full details of your properties.

Independent Financial Advice

As purchasing a home is the normally the biggest financial commitment most people make in their lifetime, it is imperative that good, reliable and independent financial advice is sought.

Stagnell Fox has links with a number of proven Independent Financial Advisers who specialise in the affordable homes market These can often provide the best deals and, with their specialist knowledge of this market, ensure that mortgage finance is put in place swiftly to ensure your homes are sold within their marketing periods.

Legal Advice

Due to our work with a number of housing providers we have links with many solicitors and legal advisors who can effectively deal with the acquisition and disposal process for providers and conveyancing for prospective purchasers. We are therefore in a unique position to advise on solicitors for specific types of work and can supply contact names for those in each organisation.

Homes for Key Workers

Stagnell Fox has been involved in key worker housing since the introduction of the Starter Home Initiative in 2001.

We have formed excellent links with key worker employers and have extensive experience in providing homes for essential key workers including, Police, Health, Education, Fire Service, Bus Drivers and Social Workers.

Our areas of expertise includes operation of the schemes, marketing strategy, policy and procedural issues, employer liaison, marketing and sales.

Policies and Procedures

We can prepare comprehensive policy and procedure guides to cover all aspects of the marketing, sale and subsequent management of affordable homes. Our policies and procedures are wholly compliant with Housing Coroporation requirements.

We are able to provide policy and procedure guidance on the following areas:

• Marketing and Sales of New Build Homebuy (shared ownership), including resales.
• Marketing and Sales of Equity Loan schemes
• Marketing and Sales of Rent to Buy
• Property Misdescriptions Act 1991
• Marketing and Sales of Intermediate Rent
• Management of Intermediate Rent properties
• All areas of Leasehold Management

Marketing Feasibilities and Risk Assessment Reports

Before deciding to build or purchase a development for affordable sale, it is essential that a full Marketing Feasibility and Risk Assessment Report is undertaken. This will look at various aspects of the proposed scheme, including demand, values, equity levels, affordability, location, mix, marketing periods and potential housing management issues. For many organisations, it proves far more cost effective to outsource the research and production of these reports and it can also provide you with a truly independent assessment of a potential development.

Compliance/ Internal Audit

There are a range of compliance requirements involved in the marketing and sale of affordable homes and, once you have policies and procedures put in place, it is essential that you ensure you comply with all legal, financial and monitoring and funding requirements. We are able to carry out an internal audit on your affordable homes programme to ensure that you are fully compliant with current rules and regulations

Leasehold Management

We are able to provide a variety of Leasehold Management services from assistance with setting and managing service charge budgets to undertaking a complete review of your existing service. The Leasehold Management services we currently provide include:

Leasehold Service Review; an invaluable tool for setting you on the road to success for Audit Inspections and Short Notice Inspections.

Service Improvement Plans; releasing your existing resources by preparing a plan that ensures you provide a service which meets existing guidelines, whilst remaining effective and value for money.

Restructuring your leasehold service and/or amalgamating the service into general needs requires an understanding of business needs, staff concerns and customer requirements. Our experienced Leasehold Management expert can support your organization through this difficult period.

Leaseholder handbooks; we can assist you with a review and update of your Leaseholder handbook and service user leaflets to ensure that these are produced in jargon free plain English.

Leaseholder Forums; these are essential to help you understand your customer’s view of the service you provide. We can facilitate forums on your behalf and, because we are independent, the views we collate will not be dictated by your current working practices.

Service Charges; with the wide range of tenures now available knowing what can be charged can prove time consuming and confusing for your staff. We can provide advice on what can be charged to each tenure and help with Section 20 consultations and year end reconciliations.

Managing Rent Arrears; this is a key area for all organizations and we can provide expert advice on good practice in reducing rent arrears and repossessions, legal remedies, money advice and rescheduling of debt, the Mortgagee Protection Clause, and Commonhold and Leasehold Reform.

Training

Stagnell Fox provides specialist training courses for Registered Social Landlords, Local Authorities, key worker employers and others involved in the provision of affordable homes. All of our courses are specifically designed to equip practioners with skills and knowledge that can be put to use immediately in the workplace. All of our trainers are experts in their fields and provide delegates with knowledge and useful tips gained by many years working in the industry. All of our courses can be provided in-house on request. We are also able to design bespoke training courses if our current training courses do not meet your specific requirements.  Please Contact us for a quotation.

Leaseholder Surveys

Do you want to know what your Leaseholder's think about your organisation, the properties you build and the service you provide? If so, then you should consider undertaking a Leaseholder Survey. For many organisations, this is one area that is often overlooked due to the huge level of input required by existing staff resources. Stagnell Fox can design your survey, speak to your Leaseholders either on a one to one basis or focus groups/ seminars and prepare a comprehensive report on what your Leaseholders think about you and the service you provide

Recruitment

As specialists to the industry, we have found that experienced professionals often make us the first point of call when they are looking to further their career. Our experience and large client base have put us in a unique position to place people in the right position.

Our selection and recruitment service can offer a whole range of services from compiling job descriptions to interviewing and selecting the right candidate to deliver your programmes effectively.

The following is a short summary of the services which we can provide:

• Job descriptions and person specification
• Advertising
• Shortlisting
• Interviewing
• Aptitude testing
• Evaluation
• References
• Induction

The above list is not exhaustive and we can tailor our services to your specific requirements. For more senior positions we can target staff with specific qualifications and negotiate a package that ensures you select the right candidate to join your organisation.

We can also assist in recruiting temporary and contract staff who have knowledge and expertise in the affordable home ownership industry.

Seminars and Presentations

When you are promoting your affordable homes, it can sometimes be more effective to invite your potential purchasers to a promotional seminar where details of the scheme and the buying or rental process can be explained. This is also a good opportunity to invite independent financial and legal professionals to guide your purchasers through the purchasing minefield to ensure that they are equipped with all the essential knowledge required to enable them to make an informed choice.

By holding a seminar, as opposed to individual interviews, you can save an enormous amount of time in the sale process and ensure that your schemes are all sold within your marketing periods.