Is -20% the real cost of bad broadband:?

Article in the Daily Mail on how the Broadband speed can dramatically impact house prices.

Slow broadband can knock up to 20 per cent off the value of your home and could even stop it selling.

Estate agents routinely display estimated speeds alongside marketing information and property experts believe it is a buyer’s right to know if a home has a poor connection.

One buyer, who discovered their new home had no broadband coverage at all, even took their complaint against an estate agent to the Property Ombudsman — and won.

Houses without a connection or with slow download speeds can be worth up to 20 per cent less. The internet is now the fourth utility after gas, electricity and sewage.

Property expert and buying agent Henry Pryor

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has warned that nearly 700,000 ‘forgotten homes’ across the UK do not have broadband fast enough to meet a typical family’s needs — it considers a ‘decent’ connection one with a download speed of at least 10 Mbps.

Slow broadband can definitely impact a property’s price,’ says Mark Hayward, chief executive of industry body the National Association of Estate Agents. ‘In some instances it can make a property very difficult to sell.’

Buyers who’ll need to work from home, such as families and young professionals, are more likely to be put off by low broadband speeds, estate agents say.

However, fast broadband is increasingly essential. Mark adds: ‘Buyers have come to take for granted the fact they will have fast broadband so fewer people ask about it.’ But savvy buyers do.

‘Poor broadband can be the difference between buying a property and not,’ says Jeremy Leaf, a North London estate agent and former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

‘Particularly for young people dependent on the internet, it’s fundamental and it can make a huge difference.  Some vendors are now going to efforts to ensure their properties’ broadband speeds are adequate before putting houses on the market.’

Experts believe buyers should be informed when properties have poor or non-existent broadband.

James Munro, from the National Trading Standards estate agency team, says: ‘Prospective purchasers legitimately expect that agents should disclose such information as early as possible to them, for example on property particulars and in any detailed advertisements, and should keep records of any checks they do to back-up claims.’

The Property Ombudsman also expects estate agents to tell buyers about a home’s internet connection. Deputy Property Ombudsman Jane Erskine says: ‘We would expect an agent to indicate if the property has internet connectivity and whether this is broadband or dial-up.’

To be safe contact B4SH to see how you can benefit from not just fast but Hyper Fast Broadband with 1,000 Mbps.

Read the full item on the Daily Mail on line.

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