PFK have recently made a planning application for the first phase of infrastructure to support the new business park proposed for Penrith which has been named E41.

E41 was granted outline planning permission in June 2018 for a major distribution logistics facility, large scale industrial or manufacturing operation or a high-tech office development on the 18.65 acre site by Eden District Council and this application marks a significant step towards its realisation.

The planning application seeks permission to install the access and some initial drainage works to facilitate the wider scheme coming forward and ensuring the site is open for business.

The scheme will support Eden District Council in bringing forward a new business opportunity with excellent transport links and will allow existing businesses to expand as well as provided much needed space for new businesses moving into the area.

As you are all aware, we are moving forward with the digital times. We have created a digital booklet to help guide you through selling your home with PFK in these ever evolving times.

Click here for your free guide

New septic tank regulations became effective from 1 January 2020.

If you have an old style septic tank – a tank like structure which discharges waste onto a drainage field and is then simply released to the ground, then if this is working efficiently and not causing any pollution then the installation can continue as it is.

If you have an old style septic tank which discharges into a pipe then into a water course i.e. a ditch, stream, river, lake, gutter, gully, etc., then this is no longer permitted. You need to install a modern style septic tank called a ‘sewage treatment plant’.

If you already have a sewage treatment plant which was installed after 2015, then this should comply with the new regulations. This requires no further action as long as it is functioning properly and is well maintained.

There are many considerations in regard to foul water drainage systems, best answered by your supplier and installer although there are two significant considerations which are:

1. Storm water from gutters, etc., must not enter the sewage treatment plant. This can mean significant expense re-routing pipes.
2. A modern sewage treatment plant usually requires and electrical supply

For more information, please contact PFK Surveys & Valuations on 01900 821411 or email surveys@pfk.co.uk

Our day promptly starts at 8.45am, everyone will sit down together and discuss the agenda of the day. We will talk about the previous days appointments with our valuer Hayley and discuss pressing issues to be dealt with immediately. Our branch manager Paul will then allocate jobs to the team to ensure all aspects of enquires are dealt with and then we can positively start the day knowing what we are doing. The first job of the day typically includes checking our mailbox for any enquires and dealing with anything that has been sent through from the night before. If any new properties have become live, we print off a window card and rearrange our window display to include it, do a mail-out to all matching applicants on area and price and finally contact any buyers we know would be interested in viewing the property and send them the details to encourage early viewings.

We would then go through all the previous days viewings, contacting the people who have been to see a property and asking for their general feedback. We view this as a priority of the day as it is so important our vendors and landlords know the feedback on their house and that they are kept updated throughout the process as it can be quite a stressful time for some people. We then come to look through our vendor and landlord checks for the day and make arrangements to follow up on any previous notes, for example any registers of interests who are to be contacted or any previous offers to be looked into before calling the vendor with the latest updates.

We aim to contact our vendors every two weeks to ensure the best relationship possible with open communication. After speaking with our vendors, we will then look at contacting our individual buyers to discuss their matching criteria, what they are looking for in a property and hopefully arrange some viewings for them. We do try to be as proactive as possible and always encourage our buyers to book in a viewing – sometimes people can be pleasantly surprised and may then consider something they thought they couldn’t consider before viewing a property. If a buyer has a property to sell, we will then encourage them to book in a free, no obligation valuation with Hayley for the best advice on their house too.

If there are any accompanied viewings arranged for the day we will attend them and do our best to sell the house in person. Upon returning to the office we deal with all email and telephone enquiries from buyers/tenants, registers of interests, vendors, surveyors and of course in office visits to the best of our abilities. A huge part of the job is of course negotiating! We aim to find the middle ground between the purchaser and the vendor, landlord and the tenant to ensure everyone reaches a happy outcome and people feel like they can buy/sellor rent with confidence in us as their agent. We can also arrange for any help for a purchaser and vendor where needed, including solicitor quotes, survey quotes and mortgage advice through our trusted partners who we know will make the sales process as smooth as possible, that’s why we recommend them!

Any agreed rental applications, move across to our property management team who oversee the application process and any properties that are sale agreed, move to our sales progression category where each negotiator personally deals with each house sale until exchange of contracts. We chase solicitors for weekly updates and then feed the latest update back to everyone involved. This gives continuity of service and are important factors when selling, buying or renting a property.

We aim to take the stress out of moving for everyone and always ensure to help in any way we can to achieve simple results for all.

Alex Weir – Sales Negotiator of PFK Estate Agency, Carlisle.

After working as an Estate Agent for the most part of 10 years in varying roles from Lettings Negotiator to Sales Negotiator right through to my current role as Branch Manager/Valuer at our busy Whitehaven branch, you would think I would have seen it all. This week I have been conducting interviews for a Sales Negotiator for the office. Speaking to candidates and explaining to them what exactly the role entails has really made me think again about just how varied a day working as an Estate Agent can be.

A typical day:

8.45am to 9.15am – It is really important that our office begins the day with a staff meeting. It will usually involve discussing any new sales and lettings instructions, updates on pending offers and generally catching up on how sales are progressing.

9.15am to 10am – This is a good time to prepare for any valuations I have that day, looking at recent comparable sold properties on Rightmove and considering any similar properties that we have been to and/or sold. The team will be catching up on emails and enquiries which can be anything from arranging viewings, taking and negotiating offers and handling sales progression queries. This can admittedly take longer than 45 minutes!

10am to 12pm – This is a popular time for viewings, valuations and listing appointments. A typical valuation lasts around 1 hour, I will give the owner my opinion on market value and explain more about our services and it is a good opportunity for them to ask specific questions they have about the sales process.

12pm to 1pm – A break from appointments is a good opportunity for the team to grab some lunch whilst ensuring that any calls and walk ins to the office are dealt with. I find this a good time to browse on Rightmove as it is always beneficial to know what is happening in our local market. This can also be a busy time for our Sales Negotiators as potential purchasers will book viewings in across their lunch.

1pm to 3pm – This is usually where I will take time to prepare paperwork and draft sales particulars for properties which are about to come on to the market, editing photographs and preparing detailed information about the property which will soon go onto our website, Rightmove and other property portals as well as social media. The team will gather viewing feedbacks from the previous day and speak to vendors about the viewing updates to their properties and ideas to increase viewing levels. Keeping customers updated is an essential part of our service.

3pm to 5pm – The end of the day is a good time to contact solicitors for updates on sales which are currently going through and checking that any issues which may have come up are now resolved.

The most important part of my day is making a list at the end of it with tasks that I will pick up the following day as there will be many days where lists are put aside as an issue or several issues crop up which need to be resolved urgently. And that really epitomises why I love working as an Estate Agent, no day is the same! There are always different people, different tasks and different properties to keep you busy. Every day you learn something new.

Lesley Waugh – Manager of PFK Estate Agency, Whitehaven.

PFK has seen a noticeable increase in the number of properties coming to the market in excess of £350,000 and that despite continued economic and political uncertainty these properties are achieving sales within a quick timescale. The North West in general continues to perform strongly and there are a good level of buyers out there waiting for their dream home to come to market. So, if you are thinking of selling your home and the idea of Brexit makes you feel somewhat reluctant, don’t be! Plenty is going on in the UK housing market and at PFK!

PFK have had a close relationship with The Mayfair office in London for over 20 years. Historically London has played a central role in the sale of many of the UK’s finest houses. Today PFK’s Mayfair Office carries on this tradition providing a source of UK-wide property marketing expertise whilst forming the hub of a national and international network of the leading firms in the industry.

Located just a few minutes’ walk from Oxford Street, and with a prominent window, our Mayfair office is in the heart of London’s West End and ideally situated for the capital’s buyers and investors.

Our London office team have strong contacts with all the national property journalists and achieve an enormous amount of editorial coverage in the major national titles. Properties on the market with PFK are regularly included in articles and features, providing valuable free national publicity for our sellers’ homes.

Our London office can be found at Cashel House, Thayer Street, London.

Clare Birkbeck – Manager of PFK Estate Agency, Kirkby Stephen.

This was an opportunity for teams of 10 sponsored paddlers to raise money for their chosen charities and have some competitive fun at the same time. Each team participated in a number of races. Points were awarded for a win, a draw or even a lose.  At the end of the day, cups were presented to the winning team, the runners up and the best fancy dressed team. There was a BBQ, plus a bar and a soft-drinks/cakes stall on site.

Each team raised money through sposnsorship from friends, work colleagues etc . Rotary then apply for Gift Aid which increases the amount raised by 25%. From that new total, 50%  returns to the team for their chosen charity and 50% is retained by Rotary for their chosed charities. Since 2008 over thirty teams have competed and raised over £70,000 for local charities.

In 2017, the event raised from team sponsorship, just over £7,000. Of this, from the Rotary share which is split equally between the 2 clubs, some £3,000 was donated to charities chosen by the 2 clubs eg Calvert Trust, Cancer reserach UK,  Workington Lifeboat appeal. From the teams’ shares, substantial donations were made to Cockermouth and Keswick Mountain Rescue Teams, Calvert Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust & West Cumberland Hospital whose staff are supporting a hospital being established in Tanzania, among others.