Yesterday I spent the day visiting estate agents on behalf of clients and I detected the first signs of real optimism returning to the market. One agent actually secured five sales during the day- something which would have been unheard of a few months ago. In recent weeks the media have reported an increase in the number of buyer inquiries and a narrowing of the gap between asking and sale prices across the country — so it’s not surprising that some analysts suggest that the worst may be behind us.

However the wider economic picture is still uncertain. Interest rates will go up eventually so overextending yourself to buy a property which is not going to be your home for many years to come is  definitely to be avoided. However as reported in the Times this week, there are ways in which you can take advantage of this new mood of optimism and survive a situation where prices may take longer to rise. Here’s my take on what they had to say.

• Buy off plan.

Buying a property before it has been built is one potential way of buying an appreciating asset but don’t forget prices go down as well as up. As a long term investment however it’s a sensible move. They are not as easy to find in the current market however. Make sure that the developer is covered by the National Housebuilding Council and go for a family home and not a city centre flat.

• Buy land

Land prices have fallen more sharply than property prices on the whole and there are more plots available than there were. You could speculate on land without planning permission in the hope that it would be granted eventually. Less risky is buying land with planning permission and taking advantage of the availability of cheaper skilled labour whilst developers are less busy. But be prepared to pay more for land which is a likely development in the future (up to twice the asking price for plots in villages which do not yet have planning permission, in my recent experience.) You can always sit on the land and off load it in the future when prices have risen again.

• Buy near improving transport links

This is relevant only in areas where there is huge investment in new infrastructure. If you live in my patch, face facts…. you’ll  need a car.  But some villages and towns are better connected and have better facilities. It’s all about location.

• Buy at auction

If you have the means to buy at auction you can pick up a property requiring work for less than you would from a high street agent and you have the opportunity to add value. But gointo it with your eyes open. 

• Get planning permission

This is a sensible option if your property is looking a bit tired or in need of renovation as it helps prospective buyers visualise what they could do and they don’t need to go through the hassle of applying for planning permission themselves. If your property is in tip top condition it simply isn’t worth it unless you have a garden large enough to build a house on.

• Extend your lease or buy the freehold

Now is the time to do this because the amount you pay to extend a lease is determined by the value of the property. Lower house prices means it’s cheaper to extend the lease. This can increase marketability even if it doesn’t increase the value of your property all that much. Buying the freehold of the building where your leasehold property is located will allow you more flexibility to improve the look of the common parts and potentially improve your own property.

Whatever you decide to do in the current market thinking long term is the most sensible option.

For relocation help and advice click here.

Recently I heard from a lady who had made an enforced move from the heart of the country to a market town. Like me she is a country girl at heart and had found the whole process somewhat stressful. The decision wasn’t really hers. It was to allow her husband an easier commute to work, to find more affordable property and for the sake of her growing children who wanted to be where the action was. I sympathised………having been in a similar position a few years ago. It made me think about the way I advise clients who come to me yearning for the country life but who may not be prepared for the reality. For downshifters in particular it’s important to identify the reasons behind a desire to move to the country. Clients almost always mention living a simpler life, consuming less and a sense of community among their reasons. Many of these can be served equally well (if not better) in a market town rather than at the bottom of a muddy lane. So I thought I’d give you  ten reasons why moving to a market town may be a very good thing.

• Market towns were the ancient hubs of rural life and many occupy a beautiful setting, close to a river or perched on a hill. If you want to live in a pretty place, look no further.
• Inevitably market towns have developed and expanded over time and often as a result of one particular trade. In the case of my own town of Bradford on Avon it was the cloth trade. As a result there is a greater variety of period housing from large merchant’s villas to artisan’s cottages. On the whole you get more choice for your money than you would buying in a village.
• Usually they are well served by specialist shops and markets - and you can walk there. How great is that?
• Your children can get to a good school, take part in any number of extra-curricular activities and see their friends without you spending your life in the car.
• Not only are market towns full of numerous opportunities to take part in leisure activities, you’ll have the time to do them because you won’t be commuting for hours every week.
• Public transport links are usually good so getting anywhere is easier.
• Many market towns still have a great sense of community so if this is important to you, don’t worry that you’ll become anonymous once you’re surrounded by larger numbers.
• You may not be in the middle of a field but you are still close to countryside. My walk to the shops is through a wood two minutes away from my front door and in fifteen minutes I can be in splendid isolation.
• You’ll be surrounded by a sense of history.
• Most facilities are easily accessible - doctor, vet, dentist - which is great, however old you are and really cuts down on stress.

Of course every market town has its own distinctive character. Some have been eroded by ill-considered development or the town centre may resemble that of any number of others but there are still hundreds of gems out there. My friend has settled rather well to town life. As she says herself  “we may like to think that our heart resides in the country. It doesn’t mean that our body has to accompany it”.

For relocation help and advice click here

Several properties new to the market in my patch have been snapped up quickly in recent weeks - and they all have something in common…………lovely gardens.

I wonder whether the ability to ‘grow your own’ has suddenly become a significant factor when searching for a new property. Top end rural properties have always commanded a higher price if a pony paddock, orchard or charming kitchen garden is part of the package. Buyers proceed with every intention of living the rural dream, even if the reality is quite different. But now, even more modest properties it seems sell more swiftly or at a higher price with a well-tended vegetable plot and a pretty space in which to eat and entertain outside.

Buyers are still wary of borders and lawns requiring serious time and money to maintain but well planned unfussy beds, an outside dining area and a couple of easily weeded raised beds from which to pick some veg, herbs or salad is a sensible addition to your home if you’re looking to make it more saleable in a current climate.

One of the Wiltshire villages often mentioned by clients as a desirable search location is the National Trust’s Lacock. It’s hardly surprising. Unspoilt 13th century charm and fabulous period buildings surrounded by stunning countryside is a winning combination. Yet property is scarce. When a house not owned by the Trust comes up for sale it’s not unusual for it to be snapped up quickly, even in a depressed market.

One of the reasons for its popularity is its countless screen appearances in the Harry Potter epics, the BBC’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and more recently ‘Cranford’. In fact ‘Cranford’ is due to start filming there again in June. Doubtless several of the residents will once again be donning their wigs and frocks as extras and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Greg Wise.

But popularity comes at a price. I would have no problem securing my unruly locks under a bonnet for a few days at a time - but I’m not sure I’d be prepared for thousands of tourists peering over the garden wall whilst I’m pegging out my smalls. Clients who opt to live in tourist hotpots and especially those who fall in love with a place whilst on holiday need to think carefully about the pros and cons of making a move there full time.

Here’s my three point plan for clients making a move they won’t regret.

• For a start forget the fact that you ‘love the place’ and make sure you like the property and can access work, the shops, send your children to a good school and pursue your interests without having to spend the bulk of your day in a car or on public transport to do them. If you can’t, when the initial  sparkle rubs off as it surely will in the middle of Winter, you’ll be very unhappy and want to move again.
• Remember tourist places can be very different out of season so make sure you visit a place at different times of year to ensure that you know what to expect.
• Make sure the pros outweigh the cons before jumping in wholeheartedly. Of course if you’re running a retail business there may be very few cons. Try renting for a while if you’re really not sure you can cope with hoards of tourists.

 And don’t forget that if you live in a village like Lacock, you’ll never be without weekend guests. There’ll always be someone from your past who ‘just happens to be in the area’.

I see that the debate about whether to employ a homestaging company in a bid to sell your house has reared its head again. For the uninformed homestaging or house doctoring is the practice by which a house is ‘improved’ by an interior designer, thus making it more appealing to would-be buyers. Time was all you needed to do was to spring clean, brew some coffee and add a vase of flowers here and there to make your home more appealing. Now we are exhorted to declutter, neutralise and define each space. All great advice but when you visit as many properties as I do, you develop an uncanny ability to spot a ’staged property’ before you’ve stepped into the immaculately coiffured hallway. I swear I could even win competitions identifying which items of furniture actually belong to the vendor and which are hired in for the duration.

As you see, I’m not entirely a fan. It works for some vendors, providing a much needed boost when they are in very low spirits. Some fall in love with their houses again and decide to stay put; but others can spend thousands only to find that their house continues to languish on the market.

What is important to remember is that preparation for sale is essential. In the current market especially it’s no good  expecting your home to be snapped up without some considerable effort. Getting a critical friend to cast their eye over your home before you head to the estate agent is a step in the right direction. They’ll spot areas which are off-putting, allowing you to rectify these immediately. You could have a look here to get you into the right frame of mind for selling your home.

And in terms of presentation, here are the key things I look for when visiting property on behalf of clients. Sort these out and you’ll stand out from the crowd, believe me.

• Firstly make sure your house is correctly priced taking into account the actual selling prices for comparative property in your location. You can take advice from your agent and find information online from the Land Registry.
• Maintenance needs to be taken care of. A property which has clearly been properly looked after holds no nasty surprises which will send buyers running for the hills. So fix the leaky tap, repaint the front door and replace any cracked panes of glass.
• Clean, clean, clean. Who wants to look at a somebody else’s dirt? Sparkling windows let in more light and a spotless bathroom suggests that you really care about your home…making it instantly more appealing.
• Tidy up and get rid of clutter. A house jam packed with excess belongings is a problem in two ways. To vendors it means that your house is too small and has too little storage space. If you haven’t found room for all your stuff by now, then neither will they. Secondly if you do actually secure an offer your removal bill will be considerably higher. Do yourself a favour and sell it, give it away to friends, to charity, post it on Freecycle or get up close and personal with your neighbourhood recycling centre.
• Make your house a home.  Agents will tell you that you are selling a lifestyle not just a home. This is the very essence of house doctoring. Your job is to make it easy for would-be buyers to want to live your lifestyle in your home. If they can do that, then they’ll be well on the way to buying it. But don’t think that the only way to do this is to get rid of all evidence of your children and dog and hire in a designer sofa or two.  You might have to do an amount of reorganising and some decoration but remember your job is  to accentuate the positives. Cosy evenings round the fire, a relaxing glass of wine under the pergola, picking fresh veg from the garden for dinner, a den for the children to make their own…whatever your house has to offer, make the most of it. If you live in a vibrant community, make sure you have some evidence of that lying around - local village magazine, posters for events. If the school is great or the pub a good place to go for a meal, make sure you mention this too.

          You know best what’s good and bad about your house so you are  in the best position to deal with it …with or without the help of a house doctor.

When it comes to choosing property we could learn a thing or two from ants. My children were fascinated to hear an item on the local news this week about research which has been carried out at nearby Bristol University into the way ants go about finding a new home. “It says they are like estate agents Mum” said the thoughtful one “but actually they do what you do!”

It does seem to be the case that when a colony needs to move they send out scouts who instinctively know what makes a nest a suitable home for the colony. (Clients, take note!)These ant relocation agents then report back, show the nest to the rest of the colony and when a sizeable number are in agreement the move occurs. Genius. Apparently in making the decision they also “survey” the potential new nest, checking dimensions and cleanliness.

Unlike us however, ants do not have to visit umpteen nests in order to decide on which offers the best option. If the first one they visit ticks all the boxes then that’s the one they go for. Wouldn’t life be simple if only we would do the same.

Last week we headed West for a visit to family in Wales. In Pembrokeshire, construction work was as brisk as ever with several seaside conversions, renovations and developments going ahead despite the downturn in the market. “Do you think they’ll sell them?” asked one of my companions as we ambled along the seafront to the accompaniment of angle grinders and hammers galore.

It reminded me of similar market conditions some years ago when my parents were desperate to move to a newer property and couldn’t sell. After some considerable negotiation we managed to ’swap’ the family home for a house they’d set their hearts on and everyone ended up happy. And it seems that this practice might be making a comeback in an attempt to bypass the gridlocked market. (The Times 18th April).

Of course now you can advertise your house swapping aspirations to the world online. There are a number of websites where you can register. Why not try this one or this ? Then there’s this or this or even this if you want to go overseas. Some sites allow you to register for free whilst others can cost up to £70 for six months. You’ll need to provide details of your property and of the location, price range and size of property you’re looking for. Thereafter you can browse available properties or wait for matches to be sent to you. Then you can go on to arrange viewings and if you’re happy to proceed organise a survey and contact your solicitor.

Remember

• You’ll still need to provide a HIP for your property (cost approx £300).
• It’s advisable to have a survey to determine the condition of the property you’ll be taking on and also to check on its market value.
• You will need to speak to your current mortgage provider. They may be happy to transfer your mortgage to the new property but do check as technically you would have to redeem the mortgage on your old house.
• You will need legal representation to sort out the paperwork and this may be more expensive than a straightforward buy and sell. Talk to a solicitor beforehand.
• Once the exchange has been completed both parties will need to pay stamp duty on the value of the property acquired and register the swap with the land registry.
• You will need to pay any difference in the cost of the property you buy if you are trading up,  so ensure you have funds available.

There are obvious advantages to using this method of finding your new home - avoiding estate agents fees and the stress of being stuck in a chain being two of the biggest. Swapping also allows you to ‘try before you buy’ and there is usually far less risk of arrangements falling through.

But it’s still early days. The sites that I looked at over the weekend are full of developers’ properties which they are having difficulty selling so for ‘house swap’ read good old fashioned ‘part exchange offered’. There is still a shortage of other properties available on these sites so if you’re looking for a Georgian villa, a Victorian terrace or a country cottage with a large garden you are far more likely to find it by using a more conventional route. Although there’s nothing to stop you mentioning to your agent that you’d consider a house swap and hope that they’ll do some active matchmaking rather than letting your property languish on their books indefinitely. In fact some agents are advertising their properties on swapping websites already where vendors have expressed such an interest.

What does a relocation agent do when the housing market is in a slump? Well according to a girl friend of mine it ought to be persuading my partner to part with a few hundred thousand to buy a wreck for me to practise my homemaking skills - oh, and to be filmed doing it. (Kirstie’s Homemade Home Channel 4, Thursdays).

Now I’m not one to knock jolly Kirstie. The lady has talked a lot of sense in the past about not paying a developer’s premium, adding value and looking beyond the surface to the heart of what a property offers. But surely I’m not the only one who wishes that we could have a look at a renovation in real time on a realistic budget? Or are we a nation of property porn addicts content to drool over manufactured ‘perfection’?

Granted not many people would want to watch Fred and Maggie take five years to get around to painting their exterior woodwork but at least lets have a quality interior design programme showing us what can be done to improve the home we’re in and how much it will cost.

And if you’re thinking of doing a bit of renovation yourselves have a look here for some ideas of what might add most value in the long run. But be sure to bear in mind renovation in the current market has to be more about what works for you in the short term than making a quick buck and moving on.

And if you develop a taste for raiding skips as a result of Kirstie’s programme the bookshelf pictured is my latest ‘find’ now tastefully repainted in Farrow and Ball just to give you hope and inspiration. If I can do it, anyone can. Unlike the redoubtable Kirstie I will tell you the real story. It came from not from a skip but my next door neighbour and during the months between acquiring it and finding the time to actually paint it, it was stored in various rooms in the house where we all fell over it regularly. I used the remains of a pot of paint that I’d bought to revamp a cupboard so had to find a space for it in the sitting room (to avoid glaring colour clashes). And as it rained constantly during the painting period and we have no outbulding, garage or workshop, the kitchen held the faint whiff of paint for a few days.

Isn’t this what most people do?

If the lighter evenings and better weather have spurred you into action in the garden this weekend, you might be very pleased to know that your outdoor endeavours can boost the value and saleabililty of your property for the long term. Most prospective buyers when faced with the choice between similar properties will be swayed by ‘a really nice garden’. Surveys  indicate that 80% of buyers feel that it could add as much as 15% to the value of your home.

The current economic climate means that not as many homes are being sold of course. Spending some time and a little money on the garden is a long-term investment, improving your living space for you and proving beneficial when and if you decide to sell.

The preference up to now has been for ‘minimal maintenance’ as many people want a pleasant outdoor space for relaxation and entertaining but don’t have the time or knowledge to maintain it. However the upsurge in ‘growing your own’ combined with a pitiful shortage of allotments means that a potager or small veg patch is likely to prove popular in future.

Happy gardening!

The latest addition to the HIP (Home Information Pack) is due to become mandatory on April 6th. This is the Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)  HIPS themselves have never been very well received - and essentially were too watered down to be meaningful to buyers. The information they really wanted to know about a prospective home was not a compulsory part of the pack, like the Home Condition Report for instance. But from April 6th every house which comes to the market will need to have a HIP (including the PIQ) from the first day of marketing.

There continues to be a lot of wingeing in the industry about the HIP but the feeling now is that the HCR would have been a positive thing! The PIQ is designed to be completed by vendors without the need for professional help however. You can download a sample here. It will provide useful information for prospective purchasers about such things as utility providers, council tax bands, history of flooding, building and maintenance work carried out and parking arrangements.  Much of this information is already available but the PIQ will provide an easy reference guide and, one hopes, a level of protection where there is a question mark over the quality of building work (eg loft conversion), where there has been flood damage or where neighbourhood parking wars are a common occurence.

In the current climate purchasers need to be as well informed as possible before committing to a property. As such the PIQ can only be a good thing.