Sometimes life gets very busy. My irrepressible four year old finally gave into her cold and the last couple of days have been spent snuggled up on the sofa with her and a pile of books. But today I am back to wearing hats other than Mum and nurse. There is admin to do for the new Bradford on Avon Children’s Centre, due to open soon and offer fabulous coordinated support to families in the town and surrounding villages and liaison with caterers and PR for an open air performance of the Merry Wives which I am producing. (You’ll hear more of this as the weeks progress, believe me.)

Later on I’ll be back in touch with estate agents to organise appointments for my clients to view a selection of the best that Bradford has to offer in the way of family accommodation and if there’s time before picking the children up from school a bit of work on updating the information in my welcome packs.

Having so many different things to accomplish is one of the reasons I love running my own business. No two days are the same. and I’ve learned that provided that I achieve something from several of the lists I work from, projects move forward and I feel in control. Incidentally, like many women I’ve got better at multi-tasking since  my children were born. This is a real boon when you spend your time managing building projects, believe me.

Being busy can be stressful and so it’s good to have a few days away from the coalface - even if it is only on the sofa cuddling a sneezy little girl.

C x

Have you heard about Earth Hour 2008 yet? A group in Bradford on Avon are going all out to support it this year and you could too.

Last year’s event took place in Sydney Austrailia but this year they are going global in an effort to raise awareness. The basic premise is that homes and businesses in villages, towns and cities switch off lights and appliances for one hour at 8pm on Saturday March 29th.

There is a dedicated website for further information at www.earthhour.org where you can also download hints and tips for making an event of it with your friends and neighbours. We are going for the candlelit supper idea with friends followed by a starry walk.

Let me know what you get up to.

C x

As a break from gardening and consumng our combined weight in chocolate we ventured out yesterday to Dyrham Park near Bath for a wander around the estate. Ian and I stolled around in true Jane Austen style, although Ian wasn’t tempted to dive into the lake. The boys appreciated the parkland - a perfect place to practise newly acquired rugby tackling skills whilst Sarah splashed happily in puddles and played pooh sticks in the stream.

Today we walked down to town through the woods to witness the annual Bradford on Avon Duck Race. At twelve noon precisely five hundred or more yellow plastic ducks were ceremoniously dumped off the Town Bridge and made their way downstream. Swollen river conditions this year favoured the ducks but alas not the half dozen or so canoeists who had to paddle hard to remain stationary to collect the finishers or move upstream to disentangle the stragglers. Our family duck finished respectably, halfway down the field. This is good news as the prizes were, you’ve guessed it, huge Easter eggs.

Tomorrow I am off for a reccy of another local National Trust property - The Courts in Holt to measure up the site for a forthcoming production of The Merry Wives of Windsor (or in this case of Holt) which is to take place in June. I may even fit in a trip to Lacock (of Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, Harry Potter fame ) It’s a tough job living in Wiltshire!

C x

It has been even more hectic than usual at Country Gate this week. I am on a mission to find a large garden with a modest house attached for some clients; there has been a lot of baking, mostly involving chocolate and the egg decorating and rolling competitions at school have seen me play general labourer to my children’s role of architect and main contractor. As a result I am writing the blog on Good Friday after a day spent in the great outdoors.

Last Wednesday I took my first day off for several weeks and spent a blissful few hours dodging showers and tidying up the garden and attacking our newly acquired allotment. My form of stress busting.

The health benefits of gardening are well documented. The physical activity of wrestling with bindweed and turning over the soil is at least equivalent to a few trips to the gym. Being able to put vegetables free from pesticides and additives on the table is also a boon - in fact gardeners tend to eat more vegetables anyway. But for me the real benefit of living in a house with a garden is more to do with emotional well-being and it seems the planners agree with me.

The daily updates to my PC from my colleagues at the RICS have been full of the need for more green space. Village greens are enjoying a resurgence, public spaces are no longer being planned entirely around the use of the car, school playing fields are protected spaces and have become extensions of the classroom and developers are commonly required to provide parks and playgrounds in exchange for receiving permission to build.

Just looking at trees and plants can reduce stress, lower your blood pressure and ease tension ….believe me this Wednesday was a case in point. Gardening is used as therapy now with elderly patients, Alzheimer’s sufferers, prisoners seeking rehabilitation and children with behavioural difficulties. Working the soil, planning your planting scheme and tending your crops or flowers provides a form of self expression and emotional release which is second to none.

So get out there this weekend - whether like me you’ll be getting dirt under your fingernails or joining an Easter egg hunt in a country park. Whatever your age or circumstances, green space will do you good. And when I’m back in full househunting mode next week I’ll be refreshed. And I am looking for a house with a garden after all.

Until next week.

Cally

Following on from my blog posting this week I see the Times has also taken up the green mantle. See http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article3545675.ece.

The Chancellor has allocated £26million in the budget towards setting up the Green Homes Service to be launched at the beginning of April. This will provide a home energy audit to any householder who wants to find out about how they can improve the energy efficiency of their existing property. It will offer advice and talk you through details of grants and offers which may be available to you to improve your property and cut your fuel bills.

And to further enforce what was said in my previous posting, a report due to be published by the Empty Homes Agency this week also points to the fact that refurbishing is better for the environment than eco newbuild. On average building a new home (even one with eco-features) emits more than four times the carbon that a refurbishment does. Staggering!

C x

This week we’ve gone green on the Country Gate blog. The Bradford on Avon Community Children’s Centre with which I have a connection is nearing completion - with one or two eco-features to make it more energy efficient. We are now several months into mandatory energy inspections for houses which come onto the market for sale and many people are well-informed about the kinds of measures they can make to improve energy efficiency and cut energy bills - installing insulation, lagging the hot water tank, fitting low energy light bulbs, eliminating draughts and upgrading the boiler. if you watched last night’s Relocation you’ll also be well- versed on going carbon neutral.

When asked recently by clients about my views on eco-features I don’t think I gave the kinds of answers they expected. I am not a fan of UPVC or throwing out less than efficient appliances in a bid to be completely A_rated. I would rather not fly than plant a few trees to offset my carbon footprint. My approach to cutting carbon emissions has more to do with extra sweaters and thicker curtains than the latest boiler and triple glazing.

There are choices that anyone can make to be a more ethical homeowner without the massive financial outlay of Phil and Kirstie’s clients or the advantages of a large property with its own water supply and woodland. Of course, living off-grid, permaculture and supplying your wood burner from your own woodland is the ideal. Nevertheless we can all do something and here are my favourite ideas.

Buy an old house Buying a house which has served generations of householders already makes eco-sense - much more so than the most environmentally friendly new-build. If it is an empty house and you are restoring it in an ethical way it is even better. Furnish it with second hand pieces from flea markets and auction rooms or with family heirlooms. Repair and restore original features rather than replacing them with new. Use environmentally friendly paints and varnishes. Local tradesmen and locally sourced products are best.

Reduce waste Keep timber windows and doors. If they are regluarly maintained they will last for years. Think before you throw anything out. Many things can be put to a new use - old belfast sinks make great planters for instance. Salvage old fittings, don’t skip them. Reclamation yards do brisk business and if you don’t want your old doors or radiators someone else might.

Buy a property with a garden and work it Good for the environment and good for you- improving health, providing a good use for all that compost you generate and reducing food miles if you grow your own.

Carry out regular maintenance on your property and your appliances Regular maintenance will prolong the life of anything and increase its efficiency at doing the job it is meant to do.

Live in a sustainable community Think about the community in which you choose to live. The ideal is one where you can shop locally, walk your children to school and get to work without having to travel too far. Market towns are ideal places for families, providing ready access to the countryside without having to jump into the car to get anything.

Balance introducing eco-features with using less When your appliances or boiler wear out buying the best energy efficient model you can afford is ideal but aim to consume less in the first place. Don’t leave appliances on stand-by; turn down the thermostat;fit thermostatic valves on radiators; boil only the amount of water you need - but don’t go out and buy an eco-kettle. It’s not difficult to fill your existing one half full. You get the picture.

Install a woodburner More efficient than an open fire and great if you can source the wood locally from a sustainable source. You can heat your whole house provided that you don’t mind putting on socks to get to the bathroom in the morning.

Buy less and reuse more Back to the ‘Make do and mend’ philosophy that seems to be gathering pace at the moment in lifestyle magazines. Now It’s fashionable and makes sense.

What choices have you made?

Until next time.

Cally

Recently I experienced the kind of day Channel 4 keeps well hidden from viewers when trailing Phil and Kirstie around properties with potential. It started with a brief foray into a cottage which never progressed past the garden as the poor estate agent failed to open the front door and ended with a lengthy counselling session whilst I viewed a property with a desperate vendor. In between there was the house where I had to step over yesterday’s underwear; the house with the rottweiler who had relieved himself on the kitchen floor; and the one where I had to adopt a position worthy of Houdini to get past the kitchen door, the open washing machine and the ironing board piled high with clothes and a packet of corn flakes. Yes - it is a glamorous life!

Some of these properties had real potential and there is a deal to be done. Sadly a less tenacious and experienced viewer would have walked away without a backward glance. If the experience of viewing a property is a negative one, irrespective of what’s on offer it is unlikely to sell. So sellers take note.

As a purchaser, there is a certain etiquette to viewing properties which will allow you to form an effective working relationship with the agent and stay focussed on what is important……..

• Arrive promptly. Leave plenty of time to get to an appointment and don’t book too many close together. If you can’t avoid being late, ring the agent to explain and apologise
• Appearance matters. Scruffy is out but equally too smart and you’ll look like you have money to burn and the vendor won’t negotiate.
• Be friendly and businesslike. Remember you are on a fact finding mission but you do need to give the agent something to remember and like about you. They are more likely to make an effort with you then.
• Try to avoid bringing children on a first viewing. Lovely though they are, it’s distracting. If the vendor has children then bringing them on a second viewing may be acceptable.
• Stay focussed. Don’t get distracted by the books, the pictures or the clutter. And try not to be fooled by the illusion of space in an empty house.
• The first viewing is about heart rather than head. There is no need to take a tape measure, open cupboards or inspect the floorboards. Don’t take photos without express permission or make copious notes. You are just trying to get a feel for the property and whether it is worth pursuing.
• Two’s company. Two is ideal for a viewing. Three is acceptable on a second viewing when you’re really looking at the nitty gritty but more than four is definitely to be avoided.
• Facts, facts, facts. The second viewing is the time to have a better look at the fabric of the house so a certain amount of rug lifting and other surface inspection is okay - but avoid doing this too much in front of the vendor. If there is anything wrong with the property a survey will highlight any areas for concern.
• Don’t offend the vendor. Even if you think that the decor is appalling and you’d need to remodel the garden, please don’t risk offending the vendor who is proud of their home by saying this within earshot. Keep that discussion for later.
• Find out as much as you can about the neighbourhood before making an offer. This is best done down at the local or in the shop. Look at the neighbours’ gardens and properties but don’t go round and introduce yourself. Some neighbours are very helpful at hanging around in their gardens and saying hello. If this happens by all means chat.
• It’s not third time lucky in this game. Most third time viewers do not buy so arm yourself with enough information to make a decision after the second viewing. If you ask to see a property again before making an offer the reception is likely to be distinctly cool.
• Negotiate. By all means negotiate but always make sure you give valid reasons for offering below the asking price. Don’t forget to highlight your strength as a buyer if you have sold, have no chain, have your mortgage offer and solicitor in place and are ready to move swiftly.

What are your experiences of viewing property?

Until next week.

Cally