Sales

Affordability in the property market is usually finely poised when it comes to renting versus homeownership but this spring, the pendulum has swung back in favour of buying a home.

Spring has arrived and the air is once again filled with the sound of birds chirping and lawn mowers buzzing. Or do you prefer hearing the shrill sound of an angle grinder?

A stack of yellowing magazines that you’ll never get round to reading? Boxes overflowing with cables you’ve long forgotten what they connect? A bathroom bursting with half used cleaning products? If this is you, you’re not alone.

If you are using a mortgage to buy your first home, a deposit is essential. This cash sum is usually a percentage of the property price and it’s money the buyer needs before exchange.

What did you resolve to do when the clocks struck midnight on 31st December 2024? Did you vow to move more, eat less and stop looking at social media so much? Or did you make a New Year resolution to move home?

We wish you a Merry Christmas….and a happy New Home. The 2024 festive season presents us with a unique set of circumstances that potential home movers simply can’t ignore.

Despite successive Governments promising to reform the leasehold system in England and Wales (more on that later) – and the abolition of leasehold property status in Scotland – millions of homeowners only own bricks and mortar and not the land on which the property sits.

Garden rooms are a property asset that gained popularity during the pandemic but recent analysis of Google data by Legal & General revealed that searches for outbuildings are still incredibly high.

It’s amazing how quickly we amass personal possessions, paperwork, clothes and collectables. Before long, our homes can overflow with things we have got used to seeing and items we can’t bear to part with but too much of anything, however, can be a seller’s worst enemy.

It’s true that the property market cools slightly during July and August but if you’re looking to sell your home for a higher price, look no further than a summer sale, as a new survey has proven.

Sellers hoping to be moved into a new home for this Christmas need to put their property up for sale in the coming days to stand the best chance of completing in time for the December holidays.

In the space of just eight weeks, the subject of using pets to help sell your property has made it into the national newspapers. Both the Financial Times and The Times have run features on the art of property sales with pets as prominent features.