Diary Comment

BUPA GREAT NORTH RUN
Sunday 5th October 2008
Richard’s training is well under way for his participation in the biggest half marathon in the World. He is running on behalf of Shelter (reg charity 263710) & would greatly appreciate your support by way of sponsorship. Please call in to our office for more details or phone on 01625 859911.
THANK YOU



MONTH IN THE LIFE OF AN ESTATE AGENT

5th May 08 What a great end to the day, I’ve just received a call from the owners of Park Avenue to put it on the market – it’s a fantastic house & if a property is ‘Credit Crunch Proof’ it must be this particularly one. The photos are done, the property’s uploaded to the web and as I thought, there’s an unbelievable amount of enquiries. It probably confirms my hunch that there are people looking to move but they just need the inspiration to take the plunge!

9th May 08 We’ve managed to piece together a chain of 3 properties, it’s actually taken a while but we’ve got there. They’ve all sold for admittedly less than I thought but nobody appears to be out of pocket and all appear to be motivated to move quickly – if fact, less than 4 weeks later they’ve exchanged. It’s interesting to note that most of the values seem to be in line with the early part of 2006. Receive an offer on one particular property that comes in £20,000 less than the asking price which, in fairness is not rejected out of hand and that particular client has his eye on something else on which he makes a similar reduced offer and ‘good news’ it's been accepted. Also we have just completed on a house swap which provides yet another option in the current market.

14th May 08 What a drab old day. Lots of property stories in the paper & the cost of this, that & the other is making everybody so bloomin miserable, so I try to think up an idea to get people a bit more motivated, hence the introduction of the ‘Flexible Price Promise’ – phone me for details & I’ll explain more.

16th May 08 It’s an In-Service Day at school & my daughter is introduced again to the family business. She quickly gets into action by answering the phone & comes on a couple of viewings – in fact I’d say she’s showing excellent potential! The days seem to be getting longer and longer and with appointments all afternoon and early evening there is some reasonably good activity on which to build but admittedly my face is aching by the end of the day with that positive smile.

19th May 08 Siddington Road comes on the market & sells immediately – but it is a real cracker! At the opposite end of the spectrum, we’ve just reduced a property for the 4th time in 2 weeks but at least now it seems to have hit the spot & is getting the desired level of viewings and in fact, it’s had a couple of low offers but I’m sure with a bit of careful negotiation we’ll be able to piece it together.

6th June 08 One particular property is on the verge of exchanging – at last!! It’s fallen through 3 times for a variety of reasons but it’s finally got there, all down to the patience of both the owner & the purchaser who seem to have taken everything in their stride. Later on that afternoon I receive a call at literally 5 o’clock to say that completion on one particularly house has to happen by next week. I crumble as I realise that the mortgage offer’s not in as yet lower down the chain & the survey’s not even been done. I spoke to the purchaser who with the help of his bank had the survey done straight away & the offer produced in 3 days – phew.

10th June 08 What a miserable day. I arrive at the office only to find that our two very nice trees have been pinched …… if you’ve got them, can we have them back please, no questions asked!!! The day gets a lot better as an offer comes in from a viewing the night before – it’s perhaps a bit on the low side but surprisingly the owners decided to get on and accept it. Oak Grove exchanges – thank goodness –it has been absolutely torturous waiting for it to happen.

………… MORE PERSONAL COMMENTS NEXT MONTH



MOVING MADE EASY - EXPERT ADVICE TO BEAT THE STRESS

Thorough preparation is the key to a stress-free move and there are plenty of things you can do in advance to ease the strain on the big day.

Make the internet your first stop. There are several websites dedicated to making the process a little easier.

The Royal Mail site www.iammoving.com is a good place to start as they give you a list of all the different organisations and government departments that need to be notified about your change of address. In some cases you can even do it online.

The internet is also a great place to look for the best deals for gas, electricity or broadband and phone packages for your new home.

HANDS ON.. OR OFF
The next thing you need to do is decide how you want to manage the actual move. Do you want to hire a van and do the whole thing yourself, or hire a removal firm to do it for you?

Some removal firms will pack and move all your belongings to your new home and then unpack everything as well. It is going to be expensive, but of course it is a massive time-saver. Get at least 3 quotes from removal firms to make sure you get the best deal.

DECLUTTERING
Before you even consider starting to pack, think seriously about what you want to take. It would be crazy to take all the things you hardly ever use to your new home.

Be totally ruthless about all your clutter. If you don't love, like to use something, recycle it. Take it to a charity shop, or bin it.

If you haven't worn or used something for 6 months get rid of it. If you just haven't got the heart to do that then put everything that falls into this category into black bags and store them away when you move to your new home.

If you haven't opened these bags 6 months later, it's time to throw everything inside them away!

If you decide to do all the packing yourself, make sure you have plenty of boxes. Visit www.helpineedbox.co.uk which has a wide range. They also supply bubble wrap, sticky tape and labels.

You could also collect boxes from nearby shops or supermarkets. Also save newspapers for wrapping breakables. And it's a good idea to buy a paper shredder and shred all your old documents before you leave.

PACKING
Start early. Packing will always take longer than you expect as you will soon find yourself poring over old photographs, so make sure you leave plenty of time.

THE GARDEN
Don't forget your garden. If you want to take some of your treasured plants with you make sure you make this clear to the buyer before you exchange contracts.

Pot up plants a couple of weeks before you move so they are settled when you leave and have a better chance of surviving.

On moving day, remember that pets and children are better off out of the way, so line up a member of the family or a friend to look after them!

COUNTDOWN TO THE BIG DAY

4 weeks to go
1. Get three removal estimates. Choose a firm and book them.

2. Order packing cases and book the days off work you need.

3. Decide which furniture you are taking with you and dispose of anything you want to dump.

4. If you need new furniture, carpets or curtains order them now and arrange for them to be delivered when you move.

2 weeks to go
1. Inform all the utility companies you use that you are moving. Get your mail redirected.

2. Make sure your doctor, dentist and optician are aware of your change of address if you are moving out of the area.

3. Finalise arrangements with your removal company if you are using one.

4. Start packing non-essentials like books and out-of-season clothes, run down the freezer and repot any plants you intend to take with you.

One week to go
1. Tell your bank and contact the council and ask for a statement on your community charge as you could be in line for a refund.

2. Inform the car and household insurance firms which you use.

3. Send out change of address cards to friends and family.

4. Organise someone to look after your children and pets on moving day.

2 days to go
1. Defrost the freezer ready for the move and disconnect the dishwasher.

2. Prepare a box of essentials to take with you including a kettle, bed linen and toilet rolls.

3. Put anything you don't want the removers to take in a safe place away from everything else.

4. Label all the house keys ready for the new owners moving in.

Update: 18th July 2008