18Mar/17
home makeover tips - creating more space

25 Cheap Home Makeover Tips

DIY, Home Improvement,

Does your new home need a makeover but you have no budget left after moving house with all the associated costs and solicitor’s fees? Never fear there are hundreds of cheap and easy ways to quickly improve you home without breaking the bank.

Here are 25 of our favourites but if you have other ideas why not send them to us and we will add them to the list.

30Jan/17
declutter your mind

Declutter Your Home and Declutter Your Mind

Decluttering, , ,

Thanks to the guys at FLEXiSPACE for a new infographic on decluttering which should really help us all start working towards a clutter-free home. I am one of those people who have a 2 car garage but don’t park anything in it because it is so full of other “stuff”. It’s not too late to make decluttering your home your New Year’s resolution…because conquering your clutter will declutter your mind and that has to be a good thing.

22Dec/16
using red tiles for colour in the home

Inject Some Colour Into Your Home

Home Improvement, ,

I love colour in the home – from my bright red rug that welcomes guests into the hallway to my purple sofas and colourful artwork on the walls. But I seem to be in a minority. That’s not to say that my home is a blinding clash of colours – it is a relaxing space with neutral walls (French Grey and Slaked Lime from Little Greene are my favourites) and a mix of contemporary oak floors and large white porcelain tiles that provide a calming background to my pops of colour.

22Dec/16
staging a home for a quick sale

Staging Your Home For A Quick Sale

Moving House, The Housing Market, , ,

Staging your home is one of the best ways of achieving a quick sale and it’s not as difficult as you might think. Of course, we all know that selling a home is stressful but the stress can really mount up if you have few viewings and no offers as the weeks go by so avoid that prospect by staging your home before it goes on the market. If you want some inspiration take a look at one of my latest favourite home shows Buying & Selling with twins Jonathan and Drew Scott. They turn up with impeccable staging ideas, a self storage unit to hide away the clutter and a sledgehammer; and within 2 weeks they completely transform a home – and then sell it for way more more than it cost to do the work.

Some home owners feel that buyers will either want their home or not and that nothing much they can do will change their mind; but this really isn’t true. Just think of the time and money that goes into show homes for new developments and you will realise that how a home is presented is important to help buyers visualise living there themselves. In fact, once you’re done watching Jonathan and Drew go and view some local show homes for tips on presentation. Before you know it you will be moving house to your dream place.

08Dec/16
london scene where the rich live

Where Do The Richest People In The UK Live?

The Housing Market, , ,

A third of the entire planet’s High Net Worth Individuals (the very rich basically) reside in the UK so it is no surprise that there are some very, very wealthy parts of the UK. London of course is the main place rich people reside. Throughout history the most affluent members of society lived in London, but there are other areas where you will find high levels of wealth dotted across the UK, even in some cases, small towns.

The way wealth is determined statistically usually takes a person’s entire worth, including money in the bank and business assets less any outstanding mortgage amounts or other different types of loans. However, sometimes it is judged on the disposable income a person has. For example, West London is the richest part of the UK overall because the average amount of disposable income per person is over £35,000 a year. This is no surprise really as Kensington and Chelsea are in this area.

23Nov/16
buy my own home

Will I Ever Be Able To Buy My Own Home?

Moving House, The Housing Market, , , ,

I hate to think that I might be part of Generation Rent but I’m quickly heading that way and wonder whether I will ever be able to buy my own home. Living in the South East means that property prices are so high as to be almost out of my reach and yet I am paying more in rent than I would on a mortgage – if only I could get a mortgage I would actually have more spare cash at the end of each month than I do now paying rent. The mortgage lending criteria are so stringent now though that I stand little chance of getting a home loan unless I can come up with a large deposit and that looks unlikely unless I win the lottery or inherit some money from some long-lost auntie I didn’t know I had. Or maybe guarantor loans are the way to go to raise the deposit – if only I could persuade my parents to act as guarantor.