22Dec/16
staging a home for a quick sale

Staging Your Home For A Quick Sale

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?

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?

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.

04Mar/16
moving house

Moving to a New House – Key Do’s and Don’ts

Regardless of where you’re moving to, or if you’re moving yourself or hiring a removal company, moving to a new house is pretty stressful. In fact, it’s listed as one of the most stressful things to do after having a baby and organising a marriage (or getting a divorce). You know it is going to cost a lot of money, you don’t have to be an accountant to grasp the financial situation, but If you want it to go as smoothly as possible but not cost the earth, you’ll want to read our key do’s and don’ts:

02Mar/16
gorgeous bathroom for a small attic space

Top Tips and Inspiration for Refurbishing Your Bathroom

We all love a pristine new bathroom – gleaming taps, shiny new bath, elegant tiling, clean white grout, soft fluffy towels. Sadly, in reality, our bathrooms tend not to look like that unless we have recently moved house to a new build. The taps have limescale staining, the grout is starting to discolour and the sanitary ware and tiling is no longer gleaming. But it doesn’t have to be like that – refurbishing your bathroom is a relatively inexpensive job providing you don’t have to move pipework, and if you are on a really tight budget then you can give it a facelift that will transform it – what are you waiting for?

12Jan/16
Small New Home

Storage solutions for combined families

When two families come together to live in one house, the logistics of moving house and the storage space needed can seem quite daunting. Two families, who have previously lived in two houses, need enough room to bring all their things together into one abode. This is not, of course, always practical and may sometimes mean having to rent cheap self storage space (perhaps just on a temporary basis) until enough storage can be built in the combined home. By carefully planning the storage solutions in each room, it is possible that no one will have to sacrifice items and give everyone the space they need to feel comfortable in this new setting.

07Aug/15
new build home - plans

The Issue of Space in New Build Homes in the UK

New build homes have always had a certain appeal with their shiny new kitchens and bathrooms and free of someone else’s clutter but are they really as spacious as they seem or are show homes designed to give the illusion of space with neutral colour schemes and the use of undersized furniture? Research from the UK government’s national archives by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) has assessed whether there is actually sufficient space in new homes for the furniture that couples and families need for everyday living and for the storage of personal possessions. Is there genuinely enough room for residents to cook, eat, relax and socialise in new private sector homes?