Cheap solicitors are expensive!

Once we agree a sale on a property, the hard work really begins.  As estate agents we liaise and chase solicitors, chains, buyers and sellers to make sure it all comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Unsurprisingly we get to know which solicitors are on the ball and which are quite frankly, useless. It seems to be that a fair percentage of buyers and sellers naturally get tempted to use the cheapest solicitor or conveyancer that they can find as they … Continue Reading…

Essential Guide to Moving House

If you’re currently in the process of looking to move then you may will find this information very helpful.  Moving is always stressful, so here are a few tips courtesy of Zoopla.co.uk to hopefully make it that bit easier for you! Of course if you have any specific questions regarding the moving process, just give me or any of the staff at Richard James a call on 01933 651010 (Irthlingborough) or 01933 224400 (Wellingborough) and we’ll be more … Continue Reading…

Home values hit 8 month low, according to Zoopla.co.uk

There are always many different opinions on house prices and to some degree you have to take it with a pinch of salt, but I thought this seemed like a reasonably accurate picture of average home values over the past few years.

“Our latest property data shows that property values have fallen every month since last July.

However, whilst it has been a challenging period for the property market over the past few months, the recent dip in prices … Continue Reading…

10 Ways to Sell Your Home

1. Prepare your budget and visualise your next home

Before you put your home up for sale you need to try and form a realistic idea of your requirements, you will need to have an image of where and what kind of home you want to move to. Get a feel for the house prices in your area and the area you would like to move into, with any house sale, once you have a realistic … Continue Reading…

What Does £7.5m Buy You?

Robbie Williams’ Wiltshire mansion, that’s what!

Take that star Robbie Williams’ ”exceptional country house” is still on the market after almost a year with a price tag of £7.5m. The stunning property is “situated to the edge of the charming hamlet of Compton Bassett. The village lies between Calne and Marlborough, in rolling Wiltshire countryside.”

Property features include:

7 bedrooms
Indoor pool/leisure complex
Tennis Court
Paddocks
Hangar
Two staff flats and a detached cottage
Formal gardens and approximately 71 acres

Here are more details of Robbie Williams house in Compton … Continue Reading…

Mortgage Market Still Tough

There were 45,723 house purchase loans approved in January, the Bank of England has reported.  Although an increase on December’s 42,7190, it was lower than the monthly average of 46,686 for the previous six-month period, leaving mortgage specialists frustrated and unimpressed.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at independent broker Mortgage Advice Bureau, said the slight rise was always likely after a subdued housing market in December.
  He added: “Unfortunately, many people want to remortgage but can’t because they have insufficient equity … Continue Reading…

BBC Dragon’s Den star lowers his house asking price

I spotted quite an interesting article over at zoopla (one of 25+ property portals that Richard James market your home from) about BBC Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones and how he has had to reduce his 6 bed mansion by  a whopping £150,000. Here’s an exert from their article:

Recently X-Factor judge Danni Minogue dropped her asking price by £50,000 and now it looks like Peter Jones, entrepreneur and TV personality from BBC Two’s fantastic Dragons’ Den has followed … Continue Reading…

Google waves goodbye to property search tool

Did you know that you could search for properties using Google Maps? Either way, internet giant Google have announced that they are stopping their property search feature as from 10th February 2011. There was a lot of expectancy within the industry that this service would potentially challenge some of the top UK property portals such as Rightmove, Zoopla, etc. but it appears that due to a lack of advertising and low usage, it has come to an end. Continue reading →