Category Archives: News

Cheer Yourself Up by Creating a Cosy Home

As the nights draw in and the mercury drops, it’s time to take a little inspiration from our Nordic neighbours.

The stylish Danes have mastered the art of dealing with long, dark winters by embracing what they call hygge (pronounced hoo-gah).

Hygge is a sense of cosy contentment brought about by enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Imagine yourself, warm drink in hand, sitting in a comfy chair in front of a crackling fire, and you’re on the right track.

The idea of hygge is … Continue Reading…

Thinking of Selling Your Home? Do These Five Things First

Selling a home can be stressful, but by following a few easy rules at the start of the process, vendors can save themselves time, money, and heartache.

A little bit of pre-sale prep will help you avoid the two most common home-selling horror themes.

Scenario one: The process is painfully slow and drags on for months (or sometimes years) leaving the vendors living in limbo and tearing their hair out because they can’t seal a deal.

Scenario two: The vendor falls in love with … Continue Reading…

What Will You Be Drawing on this Month

This month sees the world’s biggest drawing festival take place.

Throughout October, there are activities taking place across the globe to encourage people to pick up a pencil and pen and start getting creative.

Due to Covid-19, many of these are now taking place online. And at the end of this article, we share a link where you can access more information.

The Big Draw attracts millions of people of all ages and highlights the benefits of getting arty.

These include:

Reducing stress – drawing … Continue Reading…

Thinking about Moving? Here’s what’s on the Horizon in the Housing Market

After one of the most unusual years on record for the housing industry, the latest market predictions from a major property chain make for interesting reading.

Think back to March, when the housing industry screeched to a halt for more than seven weeks during what is typically a busy time of year for property sales.

Then jump ahead to May and June when the UK’s market re-opened – and demand rocketed. A month later, the Stamp Duty holiday was announced, leading to … Continue Reading…

Breaking News – Big boost for first-time buyers

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday afternoon that he would make the dream of buying a first home a more achievable reality for first-time buyers.

The news came in a speech to the virtual Conservative conference.

The PM claimed his Government would introduce fixed-rate long term mortgages which would see as many as 2 million first time buyers being able to borrow 95% of the value of the property they want to buy.

The move is intended to help younger buyers afford a home … Continue Reading…

Nine enjoyable things to try this October

1 Plant some bulbs

Bulbs are easy to plant, can go in either the ground or pots, require virtually no looking after and pack a colourful punch. What’s not to like? Plant daffodils, tulips and hyacinths for spring blooms and alliums and lilies for summer flowers.

2 Play conkers

Every October, thousands of people flock to the village of Southwick in Northamptonshire to partake in that most British of pastimes: the thwacking of horse chestnuts. We are, of course, talking about the World … Continue Reading…

What Not to Include in Your Property Marketing Photos

We look at the dos and don’ts of photography when it comes to marketing a property.

When selling or letting a property, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of getting the imagery right.

As most buyers and renters spend hours scrolling through property portals before arranging viewings, first impressions are crucial.

So why then do so many people get it wrong? Such is the volume of bad estate agency photos out there, that there are entire websites dedicated to mocking dodgy property pics … Continue Reading…

Fans, Felines and False Teeth – The Weird Things Tenants Leave Behind

End-of-tenancy checks can spring all manner of surprises on landlords. Take, for example, the landlord in north-west London who discovered an abandoned kitten when taking possession of a property back in August.

The tenants had shot through and left the black and white fluff ball behind. Thankfully, our hero landlord rang the local rescue centre, The Mayhew, and raised the alarm.

An animal welfare officer was quickly on the scene and the feline fella, believed to be about six weeks old, is … Continue Reading…

What Will You Be Stopping and Starting in Northamptonshire Next Month?

Today we look at the things people are stopping and starting in October.

2020 will go down in history as the year when life stopped, albeit temporarily.

And with local lockdowns coming into force, that feeling of stop-starting stuff is still around.

It’s a little like the hokey cokey but with stop-start replacing in-out.

This all makes it a little ironic that next month is now synonymous not just with falling leaves and trick or treating, but with people trying to put a stop … Continue Reading…

The Ten Most Important Things Landlord’s in Wellingborough, Irthlingborough & Rushden Need

If you’re contemplating becoming a landlord, here’s a helpful checklist explaining what it takes to let a property.

You may wonder why a checklist is necessary. After all, how hard can it be? You buy a property, find a tenant, and boom, you’ve got the whole landlord game figured out. Wrong!

The private rental sector is subject to so many rules and regulations that even experienced landlords get caught out and make costly mistakes.

Here’s what you need to know.

1 Legal matters – There … Continue Reading…