This is a bit risky if you’ve got to get finance as you have to complete to a deadline and if the bank refuses to lend you the money then you’d lose your deposit.
For most auctions you need to put down a deposit of 10%. You pay 10% of your maximum bid (with a minimum of £2000). Completion takes place usually within 28 days from the exchange which is deemed to be when the hammer falls. You need to check what the company accepts as some won’t take cheques, and others have a surcharge for using a credit card.
You should view the property and arrange any surveyors visit before hand. Use a solicitor who is used to doing auction propertys and ask them to look at the legal pack before you bid!
If you don’t have a survey, and the property turns out to have problems then you have no comeback once the hammer falls!
Blue plaque houses
We’ve all seen them – blue plaques stuck on the front of houses – but how many have you seen for sale?
This one was home to Annunzio Paolo Mantovani – 5 bedroom chalet for sale and they want offers in Region of
£1,695,000 for this property on Burton Road, Branksome Park, Poole, BH13.
Do you think you’d be more musical if you lived there?
If you know of other blue plaque properties for sale then please get in touch.
Same house on rightmove twice
This can happen because it’s on with different agents. Sometimes they’ll have different prices and this might be because land is being separated off from one of them. It’s always worth reading both sets of details and working out what the differences are.
The more agents a property is on with though, the more desperate they are to sell in my opinion. It might be they don’t want to lower the price to get viewings and so believe another agent will get them a sale without them dropping their price.
Types of non traditional build houses
If you’ve heard the phrase “Non traditional build” then you’ll find this guide useful. It’s got information and pictures on lots of types.
List includes::
Airey
Arrowhead
Boot
British Iron and Steel Federation Housing (BISF)
Cornish Unit
Dorlonco
Dorran
Dyke
Gregory
Hawthorne Leslie
Howard
Laing Easi-Form
Lowton Cubit
Mowlem
Myton
Newland
Orlit
Parkinson
Reema Hollow Panel
Schindler & Hawksley SGS
Stent
Stonecrete
Tarran
Thorncliffe
Trusteel
Underdown
Unity & Butterly
Waller
Wates
Wessex
Wimpey No-Fines
Winget
Woolaway
Taunton 10 bedroom house
Wilton House in Taunton – This lovely house is only £850,000! It’s a 10 bedroom house in Taunton!
It’s not got a huge garden compared to the size of the house, but it’s location near the higih street, and close to a park and golf course make it a fantastic property.
• A Grade II Listed Queen Anne House
• 10 En Suite Bedrooms, 2 Bedroom Annexe
• Prominent Location In The Town
• Over 8,000 Sq/Ft – In All 0.5 Acre
Brookside close for sale
If you ever watched Brookside back in the dim distant past you might be interested to know its for sale!
It’s being sold off and they want in the region of £2 million for it.
The catalogue (pdf file) is available
Want to rent a place at Brookside instead?
Now available are three places!
Barratts to change tack
Barratts the well known house builder is going to hedge it’s bets and become a rental arm. They built 11000 homes last year – and maybe the downturn in the mortgage market means they can’t sell them, and would rather rent than keep trying to sell them.
What this means for home buyers? They’re expecting a drop in prices yet further and for the mortgage market to be difficult.
It will be interesting to see how they get on as landlords though.
Sources include assetz
One bedroom properties
There’s a very small market for one bedroom properties. They’re not my cup of tea at all! When I hear young people saying they’ll be buying a one bedroom flat I generally try and ask them a few questions.
Where will they be in five years time? What do they want in their life in five years time? Do they want kids? What if they need a lodger to pay the bills? What if a family member wants to come and stay for a few months? A one bedroom place gives you so little flexibility – and almost certainly no storage space for a spare bed!
Some people decide that they’re single and a one bedroom place is big enough for them. But there’s no way of knowing what’s around the corner – or who is! You might find you fall in love and decide to move in together but most one bedders just aren’t big enough for two people’s junk! With a one bed flat you generally wont’ have a garage, attic, large storage space, that you might get with a bigger house and that can only mean trouble in our cluttered lives.
If you’re renting then a one bedroom place can be just fine – if it ever gets too small then you can give notice and move! Moving when you own means selling and the market is smaller for a one bed place.
You might think that it might be a good place for someone who’s retired, but think about the access, if it’s up stairs then it’s not a long term purchase for an older person.
I’d especially be careful if you’re looking at one of these one bedroom places above a row of garages – yes you might get a garage but you get to listen to the joys of people going in and out of their garage at all hours.
Stop! Think before you buy – and this applies whatever size house you’re buying – will it still be big enough in five years time?
Cantilevered house
Amazing cantilevered house… It’s in the US. Boston architect Warren Schwartz designed and built a modern home of glass, steel and concrete in the Berkshires for himself and his wife Sheila, a longtime violinist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
There are plenty of photos of it – taken in the snow making a bold contrast with the gap beneath the lounge!
So you think you’ve found your dream house
So you think you’ve found your idea dream home.
1. First get the full address. Google and a bit of reading through estate agent’s details should get you this.
2. Do a council tax band search and see how much this is.
3. Check for planning permissions listed for this property on the council’s website.
4. Have a look on the police maps for the local crime information.
5. Do an environment agency search for flooding.
6. Check out the local shops/schools/pubs/post office
7. Check if it gets broadband and what is available – use the broadband checker
8. Can you get a shopping delivery from your local supermarket? You can log in and check with the postcode on most of them.
9. Have a look on google streetmap for the area. It’s almost like driving around
10. Do a general google search for the area – have a look at the newspaper websites for the area too as they can be quite interesting.
11. Look for local community based websites and see what’s going on in the area. Is the local council pro-active and are people interested in what’s going on in the area. For villages see if there’s a village website and read up about what’s going on there!
12. Are there local groups for the things you have as hobbies? Swimming pools/libraries/youth clubs for the kids etc.
After all this, why not ring the agent and organise a viewing!