Your Right Move

Outside indoors

Zanet — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:44:23 +0000

I have to say that one of the biggest wow factors for me, is seeing outside inside.

Initially a few plants suffice in a flat as a first time buyer. But as my taste matures as i become older, i find i’m more inclined towards choosing ways to go a few steps further.

Making interior space feel bigger, brighter and contemporary has to be a step in the right direction for modern living.

Outside inside

Plants

Large, healthy pot plants indoors will ensure that your indoor living space feels more like a conservatory – and therefore linked to the garden. This is a cheap trick that anyone can copy, no matter what the architecture of their home is like. Furniture and accessories, Marks & Spencer

Glass

Whether French doors or large picture windows that overlook a garden, they should be kept clear of clutter. Keep curtains and blinds to a minimum as this can quickly loose the positive effect of the light into the room. A simple trick is to use glass whenever possible as it brings the outdoors in and keeps reflecting light around the interior room.

Floor

Try to match your flooring from inside to outside and keep it to exactly the same level. This will give the impression that the rooms are one. For instance if you’ve got traditional wooden floorboards indoors or even laminate flooring then choose decking outdoors and ensure the boards all run in the same direction.

Colours

Using green at your windows will help bring the garden and indoors together too. That could mean blinds or even painting the walls around the windows green. Use mid-toned wood indoors to match plants on patio – it’s even worth painting your walls and fences in similar tones. Painting your garden furniture to reflect the colour scheme in the room nearest the garden is a really easy way to link the two spaces visually.

Furniture

Garden furniture that would look just as good indoors is a trick that you can use to blur the indoor/outdoor divide. Look for furniture indoors that complements your garden furniture, too.

Lighting

Even if it’s too cold to go outdoors in the winter, there’s no reason not to light the garden well, so that you can enjoy it from within. Go for low energy options where possible, and turn the lights off when the garden’s no longer in view… Outdoor fires, Ecosmart Fire

Shelter

A wooden awning with vine or plants growing accross can provide a real feel of outside/inside. The disadvantage is it may block light. An awning over the windows or doors that lead to your garden provides shelter outdoors.It also allows you to keep the doors or windows wide open when it’s warm and raining.

WEST ZOOPLA ALBION FC

Zanet — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:57:04 +0000

We’ve seen the London Cabbies with Zoopla adverts, but now Zoopla enters the Premier League

ZOOPLA.CO.UK TO BECOME MAIN SPONSOR OF WEST BROMWICH ALBION FC
Zoopla is delighted to announce today that they have signed a long-term partnership as the principal sponsor of Premier League football club, West Bromwich Albion. The sponsorship deal will take effect from June 1^st will run until at least the 2014/2015 season.

How the WBA shirt might look next year

The deal, which marks a new phase of brand activity for Zoopla, following its highly successful national TV campaigns, will see Zoopla branding take pride of place on the shirts of the Albion players, throughout the Hawthorns stadium, on official club merchandise, across the club’s website, on match tickets/programmes and on the interview backdrops featured on Sky and BBC football coverage.

In addition to the extensive branding, the partnership deal also includes comprehensive hospitality opportunities, tickets for games, player appearances and use of the stadium facilities for Zoopla to both entertain its advertising members and support its charitable efforts. Having recently played their last match of the season, the Baggies finished in 10^th place this year, their highest ever finish in the Barclays Premier League.

This latest deal confirms Zoopla’s commitment to becoming the UK’s best known online property brand. With only twenty teams in the Premier League, Zoopla joins an elite group of brands including Aviva, Emirates, Samsung and Standard Chartered in securing the principal sponsorship of one of these top class football clubs.

Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla said: “We are very excited to be partnering with West Bromwich Albion, a family club with a rich heritage and some of the best fans in football. This deal will help raise our brand awareness and reach a huge audience and is a further step in our mission to make Zoopla a household name, synonymous with online property search and research. Our agent members will benefit greatly from the national brand exposure of this partnership as we further cement our position as their most valued marketing partner. We are looking forward to working closely with West Bromwich Albion to ensure that this is a highly beneficial relationship for both parties.”

Mark Jenkins, Chief Executive of West Bromwich Albion Football Club said, “We are delighted to welcome Zoopla as our new principal club sponsor, in what represents the most comprehensive sponsorship deal in the club’s history. We have been impressed by the approach that Zoopla have taken to supporting the club, are confident that they will be a great partner for us and are looking forward to building a strong working relationship with them.”

Adrian Wright, Sales & Marketing Director of West Bromwich Albion Football Club said, “Becoming the club’s main sponsor will help Zoopla extend its reach and audience significantly. Despite having been around for only 4 years, Zoopla.co.uk has become a leading player in the online property sector and one of the UK’s most-visited websites. We have found a fantastic partner in Zoopla and are excited about working with the Zoopla team to help achieve their brand and business objectives over the coming years.”

REVEALED, what property feeds on our igoogle

Zanet — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:20 +0000

Today I reveal some of the best RSS feeds for keeping us up to date on UK property and Mortgage news. There are hundreds of great widgets and apps and feeds on the web today and property news feeds are essential if you want to keep up with current changes in the UK housing market.

So I thought it would be cool to reveal ours.

Telegraph Property News
Property news from the Telegraph, at least a few daily updates – superb resource for property news
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertynews/

Tepilo – Blog RSS Feed
The Blog from house expert Sarah Beeny, another promiding site to keep an eye on offering everything Rightmove offers but without the costs
http://www.tepilo.com/blog/

The Latest From Aboutproperty.co.uk
A consumer site for everyone interested in homes and property. Dedicated to news for homeowners and people seeking to become homeowners.
http://www.aboutproperty.co.uk/

Screen Grab of Property Feeds

Zoopla.co.uk Blog
Zoopla is the new kid on the block and has had an incredible year. With recent TV advertising, its become obvious Zoopla intends to challenge Right Moves supremacy.
http://blog.zoopla.co.uk/

Mortgages
Our 2nd helping from the Telegraph feed, this time detailed and insightful financial advice, including the latest information about mortgage rates and taking out a mortgage.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/

The 4 Homes Blog
Channel 4 is the UK largest television station for Home releated programmes and this feed is a great way to keep alert to the current programmes related to home improvement, grand designs or property ladder and of course Location location.
http://blogs.channel4.com/4homes/

Your Right Move
Our very own rss feed just to make sure its updates are showing (and of course we are slightly biased)
http://www.yourrightmove.co.uk/blog

uk mortgage – Google News
Google newshas various sections including a UK mortgage news area.
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=uk&hl=en&q=uk+mortgage

Google alerts – “House prices” location: United Kingdom
This is a Google Alert for the keywords “House prices”. I would suggest you also set an alert for your specific interests. It’s a great rescource for finding new sites.

Property feeds are essential for keeping an eye on the property market, hopefully we have introduced you to a few new ones to keep an eye on.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying

Zanet — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:35:59 +0000

The Buying Process: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now I’m about to reveal my normal process for buying a property. Years ago a walk along the local high street and a visit to each estate agent was my only option while taking a day off work. Today its all changed. Far from my priority to visit shops and talk to estate agents, I can now search for my ideal property at any time a like from the comfort of my current home.

Until recently I only really bothered with Rightmove. More than 90% of all UK Estate Agents choose to be members of Rightmove. It’s the largest and most established site with a boasts of 4 times more property than any other house buying site. Though it would be ignorant to think that that is where your search should finish. Findaproperty, Fish4homes and Zoopla are well established and worth a search. The new kid on the block is Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo. This has only a few properties, but it looks likely to grow and is worth keeping an eye on as I’m a believer that this might just succeed far beyond its predecessors as its entirely free for sellers and it uses Google maps to the full.

So what do you need before searching to buy a property?

buying your house online

Below are a list of what you need in effect if you entered these site with the basic four details you would probably get some good ideas of what you can buy for your money.

Where you want to live eg. place name or post code
The Minimum number of bedrooms required
Your Minimum price
Your Maximum price

Other details may be useful but for our favorite 5 you’ll find it will get you started

www.Rightmove.co.uk

Rightmove.co.uk is the UK’s number one property website. We are not estate agents but we aim to be the place for UK home movers to find details of all properties available to buy or rent.

postcode
radius of postcode up to 40 miles
Type of property eg. flat or house
Minimum number of bedrooms
Maximum number of bedrooms
How recent it was added to the site (anytime, 24 hours or last 2 weeks)

www.findaproperty.com

FindaProperty.com claims to be one of the leading property web-site with a comprehensive search facility for house-hunters to find a home – both sales and rentals.
It now publishes the details of over 626,614 properties to buy

place name or post code
Minimum number of bedrooms
Minimum price
Maximum price

www.zoopla.co.uk

Zoopla recently announced that it has acquired UpMyStreet.com, one of the UK’s leading and longest standing property information websites, for an undisclosed sum. You can’t ignore Zoopla and its claim of being the UK’s leading market resource for a property finder to search property for sale, find houses and flats to rent, see house prices paid and current property values all in one place.

place name or post code
Minimum price
Maximum price
Type of property eg. flat or house
Minimum number of bedrooms

www.tepilo.co.uk

Tepilo is an alternative way to buy, sell or let your property and it’s free. You maintain 100% control and pay 0% commission! Search across the UK and get advice from me along the way

place name or post code
refine with price
refine with distance

Advanced Details
property type
bedrooms
Bathrooms
Receptions
Outside Space
Parking
Tenure

www.fish4homes.co.uk

Claims to be the leading property website, fish4homes, celebrates a decade helping agents generate enquiries.
claims 276,653 houses and flats for sale
it looks a little run down the site with its latest news almost a year old!

The ten steps below cover the main stages you will go through when buying a home.

Work out how much you can afford
Get a mortgage agreement in principle
Choose your home from the list above.
View the properties as soon as possible.
Hire a solicitor or conveyancer
Make an offer
Have a survey and valuation
Finalise your mortgage
Exchange contracts
Organise your move

Over the coming weeks we are running some simple tests on the online sites we use to help our visitors buy a property.

The tests will include :

Which property site is the most usable?
Which site has the greatest number of properties?
Which property site provides the easiest search?
Which site provides the best support?
Which property site is best value for money for a buyer and seller?

7 Homes Never Seen on Rightmove

Zanet — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:03:14 +0000

Chances are these homes will never be seen on Rightmove. Ok they are all based in America and Rightmove is UK based, but even so. Could you really afford these Hollywood homes?

So we present 7 homes you can’t afford

1. Bill Gates home

Bill Gates Home

He has the finest home technology. Apparently has an automated human dwelling. I bet it has windows too.The hillside is in an earthquake zone, so the foundation sits on concrete piers and uses tiebacks and steel reinforcements several times stronger than the minimums set by the building code. Massive retaining walls, several feet thick in places, created a drainage problem, solved by collecting runoff in buried pipes that feed into the estuary.

2.Eddie Murphy’s House

Eddie Murphy’s House

The Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award- and Golden Raspberry-winning actor and comedian lives here. Murphy’s all-brick, gated and walled 32-room property is in the East Hill section of Englewood and sits high on a 4-acre knoll. It is star-studded estate with a full-size racquetball court, an indoor pool with a glass roof, a two-lane bowling alley, professional recording music studio, elevator, and carriage house with gym.

3. Oprah Winfrey’s House

Oprah Winfrey - Montecito, California

Oprah Winfrey paid $50 million in 2001 for the 23,000-square-foot Georgian-style home she calls the “Promised Land.” Last year the spread was appraised at just under $85 million. For such a public persona, Winfrey ferociously guards the privacy of her home, situated on 43 acres. At a Barack Obama fund raiser last year, guests were strictly prohibited from entering the house, and cameras were forbidden.

4. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s House

Lopez House - Los Angeles, CA

Good thing J.Lo and March Anthony have all this space what with their twins and all. Marc Anthony probably requested a house of this magnitude so he can hide from his wife’s diva demands. J.Lo lives in a seven bedroom and fourteen bathroom, 12,217 sq. ft home

5. John Travoltas House

John Travoltas House Ocala, Florida

John Travolta is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction, John Travolta is aviation-mad and has lived with planes outside his door for a while now, previously living in a fly-in community near Daytona but had to move after other residents said his jet’s were too big for their facility. Now he lives in his current house in Ocala, Florida and he has a airstrip where most people have a driveway.

6. Halle Berry House

Hale Berry House in Malibu, CA

Halle Berry’s owns an $8 million estate in Malibu, CA. Nearly every room has a coastline view. Halle Berry is an American actress, former fashion model and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in Monster’s Ball, becoming the first and still only woman of African-American descent to have won the award for Best Actress.

7. Ryan Seacrest House

Ryan Seacrests - Los Angeles, CA

This 10,000 square foot crib once belonged to Kevin Costner. The house boasts five bedrooms, a media room, billiards room, tennis court, gym, pool, spa and staff quarters. Los Angeles, CA – Ryan Seacrest recently purchased Kevin Costner’s Los Angeles home for $11.5 million.

Now please let us know if you find any of these on Rightmove or Zoopla
We are convinced that these are never seen on Rightmove and never will be!

Do you know of any other Houses in this league?

No related posts.

Mortgage rates may rise from eurozone crisis

Zanet — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:15:58 +0000

It seems that the low mortgage rates may change. After 3 years of low mortgage rates, analysts are reporting they may rise due to the so-called eurozone crisis, which has seen protests and unrest in recent months. Yet the Bank of England is planning another reduction!

Bank of England

The changes may occur with Banks offering incredible packages ahead of the crisis. All this despite the Bank of England base rate remaining at its 0.5 per cent record low and considering a reduction to another cut to base rate. The Bank of England is already known to be considering dropping rates to a new record low of 0.25 per cent following the publication of the minutes from its September meeting this week.

This month will see a series of meetings and important data releases which will go a long way to deciding the future of Europe’s troubled currency union and will no doubt impact the UK banks.

It’s presumed that the European discussions could push Britain’s rock-bottom mortgage rates upwards, borrowers are being warned. Private bank Barclays Wealth today became the first lender to make a major move, pushing its best tracker rates up by as much as 1.5 percentage points for new borrowers.

10 Downing Street For Sale

Zanet — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:16:42 +0000

10 Downing Street isn’t for sale, but if it was…

With Right Move, Tepilo, Zoopla, Up my street or Find a property, we are a nosey bunch in the UK. If we aren’t buying property, we love to know what Mrs Jones paid for hers down the road. Or what the neighbours house looks like on an estate agents site. 10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as “Number 10″, is the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now invariably held by the Prime Minister.

Just imagine if 10 Downing Street was for sale

So what if 10 Downing Street was for sale? well we know its not that simple if you want to move into that address and it certainly isn’t based on price alone. Though imagine for a moment if it was a simple as an asking price…

Zoopla recently valued the residential portion of 10 Downing Street, worked out under which PM value was lost and gained, calculated the stamp duty payable in April 2011 (at 5%, that’s £225K) if it was for sale on the open market, and identified and worked out the value of other 10 Downing Streets around the UK.

Here are their reported results for 10 Downing Street:

Gordon Brown currently worth a £4,574,831
Tony Blair when he left was worth £5,037,251
John Major £1,644,558
Margaret Thatcher £1,804,952

Zoopla also reports that property prices have risen since the last election in 2005 in each of the party leaders’ constituencies

by over 12% in David Cameron’s;
by just over 5% in Nick Clegg’s
by almost 19% in Gordon Brown’s

So there you have it, thanks to Zoopla we now know it’s not been the best property boom in recent times, which of course we knew already.

No related posts.

Rightmove House Price Index

Zanet — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:46:00 +0000

Rightmove has long released it’s monthly House Price Index. But we are impressed to see that this months index for April 2012 uses the trendy infographics. So take a look at this months Rightmove House Price Index using a Infographic.

The infographic reveals that the average asking price for a property in the UK is now at a new record

Back in May 2008 we saw the previous peak in London along with the South West also set new asking price records this month. This is actually keepingthe national average up and as is seen on the chart the national average property is now peaking at £243,737

But how far are the other UK regions from their last peak price? The infographic from Rightmove gives you a clear indication on how things have changed in your ara of the UK.

Rightmove House Price Index Infographic

The read areas indicate the amount of time since the last peak.

The larger the red slice the longer the time since its peak – so with the North West area its now 5 years ago since its last peak of £184,122 and currently 9.1% below the last peak with an average property currently asking £167,352

You can see the complete House index graphic on http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/files/2012/04/INFOGRAPHIC-April-HPI-regional-peaks-digital.jpg

Great locations for renting

Zanet — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:10:43 +0000

How to find a great location for a rental property

It’s no secret that the key to a successful property investment is all about location, but what exactly should prospective landlords be looking for? When considering a property, it’s important to look at it through the eyes of a prospective tenant, taking note of all the advantages and disadvantages of the location.

It’s a good idea to visit a potential investment at different times of the day to get a feel for the local area – it may be quiet during the day but very rowdy at night. If the area has a reputation for criminal activity, it’s more important than ever to protect yourself with www.simplelandlordsinsurance.com and think about whether you will need to invest in additional security like burglar alarms or door grilles.

You should also consider what kind of tenant you will market it to – if the property is near a university, takeaways and a pub, for instance, it will be more attractive to students than to professionals, who might find such a location too noisy. Most tenants will appreciate being close to transport links like buses and train stations, and nearby shops and health centres are always a bonus. Older tenants, who may have children, will consider nearby schools a great asset.

Finally, you should find out what the local authority’s plans for the area are – will it be regenerated in the near future, adding new shops or community centres? This helps you to make long-term plans about how popular the area is likely to be and adjust your investment in the property accordingly.

Great Tips on House Buying

Choosing the right tradesmen

Zanet — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:42:40 +0000

How to choose the right tradesmen for home improvements – and check your home insurance to know where you stand

So, you’ve taken the plunge and decided to do some work on your home. There are many things you can do yourself, but others where you may well need the help of tradesmen. And don’t forget that before doing any work on your home, you really should consider whether it has any implications on your home insurance policy.

You’ve probably heard stories of home improvements gone wrong – everything from dodgy electrics to duff plumping. If you’re bringing in tradesmen, make sure they have their own insurance policy to cover your home and possessions in case anything goes wrong.

Tried and tested

If you’re using tradesmen, choosing the right one can be the difference between a good and bad job. To begin with, always make sure you employ reputable and qualified plumbers, electricians and gas fitters – ask your friends and family if they can recommend a local tradesman or company. The same goes with other trades as well, such as plasterers, carpenters and so on. There’s no better recommendation than word of mouth.

Check that they are registered with a recognised governing body too – and that they have their own insurance for any work they carry out. That way, if they have a mishap and damage your home or possessions, it will help to give you peace of mind that they will take responsibility and handle it professionally.

DIY

For all the little jobs that you can do yourself, like painting the walls or putting up some shelves, you should also look at your home insurance policy to see where you stand. You may like to get some home insurance quotes online to see what’s on offer.

Some home insurance policies will cover you for DIY mishaps as standard but you may have to pay extra to have accidental damage cover. The only real way you can be sure is to check your policy before you start work. That way you can get on with the work without worrying about the implications on your home insurance policy.

Whatever you do to your home, make sure you use tradesmen who are qualified and professional – and are properly covered to work in your home.

Whether you’re doing work to your home or not, it’s always sensible to have good home insurance in place. Halifax offers both home and contents insurance together. Visit Halifax’s website to find a great deal today.