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When children grow up and families scatter, it can often leave homeowners alone in a big house! They may find themselves asking “why should I downsize?” especially when staying put seems a lot easier. But in fact, there are many advantages of downsizing: financial, practical and socially responsible.

With surveys playing an important part in the house-buying process, it’s important to understand what surveyors look for and what they don’t. No one likes a nasty surprise, particularly not when it’s a necessary and expensive home improvement. In this blog, we share our understanding of what surveyors look for, as well as how to read your survey report and what to do if a fault with the property is overlooked.

We love seeing our buyers and tenants move into their new homes and we hope they’ll all be very happy! But something we can’t control is neighbours. Most people are lovely and understand that what they do affects other people’s lives. Unfortunately, a small minority of inconsiderate people make bad neighbours. If you’re unlucky enough to live next door to one, you might need to know how to solve a neighbour dispute. In this blog, we look at how to deal with a situation yourself, and which outside agencies to bring in and when.

“How do I know which offer to accept” is becoming something of a frequently asked question. Houses and flats in Surrey are always in demand, and we’re seeing an increasing number of sellers receive multiple offers for their properties. In this blog, we look at which offer you should accept, why the highest offer might not be the best offer, and the etiquette of gazumping.

Buying a property in a conservation area has many advantages, like having attractive historic features and laws in place to protect the streetscape. However, there are some limitations too – buyers should be aware of what it means to take on a property in a conservation area before they commit. Let’s take a closer look.

Buying and selling properties can be a stressful process. Taking a holiday and getting away from it all can have a strong appeal! But there are downsides too, like managing the sale remotely and not being on-hand to provide paperwork and answer questions. Houses are put on the market for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes we don’t have a choice about when we sell and have to put property on the market even when we have other commitments. In this blog, we explore the pros and cons of going on holiday while your house is on the market.

What is stamp duty? Stamp duty is a tax paid by buyers when they buy property. The tax is paid on top of what you paid for the house or flat, so it’s important to understand so you can add it to your budget. Let’s take a closer look at what stamp duty is, how much you’ll pay and when you’ll have to pay it.

When it’s time to buy property in Guildford or anywhere else, it’s important to understand the terms used by estate agents and mortgage lenders. The better you understand the house-buying process, the more smoothly it will run. Let’s take a closer look at loan to value, also known as LTV.

Approximately 1% of Surrey homes are standing empty. This situation generates a range of problems for the Surrey property market, but did you know it can create problems for the owners of these properties too? In this blog, we look at the reasons behind properties standing empty, why it’s a problem and what you can do if you’re the legal owner of a vacant property.

The last two years have seen an increase in the number of first-time buyers taking out long-term mortgages. Some of these are as long as thirty-five years, which will take the homeowners well into retirement. However, we can see how these longer-term mortgages can help people get onto the property ladder, and boost the property marketing generally. In this blog, we look at the pros and cons of mortgages that you might still be paying off into retirement, and what this means for the property market.