It happens to most of us. We get carried away by the excitement of buying our new home. This is especially so when accompanied by other life-changing events, such as moving in together or starting (or extending) a family. Who can blame us? How easy it is to be swept up by gorgeous looking properties. City or village, cottage, terraced house or apartment - there are so many lovely looking homes that will give you everything we need to live happily ever after.

A quick sale could mean a big loss

Imagine placing your home with an estate agent, agreeing with them a selling price and then learning that they’ve ‘sold’ your home at well below what had been agreed. Sounds impossible? Sadly it’s not. Such scandalous incidents can occur, putting home sellers at risk of losing large sums of money.

Are you waiting till your Christmas and the New Year celebrations are out of the way until you put your home on the market? Fine - but don’t wait too long. Over the Christmas break, all kinds of people will be talking about moving - people who might be in the market for your property. To give yourself the best possible chance of selling early in 2020 and at a favourable price, you need to be ahead of your competition. Here are our 5 top tips for moving house in the New Year.

Are you planning to extend your family? Or perhaps you feel you just need more room to breathe - more space as the children become teenagers? Clearly, upsizing your property will be at the forefront of your mind … and there will be many factors to take into account.

Are you selling your home? Choosing an estate agent can be a nightmare. How do you know which one will do the best job for you? Here are six questions to ask potential estate agents licking their lips at the prospect of selling your home?

It’s been a pretty erratic summer - typically unpredictable. As it drags itself to a sullen close and the nights draw in, we often have to think of creative ways to keep upbeat. One proven way to keep that put half-full is to make plans. Plans for next year’s holidays, plans for Christmas and maybe plans for the home - maybe a touch of decorating or even extending.

Now that summer is drawing to a close, this is a great time to be putting your home on the market. You’ll be wanting to get a head start over competing properties. To give your home the best chance possible of selling quickly and for the best price, there are basic rules to follow. Everyone knows this. Everyone? You’d be amazed. So many home-owners seem to think that they just need to put up a For Sale sign in the morning and, by tea-time, there’ll be a queue of willing buyers stretched half-way down the street. Maybe they’re taking that old saying that all that matters is ‘location, location, location’ just a little too literally.

A few facts.

A survey has shown that owning a property could be the key to happiness. Homeowners are reporting a much greater sense of wellbeing than renters.

If you own a property, either outright or with a mortgage, you’re more likely to have higher levels of life satisfaction than if you’re a tenant.

If you rent in the private sector, it seems that you’re more likely to be satisfied with life than if you’re a Social housing tenant. As you might expect, this group of people s more likely to be unemployed and in poor health.

All this data comes from the Office for National Statistics - and there’s more …

Expect the best from your estate agent

8 services you should demand

In the past year, complaints against estate agents have risen by 16%*. How can this be? Are standards slipping? No - it’s simply that, thanks to the work of The Property Ombudsman (TPO), the public is increasingly aware of what to expect and how to complain. For both the public and for the more reputable estate agencies, this can only be good news. Any steps that expose and weed out inefficiency, incompetence or dishonesty in the world of property have to be a good thing.

... so choosing the right agent is more important than ever

Brexit. No apologies for using the word, because sadly, there’s no escape. The endless political shenanigans are having a significant, and not altogether positive, impact on the property sector. It’s all to do with uncertainty. In a world where the one thing we crave is a sense of security - of knowing where we stand - certainty is in pretty short supply. The property sector has clearly been suffering an attack of the vapours and has been reaching for the smelling salts.