It’s been a crazy couple of weeks hasn’t it. 

After the decision on Brexit on the 31st of January if you have asked us what the rest of the year would hold, we would have said that we hope that there would be no more bumps in the road for cast which would prevent our clients from renting, selling or moving into their dream properties in 2020.

Little did any of us realise that a few short weeks later, we would be in a situation where everything is up in the air again! We know that it’s definitely uncertain times for the moment, so for those of you that may have been in the middle of a house  move, or just getting ready to start thinking about putting your house on the market, here are a few tips for things that you can do whilst you’re waiting.

Start to prepare your home for sale or rent

If you were quite early on in your rental/sale journey, now may be a good time get “your house in order” before putting it on the market. Perhaps consider what jobs need to be one before the home is in tip-top condition for market and focus on getting these jobs done if possible. Get in touch with us if you are considering a valuation and we can get you booked in for as soon as is safe to do so again. Having this planned means that you will be ready to get to market as soon as possible once the current landscape starts to improve. 

Do your research on your planned move

If you are in the early stages of your moving journey, start to have a think about the different areas that you might like to move to and do some research into the kinds of properties available in the area and what’s available within your price bracket. Register for property alerts on areas you’re really interested in. It may also help to decide on what areas you absolutely aren’t interested in locally. 

You could also write a list of everything that you want in your next property. If you have a clear idea in your head about the negotiables and non-negotiables then this makes your move easier!

Review your Finances

Given the current financial state of the country and your personal finances, it may be that you find yourself having to rethink some options which could’ve been available to you the last couple of months. So make sure that you have a chat with your mortgage advisor or financial advisor, to ensure that your house move will still be realistic in the current climate and you can still borrow as much as you thought that you would be able to borrow previously as circumstances can tend to change quite quickly. 

De-Clutter

Whilst you are at home perhaps with less to do than an average week, now is a great time to try and clear some clutter, so grab a couple of boxes and start sorting out what you do and don’t need. Although charity shops may not be open, you can always store the boxes until they reopen. This means that you will also then only be moving with belongings that you want to move with. It’s also a good time to perhaps indulge in some pre-moving packing if you know that you are hopefully going to be moving in the near future. 

Already found your new dream property? 

Start planning your new space. 

Just because you aren’t currently moving into or nearly moving into your new home it doesn’t mean that you can’t start planning for your future space.

Start to visualise the new space in your home and consider how your current furniture will work in the space. If it won’t, then you can make lists of what needs to be bought either for new or replacement and start planning now so that you can get new furniture ordered once you have a moving date confirmed.

Similarly, you could start planning your garden and outside space, especially if you want to move in warmer weather. 

Familiarise yourself with your new area

Although you aren’t living in an area yet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t start to do some research into the new area you are moving into via the internet. There’s lots of information to be found online, so you can work out where your nearest takeaway, corner shop, supermarket, park, gym, schools etc are and start to familiarise yourself with the local area. You could also consider joining some local social media groups for your new area, if you aren’t a member already. 

Stay up to date

It’s definitely important to keep in touch with your estate agent and solicitors at the moment, who can keep you in the loop about what’s happening with others in the chain, and can let you know of any changes or movement at this time. 

Keep calm and carry on! 

Easier said than done, but try to keep a cool head, and stay patient. Just remember that whilst it may be a no to moving for the moment, it’s not a no to moving forever

Think outside the box!

If your plan to move was time pressured due to changes in lifestyle or circumstance such as a new job, school places or a change in family circumstance, then please do come and speak to us, as we’d love to help you think outside of the box about different options which may be available to you, which could mean that you can still reach the goals you are looking to achieve through your house move, it might just be that you need to take a slightly different to more difficult or alternative journey to get there. 

We LOVE to help our clients, and even more so in the current climate, so why not give us a call on 01727 221290 and let’s help you plan for the next few months so that you can get going on your move again as soon as you are possibly able. In the meantime, please do stay safe!

St Albans is regularly cited as one of the most desirable places to live within Hertfordshire. With a population of around 147,000 people, property is often in high demand, and in a buoyant climate, the right property in a sought-after area doesn’t often stay on the market for long!

Speak to most residents locally and you will hear a familiar story of people moving to the area when they were newly married or expecting their first child to escape the shoe box London City lifestyle, in search of the promised land of more property for your money, that first home together, green open spaces and neighbours who actually smile at one another!

Often week after week we see potential buyers, fresh off the train from the big smoke popping into the office to ask us about the local area and what they might get for their money locally.

So, here are a few reasons why St Albans may be a good choice for your next move

1)   Easy Commute to Central London

Easily cited as one of the most common reasons that people who commute will tell you they chose St Albans as their weekend haven from “that London”, the great transport links mean that those who want to enjoy the benefits of living in the leafy suburbs can rest safe in the knowledge that their office and that city lifestyle is often only a 20-30 minute train journey away. With on average 15 trains per hour into the capital, all being well and if you’re happy with standing room only, it’s usually a doable journey into the office from the local train station, with the option of parking at the station, or on local drives rented out by capitalising property owners.

2)   Great Travel Links for easy access around the UK

St Albans has the fortune (or misfortune, depending how you look at it) or being situated around the junction where the M1 motorway which runs from London and up to the North of the UK and Scotland meets the M25, the ring road which navigates around Greater London but also offers easy junctions down to the South and West Country, and Wales. So, from the perspective of being able to get to different parts of the country easily, it’s a regular traveller dream location! Of course, the reality of regular heavy traffic, and variable speed limit cameras everywhere may suggest otherwise, but in terms of location, St Albans is a great option if you need to be able to travel to other UK locations easily.

Add in the ease of Luton Airport only around a 15 minute drive, and Heathrow and Stanstead Airports within easy driving distance and St Albans does mean that you can be easily well connected to a whole host of destinations very easily, yet another great big tick in the box for reasons to live I St Albans.

3)    Great Schooling Options

St Albans and the surrounding areas boast some of the best primary and secondary schools in Herts, with ample options for private school education also. Some schools are so popular that catchment areas barely stretch more than a few hundred metres from the school! Rumours fly around of parents renting next to the school just to get their children into the school, before moving to a property further away just a few months later. The reality is that whilst some schools are more popular than others in the town, pupils have access to very good educational options in comparison to other areas of the count.

Multitude of Pubs & Restaurants to choose from

A historic market city, St Albans was back in yester-year, on average around a day’s coach travel and the first stop from London. With its colourful history of coaching inns, St Albans claims to boast the most pubs per square mile. Whilst nowadays, some of the city’s pubs have fallen victim to rising rent hikes and falling trade, there is still a huge selection of pubs to suit all tastes, with many retaining original architectural features to admire as you enjoy your chosen tipple of a summer’s afternoon or escape the cold on a winters evening!

Additionally, St Albans offers access to pretty much every kind of food choice you could wish for. Whether it’s Italian, Greek Turkish, British, Indian, Japanese or even just a whole restaurant dedicated to Desserts, there’s an eatery in St Albans for you and in a multitude of price brackets too!

Sense of Community

Whereas in London or other cities you may go for days without seeing a neighbour or friendly face, and trying to make friends may have been tricky, in St Albans, although it’s a fairly small city, there are a multitude of smaller communities within the city too which all have their own vibe and community feel, with lots of opportunities to meet new people and activities to suit all ages and tastes.

Whether you move to Holywell, Marshalswick, The Camp Estate, St Peters, St Michaels, Cotton Mill, Verulam Estate, Highfield, Jersey Farm, or neighbouring villages on the outskirts of the city including London Colney,  Colney Heath, Sandridge and Chiswell Green, we can guarantee that you’ll soon feel at home in any part of the city you decide to move to!

If you would like further advice or info on the local area, or you are looking to sell, buy or rent in the local area then we’d love to chat! Give us a call on 01727 221290 or pop into the office to see us!

House prices in the local area have been at a premium in recent years compared to other parts of the UK, so what happens when you decide that your current property no longer fits your lifestyle needs and you need more room? 

Common reasons for needing more space include a growing family, or perhaps a new expanding home business which requires an office. 

When Home Owners find that they need more space, the dilemma is often whether to move properties, or improve on your current residence. This decision may come down to which option is more financially beneficial, or it may depend on whether you need to move to be closer to schools, work or family. 

If you really like the property and the area that you live in, and you have the space to extend your home, then extending your space through renovation may seem like the obvious option. The question then arises whether to stay in the property whilst you have renovations done, or to vacate the property and live elsewhere. 

It’s true that by staying in your property during renovations, you may save some money. It also enables you to keep a close eye on what’s going on during the renovation and ensure that the property is secure.

However, staying in your property means that you and your loved ones will literally be living in a building site, so it may make more sense to find somewhere temporary to rent until the renovations are over. 

Here are our top five reasons to move out of your property during renovations:

1. The dust gets everywhere! You may have heard that, but we literally mean… everywhere. As soon as you’ve cleaned, the dust has appeared again and you’re back to square one.

2. Builders like to start early… and we mean early… If you’re not a morning person then the sound of drilling, banging and deliveries coming and going with the lark may be enough to drive you mad and just isn’t worth the money you will save.

3. You may also find it hard to live around the constant workman and strangers coming in and out of your home. It can feel very crowded and like your home is no longer the place you feel safe. If you have children around then there’s also the health and safety aspects to consider as kids have a habit of finding their way into everything and so there may be hazards around which are just too tempting for them to keep away from. 

4. Whilst living in your property may be doable, trying to function with a working bathroom and kitchen may not be feasible throughout the whole renovation. You’ll quickly become a professional at conjuring up family meals in a temporary kitchen with just a microwave and minimal equipment around, or having to take a shower elsewhere as the bathroom is out of action. Even perhaps washing up in the bath because there’s no kitchen sink. 

5. It can get Cold! It’s amazing how much the elements can sweep through a property when you’re having renovations done, so get used to living in the cold and wet and warm, sturdy clothing will definitely be a must!

The biggest benefit of moving out whilst you are having work done is that you will have a safe haven away from the building site that is your home. It also means that daily life can continue as normal whilst your renovation is going on and once your property is finished, you can move into your newly refurbished home. Typically, it helps to be in a property which is close enough to keep an eye on your renovation.

It can be tricky to know how long your refurbishment is going to take as these things tend to have a habit of continuing longer than planned, so here at Aubrey and Finn we’re able to offer furnished and unfurnished short-term rentals as well as longer term rentals for anyone having refurbishments done. We also manage “Airbnb” rental properties which can be used for very short-term stays. 

If you need a property to stay in the local area whilst having major works done on your home then please do give us a call and let’s help you get settled into a new temporary property. Call us on 01727 221290 to discuss. 

Now that the general election is out of the way and the current government has been chosen to serve the UK for the next few years, we know that many are now hoping that this will mean good things for the current state of the housing market. 

Well unfortunately we don’t have a crystal ball, so we can’t comment on whether a steady government means good things for the housing market or not, but we do know that life goes on, situations change and that there will be people looking to move in 2020, whether through necessity due to life events, or simply because they want to make a change to their living accommodations. 

With Christmas on the horizon you might be thinking that people aren’t really house-hunting, but actually it’s a well-known fact that the Christmas period is one of the most popular times of the year to start house hunting.

According to popular property portal Rightmove.co.uk, over 1.6 million people visited its website between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day last year, with those hoping to move in the New Year property hunting in-between opening presents, watching Christmas films and over indulging on the Turkey, Mince Pies and Chocolates. 

So, if you are considering house hunting over the Christmas season, here are some tips to get you started.

What’s your Budget?

If you don’t know how much you can afford, then it can be tricky to work out which properties may be within your price range , so we would recommend working out what your mid-range and top-end budget for a property is to start off with, as this will most-likely determine the areas you will be hunting for a new home in, and the types of property you are planning on looking at. It may also be helpful to visit a mortgage advisor to get an idea of the mortgage figure you would likely be granted. We always recommend visiting an independent Mortgage Advisor, and if you need any suggestions, then please do feel free to get in touch. 

Location, Location, Location 

Although you may have your heart set on a certain type of property, ultimately, many people will be considering the location of their property as a priority above anything else. 

It may be that you have a couple of options for locations, or perhaps your move depends on being in a certain area for schools, travel to work, ease of transport to the motorway, train station or a need to be close to family and friends. So firstly, decide on the proximity of the location you REALLY want to live in, and then perhaps also consider options for locations you would be willing to compromise on if the property met all of your criteria. 

Decide on your property must-haves 

Write a list of all of the things you want your property to have. Perhaps split the list into Must-Haves and Nice-to-Haves. 

For example, how many Bedrooms does the property have to have? Would you prefer a house versus an apartment? What about Parking, or a big Garden? Are these high on your must have list? Would you rather have a kitchen-diner or a lounge-diner? Is an en-suite bathroom, garage or utility room a non-negotiable? Knowing what amenities, you would really like your new home to have and what is a negotiable vs non-negotiable can really help you to narrow down your search, although remember, it’s all about potential! If the property doesn’t tick all of your boxes, does it have the potential to do so in the future? 

Get Online and start booking appointments!

Although Christmas week may not be the time that home owners will thank you for visiting their homes, there is no harm in booking an appointment to view the property in the new year, so if you see something that you like, it’s always worth making an enquiry about it. 

Do also be aware that there may be a flurry of new properties which come on the market in the new year. Your Estate Agent may have info on some which are set to be advertised from the New Year which meet your requirements, so do ask what stock they currently have available and whether they know of anything suitable coming onto the market in the next few weeks also. 

We are always very happy to offer help and advice on all things moving, selling, lettings and rental related so please do get in touch for any ways that we can help 

Why not get in touch, or visit us in the Office to get ahead for your next move in 2020. Give us a call on 01727 221290 or 01442 230400.

From all of us here at Aubrey and Finn, we want to thank all those who have supported our business during 2019, and we look forward to serving St Albans, Hemel Hempstead and the local community in 2020!