Downsizing your home for retirement

To be clear, downsizing in retirement doesn’t mean moving into a retirement village or long-term care facility. It’s about finding a place that better suits your current needs as opposed to the needs you had 25 years ago. There are a lot of possibilities – many choose apartment-living or a smaller house closer to a town with all amenities on your doorstep. Here are some other good reasons for downsizing:

Unlock equity in your home
Your home may be your biggest asset, but its value may be under-utilized if you’re living in a house that is larger than you need. Selling your home is one way to unlock the equity you have built up and make it available for use.

Lower your utility bills
The larger your property, the larger your utility bills are likely to be. This is an ongoing expense you could reduce by downsizing.

Avoid health/safety emergencies
As people get older and start to have trouble getting around, their homes may pose risks to them in the form of steep stairs, slippery bathroom surfaces, etc. These risks are exacerbated if you live far away from emergency help. Moving to a property that is easier to navigate and closer to medical aid could help keep you safe.

Reduce property taxes
Property taxes are generally assessed as a percentage of the property’s value. Move to a less expensive home and you can reduce this ongoing expense.

Save on routine travel
When you bought your house, you may have focused on how close it was to things like schools and your job. Once the kids leave home and you retire, a more convenient location would be one close to shopping and services you routinely need.

Cut down on repairs/maintenance
Any homeowner knows that property comes with regular needs for repairs and maintenance. Cut the size of your property and you can cut the number of bills. Switch from owning to renting and you can avoid most of these expenses altogether.

Pay for fewer services
It may be a lawn service, house-cleaning, or perhaps something else, but, if you are regularly paying for help keeping up with your property, this is another way you can save money by downsizing.

First-time buyers now account for just over 50% of all house purchases with a mortgage, an increase from 38% a decade ago. Low mortgage rates, Government schemes like ‘Help to by’, the removal of stamp duty for first time-buyers for properties under £300k plus reduced competition from investors, have all contributed to the significant growth in this market. During 2017/18 the number number of first-time buyers coming to the market rose from 671,000 during 2016/17 to 785,000.

Here are our top tips to help FTBs onto the housing ladder:

1. Save, save, save
The typical deposit for a first home has fallen by nearly £4,0002, but it still stands at nearly £45,000 which means it’s unsurprising that FTBs see saving for their first home as out of their reach. However, if you start putting a set sum into your savings every month from early on, this will help you work towards your savings goal. It’s also worth exploring products that will help you save. For example, if you save into a Lifetime ISA, or Help to Buy ISA, the Government will add a 25 per cent bonus to your savings.

2. Understand your budget
Before you start your house hunt, it’s important to look at your income, any debts, and your deposit, to understand how much money you can borrow. Also consider how long the property you are looking to buy is going to suit your needs. Doing this at the beginning of the process will mean your house search is realistic. You can also get a mortgage offer in principle which proves to sellers that your finances are in order.

3. Do your research
You should always ensure you have thoroughly researched which areas you can afford to buy in, and consider the type of property you’re looking for before you start your house search. There’s nothing worse than falling in love with a property that might be out of your budget.

4. Get your paperwork in order
Once you have an offer accepted, you’ll need to submit various pieces of paperwork to get the process moving. Make sure you’ve got copies of your ID and utility bills with your name on, as you’ll need to share them with your estate agent. You should also be ready to start the mortgage process and instruct a solicitor. Depending on how long it’s been since you had your mortgage in principle agreed, you may need to resubmit paperwork, such as recent payslips and bank statements.

5. Patience is key
When purchasing a home, it’s important to remain patient. It might take you several months to find your ideal property, and then the transaction itself can take a while as well. It’s probably one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll make in your lifetime, so it’s important not to rush it.

6. Choose a professional agent
When you start your house search, make sure you approach a NAEA Propertymark estate agent. Those agents will ensure you’re making a realistic offer, and make sure they’re only showing you properties which suit your criteria and budget. Find out if your chosen agent is Propertymark Protected.

With spring just around the corner, now’s a good time get rid of clutter – both physical and mental. Whatever situation you find yourself in, letting go of excess stuff will help you to feel more in control and less anxious, improving your mental wellbeing. Also a brilliant idea if a move is on the cards this year!

Rather than embarking on an ambitious (and daunting) whole house audit, try these manageable tips, courtesy of Houzz, for a quick clutter clear-up that will welcome fresh energy into your home.

The hallway and stairs
Your hall is possibly the most important space to keep clear. It’s the first room anyone stepping through the front door – including you – sees and gives an overall impression of your home. If a cluttered hallway greets you after a long day at work, then a cluttered mind will be the result.

Hallways – and not just the entrance – are the arteries of your home. If they’re blocked, it affects the flow of energy and, on a practical level, how easily you can physically manoeuvre around your own house.

Quick clear-up tips
If you must store items in your hallway, make sure you put some restrictions in place. At the entrance, examine the types of items that keep landing in this spot and make sure any organising solutions you put in place are only for the things you absolutely need to home here.

Also, try to contain storage in one area rather than having it scattered the full length of the hall. If there must be clutter, at least keep the mess to one section of the space.

The living room
Nowadays, it’s the norm to have a large portion of your ground floor open-plan. If this is the case in your home, it means your living room, kitchen and, if you have one, a toy room or play area are likely to run into one another – along with their respective clutter.

Because you can’t just close a door and ignore the mess for a little while, having scattered remnants from every member of the family on every surface can feel quite overwhelming. When you sit down at the end of a long day, you want to be able to find the remote control and not have to look at all the toys or dirty dishes out of the corner of your eye. So what can you do?

Quick clear-up tips
Sometimes, a living room has just one too many pieces of furniture; removing one large item can make all the difference. Try to identify a large piece of furniture that could be sold or auctioned.
If you have toys here, define a clear zone for them. Use an alcove, for instance. Or move the sofa out from the wall or on to a diagonal, and create a little toy nook behind it. Toys can be pulled out into the middle of the floor during the day, but hidden at night.

Finally, focus on your surfaces – coffee table, mantelpiece, windowsills, side table – and determine to keep them clear, or at least with only a carefully curated – and tidy – selection of items on display.

Take everything off each surface and only return those items you want to look at. Find a new home for the other things or, better still, clear out anything you don’t really need. If you really can’t keep your surfaces clear, at least tidy the items accumulating on them to one side.

The kitchen
The hub of many homes, the kitchen can easily become a dumping ground for paper, post, sports bags and dirty laundry among other things. A well-functioning kitchen will allow you to place your hands on what you need, when you need it, and it’s safer if you have small children around, too.

In addition, an organised kitchen looks good, and having a clean and clear cookspace to look at will nourish your soul.

Quick clear-up tips
Keep items to one side of the worktop. Having some areas totally clear is not only more aesthetically pleasing, it gives you space to actually use your work surface for cooking!

If your cabinets are full, try using the space above them. This isn’t ideal, but there are ways to make it look neat. Try using the tops of corner cabinets, so the items will appear more ‘tucked away’. Only use the space above one or two cabinets – don’t spread things out over the tops of them all, because this will make the room feel claustrophobic – the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.

The playroom 
Getting a grip on cluttering toys is not child’s play, and it’s likely that over Christmas the number of them has grown. Disorganised toys can be overwhelming in a home. Because they can be visually ‘noisy’, they’re the one category that needs frequent decluttering and tidying if you want to feel less stressed. Taking the time to sort them out will also give you an opportunity to get down on the floor and play along with your children, too.

Quick clear-up tips
Don’t get bogged down separating out every single toy and matching every piece together; you don’t have the time for it and it will never stay that way. If you want your kids to put their toys away into an organised system, you have to make it as straightforward as possible for them.

Group large toys together and line them up along one wall, mimicking a toy car park, as it were. It will look fun and keep them neat. Use sandwich bags to organise loose pieces from games, loose playing cards and random pieces of jigsaw. If the pieces of jigsaw are broken up, I really think life is too short to try to match them up again. However, I know many people don’t like this waste, so use the bags to gather the pieces and, if you get a spurt of energy to match them up later, they will all be together neatly.

The home office
If you feel the pre-festive rush left your workspace in chaos, it’s worth taking just a little time out to clear the decks before things get busy again. It will help you to get your new year off to a good start – and there are some small things you can do if time is short.

Quick clear-up tips
Don’t worry so much about any decluttering, simply focus on tidying the desk surface and floor. Write a to-do list for the first couple of weeks back and number the items to indicate priority. Taking the time just to get your thoughts down on paper will help your stress levels.

If you do attempt some decluttering, focus on filing. Don’t tell yourself you need to action or study in depth everything you come across just yet – too overwhelming – but if you scan-read things and get them sorted into types, it will all feel much more manageable.

Put everything that needs dealing with this month in a separate pile, then longer-term projects in another one, and shred anything you no longer need to keep or are never going to action. Be honest with yourself!

Finally, make sure you back up your computer if you haven’t done it for a while or don’t have an auto back-up system in place. I do this regularly. It’s quick and easy to set up and it can be working in the background as you do something else.

The garage/shed/under-stairs cupboard
At this time of year, it’s probably too cold to do any extensive decluttering in a garage or shed. However, I can almost guarantee there are several items throughout your home that should be designated to these spots – or, indeed, to that cupboard or understairs area where items such as tools, inflatable mattresses and paints are kept if you don’t have either a loft, a shed or a garage.

Quick clear-up tips
Take a tour around the house and gather up any DIY or gardening items that have been accumulating. While it’s handy to have a few tools close to hand, it’s not necessary to keep every item in your main living space; take these things out to your garage or shed. Don’t worry if these areas are a mess – you’ll get to them as the weather improves. For now, these smaller items are taking up space in your home and would do just as well outside.

Another quick clear-out that will affect your designated storage space or garage is your entrance to it. If you have to fight your way in there, you’re less likely to bother putting things away – you’ll just add them to the clutter piling up outside or, worse still, inside your home.

The bathroom
The bathroom is the one room in the house that can go from cluttered to clean with very little effort.

Quick clear-up tips
Nothing clutters up a bathroom quicker than a load of toiletries and shampoo and shower gel bottles scattered over surfaces, around the bath or in the shower.

To instantly make things look tidier, give them an edit: anything you don’t use daily can be tidied away into a cupboard or storage basket. For the rest, if you have bath toiletries you honestly use daily, then gather them to one corner, ideally in a wall caddy to contain them.

In the shower, again, putting everything in one corner is a good start, but ideally tidy things into a good caddy. If yours doesn’t do the job, seek out a more suitable design. Again, do edit out items not in daily use.

Keep a sponge and bathroom cleaner in the bathroom itself, too. Every now and then, give the basin and tap a polish – it’s amazing how a quick wipe of this area can instantly brighten up the whole room.

The bedroom 
The bedroom should be a comfortable space where you can relax, be yourself and recuperate. It’s going to become untidy every now and then, but if you’re fighting with a lack of space and too much stuff daily, it’s time to sort it out and create the haven you need.

Quick clear-up tips
Having a chair in the bedroom can be a lovely addition to the room. However, chairs are huge clutter magnets and if you find yours is used more often as a dumping ground than for relaxing, it might be time to remove this magnet! A chairs should only be in a bedroom if you have the space and you don’t mind frequently clearing it.

Also tidy the tops of bedside cabinets, and clear behind the back of the cabinets and the bed. These areas can get very dusty and items can fall down behind them easily. What’s the point of having beautiful bed linen if the surrounds are cluttered? Replace bedside clutter with a small vase or glass and a stem or two. It’s a quick trick that will give a lovely lift to your bedroom.

The guest room
Most of us, if we have a guest room, find it often doubles up as excess storage space – a more accessible mini loft. Your Christmas guests may have come and gone and hopefully it wasn’t too stressful getting ready for them. However, if it was, here are some tips to make sure you get the most storage out of this space as possible while also being ready to accommodate your next guest in a jiffy.

Quick clear-up tips
The most important thing here is to clearly zone the wardrobes, a section of which will also be needed when you have guests. So declutter at least one rail and two cubbyholes or shelves; keep those clear for guests. Place some spare towels and linen on the empty shelves so it’s ready to use when friends or family come to stay.

Now you can see clearly how much space you have to work with and use for storage. By zoning the wardrobes like this, your guests won’t need to touch the areas storing your excess items. And by having a clear area for guests, you won’t have to rush around and stress about finding space for them every time arrangements are made for their stay. It will already be done and dusted!

1. How to Rent Guide 

A new version of the How to Rent checklist was published in January 2018. Landlords or agents with new tenancies or tenancies that have been renewed from 17th January 2018 must ensure they provide their tenants with the updated version of the guide.

2. Minimum Energy Levels Regulations (MEES)

1. De-clutter and de-personalise
Start the big clear-out in advance of property viewings, and when you have given away, recycled or sold as much as possible, hide as much of what’s left as possible. Clear the jumble of coats and shoes from the hallway, store excess bathroom products in cupboards and keep kitchen surfaces clear of appliances, jars and bottles. Buyers need to be able to see themselves in your home, so it could even be worth storing personal items, such as family photographs, in drawers and cupboards.

2. Spruce up the decor
A fresh coat of neutral paint and re-grouting dirty tiling can make a big difference, and if your kitchen is starting to look tired, you don’t necessarily need a new one. Giving cupboard doors a thorough shine or even replacing them, including the handles, can make a huge difference. Make sure all light bulbs are working, present the beds nicely and add some plants in bare corners for a homely feel.

3. Deep-clean
Everyone has a different barometer on hygiene, but a deep-clean is an important step. So, either get the industrial gloves on and the elbow grease out or consider a professional cleaning company. If you don’t fancy grappling with ovens, shower doors and underneath sofas, it could be a worthwhile investment.

4. Don’t forget the garden
A recent Zoopla poll found that more than a quarter of potential buyers would be put off by an overgrown garden. Give yours a tidy prune both front and back and position a table and chairs neatly in a spot where potential buyers could imagine having a morning coffee.

5. Sacrifice your parking space
If your home comes with an allocated parking space, leave it free for prospective buyers to use. It’s convenient, helpful, and gives them a hassle-free first impression to put them in a good mood ahead of the viewing. If it’s permit-parking in your neighbourhood, you might even consider buying a stash of visitor permits in advance. A nice touch and worthwhile investment if it leads to a home sale.

6. Hire the right estate agent
When it comes to getting the right sale price for your property, it’s a good idea ask up to three agents round for a valuation. Make sure they are knowledgeable, locally active and you have a good rapport and partner leading property portals, including Zoopla, Rightmove and OnTheMarket.com to reach the biggest possible number of prospective buyers. You should also ask about tie-in periods and how the fees will increase if you choose to market with more than one agency. Zoopla has a handy AgentFinder tool that allows you to compare local estate agents for the average time it takes to sell a property and shows how many properties similar to yours it lists.

7. Get on top of your paperwork
Instruct a solicitor to kick off the conveyancing process nice and early. Ask them to break down and fully explain all costs associated with selling and try get a fixed upfront fee for their services. Check with your mortgage lender if you can transfer your current deal to a new property or if any redemption charges will apply. Also, gather all the paperwork on your current property, such as building certificates for any structural work and guarantees for double glazing, boilers or fireplaces, so you are prepared for any questions the buyer’s solicitors may ask

8. Be smart on viewings
It’s always advisable to let an agent show your home, as they are the experts – and don’t have the same emotional attachment. As much as you might like to assess the buyers, as the owner, you should ideally vacate. If you must conduct viewings yourself, show the best rooms either first or last and try to be impartial, honest and be ready for any questions.

Article courtesy of Zoopla

Will this be the year of your move?

A new year is often an opportunity for a new start and, as expected, since the beginning of January we have already received a steady build-up of enquiries from applicants looking to make this the year they move. Rightmove reported a 5% increase in traffic to their website in January 2019 and the number of viewings we conduct weekly are consistently hitting triple figures, indicating optimism in the housing market.

Current market conditions are helping First Time Buyers who are competing with fewer investors, but still have the advantage of historically low interest rates, allowing them to fix their mortgage rate. This then allows second steppers the opportunity to upsize into a home more suitable for their growing families. Mortgage lenders are facing stiff competition and are launching more attractive rates and products.

There is continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and the disparity between asking prices and salaries making affordability an issue, has resulted in a fall in the number of transactions nationally and a lowering of asking prices. We put our energy into giving you the best advice for the market conditions, whatever they may be, and tailor that to your personal needs. We will spend time understanding the reason for your move, what lies behind your decision, and then ascertaining what is most important to you – the price you achieve, or the timescales for moving. We can then tailor a marketing strategy to suit your circumstances.

Our skilled negotiators are trained to get you the very best price they can for your home, but they don’t stop there. They will also negotiate on your behalf to secure the property you aspire to move to. By working the price differential through the chain, we are successfully moving our clients on to the next chapter of their lives.

Brexit or no Brexit, we moved 71 more homeowners and their families in 2018 compared to 2017, an increase of 14%. Both our Cirencester and Tetbury branches enjoyed a very healthy start to the year, listing and selling more properties than in the same period last year. Our sales record speaks for itself. Rightmove stats show that our Cirencester team sold almost three times more homes than our nearest competitor in January.

Don’t wait for Easter, or the summer, or for Brexit. If you are thinking of selling, or know someone who is, ask them to get in touch for a free, without obligation consultation and advice.

We are here to help.

With the tax changes in respect of buy-to-let income biting even harder from April this year, please join us at this informal event to hear from industry experts with their advice as to how to maximise tax efficiency and structure your portfolio. There will be useful tips to take away for individuals with existing residential property portfolios, professional investors and those wondering whether the buy-to-let ship has sailed!

Date:       Thursday 7th March

Timings:  4pm registration with tea & coffee l 4.30pm seminar begins

5.30pm drinks & canapes with opportunities for private discussions with speakers & experts

Venue:     The Greenway, Shurdington Road, Cheltenham

Hot drinks on arrival with wine & canapes served after the presentation.

RSVP:       lettings@perrybishop.co.uk

Our Cheltenham branch are delighted to lend their support to Winston’s Wish, a brilliant organisation that offers bereavement counselling to young people and their families after the death of a parent or sibling.

As well as pledging to participate in various fundraising events organised by the charity itself, Perry Bishop will also be hosting their own events throughout the year – including a charity Golfing Day and a company quiz – to raise as much as possible to help fund the vital work of this national charity, whose head office is based in the centre of Cheltenham.

Winstons Wish will also benefit from a donation from every house sold by Perry Bishop and Chambers Cheltenham.* Jodie Pilkington, Regional Fundraising Assistant at Winston’s Wish, recently came through to Perry Bishop and Chambers to share with the team details of the wide range of practical support and guidance Winston’s Wish delivers, including in-depth therapeutic help in individual and group settings, a Freephone National Helpline, online support and publications and training. In 2017/8, for example, just under 5,854 callers rang their Freephone National Helpline and a total of 1,719 children were supported face-to-face across the UK. The charity depends almost entirely on voluntary donations and needs to raise over £2.5 million annually in order to continue to help as many of these children as possible.

Office Manager, Jackie Carlton, and Marketing Manager Eliza Dunlop were also shown around Winston’s Wish’s Cheltenham office and were introduced to members of the fundraising team and specialist family support practitioners. “We are thrilled to be supporting this incredible charity whose inspirational work with bereaved children is absolutely vital,” said Jackie Carlton.

Perry Bishop and Chambers are award-winning multi branch estate agents who offer sales, lettings and land and new home services. They have been helping people on the move in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire for 20 years and have offices in Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, Nailsworth, Tetbury and Faringdon.

*Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice will continue to benefit from donations from house sales in Leckhampton and Charlton Kings.

With renting offering more flexibility than ownership, some tenants have traditionally used the sector as a way to get to know a new area before committing to buying.

Indeed, the majority of tenants stay within their local area when moving home.

In 2018, over a quarter (27%) of tenants moved within a mile of their previous rental property, and two thirds (68%) stayed within ten miles.

At the other end of the scale, 8.1% of tenants starting new tenancies in London in 2018 moved from overseas. Despite political and economic concerns, this is actually an increase from 7.3% in 2017.

Residential Director, Sarah Benson, outlines current market conditions and shows how we can help if you are considering a move.

Happy New Year from us all.

A new year is often an opportunity for a new start and as expected, we are already receiving a steady build-up of enquiries from applicants looking to make this the year they move.

Rightmove tweeted last week that they had over 25 million page views on Boxing Day alone demonstrating a continued and increasing interest from buyers.

Current market conditions are helping First Time Buyers who are competing with fewer investors, but still have the advantage of historically low interest rates, allowing them to fix their mortgage rate.  This then allows second steppers the opportunity to upsize into a home more suitable for their growing families.   Mortgage lenders are facing stiff competition and are launching more attractive rates and products.

There is continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit, and the disparity between asking prices and salaries making affordability an issue, has resulted in a fall in the number of transactions nationally and a lowering of asking prices.

Our experience has seen us through many recessions and re-aligning of property prices, so we don’t focus on the negatives, but provide you with the solution to get you moved to where you need to be.  We put our energy into giving you the best advice for the market conditions, whatever they may be, and tailor that to your personal needs. We will spend time understanding the reason for your move, what lies behind your decision, and then understanding what is most important to you – the price you achieve, or the timescales for moving.  We can then tailor a marketing strategy to suit your circumstances.

Our skilled negotiators are trained to get you the very best price they can for your home, but they don’t stop there.  They will also negotiate on your behalf to secure the property you aspire to move to.   By working the price differential through the chain, we are successfully moving our clients on to the next chapter of their lives.

Brexit or no Brexit, we have moved 66 more homeowners and their families in the first ten months of 2018 compared to 2017, an increase of 8%.

Don’t wait for Easter, or the summer, or for Brexit.  If you are thinking of selling, or know someone who is, ask them to get in touch for a free, without obligation consultation and advice.

We are here to help.