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In this age of wall-to-wall property
makeover TV shows, magazines on buy-tolet and interior
design and a surfeit of property sections bulging out
of local and national newspapers, is it any wonder we
are fast becoming a nation obsessed by property?
It was always thus, believes Mark Astley from Jackson-Stops
& Staff in Chichester, who thinks a lingering fascination
with the property world is nothing new because it is
the lynch pin of economics.
‘The man on the street is far more informed, as
well as being sometimes illinformed,’ he cautions.
‘A little bit of knowledge from the internet, like
statistics and price comparisons, can be easy to garnish,
but you need to use the information in the right way.’
It is all about understanding the wider picture, and
‘there is no substitute for getting to know agents
and the area they’re in,’ Astley advises.
Bryan Jaram at Jackson-Stops & Staff’s office
in York is particularly sceptical of telly fans. ‘They
all watch these shows and say prices just jumped by
29.5%, so that must have happened to the value of their
own home. But it might not be worth that now; many sellers
selectively choose what they want to hear. On the plus
side, vendors are better at knowing how to make their
houses look respectable.’
Tips from Jaram include making your house presentable,
‘without going as far as employing a house doctor.
And buyers should look beyond décor that upsets
them, and imagine how their own furniture would look
in the house.’
With our passion for property, Charlie Bladon from Jackson-Stops
& Staff in Sherborne believes agents have replaced
doctors at dinner parties when it comes to advice. ‘Everyone
wants to be reassured that their house bucks the trend
and is worth more than all the rest in the road, which
isn’t always the case.’
Cheryl Markosky is a freelance national
property journalist. She is a regular contributor
to the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Daily Mail,
Mail on Sunday and various magazines including
She, Property Review and The Hill. |
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The internet is a useful tool, concedes
Bladon, but agents can point out details that can make
or break a sale. ‘A map might show a house near
a road, which could put off buyers. What they don’t
realise if they don’t talk to an agent is a hill
lies between the house and the road, so there isn’t
a problem.’
Bladon recommends checking out schools, commuting times
and access to motorways. ‘Be open-minded though.
Nowhere is perfect and if you don’t look at a variety
of property, you could miss that one-off gem
Three-bed farmhouse in Elsford
on Somerset/Dorset borders. On a map is close to the
A37 and a railway line, but prevailing wind in opposite
direction, so little noise and very few trains. Those
obsessed might not bother to see it; while those who
seek agent’s advice could pick up a bargain. £800,000
Jackson-Stops & Staff Sherborne 01935 810141.
Broadwater Lodge, Oatlands
Drive, Weybridge, Surrey £1.65 million. On a busy
road which could put buyers off, but the house is set
back over 100 feet from the road behind walled gardens
and has an extraordinarily quiet 80 ft by 80 ft rear
garden. Jackson-Stops & Staff Weybridge 01932 821160.
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