Caveat Emptor means Buyer Beware and the buyer should be aware that they have the liability to have a building survey carried out to identify any problems within the property.

Sketch of a new house

We feel this phrase very much sums up the property market, but not in the usual way. We would say that location, location, location relates to three different types of location:

Victorian properties with splayed bay windows

By this we mean where the property is located. For example, is the area near good schools, transport links, such as a motorway or train line, or is it on the waterfront. All of these locations affect the value of the property.

This house is close to a school as the rear garden backs onto the playing fields. Also has the benefit of not being overlooked

By this we mean is there a requirement for that type of property in that area, i.e. two and three bedroom bungalows are very popular in seaside retirement areas and intend to fetch a premium, apart from in areas where there is an over supply and simply more bungalows than there are people wishing to buy them.

Equally a three or four bedroom house located near a school would suit a family and therefore be located in the right place and also there may be potential in the location, i.e. if you have a two bedroom bungalow in a road that typically has four and five bedroom properties location may offer the potential to simply knock the bungalow down and build a house.

Bungalows such as this are popular in seaside retirement areas

Research has shown over many years that purchasers make decisions very quickly with regard to which properties they want to buy. Initially it will be when they view the property in a photograph in the property section of a newspaper or in the estate agent's window, or on the internet and it is very important to have what is known as kerb-side appeal.

Kerb appeal is important. A well maintained house and tidy garden could make all the difference

You could improve the kerb-appeal by tidying the garden, adding plants and hanging baskets, if appropriate, or simply removing caravans! In fact this first stage is so important to the estate agent that they consider it a conversion if they manage to arrange an appointment with you at the property.

Again, when you go to view the property the decision is made up very quickly and the kerb-side appeal in real life, so to speak, is very important. You will be assessing all sorts of things that you are not aware of.

Well maintained Georgian houses with good kerb appeal

Hallways are where quick decisions to buy the property can be made

There has been much written about the importance of having freshly cut flowers and having coffee or baked bread smells. We certainly believe this is true, but equally we believe it is very important to present a tidy house, but not too tidy, a show home house can also be off-putting. We would term it as a tidy lived in house and yes, it is a pain to tidy up the house every time someone comes to look round and yes, it is even more of a pain if they cancel at the last minute or if the estate agent hasn't checked what position they are in, i.e. can they move in the time frame that you want them to move in, or are they in a long chain of other buyers, etc, etc.

If you are not careful the amount of effort you make on the first time you have someone round is very different to the amount of effort you make on the twentieth time you have someone round. Yet equally they are, in theory, as likely to buy.

Keeping the house tidy and smelling nice can make it easier to sell as with this Victorian property

The circles and ovals are a system that we use within our structural surveys and building surveys to highlight problems and issues and to better explain them.

Gallow brackets

In addition to this if the photographs do not explain the problem enough, then we include one of our own copyrighted sketches to explain the problem further such as in the adjacent sketch.

Gallow brackets