• Bristol Crowned European ‘Green Capital’ for 2015

    June 15, 2013 0 Comment(s) Post By Jonathan Bevan Uncategorized

    Bristol has been crowned the Green Capital of Europe for 2015 at a ceremony in Nantes. In the previous year Bristol was runner up but this year beat cities such as Brussels in Belgium, Glasgow in Scotland and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia to win the award.

    The title rewards cities which consistently achieve high environmental standards and that are committed to further improvement and sustainability.

    Other cities that have previously won have said that it has made a real difference to their percetion and have helped ensure that they are really good places to live in.

     

  • UK House Prices See Modest Rise says Nationwide

    May 30, 2013 0 Comment(s) Post By Jonathan Bevan Buying a House, Property News

    According to the Nationwide Building Society, house prices in the UK increased by 0.4%. This brought the annual rate of growth to 1.1% – the highest since Nov 2011.

    Nationwide stated that this provided support to “the view that the housing market is gradually gaining momentum”. Robert Gardner, Nationwides’s chief economist indicated that a number of factors were likely to have lead to this including a reduction in the cost of credit and the UK returning to growth in the first period of 2013.

    Mr Gardner said that property sales were also up, running at about 5% higher each month this year than the average monthly level in 2012

  • Smoke Detectors Save Lives!

    May 22, 2013 0 Comment(s) Post By Jonathan Bevan Buying a House, Maintenance

    It is a fairly obvious statement and most houses that I visit are fitted with them but very often they are not in working order. Quite often the batteries have been removed to prevent false alarms when the toast burns. Alarms should be tested regularly in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and you must ensure that they are installed in the correct position.

    Detectors do not last forever and some should be changed at least every 10 years. Ideally install new detectors when moving into a new home – it is only a very small cost on the scale of things. Also consider having linked alarms.

    So;

    Install new alarms when moving home

    Test batteries at least once a month

    Fit at least one alarm on each level

    Contact your local Fire and Rescue Service to request a free Home Fire Risk Assessment. Further guidance is also available on the UK Fire Service Resources website at www.fireservice.co.uk.

  • Bank Of England Governor Warns Over Housing Plans

    May 18, 2013 0 Comment(s) Post By Jonathan Bevan Buying a House, Property News

    Sir Mervyn King, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England warns that a government plan to boost the housing market should not become permanent, saying there “was no place in the long run” for Chancellor George Osborne’s Help to Buy scheme.

    The scheme whereby the government will guarantee up to 15% of a mortgage on properties worth up to £600,000 is due to run from Jan 2014 for three years. The idea is that it will provide help for buyers that cannot afford a big deposit in order to get a mortgage.