ASK THE AGENT A. If you are leaving a property empty for any length of time, it’s tempting to have all the services switched off in order to save on “unnecessary” bills. If you decide to do this – particularly at this time of year - then it’s...

ASK THE EXPERT The agents I am buying through have implied that my ability to proceed may depend on using their preferred financial advisor. However, I already know an advisor who was very helpful last time I moved. What should I do? A. Under the Estate Agents Act 1979, by...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Strictly speaking, the answer is No. One of the peculiarities of the English system of buying and selling property is that nothing is actually binding on either party until contracts are exchanged. So, while it is generally accepted practice that active...

ASK THE EXPERT A. If you have the space to do it (not to mention the money), then extending is certainly an option. However, there are a number of important points you need to bear in mind. Firstly, an extension will almost certainly require planning permission, and major work...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Legal indemnity insurance basically protects the purchaser of a property against the possibility of financial loss or third-party claim arising from any shortcoming in the conveyance. Since you have been recommended to take out this cover, it suggests that your...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Radon is a radioactive gas, which comes from the minute particles of uranium naturally present in all rocks and soils. It is, and always has been, a part of the world we live in. Although exposure to particularly high levels of radon may pose a health risk...

A. Like much else in the property market, this to a certain extent depends on whether you are looking at things from the viewpoint of a seller or a buyer. As a seller, you basically just want your home to be seen in the best possible light. So, generally speaking, you will want...

ASK THE EXPERT A. It sounds as though your friend, through no fault of her own, was what is known in the trade as an “unauthorised tenant,” which basically means that her landlord was renting the flat to her without the knowledge or consent of the lender, and in...

ASK THE EXPERT A. That rather depends on whether there’s anyone still living there or not. If the property is empty, and has been for more than 6 months, then your local authority may decide to make something called an Empty Dwelling Management Order. Brought into being...

ASK THE AGENT A. Obviously, it’s your house, and within reason you have a perfect right to choose who you allow into it. After all, it isn’t a very pleasant prospect, having a string of complete strangers traipsing through your home. However, the fact remains that...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Generally speaking, it means precisely what it says. Like it or not, at a time when more and more properties are coming onto the market, the key to achieving a successful sale is to be “realistic” - not just about the value of your home, but also...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Understandably, everyone wants to get the best possible price for their home - but the main reason why prices are falling is that people are still asking too much initially. Indeed, 30% of the properties listed on Rightmove have already had to cut prices. What...

ASK THE EXPERT A. An interesting question, and one even the Government is concerned about! In fact, it has just asked the Office for National Statistics to investigate the “coherence and comparability” of the two official sources of house price data – the Land...

ASK THE EXPERT A. I can certainly understand why you might think so. After all, if the place you are currently renting is sufficient for your needs, then why risk some of your parents’ hard-earned savings on buying something now that may well go further down in price over...

ASK THE EXPERT A. First, it’s worth bearing in mind that these bar charts, with their A-G ratings scored from 1 to 100, are only designed to give a quick at-a-glance summary of the full 6-page Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which contains a lot more information...

ASK THE EXPERT A. That rather depends on how quickly you want to move. Introduced into the UK in the early part of the 19th century, Japanese Knotweed is today the most invasive plant species in the country, capable of doing all sorts of serious damage to buildings, lifting...

ASK THE EXPERT A. That rather depends on the nature of the work you had done, whether it only required building regs approval, or whether you should also have applied for planning consent. If the alterations were of sufficient importance to warrant the latter, and you failed to...

ASK THE EXPERT A. With the current increase in the amount of property on the market, relative to the number of buyers willing or able to take the plunge, it’s understandably tempting to walk away and look for something else. On the other hand…if this property...

ASK THE EXPERT Q. A. Choosing the right agent is a good place to start. Don’t simply go for the one who values your home highest (they’re just trying to buy your business), or the one who quotes the lowest fees (in estate agency, as in most things, cheap rarely...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Not all that often, actually. But by their very nature, if and when boundary disagreements do arise, then they can quickly escalate into a serious dispute unless they are dealt with quickly - and as diplomatically as possible. Sometimes, for example...

A. Happily, very little – as far as one can tell. Of course, this wasn’t a normal budget in any sense of the word. However, as with any budget – emergency or not - no news is almost invariably good news! As far as specifics are concerned, the increase in VAT to...

ASK THE EXPERT A. HIPs were indeed expected to do away with multiple agency agreements – simply because until you actually paid for your pack, it effectively remained the property of the agent who purchased it on your behalf (and who wouldn’t therefore be very keen...

Chapplins are the first estate agent in Havant to present properties with a mini TV-style advert via the internet. The Audio Tour provides anyone looking for property via the internet with the opportunity to have the estate agent tell them about a particular property and talk...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Not surprisingly, this is a question we get asked quite often – despite the fact that compared to the rest of the developed world, agents here in the UK don’t actually charge very much at all. As to why agents charge the sort of fees they do, the...

ASK THE EXPERT   A. A covenant is a binding legal obligation that comes with ownership of a particular property. Generally imposed by the original owner, it applies to the property itself and is therefore automatically passed down from owner to owner with the deeds, each...

ASK THE EXPERT A. While you personally may feel perfectly at home with technology, that doesn’t mean that everyone else does. For a lot of people, it’s actually quite an alien environment – or at least, not one in which they feel sufficiently comfortable to...

Over-valuing of properties for sale appears to be widespread, with the number of homes on the market reduced in price last month at a high. Prices of 66,445 homes were reduced, with an average price cut of £14,700. According to the property portal Home, which tracks data...

 People who bought flats in the 1970s and 1980s on relatively short leases of 125 years have been warned about a potential lease extension timebomb. Leaseholders have rights in law to extend their leases by 90 years (Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act, 1993...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Indeed you can. According to the announcement made jointly last week by Eric Pickles, the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and Housing Minister Grant Shapps, compulsory HIPs are now a thing of the past. Or, to be more exact, they...

A good question. Basically, everything depends on sentiment; on confidence, or the lack of it. And, as far as the broader economic situation is concerned, this is - as always - very much in the lap of the gods (although unfortunately, they happen to be Greek gods on this occasion...

ASK THE EXPERT A. I would always advise anyone contemplating buying a property to commission their own survey. Why? Well, primarily because buying a home is the single biggest investment most of us ever make – so surely it’s just common sense to want to be reassured...

From the 2nd to the 5th of June, Chapplins Director Sue Applin asks for your support as she will be running the Save a Soul Mission in Roseland, New York City. She will lead a mission band onto the streets with the aim of filling the midnight prayer meeting which has been empty...

ASK THE AGENT A. Broadly speaking the answer is yes – as long as you have your buyer’s agreement. However, the very fact that you’re asking the question suggests that you haven’t! In this sense, garden plants are treated in very much the same way as any...

ASK THE EXPERT A. As a general rule, most estate agents will tell you that when it comes to putting your home on the market, there is no time like the present. Why? Well, because whatever the state of the market, it’s basically the same for everyone. Swings and roundabouts...

ASK THE EXPERT A. In a word, no. Why? Well for one thing - although of course the situation may have changed by the time you actually read this - a Conservative win is by no means the foregone conclusion that it might once have seemed, even just a few short months ago. Indeed...

ASK THE EXPERT. That rather depends. Unlike the previous Stamp Duty holiday, for example, which came to an end last December and which temporarily applied to all purchases up to £175,000, this one is specifically designed to benefit first time buyers only. So, while it...

ASK THE EXPERT A. These days, it is frequently one of the conditions of planning permission being granted for new residential developments (under what is called a Section 106 Agreement) that they must include a certain percentage of units designated for social housing. While...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Very much so. In fact, even in the internet age, agents’ boards are still generally acknowledged to be one of the most effective marketing tools in the estate agent’s locker. People really do notice them. What’s more, enquiries that result...

ASK THE AGENT A. If you’re asking about value for money, then the short answer is probably “no” – particularly if you are planning to move any time soon. If that sounds a bit blunt, let me explain. Of course, it can be argued that anything which helps...

Karen Stroud, Chapplins Company Director has for the last 4 years raised money for Breast Cancer Campaign on "Wear it pink day". Karen has raised around £2000 in sponsorship and public donations during this time. This year Karen and husband Andy have decided...

ASK THE AGENT A. On average, people only move home every 6 or 7 years, so this isn’t a stupid question at all. Broadly speaking, there are 5 steps involved in buying a property – 6, if you also have one to sell. Indeed, if this is the case, then Step 1 is: put your...

ASK THE EXPERT A. If you have a particular location in mind, there are a number of independent estate agency networks that can help. Called referral networks, these all basically function in the same way: you register with your nearest participating agent, and your contact...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Cob is basically a variation of the ancient method of building with mud and straw that has been used throughout the world for thousands of years. In the UK, this type of construction was used in several parts of the country including Hampshire, Wales, Dorset...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Although a central register of the ownership of all property has been in preparation for well over a century, it was left up to individual counties and other responsible local authorities to decide when they joined the scheme. So, it was only in 1990 that...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Under the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act (2007), which came into force in October 2008, all practising estate agents are obliged to belong to a redress scheme approved by the Office of Fair Trading. Currently, there are two such schemes: the Surveyors...

ASK THE EXPERT A. Obviously, the last thing you want to do is fall out with your new neighbours, not least because disagreements over boundaries can sometimes escalate into quite unpleasant and long-running disputes. Nevertheless, by the sound of it, one or other of them is...