Blog Archives - Country House Company

10th Apr 18

Trust the process

Here at The Country House Company we were delighted to hear that the government has revealed a huge overhaul of the industry that will include mandatory qualifications for agents and greater transparency about referral fees. It is frustrating, when there are so many professionals in the business, that the reputation of an industry can be […]

9th Apr 18

Get moving

Was the headline for an article in The Saturday Telegraph Property supplement sub titled ‘The commuter hotspots on London’s compass points’. Without even reading the article I was confident that Hampshire would feature which of course it did along with other obvious contenders, Berkshire, accessible parts of Essex and Kent and Hertfordshire to the north […]

6th Apr 18

Don’t be daunted!

A report from Foxton’s recently pointed out that in the last five years over 150 new regulations have affected landlords; ranging from responsibility for tenants residency status to licensing requirements, enhanced maintenance criteria and increased financial sanctions. This has created a potential minefield for landlords as they negotiate their way through preparing a property to […]

28th Mar 18

Chocolate box cottages

With Easter and spring around the corner now is a wonderful time to daydream of boxes of chocolate and ‘chocolate box’ cottages in quintessential English villages. We can help that dream by tempting you with some of the delightful properties we have available to rent or buy in the beautiful villages in and around the […]

26th Mar 18

The right tenant for the right property

There has been some publicity recently on the rights of landlords to stipulate whether or not applicants with pets are allowed to be considered as potential tenants. No doubt this is an argument that will rumble along for a while and here at The Country House Company we have landlords with properties where they welcome […]

8th Feb 18

Pop over the parapet and make that move

February is likely to see a further uptick in invitations as those who seek a steer on what to do to their home before marketing to optimise ‘saleability’ and the sale price, get in touch. Others who are ‘match ready’, so to speak, tend to call us just a matter of weeks before going to […]

16th Jan 18

No black Monday for The Country House Company

Yesterday may have been labelled the most depressing day of the year but I am pleased to say that we kept our spirits up by reporting to Sue on our successful first two weeks. We have seen a marked increase in applicant registration and viewings on the same period compared with January 2017 and more […]

2nd Jan 18

Wishing you a Happy New Year

The start of a new year for The Country House Company is, as for many, a time of hope and excitement plus cautious optimism for the year ahead. 2017 saw a lot of uncertainty particularly in the rental market with a battering of legislation combined with the government looking to reform the sector. The reforms […]

30th Nov 17

Tis’ the season to be busy…

December this week and the first reports of snow falling in London are just coming in. Traditionally a frantic time for preparations, shopping, holidays and events it is not generally considered a frantic time, as such, in the lettings industry. However here at The Country House Company we launched 75% more properties last month than […]

21st Nov 17

Great publicity for favourite villages

We were delighted to see some of our favourite villages mentioned in a piece in this last HOME supplement of The Sunday Times. Indeed we have two houses in Buriton currently one of which is due to exchange imminently and the other is being launched with OPEN HOUSE this coming Saturday at £450,000 (attached). The […]

7th Nov 17

Housing centre stage for forthcoming budget

Housing is becoming the most discussed sector. We are aware of the need for more housing but The Chancellor is apparently keen to direct wealth away from speculative residential property investment and into other sectors of the economy (still further!) thereby enabling greater choice for first time buyers looking for their first home. Interestingly the […]

30th Oct 17

The real Halloween story

A marketing campaign that effectively increases public awareness of safety issues should be applauded. At this time of the year we are used to seeing warnings about Firework danger so the innovative Halloween themed carbon monoxide awareness campaign, targeted at students, launched this weekend has been brilliantly timed and hopefully will have an impact. Gas […]

24th Oct 17

Important information, more legislation

Legislation may be the bane of everyone’s lives but it is vital whatever business you are in that you are informed of the latest relevant legislation. So for all our landlords, please be aware: With effect from 1st April 2018 properties with an EPC rating of less than ‘E’ will not be able to be […]

10th Oct 17

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect; ‘small causes can have larger effects’ is in fairness more often applied to science and weather than the property market yet it is interesting how a simple seemingly unrelated change can have an effect. West Sussex, as all counties, has its traffic congestion hot points and the Chichester bypass is notorious, particularly […]

2nd Oct 17

A positive to focus on

Amidst all the publicity surrounding Theresa May’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference it was heartening to hear good news for the industry. The Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid MP used his speech at the conference to announce plans to introduce mandatory regulation for letting agents in England. These measures follow 20 years of ARLA Propertymark […]

30th Aug 17

Government support

The publicity surrounding the proposed ban on tenant fees has generally put letting agents and landlords in a negative light and unfairly so. As is often the case the actions of a few rogue, unlawful agents and landlords speak louder than years of professional service provided by the lettings industry. A blanket ban on tenant […]

29th Aug 17

London IS coming to the country!

There was an interesting piece in The Times on Saturday about the property market dynamics where the opening lines allude to train fare increases affecting the migration route out of London to commuter areas, and that there had been an increase in people moving into the capital. On closer examination and reading the rest of […]

18th Aug 17

Trust in human nature

When I asked a colleague this morning whether she felt the rise in on line estate agencies is a threat to independent, professional companies such ourselves she simply replied that “I put my trust in human nature”. She qualified this by saying that whilst technology has a huge and increasing role in most business sectors […]

3rd Aug 17

Migration from London to the country………..

Has the long awaited migration from London to the country started to happen in earnest? Research recently published in the Times claims that 330,000 people, both buyers and renters, moved out of the city last year , a rise of 14% on the number that left in 2012. Maybe that compelling price differential between London […]

26th Jun 17

Thrilled to run, be involved and support

Quite a few members of The Country House Company team run to keep fit so we were particularly excited when Bedales recently approached us to sponsor the Bedales Great South Run Team. The Country House Company and Pledgit are the only two sponsors helping the team to raise money for two Bedales Charities, Cecily’s Fund […]

15th Jun 17

All under one roof

We were pleased to take two calls in one week from clients returning to us after a considerable period of time. Both said that we had done a great job for them in the past and were delighted to find the staff and service as they remembered. With all the uncertainty there is surrounding the […]

25th May 17

Gas safety

Whilst many feel that rules are made for the guidance of wise men and obedience of fools and that we are bogged down as a country by too many rules and regulations there are many that are vital and can only be for the greater good. Reasonable legislation bought in to protect the safety of […]

18th May 17

The joy of sponsorship

Sponsorship of events in the area has to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of marketing and particularly when the team at The Country House Company get involved. The photoboard which is central to our joint marketing campaign with Hampshire Fare is being well received across the region at various events and was particularly […]

26th Apr 17

Stable property market encourages confidence

Whilst not startling in their positivity, there are nonetheless some good messages about the stable property market in spite of some economic headwinds. The widely used property portal Rightmove, have shown in their House Price Index that the average house price reached a record high in April, driven by strong buyer demand with the highest […]

25th Apr 17

American history unearthed in Chichester!

Who could have imagined that one of the most significant documents in American history would be unearthed in Chichester! The Declaration of Independence parchment was discovered in a strong room in Chichester by an historian. Many believed that the only one is existence was across the pond in its rightful place in The National Archives […]

31st Mar 17

Delightful barn conversion

We may talk about many different subjects in our blogs but houses has to be our favourite subject and best still when we are launching a house on the market! We have been appointed to sell a delightful barn conversion which is in the centre of East Meon. Arranged over two floors and offering 3 bedrooms and 2 […]

27th Mar 17

Electrical safety under the Housing and Planning Act 2016

Where legislation is concerned it is important that we provide the correct information to our landlords and tenants. We are members of ARLA PropertyMark, a governing body, who keep members informed of the latest relevant legislation, we are members of GKJ Consultants who also provide a clear interpretation of legislation and we take advice from […]

24th Mar 17

The Power of local support

It is very uplifting on a lovely spring day to see local communities coming together for fundraising events. The Great Hampshire Cake Sale has been organised by The Hampshire Hunt and The Hursley Hambledon Hunt in aid of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Their aim was to sell over 1,000 cakes and […]

15th Mar 17

Hambledon – Best Place to Live!

Lots of column inches about villages in Hampshire with Hambledon featuring in a piece titled ‘Best Places To Live’ in the South East in HOME, the Sunday Times supplement, this last Sunday. Yesterday in Times 2, Preston Candover is featured 13th in an article entitled ‘Best Villages in Britain’. We love our county and these […]

10th Mar 17

The Budget and Downsizer trends

Budget week could have helped to mobilise the markets we operate in by offering some concessions on stamp duty at the higher price bands. In fact The Budget delivered nothing for those who see the significantly higher stamp duty liability since December 2014 as a hindrance to mobility and many trades associated with this sector […]

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