Estate agents – Chelmsford Property Blog

Just moved into your new Chelmsford home and want to save some money?

Here are a few things you can do to get started:

🏠 Turn your heating down: Dropping just one degree of heat could cut 10% off your heating bill!

🏠 Sell your unwanted items: Clear out your home and sell any unwanted items that are in good condition, from clothes to appliances, on eBay, Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace.

🏠 Use energy-saving lightbulbs: Energy saving bulbs last longer, are brighter and more energy efficient and can save you money over their extensive lifetime.

🏠 Adjust your television: Did you know that reducing the brightness and contrast on your television could save up to £100 per year?

🏠 Prepare your meals in advance: Save money and time by spending a few hours each week preparing your meals for the days ahead. The meals can then be frozen and reheated throughout the week for an easy dinner – and to save the temptation of eating out when you’re too tired to cook.

🏠 Quit the gym: Put that money back in your pocket by doing home workouts instead.

What are your money saving top tips? Tell us in the comments section below.

https://chrisallen.exp.uk.com

5 Ways To Save Energy And Cut Costs At Home

Saving energy and cutting costs at home can be as easy as making a few small changes to your routine. Here are five ways you can start saving today:

Make sure your home is properly insulated. Heat escapes through cracks and openings in your walls, ceilings, and floors, so make sure your home is properly insulated to keep the heat in. You can also install weatherstripping around doors and windows to keep the cold out in the winter and the hot out in the summer.

Adjust your thermostat. Turning down your thermostat by just a few degrees can save you a lot of money on your energy bill each month. If you’re not comfortable with turning it down too low, try installing a programmable thermostat so you can set it to automatically adjust the temperature at different times of the day.

Switch to LED light bulbs. LED light bulbs use up to 90% less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs, and they last up to 25 times longer. So not only will you be saving energy, but you’ll also be saving money on bulb replacements.

Unplug electronics when not in use. Electronics like TVs, DVD players, and microwaves continue to use energy even when they’re turned off, so unplug them when not in use to save some extra electricity.

Giant green double plug socket on a building

Take shorter showers. A full shower can use up to 17 gallons of water, but taking a 5-minute shower instead can save more than 3,000 gallons of water per year.

What are your energy saving tips at home? I would love to find out so that we can all save together.

https://chrisallen.exp.uk.com

4 Ways To Make A Buyer Feel At Home

When a buyer enters your property you instantly want them to feel at home. Here are 4 things you can do to achieve that:

New Carpets and Fresh Paint

When selling a house it’s sometime necessary to spend some money doing minor renovations. Painting certain rooms and putting down new carpet are the two biggest things you can do to help your house sell faster.

Chelmsford Home with modern table and ceiling lamps

Unclutter Your House

Get rid of all your clutter. Buyers might not appreciate your magazine collection or the dolls and teddy bears you keep in the guest bedroom. Tidy your home and give it a more minimal feel.

Modern bedroom prepared and staged to sell on the property market

Make Sure it’s Clean

Please make sure your home is clean and tidy otherwise you’ll really put buyers off. That means making sure the bathrooms are spotless, your oven in sparkling and your carpets and upholstery have no stains on them.

Chelmsford housekeeper cleaning a mirror in the bathroom

Give All Your Rooms a Purpose

When staging your home for a sale it’s important to make sure all your rooms have a purpose. If a room in your house is supposed to be a dining room for example then make sure you set it out like that.

A Chelmsford property that has been well staged for the property market

Thinking of moving?

Get in touch today for your FREE home valuation

https://chrisallen.exp.uk.com

What to ask when viewing a house

It’s very important to ask questions on a property viewing, so I have put together a small list to help you out. Good luck with your property search!

How long has the house been on the market?

Has the seller made any DIY renovations?

When was the home last updated?

What’s included with the home sale?

What’s the seller’s timeline?

For more advice please get in touch.

https://chrisallen.exp.uk.com

6 Home Updates To Make After A Decade

All homes need a bit of TLC after a while and there comes a time when you have to face up to the fact that, no matter how much you love where you live and no matter how much you think your decor looks great, your home needs freshened up after a while- especially if you’re looking to sell.

So, if you’ve lived in your house for a decade, chances are some things will need to be updated. Here are six things to freshen up after ten years:

Get Painting

This is the fastest and cheapest way to give your property a facelift and breathe new life into it. You may not be a fan of neutral colours, but creams, whites and grey will take years off the surface of your home. Plus, not only do neutral walls make a room look clean and fresh, but they also make it look bigger and brighter too. It’s a no-brainer.

Replace your Flooring

After a decade of walking all over it, it will definitely be time to change your floor coverings as they will no doubt be worn, stained and look a bit shabby.

Replacing the flooring in your home will increase its value

Redo Bathroom & Kitchen Sealant & Grouting

If you want a quick way of making your bathroom look fantastic, re-grout your tiles or clean or replace the sealant around your bath, sink and toilet.

Make sure to do this in your kitchen as well. A super-quick way to do this is by using a grout pen which literally allows you to quickly colour in discoloured grout.

Invest in a new Mattress

Ten years down the line, you’ll probably be in need of a new mattress for hygiene reasons as you don’t want to be sharing your bed with bed bugs.

After a while, your mattress will also become a bit lumpy and bumpy, something that can cause discomfort, body aches and interfere with your need for a good night’s sleep.

A fresh mattress on your bed is a great way to add a new feel to your bedroom

Get a new washing machine

Did you know that a washing machine can last up to ten years? After this, it’s highly recommended that you get a new one. You’ll know if you do need a new one if it leaks, there’s a bad smell from it that won’t go away or if it makes a lot of noise.

Older models are not always as energy-efficient as they are now, so definitely consider this if you’re looking to save water and bring your monthly bills down.

A good washing machine should last 10 years

Replace the Dishwasher

As with the washing machine, this is something else you might need to replace after every 10 years. You’ll know when your dishwasher is at the end of its life if the dishes are not getting cleaned properly or if the main control board is acting up.

As with a washing machine, it’s important to take saving water and energy into consideration when shopping around for a new model.

Just follow these simple tips every ten years or so and your home will always look as good as new – and be ready for viewers should you want to sell!

Thinking of moving? Get in touch today for your FREE home valuation.

Call Chris on 07540 174048.

https://chrisallen.exp.uk.com

First Time Buyers

Today I’ve been looking at properties for the First time buyers, getting on the property ladder is certainly not easy, but with 2 good incomes this can easily be achieved. So I’ve put together a small guide to help those thinking of making the big leap into home ownership.

1. One Bedroom house

This home costing £230,000 would need a deposit of £23,000, so over 25 years at an interest rate of 2.4% would cost £919 per month

2. One bedroom end of terraced home

This home costing £10,000 more than the first one, with a 10% deposit of £24,000 would cost £959 per month over the 25 years at 2.4%

3. Two Bedroom terraced home

Finally I have chosen this Two bedroom home, with a 10% deposit of £28,000 the mortgage over 25 years at 2.4% would be costing around £1,118 per month,

I hope that helps people to understand the price that you’d expect to pay.

Good luck with your house hunting!!!!