Getting Excited About Autumn

Welcome to the Oakwood Estates Newsletter.

In this month's edition, we welcome a new member to the Oakwood Estates team, we share a guide to joint ownership, we reveal what draws a buyer's eye during a viewing and we share some top tips for decorating your living room. For more information on any of these topics, please contact your nearest Oakwood Estates branch.

Until then, we wish you a great summer!

Oakwood Estates

Welcoming a New Member to the Team

We are very pleased to welcome the newest member of the West Drayton Sales team. Christopher Potts has joined us as the Assistant Sales Manager covering West Drayton and the surrounding areas. Having worked in Estate Agencies for several years, Chris has a wealth of Knowledge in the industry and all the areas we cover.

Chris has worked in the past with our new Branch manager Robert, together they form a strong experienced sales team catering to all needs.

Pop in for a coffee and meet the team at 44 Station Road, West Drayton, UB7 7DD.

What Draws a Buyer's Eye During a Viewing?

Are you selling your home? Got a viewing coming up? Make sure you get rid of any clutter as it could be the downfall of a potential sale.

Anglian Home Improvements recently conducted some research using eye tracking technology to discover where buyers' eyes are drawn to when viewing a property. During this study, a variety of homebuyers wore eye-tracking glasses while viewing a home so that it could be determined what aspects of a home captured their focus.

According to the findings of the study, the largest concern for buyers and taking up 27% of the buyer's focus, was furnishings and décor, closely followed by clutter and mess, which attracted 24% of their focus during the viewing. Although the clutter and mess were not always mentioned when passing on feedback to the agent, it still caught their eye.

Perhaps the most surprising statistic from this study was that only 4% of the viewing time was spent on the property's layout.

The results also showed that personal items of the seller such as family photos often distracted the viewer from other aspects of the room.

It was also revealed that there were some differences depending on gender as men were more focused on the exterior of the home (32%) while women were more concerned about the interior (16%). It also seems that clutter and mess is less of an issue for men as they only spent 20% of their time focusing on it, while women averaged 28%.

Head of PR at Anglian Home Improvements, Melanie McDonald, said: “It was very interesting to learn that so little of the participant's behaviour was focused on the building and structural features, apart from the things that needed to be fixed”.

McDonald went on to say that “Although it is easy to forget to mend that broken light switch or socket, the fact that all the participants lingered on the badly installed light switch in the study just goes to show these little things are noticed during house viewings and will make the idea of them living in the property seem much further away.

“With nearly a fifth of the house hunters’ time spent looking out the window, one of the top tips from this experiment is to make sure the view from your windows is up to scratch”.

A Guide to Joint Ownership

There’s no point in beating around the bush. A property is the single biggest purchase you will ever make. You will pour obscene amounts of money, more than you’ve probably ever seen or ever will see again, into a deposit for your very own slice of land. It’s a complicated process, that’s made even more complicated if you’re buying with a partner/loved one/friend.

Before you get started, as unromantic as it may seem, it’s important that you seek advice from a solicitor before purchasing a home. You need to understand your rights in the event of death or separation.

1) Firstly, you have to choose between the two types of joint ownership. Joint Tenants each own an equal share of the property, however when you die, your share goes to your partner and you can’t bequeath your share in a will. Tenants in Common can each own a different share of the property, however, it allows them to pass on or gift their share in the property, and your share doesn’t automatically revert to the partner in the event of your death (unless you want it to).

The type of tenants you are will be defined by a solicitor, making the eventual sale of the property more streamlined.

2) Should you be buying a house with the intention to put it on the rental market, you’ll want to consider the type of joint ownership carefully. With Joint Tenants, the split of the rent is 50/50 like the split of the share. If it’s Tenants in Common, you may have less of a share of the income.

3) It is possible to swap between the two joint tenancies. Many choose to switch from joint tenants to tenants in common to allow for greater flexibility in the event of a divorce or separation. Mutual consent isn’t necessary as one partner can serve the other with a “notice of severance”.

4) Joint ownership is also helpful for buying a second home, on which Capital Gains Tax is payable. Capital Gains Tax is a tax levied on the profits of the sale of a property or investment. Both owners can take advantage of the &11,100 limit on the tax when selling a property.

Should there be any doubt about a partner’s ability to make a legal decision based on their mental capacity, then the other owner will have to apply to the Court of Protection before he or she can sell the property. This means you’re protected from being forced to sell a property through dishonest means.

Top Tips for Designing Your Living Room

Your living room is the focal point of your entire house. Your guests will be entertained there and you will spend the majority of your time awake in that room. We offer some top tips for how you can decorate your living room so that it’s not only comfortable but is also suitable for you and your family.

Consider the logistics
The best place to start when planning the design of your living room is to take a good look at the space you have and think about the size of furniture that would be best suited for your space. You might have spotted a giant couch on the internet that you think would look great, but if your dream piece of furniture creates an awkward space with not much room for anything else, it’ll soon become a nightmare.

Once you’ve analysed just how much space you have to work with you can begin choosing your layout. Try and create an arrangement that’s cosy. For example, placing two matching sofas opposite each other, with a coffee table sandwiched in the middle, is the perfect way to create an intimate zone for a coffee and a chat.

Decide on your style
After deciding on the general layout, you’ll want to choose a style for the room. The good news is, there are a lot of styles to choose from, the bad news is, there are a lot of styles to choose from. It’s important to narrow down your choices as much as possible and simply go with whichever you feel drawn to.

To add a little character to the room, you could bring in the rustic aesthetic. Country style is a simple and easy way to add character and warmth to a home. Exposed brick, natural materials, glass jars and more all add a charming rustic simplicity.

Choose the focus
To really add some umph to the design of your living room, you could add a feature wall, a unique piece of furniture or centrepiece. You’re aiming to give your living room a focal point. This could be a large canvas of a particular piece of art you’re fond of or a display of family photos on a specific wall.

The easiest way to make a statement with most living rooms is by sprucing up your fireplace. Fireplaces are often an obsolete feature of many modern homes, however, a rustic or period fireplace can be transformed into an eye-catching set piece. If it’s large enough, fill it with a modern wood burner or you can simply place a vase of eye-catching flowers on the hearth to brighten up the room.

Consider your lifestyle and get creative!
A lot of homeowners are disheartened by the idea of interior design. It can be very easy if you have small children or energetic pets to go with a very minimalistic approach to avoid any furniture being ruined, and while it is important to choose your upholstery appropriately, you shouldn’t let it stop you from experimenting.

It can also be difficult to choose a style and stick to it and there’s always the heartbreaking reality of your budget. To get the most from your living room, simply be creative. Mix up your furniture, display an eclectic mixture of framed photographs, quotes and prints on a picture shelf. It’s also helpful to choose geometric wallpaper for a feature wall.