Symphony for the Devil

Well the house position continues to be less than desirable, so i have taken the decision to move agents again, and have effectively sold my soul to the estate agent that is Foxtons.
Foxtons have a reputation for hard selling, and hard drinking, so lets hope the first will lead to celebrations involving the second. They have also suffered from bad press associated with some of their selling tactics, and were in dispute with one of the ex-Blue peter presenters over management fees for a flat she rented out.

All I know is that they are reputed to get the highest price possible for the properties they handle, and will hopefully tap into a market which has so far eluded Haarts and Hamptons ( Too many aitches there shurely....ed).

In the meantime we have started to view a few flats as we monitor whether the prices of these is falling. Chiswick Village is an area which has an abundance of property for sale. of its four 1930s red brick blocks, three border either the underground or overground, so we are favouring the fourth block which does not. There are 280 flats in all, so I am wary of substandard communal heating, higher than average service charges and the overall internal decor. I am currently canvasing on the local Chiswick web site to see if I can gain any intelligence.

Another of the blocks we were considering has just been identified with asbestos infestation, and each tenant has been handed a one-off bill for £25,000 for decontamination. i think we will give that one a miss for the moment.

So the search goes on, but first and foremost we need a buyer for SC. That said, it is a double rollover tomorrow!!

Bingo

The house market in W4 seems to have tailed off since the last interest rate rise, with the number of viewing reducing accordingly. Our situation continues to be hampered by neighbours putting their homes up for sale. Following our next door family moving out, we now find that number 45 has been placed on the market. Theirs is a four bed but unlike us, they have already built into the loft to accommodate the extra bedroom. The price they are asking is close to ours so I am not too worried on that score.

More interesting is that they have an agents board outside which will indicate to any prospects we get, that there is another property available close by. To counter that I have now instructed Hamptons to put their own sign up, two can play at that game.

All it needs now is for 39 to go to market, which they have indicated could be a possibility, and that will be four properties sold in a line. Our newbies at 43 will definitely know they got a bargain.

We went to see Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward theatre last night, Scarlett Strallen as Mary and Gavil Creel as Bert, were first rate. To move this house selling business along I think I need a bit of luck, maybe I should find a chimney sweep and shake his hand too......