1. Highlight the ‘wow’ factor of your holiday home for rent. Does it have stunning views, designer furniture, a to-die-for swimming pool?

2. Live in your own holiday home for at least a week. It’s the only way you’ll know what can be improved and what aspects can be highlighted.

3. Make sure your photos are taken on a sunny day, and that they ALL make your holiday home look appealing.

4. Be honest with your advert. If you want repeat bookings, don’t promise the earth then under-deliver. Keep it straight.

5. Answer enquiries right away. If you don’t the person asking might find another holiday home to rent elsewhere.

6. Keep the online calendar up-to-date to save everybody’s time.

7. Advertise for free on Mouse-Move.com to increase your occupation levels quickly.

There’s only one thing better than discovering a way to increase your holiday home occupation levels overnight, and that’s to discover a way that’s free.

For a limited time, you can advertise your holiday home anywhere in the world on Mouse Move absolutely free!

It’s quick, easy and very very effective. Just follow three steps:

1. 1. Register your details
2. 2. Create your advert
3. 3. Go live and take more bookings

It’s that simple!

This is what you get when your advertise your holiday home for rent on Mouse-Move:

• Professionally designed property listing page including description, features, amenities, pricing and your contact details
• 24 photos of your holiday home with detailed captions
• 21 ‘Key Features’
• Access 24/7/365 to create and update your property listing
• Receive enquiries online, via e-mail or SMS text alert
• Featured Property - highlight your property throughout the holiday home section
• Link to your own holiday home website (if you have one)
• Visitor counter to keep track of how many people have viewed your listing
• Huge exposure targeted to holidaymakers specifically looking for a holiday home
• Free Availability Calendar - manage your availability
• Online maps pinpointing your property location
• A booking form with all enquiries sent direct to you
• Discount on any additional properties that you list
• Late Offers - help book any last minute vacancies with this feature
• Comprehensive helpline Telephone:01226 370 072  or via email to customerservices@mouse-move.com

Your property will be available to the estimated 35 million or so people online in the UK, and over 850 million worldwide (rising every day). Over 80 per cent of holidaymakers now search for holiday accommodation online. It’s a market you can’t afford not to be in.

If there’s one thing that will make life easier for the millions of English-speaking expats in their adopted countries worldwide, it’s having an expert to turn to when they need help. I know, I’ve been there.

So I’m going to give you an invaluable tip.

Go and visit AngloINFO.com today.

From simple things like finding out how to get a phone line connected or what to do if you’re involved in a traffic accident, to finding an accountant you can trust or receiving recommendations for the best local school, everything is a difficult hurdle if you don’t have a reliable source of information.

Something like the unbelievably helpful AngloINFO network would have been a godsend for myself and Helen when we first moved to Tenerife many moons ago. Unfortunately though, this great site wasn’t around then.

Launched in  2000, nowadays AngloINFO sites are everywhere - from Belgium to Thailand and 35 other regions. In a clear, precise manner you can find ALL the answers to questions that EVERY expat anywhere is always asking, for FREE.

In fact, try it now. Think of some local service or information that you need to know about and I can guarantee that the answer will be found through the AngloINFO website for your region.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the INFormation pages, leave a query on the forum and before long you’ll have connected to others in the region that have the answer.

Believe me when I say I don’t make any financial gain out of singing the praises of AngloINFO, I just think it’s the ultimate information service for all expats in their local region and thoroughly recommend them to all our visitors and advertisers at Mouse-Move.com.

We are all too eager to jump in with our four-penneth-worth when it comes to having a mumble and groan about something, so we should equally be as keen to openly praise those who are providing a helluva service. You’ll see on the site that several people have already done this…

“Congratulations on your website - this is the first time I have been able to get easy to understand information about health care in France for expatriates holding an E121 form.”

“Just a short note from an AngloINFO fan… THANK YOU for managing such an excellent resource. This year, thanks to AngloINFO Riviera, I have been able to prepare for getting my Carte de Séjour, registering my car and having my baby. I’ve made friends with other users, and got some shopping done too! Keep up the good work.“ 

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on the success of AngloINFO and for the wonderful service you are providing, your site is the essential website for the Anglophone society.“

I’ll be adding my comments soon.

If you’re based abroad, or have an interest in a particular overseas region, I highly recommend that you pay AngloINFO a visit.

You’d be mad not to!

The alternative is to blag, bluff or bury your head to those niggles and problems that face all expats at one time or another and are so easy to solve by making use of this fantastic free resource.

So start making your life easier today. Make use of what is one of the best free expat resource sites around today.

To make your life easier, click here now.

PS. AngloINFO are currently looking for franchisees in the Canary Islands, as well as other parts of the world. For more information click here or email franchising@angloinfo.com

They’re everywhere - in your neighbour’s garden, lining your friend’s street, in the apartment block on your summer holiday abroad.

No matter where you are, you just can’t avoid the For Sale or To Let sign. Every estate agent worldwide uses them.

Why?

Because they work.

Even if you’ve opted for a private house sale, research has shown that displaying a For Sale sign can double the chances of selling your house.

Although over 70 per cent of people now use the internet to search for their next home, many deals are ‘drive-buys’.

Whilst for those choosing to sell their house online the internet can globally spread the word to millions, it’s vital not to miss out on the local market. It’s estimated that up to 48% of property enquiries come from people seeing a For Sale or To Let sign.

House-hunters deciding on the area they want to live in will inevitably drive around to get a feel for the neighbourhood. If they like what they see, they’ll more than likely stop at properties displaying a For Sale sign and jot down the contact details in order to make an appointment, or at least find out more details about the house.

No matter how fantastic your property is or how low you’ve set the price, you’re never going to be in the running if the drive-buys don’t know your cherished property is for sale.

Even for those who have decided to sell a house privately, for the sake of a few quid it makes sense to order a sign so as not to miss out on a possible drive-buy sale.

Mouse Move will deliver a professional, eye-catching For Sale or To Let board for just £30 plus postage. Each double-sided sign is personalised with the contact number of your choice and a unique property ID for easy reference on mouse-move.com

It’s nice to see that property from Keighley to the Costas is continuing to roll in to Mouse Move. It’s amazing to see so many people choosing to go the way of private property sales in the UK, whether they want to sell a house online in Keighley, or the private sale of a villa in Estepona.

I think one of the things that is attracting so many UK homeowners and overseas property owners is the fact that all properties for sale online at our FSBO site www.mouse-move.com are also automatically advertised on HotProperty.co.uk and thus are getting incredible online exposure. Have a look at the following links for examples:

Sell my villa in Estepona online

Sell my house  in Keighley online

Sell my finca in Alicante online

Sell my apartment in Tenerife online

Keep those private property sales coming!
 

This post headline could read, can I sell my house in Doncaster online, or can I rent out my apartment in Benidorm online. I’ve been getting a lot of emails from all over the place about the how’s and whereto’s of selling a house privately online.

It seems that a lot of people are finding out about the benefits of selling a house privately (private property sales sites are the quickest way to sell your house) and discovering the reasons why not to use an estate agent (mistrust, high commissions), but they want practical advice, the nuts and bolts if you like, of how to advertise their property online.

I’m quite happy to receive these emails (and letters), but pretty much all of their queries can be answered on our website www.mouse-move.com

Having said that, keep the correspondence coming; in this cyber-age, it’s still nice to communicate one-to-one, and remember, there’s no such thing as a silly question - only a silly answer.

Fire away to davidwood@mouse-move.com and Helen, the team and I will do our best to give you all the information you need.

A recent survey by Alliance & Leicester has shown that selling your house privately with an FSBO website such as Mouse-Move actually leads to a quicker sale than with an estate agent.

Of the 2,384 people polled, Alliance & Leicester found that sellers who sell a house privately make a sale in an average of two months or less while those using the more conventional (estate agency) route to sell their UK property were taking over three months.

In addition, the number of people interviewed who had used a private property sale site had risen from 5% last year to 8% this year, a sure sign that the FSBO trend is definitely on the up, as confirmed by Stephen Leonard, Alliance & Leicester’s director of mortgages:

 ”Research suggests that DIY methods such as using the internet to sell a home are becoming more popular.”

Long live the revolution!!

(more…)

I’m pleased to announce that lifelong family friend, Don Booker MBE, has joined Mouse Move as motoring writer for our Autos section.

Don became motoring editor of the Barnsley Chronicle after joining them in 1948 and has test driven just about every car you could imagine – plus quite a few you couldn’t!

He was awarded the MBE in the 1995 New Year Honours list for all his work within the Barnsley community.

Don is currently the Membership Secretary of the Northern Group of Motoring Writers.

Don is also the author of A Barnsley Lad, published by Wharncliffe Books, a colourful record of his life from growing up in Dodworth, to his retirement from the post of Editor of the Barnsley Chronicle in 1994.

These days, Don mixes with the celebrity crowd. He grew up with Michael Parkinson, was a regular golf partner of the late Charlie Williams and counts Norman Wisdom as a friend. Despite mingling with the rich and famous, Don still has a remarkable down to earth manner.

It goes without saying that I’m very happy to have him on board!

Finally, after several months of blood, sweat and more than a few tears, I’m proud to announce that - (trumpet fanfare, please) - Mouse Move is up and running.

You might not have heard of it yet, but rest assured, you soon will. Mouse Move is going to be huge, of that I have no doubt. It’s THE place to buy, sell or rent your house, holiday home, car, business or even service.

We’re like a dating service for transactions - match-making buyers with sellers, landlords with tenants, services and products with customers. I know, how sweet! But the best thing is we’re doing it for free at the moment, bless us!

Anybody with a property, vehicle, business or product/service for sale or rent anywhere in the world can advertise it worldwide on Mouse-Move.com absolutely free for the next six months as a special trial offer.

Go on. Give it a whirl. You’ve got nothing to lose.