Now here’s a damn good invention for pool owners with children!

If you have a holiday home or villa with a pool, and you also have small children, the joy is often outweighed by the worry and risk of keeping your kids safe. However, some bright spark has come up with the ultimate swimming pool alarm to keep kids safe around the pool.

Once activated, if the wireless Life Guard Pool Alarm detects any disturbance underwater, it immediately sends out a piercing 115 decibel alarm, letting you know that something or somebody is in the pool.

I can see this easy-to-install invention being an essential piece of kit for any families owning a holiday villa with a swimming pool.

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!!

There are many factors that can effect the speed at which you sell your property. But without a doubt, the most important is making sure the price is right. Deciding on the right value is the key to selling a house privately.

Nowadays the property market is more competitive than ever before, hence the price is the determining factor. Other factors that add to the speed at which a house for sale by owner sells are the condition of the property and any terms and conditions attached to the sale. However, nothing is quite so important as getting the price right.

So how do you make sure you’ve got it right?

First of all, keep an eye on the price of similar properties for sale in your area. Look in estate agents windows and keep track of what is selling quickly and at what price.

Secondly, make use of the fantastic UpMyStreet website to find out what price properties are selling for in your neighbourhood.

In addition to that, you need to have the property for sale in prime condition. Fix everything that needs fixing leaving no stone unturned. You don’t want to give any reasons for the buyer to knock you down in price. The condition of a property will play a huge part in a buyer deciding to purchase your property or somebody else’s. And remember, first impressions count so make it a damn good one.

The human obstacles that get in the way of fair pricing are the three deadly sins of pride, greed and ignorance. Overcome these natural tendencies and you’re going a long way to pricing the property fairly and thus making the difference between making a quick sale and twiddling your thumbs whilst all around you sign contracts and move on.

Make sure the price is right - and fair - and you’ll sell your home quickly.

Advertise on the right, high profile private property sale site, such as Mouse-Move and it’s as good as sold.

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Another worrying point about the dubious practise of estate agents was highlighted by tickeverybox.com recently.

They warn that estate agents are ‘extremely well positioned to receive kickbacks for recommending financial services, solicitors, surveyors and now, home information pack providers.‘ These commissions paid to agents can be quite substantial and detract from what should be their main objective ie to secure a sale for their client.

Tickeverybox.com remind sellers of agent’s duties…

1. to report every offer that is made to the vendor
2. never fabricate or provide misleading information about other offers that may/may not have been made
3. not insist that an offer is accepted only on the condition of a buyer signing up to its own (or recommended) financial, legal or technical services.

Unfortunately, some agents tend to forget these duties when the lure of extra financial gain rears its head.

If a client suspects this is the case there are several paths they can follow to file a complaint.

Contact the following if you feel you’ve been duped:

• RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
• NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents)
• The Ombudsman for estate agents
• Local Trading Standards Office of Fair Trading

Interesting feature in the current edition of Overseas Property Professional magazine, that emphasises the current revolution building steam in the property world. 

Journalist, Alex Evans takes a look at the rise and rise of Private sale web sites.
The feature starts:

‘With public perception of estate agents at an all-time low, just how serious a threat to your livelihood are private sale portals?’

It goes on to say;

‘The Ombudsman for Estate Agents recieved more than 8,000 enquiries from customers last year, compared with 6,021 in 2005. A poll by YouGov on behalf of ITV1’s consumer affairs programme, Tonight with Trevor MacDonald, found that 64% of survey respondents don’t trust estate agents. More than two-fifths (43%) believed agents were over-paid. “You’re charged on the basis of the value of your house rather than the amount of work taken to sell it. It’s essentially like a beggar demanding 3% of what’s in your wallet,” says Nick Wright of Wow Property.

‘The Tonight poll also highlighted the rise in popularity of private sales websites… ‘A study from Halifax Estate Agents found that the number of people who felt they needed to look around a property has more than halved…‘It also found that 80% of buyers use portals to research homes before calling an agent, so decisions have already been made before the agent steps in.’

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.