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Published: 28 June 2022

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Moving Home: Who Should I Notify?

Moving home can be the wonderful fresh start you need. A new place, new location, new neighbours and new friends we just haven’t met yet. You may have got all the financials in place, instructed the lawyers and got the removals company all booked in.

But wait! Who needs to know you are moving home and why?

Here, we at Warren Powell-Richards identify some of the people and organisations you should be notifying about your move. And don’t forget, we can help you create a list if you need a little bit of extra help.

1. Don’t Bank on Them Knowing!

Financial institutions, such as banks and building societies, should be informed as soon as you can. The same goes for pension companies or credit card providers. Firstly, their paperwork has to be correct, and they often use it as a security check – think of how you get a new bank card or PIN numbers. Secondly, imagine if your bank details and personal finance arrangements are sent to the wrong address and end up in the wrong hands.

Top Tip: Take time to write a list of organisations you bank with or have some sort of financial agreement with. Do this when you’re moving home and try to keep it updated as it’ll save you time in the future.

2. Motoring Into the Future

Driving off to a new home? Make sure the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are kept informed once you’ve moved. They need to have the correct address for you and your licence, and for your car.

Top Tip: The DVLA is one of many government organisations, such as HMRC, who will need to know your new address. Think about other governmental organisations who have info about you and make sure they all know the changes.

3. Power to the Utility Providers

You will have been paying for your gas, water and electricity bills, and it might be that when you move, you’ll have new suppliers. Make sure your old suppliers have updated details for the property you have moved out of – after all, you do not want to be paying someone else’s bills. Remember to update your TV licence and TV companies too.

Top Tip: Don’t forget to take your meter readings when you move so that you are billed for what you have used, and no more.

4. A Health Checklist

Whether you have a medical condition or are as fit as a fiddle, you will have a doctor and the GP surgery where you are registered must have your updated details on file. This goes for the dentist too, and the optician, and any other medical services provider to whom you are registered.

GPs often use addresses for identification purposes too, so it’s a security requirement as well.

Top Tip: Communicate with your medical providers as soon as you can. You don’t want important letters going to the wrong address.

5. Education and Employment Matters

These two areas are aligned as education and employment are often linked. It’s a good idea to deal with them together, so you don’t forget. Schools, nurseries, training providers, and employers all need up to date information as they will all need a record and be able to communicate with you via letter if they need to.

Top Tip: Group your thinking together. There’s less chance of missing something then.

6. Council Tax

Love it or hate it, we all have to pay council tax on the property in which we live. Worked out by several factors and set by the local council, it’s vital that you pay what you need to pay. If you don’t let the council know you’ve moved, you might get a notice to pay for a property that is no longer yours.

Top Tip: There are various ways to contact your local council with your new details, from phone to live chat to email. Whichever method you choose, it a priority to let them know.

You might also want to let family and friends know – or you might not if you’re having a fresh start!

We hope this gives you a clearer idea of who you need to notify! Still looking for the perfect property? Call our team or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we’ll get the conversation started.

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Published: 24 June 2022

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Plant Life: The Top 5 Best Indoor Plants for Your Home

Interior design trends come and go with the seasons, but there are few trends that stick around long enough to be considered staples in home decorating. Houseplants are one of those evergreen (no pun intended) trends. 

Not only do they give a breath of fresh air into your home by bringing the outdoors in, but they also make it look like you’re ‘adulting’ the same way a fully stocked bookshelf does. It shows some level of care and responsibility more than other decor does, which can actually add to the feel of the whole room. Think about your friends’ places who have plants and how you feel when you visit their homes. You’re a bit more impressed and oddly relaxed, right? 

Why not recreate that feeling in your own home and take advantage of the other benefits houseplants can offer? A plant is more than just a piece of decor – it’s a living thing that requires care, and in turn, makes you feel more relaxed, along with other mental health benefits one gets from taking care of a living thing. 

If you aren’t a plant expert though, this may sound like hard work. Bringing something into your home that requires effort and caring for may just be too much trouble. Therefore, this list is here to help you find the perfect plants for even the most minimal amount of work needed to help them thrive and look great in your home. 

Here are the top five indoor plants for your home, regardless of your gardening expertise. 

1. Zamioculas Zamiifolia (ZZ Plant) 

The Zamiculas Zamiifolia or ZZ plant is the perfect plant for anyone who usually (and unintentionally), kills any plant they bring home! These plants are easy to care for as they require such a minimal amount of commitment that you could practically ignore this plant and it would be just as happy. You have probably seen them in places like offices that have low natural light – a good sign this plant can take some neglect. 

ZZ plants are well known as the Zanzibar Gem because of how shiny their emerald green leaves are. There’s also a variegation of the ZZ plant that has black leaves called the raven ZZ plant, so if you want a more dramatic plant, you could opt for that version. Both variegations require indirect sun but can tolerate low light, so they are great options for areas of the home that don’t have a lot of natural light like a bathroom or tucked away in a corner. The less light this plant gets, the slower it will grow, but it’ll hang on as-is regardless. 

They also don’t need a lot of water since they store moisture in their bulbous roots. If it’s sitting in a spot with indirect sun, you can probably get away with watering it thoroughly once a month and letting it completely dry out between waterings. If it’s sitting in a spot with very little light, it needs even less water. 

2. Monstera Deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant)

One of the most recognisable plants, monsteras are super trendy right now and so easy to keep happy. This plant isn’t for anyone with a tight space, however. The split leaves can grow pretty quickly and seem to double in size whenever a new one pops out. If you’ve got the space for it, it can take over and be a focal point of the room, turning your room into an indoor jungle. 

3. Sanseveria (Snake Plant)

This plant is practically invincible and much like the ZZ plant, it can grow in almost any condition and only needs minimal water. There are different varieties of snake plants (dwarf, sword, striped, twisted sister, cylindrical, Kenya hyacinth, golden bird’s nest, etc.), so potentially you could just have a massive collection of them and not have the same two types. 

Sanseveria plants are also perfect to fit into smaller spaces since, unlike other houseplants, they grow upwards and not outwards. You won’t need to worry about trimming them back because they also grow incredibly slowly. 

4. Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily)

Peace lilies are another easy to care for plant that doesn’t need too much light to thrive, although the more light you can give it, the faster it will grow and bloom those gorgeous white flowers they’re known for. They can grow relatively quickly in medium or low light as well, making them ideal for any room with minimal light. The best part about peace lilies is their tendency to let you know when they need a good drink of water. Their leaves will wilt and flop over, making it look like it’s dying, but if you give it a healthy amount of water, in a few hours the leaves will perk right back up again. 

5. Epipremnum Aureum (Pothos Vine)

For anyone who wants a fast-growing plant that takes up whatever amount of space you give it, a pothos vine is the way to go. They’re easy to care for in the sense that they won’t put up a fuss if neglected for a little while but do require intermittent watering and a medium amount of indirect sun. They work best as hanging plants because their vines grow quite quickly, so giving them room to trail down makes any space look like an indoor garden.

With this in mind, if your property is on the market, consider the addition of one of these top five houseplants to help transform your rooms in an instant, by bringing your space to life.

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Published: 14 June 2022

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What Are House Buying Searches?

One of the first steps to buying a house after your offer has been accepted is to order searches on the property.

If you’re not sure what house buying searches are, we’ll explain in this article:

What they are

Why they’re important

Whether you need to purchase them

What Are House Buying Searches?

House buying searches are checks carried out on a property before you buy it. They usually cost a couple of hundred pounds (approx. £200-300) and can provide highly valuable information about the property.

For example, searches can tell you, and your lender, if the house:

Sits on a floodplain and regularly floods

Has any debts that you’ll take over when you buy it

Sits on top of a mineshaft which, if it collapses, could cause severe damage to the property

Is in an area where a new road, train line, housing estate, wind farm or other types of development will be built

Sits on contaminated land from being previously owned by an industrial site – which can include things like asbestos, solvents, gases or arsenic

You’ll normally have to pay for searches shortly after your offer has been formally accepted and you’ve instructed your solicitor to commence work.

What Are the Most Common Searches That Need to Be Done?

There are three main searches your solicitor will order for you when you buy a house:

Local authority searches

Environmental searches

Water and drainage searches

Local authority searches will check the following for issues:

Planning

Building control

Highways

Pollution

Environmental searches will check for issues related to:

Flooding

Landslides

Subsidence

Contaminated land

Water and drainage searches will check things like:

Who owns and maintains the nearby sewers and drains

Whether the property is connected to a water supply and sewer

If the water supply is on a meter or not

Where the public sewers, drains and pipes are on the property

If you’ll need permission from a water company to extend the property

Are Searches Necessary When Buying a House?

If you’re buying a property with a mortgage, the lender will almost always require you to pay for searches on the property.

This is because they need to know how much the property is worth and what issues they may be liable to pay for if they repossess it in the future (if you don’t keep up with your mortgage payments).

However, if you’re buying in cash, you don’t legally have to pay for searches, unless you want to.

But remember, there are still benefits to ordering searches when you’re a cash buyer. They are much more in-depth than a homebuyer’s survey and can provide a detailed picture of what risks there are in buying the property.

Conclusion

Generally, you’ll always need to pay for searches when buying a property with a mortgage. If you buy a property with cash, it’s usually your decision whether you pay for searches, but it’s important to remember that not paying for them can cause significant risk and issue later down the line.

If you’re considering buying a property and want advice about the process, our friendly team of agents at WPR are happy to help.

Give us a call today or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to start the conversation.

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Published: 10 June 2022

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Should I Keep An Original Fireplace In My Home?

If you’re buying a house you may find that an original fireplace is a feature of your new living space.

At one time, fireplaces were a key feature in any room. However, thanks to modern heating, finding one in modern homes is becoming increasingly unlikely since chimneys are a significant source of heat loss. Furthermore, fireplaces are often inefficient when it comes to heating a property.

Since we are all working towards reducing our carbon footprints these days, it may sound counterintuitive to keep a feature that will counteract those efforts. Yet, there’s another side to consider. Many people who come to us here at WPR are looking for a new home with a fireplace when making their next property purchase.

So, this raises the question – is it best to keep a feature fireplace, or get rid of it?

The Fireplace Problem

Although you may want to get rid of a fireplace in your new home, there’s an important factor to consider. Fireplaces form a structural component of your home’s build. That means that removing them requires structural changes to be carried out to the house and that necessitates help from a skilled and experienced construction professional. It’s often easier to leave the fireplace in situ and use it for other purposes.

A Focal Point

If you choose to keep a fireplace in your new home, you don’t need to use it for its original purpose. It’s possible to install more efficient options in the space such as a modern log burner that will allow you to retain the fireplace as a focal point. If you plan to do this, you’ll need a chimney liner installed – a task you can either do yourself or arrange for a professional to complete.

Decorating A Fireplace

If you’re buying a period property you should certainly think twice before getting rid of the fireplace. It will be a major selling point when you decide to sell the property in the future. The best course of action is to decorate the period fireplace so that it looks attractive and in keeping with your room décor but still retains the original feature.

You can decorate a period fireplace by adding a modern surround or by changing the mantelpiece to one that is more to your taste. Many people choose to make a fireplace a stand-out feature of their room by emphasising its period design by adding traditional fire irons and screen.

It’s worth bearing in mind that a surprising number of prospective home buyers come to us looking for properties that already have a fireplace installed. In fact, many people who purchase new-build properties choose to install a faux fireplace in their living rooms to recreate the traditional feel!

Whatever you’re looking for in your new home, the team here at is here to help. Get in touch with us today or visit our website at wpr.co.uk to discover the exciting properties that are available right now!