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Published: 13 November 2023

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Is Your Home In Good Shape For The Winter Season?

Winter is here, and if you’re a homeowner, you’ll need to prepare your home for the cold weather. With strong winds, rain, storms, and snow all likely, we have put together our three top tips to help you get your home in good shape for the winter season.

Winter Tip 1. Maintain Warmth To Avoid Mould

A key thing to do when preparing your property for winter is to ensure it remains at a warm enough temperature to guard against damp and the development of mould. Mould not only damages and devalues properties but can also have a negative impact on your family’s health due to allergic reactions that make respiratory problems worse. Your home should be kept at a constant temperature of 18-21 degrees Celsius so that you won’t develop a damp problem.

While you’re looking at ways of keeping your home warm, bear in mind that cold air may be entering your property through your doors and windows. Use a draft excluder at your doors and hang thicker curtains to make a significant difference.

Winter Tip 2. Keep Your Home Watertight

If there’s one thing you can be sure of during the winter, it’s the fact that it will certainly rain! Ensuring your property gets rid of all the excess water effectively is essential during wet weather so make sure your guttering works as it should, and there are no gaps to cause leaks, as this could result in your property developing a damp problem. Make sure that water is draining away effectively through your drainpipes by removing any leaves, moss, twigs and winter debris.

Check your roof tiles too for any gaps. Look into your loft space and if you can see daylight shining through, arrange for someone to come and fix the problem.

Finally, ensure your water tanks and pipes are lagged. If there’s a sudden cold snap, pipes can easily burst, so ensuring they’re protected is the best way to guard against having to claim on your insurance.

Winter Tip 3. Stormproof Your Home

Storms are another common winter problem, so make sure you’ve tidied up and put away anything in your garden which could damage your property (or someone else’s) if there are high winds. Checking your roof tiles is imperative to ensure they don’t loosen and fly off during a storm.

Check whether your home is at risk of flooding. With more areas now experiencing flooding, you should check to see if your home lies in an at-risk area. You should also make sure that your home insurance is up to date and offers you sufficient protection if you need to make a claim.

Ready to move home this winter? Our team at Warren Powell-Richards are here to help. Take a look at our website at https://www.wpr.co.uk to find out more about property for sale.

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Published: 13 November 2023

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Selling your house to a tenant is possible if you decide you no longer want to rent out the property. Provided your tenant has the funds to pay or get a mortgage, many landlords choose to sell to tenants to cut down on the time it takes to sell a rental.

In this article, we’ll explain how landlords can sell a rental property to a tenant and the steps you need to take.

How to Sell Your Rental Property to a Tenant

1. Get a Valuation

Before selling your property to a tenant, get a valuation of the property to determine what the resale price is. Speaking to an estate agent in the local area is the best way to get an accurate idea of how much you could sell your property to your tenant for.

2. Check Fees

If you already work with a letting agent, check your contract agreement for any fees you may have to pay when selling the property to a tenant. Not all letting agents charge a fee, but some do – particularly if they introduced you to the tenant and hence played a part in arranging the sale.

3. Speak to an Estate Agent

While estate agents are known for marketing your property, they can help with other matters relating to a sale, too. Just because you won’t need to market your property when selling to a tenant, there are other benefits to bringing an estate agent on board.

Working with an estate agent to sell your home to a tenant can also mean they:

• Undertake a valuation of the property
• Support with negotiations for the final sale price
• Check the tenant has the funds to pay
• Liaise with solicitors and mortgage advisors to help progress the sale
• Manage liaison between you as the seller and the tenants as the buyer
• Keep you informed during the selling process

4. Instruct a Solicitor

Just like the sale of any property, you want to work with a high-quality solicitor. When selling your property to a tenant, you ideally want to find a conveyancer that has experience in this particular kind of sale. Ask your estate agent for a recommendation if you need help finding a good solicitor.

5. Serve Notice on the Rental Agreement

Naturally, when selling your property to a tenant, you need to bring the rental agreement to an end. Depending on the terms of your agreement, it may be better for your tenant to serve notice rather than the landlord since the notice period may be shorter. When selling your house to a tenant, many landlords serve notice and agree to exchange simultaneously, so that completion can be in 1-2 months’ time.

Need an Estate Agent?

If you’re selling your property to a tenant, Warren Powell-Richards are your local property experts. Get in touch with us today to book a valuation of your property and talk through how we can help make selling to a tenant as smooth as possible.

Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to talk to one of our friendly agents now.

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Published: 07 November 2023

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Those autumn leaves are falling, creating a carpet of gold and brown on footpaths. The wind blows colder, and people are beginning to sport bobble hats, winter coats and woollen scarves.

It’s late autumn, which will of course lead into winter, and it’s a great time of the year to spruce up your home ready for the colder months ahead, creating a cosy home that you just want to spend time in and enjoy.

It’s fair to say that we absolutely love autumn and winter here at Warren Powell-Richards, so we thought we would take a look at some seasonal trends to help you make your home nice and cosy – and of course look great for viewings if you are selling.

Prepare for the Footprints

First things first, you need to create a space where you, the kids, and the dog can come in out of the cold and mud, and not ruin your flooring or make a big mess! Whether it’s at the back door, or by the front door, this space will help you keep things clean.

It might be that you lay down a larger-than-normal doormat, or use a special covering to protect the carpet. You also may want to install hooks to you’re your coats up straight away.

Put your summer shoes away in a wardrobe and keep your winter footwear out. That way, you can minimise the clutter.

Winter Candles and Cones

Tell us, who doesn’t just love winter smells in the home? Candles are a low-cost way of creating a beautiful winter aroma in your house. Pop one in your halfway, or on a mantlepiece and you have something nice to look at and something delicious to smell too.

And don’t forget, if you have more than one candle, you won’t always need to have all the lights on to create an ambience.

Always make sure you blow your candles out before retiring for the night and be sure that they are placed away from furnishings and fabrics and out of the reach of children and pets.

Outside in, Naturally

When winter comes, leaves are on the ground, twigs are fallen, cones are lying on the path. Gather some up, after first checking that you’re not breaking any rules, and check there are no creepy crawlies hidden away!

The things you collect will make a beautiful natural display inside your home. When the cold weather kicks in, you’ll have some of the outside, indoors.

Don’t go overboard, as too much will look messy. The key is to create something simple and effective, giving a hint of the season. One or two small logs by the fireside will look really attractive.

Dine-in, in Style

Chances are, this year you’ll be spending more time at home. So, why not make your rooms a little bit more special. In the dining room, where you may typically just have a few mats on the table, create a cosy atmosphere by choosing a patterned tablecloth that has hints of autumnal colours. Napkins, again colourful, could be placed on the table, bringing style to the dining room.

There is an abundance of winter room settings in magazines and on the internet. Have a look and find something to your taste. With a bit of creativity, you can turn your house into a cosy winter home.

Lighten up

One thing people seem to do during winter is to switch all the lights on full beam! It really does not create a cosy living space. Yes, dark evenings mean light is needed earlier and earlier, but you don’t need it to be bright.

A standard lamp in a corner could provide the main light, with smaller lamps placed on tables in the living room. You should think about cosiness – softer lighting, rugs on the floor, maybe a throw or two on the sofa.

The atmosphere you create at home can help you through the long winter months. Take time to make it right for you and your loved ones.

We have many years of experience in helping home movers create the perfect setting when selling their property. If we can help you, then please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Published: 07 November 2023

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There Are Several Reasons Why The Process Of Exchanging Contracts Could Be Held Up

For those selling, the process of selling their property can be a stressful one, especially if they’re worried about their completion being delayed. There are several reasons why the process of exchanging contracts could be held up, but the good news is that many of those are avoidable. Our team of experts at Warren Powell-Richards have some advice to help prevent any delays from arising during your sale.

What Can Delay Exchanging Contracts?

The exchange of contracts is a key step in all property transactions since it’s the point at which everything becomes legally binding. It can be an arduous process to get there, though. All transactions are different, so there are lots of different variables that come into play, even if your sale seems like a simple one. Here are some common reasons for delayed completions.

1. Searches, Queries, And Communication

If one of the search results hasn’t yet arrived, the process of contract exchange will be halted until it turns up. Unanswered queries are another common cause of delays. Both the seller and buyer’s solicitors ask questions of the other party, and the exchange of contracts can only proceed after they receive an answer that is satisfactory. If one of the solicitors is slow or unresponsive, delays can occur in the contract exchange process.

Any of the parties involved in the property sale could cause a hold-up if they’re slow in responding to information requests or documentation. But you can speed up the process as much as possible at your end by answering any questions promptly, reading, signing, and returning paperwork quickly, and keeping in touch regularly with your solicitor and estate agent.

2. Issues With The Chain

Most property sales involve a chain of other properties, and if there is a problem anywhere along its various links, every sale and purchase will be held up. For example, if a buyer’s mortgage lender finds something dishonest or untoward about the applicant or property, they can stop the process by withdrawing an offer.

Unfortunately, in some cases, a buyer may also develop cold feet, bringing a halt to the process. Using the services of a reliable estate agent like Warren Powell-Richards is the best way to prevent this, as your agent will communicate with the buyer to find out what their issue is and to offer solutions that will get the chain moving again.

3. Market Conditions

Sometimes, conditions in the property market will affect the length of time you need to wait until the exchange of contracts. If the market is overwhelmed with a lot of sales and purchases, searches will take longer to be returned, and estate agents and solicitors may experience backlogs. Although this only happens rarely, it can be a frustrating cause of delays.

4. Gazundering And Gazumping  

Although the practices of gazundering and gazumping are frowned upon, they still exist in the property market. Until contracts are exchanged, these practices are entirely legal, albeit unethical.

How To Minimise Completion Delays

Although there is little that you can do to prevent delays further down the property chain, choosing the right team of professionals is the best way to avoid issues at your end. Our team of passionate negotiators at Warren Powell-Richards are highly experienced and always work with your best interests at the fore making us a solid choice to handle your sale.

Get in touch today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.