The professional view

There are plenty of good reasons to extend your existing property in London, rather than move.

No-one buys a new property without a structural building survey. However, few people focus on how a country house actually ‘works’. Here are some of the key areas that you can ‘survey’ to get a good picture of how well the practical elements are working and what you may need to upgrade.

Property transactions in Scotland are governed by separate property laws to those in England and Wales. Here’s some basic information to highlight the differences.

Pricing of mortgages varies significantly between lenders, dependent on factors such as loan to value ratio, loan size, income and general financial status. Comparison websites and ‘best buy’ tables cannot hope to reflect all of this. It takes experience and expertise to weigh up all of the variables and recommend the right lender, and more importantly, negotiate the right deal.

‘Attended exchange’ is an option when you need to exchange contracts as soon as possible. This usually happens when a cash buyer has a very strong interest in the property.…

There are a number of grants available for agricultural land. It’s worth factoring these into the financial equation when you are looking at a country estate. Help is at hand.…

Property in London is inevitably subject to targeting by both opportunists and professionals. It’s perfectly possible, however, to implement simple security measures to protect your assets and your family without disrupting your lifestyle.

Owning agricultural land brings a myriad of management options. The expertise, resources and equipment needed to manage your land can be sourced through contracting and partnership, outright purchase or ad hoc hire of help, for example.

Conveyancing principles are the same, irrespective of the property. Yet the practicalities of buying a country house with grounds, swimming pool, stables, paddocks and staff accommodation are worlds away from those which apply to buying a smart town-house. So who is going to be best placed to deliver a smooth conveyance?

The majority of buyers of country houses and estates will be contemplating improvements even before completion. Accurately estimating the cost of your project, and staying within budget is never simple.