Moving home can be a stressful time and it can be helpful to observe certain guidelines which
have stood the test of time. By sharing these with you I hope that you will gain some benefit
and that you will soon be celebrating having found your ideal Bungalow; hopefully with the help of The Bungalow Centre.
These ‘tips’ are in no particular order and while some may apply to you, others may prove to be
irrelevant. However, observing these guidelines should help you to achieve your goal of buying
your Bungalow with a minimum of confusion and stress.
Decide on Your Needs (rather than your preferences)
Do you need 2 bedrooms or 3? Is a garage absolutely essential? Is a separate dining room of
paramount importance or would a large lounge/dining room suffice?
Decide on your ABSOLUTE criteria… on which you are unwilling or unable to compromise:-
- MUST have minimum of 2 bedrooms
- MUST be on the level, as opposed to a hilly area
- MUST have a small garden
Decide on Your Preferences
You must be clear in your mind and make clear to estate agents the difference between your
absolute needs and your preferences:-
- You may PREFER a Garage but would accept off-road parking and a large garden shed
- You may PREFER a separate Dining Room but would accept a large lounge/dining room
- You may PREFER a 3rd bedroom but could accept a loft hobby room which could be
used as a study and an occasional guest bedroom
Have realistic Expectations
You should be prepared to compromise on some issues:-
- Don’t expect to live in Queens Park (prestigious and expensive), for the price of Kinson (popular and excellent value)
- Don’t expect 2 bathrooms in an inexpensive 2 bedroom Bungalow; perhaps you can add an en-suite or a 2nd WC
- Don’t expect to buy a perfect property, if you are only paying a low price.
- Don’t expect to move in within 4 weeks, when the average is 12 weeks.
- Make good use of the Internet by using using web sites such as www.thebungalowcentre.co.uk or the major UK property search engines in order to conduct your early research; approximately 70% of people do…
- Research property prices with the aid of sites such as www.nethouseprices.com on
which you can find out what properties on a given street have actually sold for; this
information coming direct from the Land Registry database.
Do I find a suitable Bungalow to buy and then sell my existing home?
No, no, no! Because by the time you have put your home on the market and subsequently
found a buyer (probably after many weeks have elapsed) the Bungalow you had chosen will be
sold to another buyer. No seller in their right minds is going to ‘Hold’ their property for you,
unless you are foolish enough to give them a £10,000 non-returnable deposit; this being about
as good a bet as finding a man on the moon.
Choose the right Estate Agent to Market Your Home
This choice is of paramount importance if you are to achieve a good price and not have your
property staying too long on the market.
You should adopt the following procedure:
1. Invite 3 estate agents to meet with you and discuss the marketing of your property
2. Select the agent that you have the most confidence in. Do NOT just choose the agent
that comes up with the highest valuation and the lowest fee… follow your instinct.
3. Pay a reasonable fee… perhaps 1.5%. If an agent is prepared to work for you for a very
low fee such as 1% he cannot value his service very highly…. Is he really going to work
hard to get you the best possible price or is he going to undersell your home and just try
to persuade you to accept a low offer?
4. Adopt a REALISTIC Asking Price. Naturally you want the best price you can get but
remember that if you are too ambitious you will not attract a buyer. If an agent
recommends what seems like an unreasonably high price then ask him to substantiate it
by providing you with comparable properties that he has recently sold.
Don’t start viewing until you are in a position to buy
For reasons already discussed, its pointless to start viewing properties until you have a buyer
for your present home.
The day you accept an offer you can start going to see suitable Bungalows and when you find
‘The One’ you can negotiate a competitive price because you are in a position to do so.
Be Flexible
Wherever possible consider a compromise as there is no such thing as the perfect property…
- If the Bungalow you like needs a new kitchen, then make an ‘offer’ that takes the cost of
this in to account and when you move in you can employ a specialist firm to install the
kitchen of your dreams. Then the kitchen will be exactly what you want; after all you will
have designed it.
- If it doesn’t have the 2nd WC you need, look in to the possibly of having one added… it is
often possible. In fact, the main bedroom may be large enough to created an en-suite
shower & WC… you only need an area of approx 8ft x 3ft.
- If the garden seems a little small, then think to the future when advancing years and stiff
backs may make you very glad that you accepted the smaller rather than insist on the
large garden.
- If the Bungalow doesn’t have a garage ask yourself if this feature is absolutely essential
as perhaps off-road parking and a large garden shed could prove an acceptable
alternative. Alternatively, you may be able to negotiate a reduction in the price which
would enable you to have a garage erected once you have bought the property.
- Don’t necessarily insist on a new Bungalow as often an older Bungalow which has been
expertly modernised can be just as desirable and boast the low-running costs attributable
to modern boilers, insulation measures and double glazing.
Remember why you are moving.
Try to avoid understandable but often unhelpful comparisons with your present home and
remember why you are moving… perhaps you are downsizing or just releasing capital for your
retirement
- A 50ft garden may be of real future benefit as compared to your present 120ft lawn
- The kitchen may be half the size of your present one but perhaps it is large enough?
- It may not have a separate dining room but do you do much entertaining any more?
- It may need occupy such a lovely location but look at the difference in price
Get the best out of your estate agent...
You need to motivate your agent when buying and selling as he will then work his hardest for
YOU. Tell him that you appreciate his efforts and that he compares very favourably with other
estate agents, if this is the case. YOU will then be the buyer that he calls first of all when he
takes on that delectable Bungalow, at such an attractive price. After all, contrary to popular
belief, most estate agents are in fact human beings.
Have we been wasting our time for the past 16 years?
We have, in fact, been helping people to find their ideal Bungalow since 1992.
We believe we can help you for the following reasons:-
- We are Bungalow Specialists and can offer YOU an unrivalled choice of Bungalows.
- We specialise in helping people who are moving here form other parts of the UK; particularly from Greater London
- We will advise YOU as regards the desirable residential areas, and the areas to avoid.
- We will be absolutely honest with YOU regarding the way in which we describe our Bungalows eg the price seems low because it needs a new kitchen and bathroom
- We will listen your specific requirements and then find a suitable selection of Bungalows for YOU and then help you through every step of the buying process.
Let us help you to find your ideal Bungalow, Chalet Bungalow or Park Home…
Let us remove the stress and provide the help and expertise that makes the home buying
process so much more rewarding.
John Nixon
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