Have you ever heard the tale of the Grey Lady of Bosworth Hall? Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire, was home to a poor young woman who fell in love with the gardener. He would visit her every night, but when her devious father discovered their nighttime trysts, he couldn’t accept it! Setting dangerous traps in the garden for his next visit, the Lady Grey ended up trapped instead. Dragging herself back to her room, she bled to death, doomed to forever walk the house and grounds of Bosworth Hall…

The famous Dudley castle is also a renowned haunted building in the West Midlands, home to a ghost couple said to haunt the ruins late at night. Every year a ghost tour is organised for those daring enough to try and spot the eerie revenants around the West Midlands at various spooky locations. According to staff who have to do late checks around the zoo, hurried footsteps can be heard along the corridors and unusual sounds in the dead of night….

John Wentworth of the White Swan Pub, Birmingham apparently went mad with grief when his love fell victim to a terrible coach crash. After shooting his loyal dog, he turned the gun on himself and is said to still haunt the building now,  heard moving around the building and known to tap people on the shoulder.

These are just a few of the haunted properties to be found in the historic West Midlands

So who’s leading the pack when it comes to 90% mortgages?  Well, the Post Office were first to offer the newer type of fixed-rate mortgages, with their 90% mortgage being fixed at 5.49% for two years with a £999 fee to pay on top of that.  The Co-op and Britannia were both quick to follow the Post Office with similar 90% fixed rate mortgage deals, but it’s Santander who seem to be ahead of the game: their mortgage is fixed at 5.99% with a fee of just £495.

Nevertheless, those with a bit of financial know-how would probably advise against going with a mortgage deal simply because it means a lower deposit.  ‘But why?’ I hear you ask!  Well, paying out just five per cent more for your one-off deposit payment could see your long-term interest rates drop considerably, whilst if you could afford a 30% deposit, they could be as low as 2.99%.  So, it’s definitely worth weighing up the advantages of a lower deposit now against the disadvantages of having higher interest rates in the long term.

While you’re pondering over this confusing conundrum, why not take a look at our property section?!  Our trusted sellers upload great new listings to adflyer every day, so whether you’re after a house or flat for sale, a flat or house for rent or even just a room for rent, you could find a great deal with us.

• ‘In need of some modernisation’ = the décor wouldn’t look out of place in a period drama!
• ‘Period property’ = at least ten years old.
• ‘Bijou’ = minuscule.
• ‘Studio’ = glorified broom cupboard.
• ‘Would suit a DIY enthusiast’ = have the scaffolding at the ready!
• ‘Deceptively spacious’ = looks bigger if you squint a bit.
• ‘Fully enclosed private garden’ = square of grass with fence around it.
• ‘Internal inspection recommended’ = keep your eyes closed until you get inside.
• ‘Ideal for busy professionals’ = the less time you spend here the better!

Well, we hope that’s helped to decode the mysterious language that is estate agent speak!  But, if you’re fed up of having to translate every single sentence of a property listing, then the adflyer property section can help.  You’ll find an incredibly wide range of property for sale including houses, flats, overseas property and land with simple listings that are easy to understand.  Plus, our handy ‘contact the seller’ button means that you can find out exactly what you want to know without the headache-inducing jargon!

If you have any tales of ridiculous estate agent speak, leave us a comment and let us know!

When you need it… There are a fair few specific occasions when you’d need to apply for planning permission.  These include:

• Adding to or extending a flat or maisonette, including converting them from a house.
• Dividing off part of your house to use as a separate home, such as a self-contained flat or bedsit.
• Using an existing building or caravan in your garden as a separate dwelling for someone else.
• Building a separate house in your garden.
• Dividing off part of your home for business or commercial use, or building a parking space for a commercial vehicle.
• Building something which is against the original planning permission of the house.  For example, if you’re building a wall or fence which would initially have been considered obstructive or unsightly, you’ll have to apply for planning permission.
• Carrying out work that could obstruct the view of road users.

When you don’t need it… Every home owner has certain ‘permitted development rights’, which means that there are some changes you could make to your house or flat without having to apply for planning permission as long as they meet certain important conditions.  These include:

• Adding a conservatory.
• Converting your loft or altering your roof.
• Fitting solar panels.
• Building a patio or driveway.

When in doubt… If you’re thinking about making changes to your existing house or flat, or you’re about to buy a property you’d want to improve, it’s always best to check if you’d need planning permission before getting started.  The best place to look for advice about this is the Planning Portal: here you’ll find an online application guide and a fee calculator to help you work out how much any planning permission would cost.  Also, don’t forget to keep an eye out on the adflyer property section for your perfect new house or flat: after all, if you find the ideal place, you might not need to worry about planning permission anyway!

But why would the election affect the number of properties on the market?  Well, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) reckon that the current climate of political uncertainty is prompting would-be property vendors to take the leap and put their houses up for sale before any possible radical changes to the property market happen.  In fact, Rics have reported that estate agents saw an average 6% increase in the number of properties on their books in the last month, which is apparently a level of activity not seen since early 2007.

If you’ve been thinking about looking for a new house recently but haven’t known when to take the leap, now could well be a great time to act.  There are many more houses now on the market, but the demand for properties has not yet caught up with this, so experts are predicting that prices will fall in some areas.  So, adflyer’s property section could be a great place to get ahead of the trend and find the perfect deal before everyone else gets in on the act!  We have new listings for houses and flats for sale as well as premises and overseas property added every day by our trusted sellers, so get searching now to take advantage of the current property situation.

Labour. Trying their best to win their fourth general election in a row, Labour is campaigning with the slogan ‘A future fair for all’.  The current government’s most important policy relating to the property market was already outlined in their pre-election budget, and commits to cutting stamp duty for all homes worth less than £250,000 for first-time buyers.  The manifesto outlines how this will be paid for by a five per cent stamp duty rate for all homes worth over £1m, and also promises to build 10,000 rural homes up to 2011.

Conservatives. Bike riding man of the people David Cameron also outlined plans to cut stamp duty for first-time buyers in the Tory manifesto, but unlike Labour, they’ve committed to keeping the threshold at £250,000 permanently.  The Tories claim that thanks to this policy, nine out of ten first-time buyers would be saved from the extra cost and hassle of stamp duty.

Liberal Democrats. The last of the three main parties to unveil its manifesto, the Lib Dems have launched a four-step plan centred on fairness and they seem to have a few more policies on property than the others.  For instance, Nick Clegg and chums want to introduce a ‘mansion tax’ for homes worth over £2m to help reduce the public deficit, as well as an ‘Eco Cash-Back’ scheme to give out £400 for property owners to make eco-friendly improvements to their homes.  Also, the Lib Dems want to tackle the huge problem of abandoned and neglected houses in the UK by providing grants and cheap loans to help get 250,000 empty houses back into full use.

Well, we hope you’re now feeling a little bit better informed about the general election and you’ll be able to make your mind up about who to vote for come Election Day.  Plus, if you’re looking to up sticks any time soon, have a browse through the adflyer property section.  We’ve got a great range of houses and flats for sale as well as flats, houses and rooms for rent for you to peruse, so get looking now!

Thanks to conditions in the mortgage and property markets improving slowly and steadily, many mortgage providers have been getting in on the act and cutting their mortgage rates since the start of the year. The Post Office, for instance, have recently cut the rates for their fixed-rate mortgages for the fourth time this year, whilst Woolwich and Nationwide are also following suit with reduced rates for a lot of their mortgage products.

How do these cuts affect mortgage rates overall? Well, the average rate for a two year fixed-rate mortgage has decreased from 4.88% in January to 4.72% in April, whilst the average cost for a two-year tracker mortgage has gone down from 3.77% to 3.58%. This might not seem like an awful lot in real monetary terms, but there has been a significant increase in the number of mortgages on offer: the number of mortgage products available for those borrowing up to 90% of their new home’s value has risen by 21%, whilst those looking to borrow up to 80% will find an impressive 63% more mortgage products than were around at the start of the year.. This means that if you use your noggin and do a bit of shopping around, there are great mortgage deals to be found to help you get your dream house or flat.

So, once you’ve decided to take advantage of the current decrease in mortgage rates and look for that dream house or flat for sale, start the search with adflyer. Our property section has a great range of houses, flats, land, premises and overseas property for sale, with our trusted sellers uploading fantastic new listings to the site every day.

Although this may be bad news for those with smaller budgets looking for a house or flat for sale by the seaside, this rise in property prices could make coastal property a lucrative nest egg for those on the look-out for a second home.  With the current unstable economic situation, many people are considering turning a second property into a holiday let as an alternative to other traditional investments.  In fact, there has been a recent increase of over 40% in second home purchases located within the small group of the country’s top seaside locations known as the ‘Savills 14’.

This ever-increasing interest in the coastal property market is set to be given a further boost thanks to a new wave of investment schemes and redevelopment projects coming to a whole host of seaside resorts including Hastings, Dover, Sidmouth, Boscombe, Bridlington and Torquay.  So, those looking for a bargain on a great seaside property should keep an eye on these up and coming coastal locations: they could soon be holiday hot-spots full of potential rental income, or just a great long-term investment.

If all of this makes you feel like packing up and heading for the coast, then adflyer can help you find the perfect seaside property.  In our property section, you can narrow down your search for a house or flat for sale by choosing the number of bedrooms or bathrooms you’re after, as well as setting a location to search within.  Also, don’t forget we have a great range of flats and houses for rent too, and our sellers are always adding fantastic new overseas property for sale to tempt you into starting a new life in the sunshine.

So, what does all this mean?  Well, if you read adflyer’s very first property blog entry, you’ll know that stamp duty is a tax paid on all property, with an extra 1-4% of the property’s sale value being payable to the tax man.  Therefore, if our calculations are correct, you could save up to £10,000 on stamp duty fees when buying your first home.  Plus, nearly 70% of all properties currently on the market in the UK would now be exempt from stamp duty for first-time buyers, meaning there’s no shortage of great deals to snap up!

Although this change in the stamp duty threshold is set to be around for a while (the Tories have previously pledged to change the threshold to £250,000 if they win the election), it’s already under fire from economists and financial know-it-alls for being too costly to the economy.  So, if you’re looking for that all-important first step on the property ladder, it might be a good idea to get a move on to avoid missing out.  To get your property search started, take a look at adflyer’s property section: our sellers are adding fantastic listings for houses and flats for sale to the site every day, so you could find a great deal sooner than you think!

What is a listed building? Put simply, a listed building is one which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has deemed to be of historical or architectural importance.  This means that if you’re living in or buying a listed building, any building work you’re planning on doing that might affect the original character of the house needs to be approved by your local planning authority.

What do the different grades mean? When it comes to listed buildings, there are three different grades according to the importance of the individual property: 2.5% of all listed buildings are Grade 1 listed, and are considered to be of exceptional interest; Grade 2* listed properties make up 5.5% of listed buildings which are of special interest; and 92% of those listed are Grade 2, which is the most likely grade of property for home owners.

How would all of this affect me? Don’t worry, listing isn’t designed to prevent change of any kind, it’s just a way to ensure that changes made to a listed building don’t take away the features that have made it special in the first place.  Government planning guidance allows for alterations, extensions and even demolition in some cases, so don’t panic!

How can I find out if a property is listed? If you think the house you’re interested in might be listed, you can contact your local planning authority to find out more.  Or, take a look at the English Heritage website if you just want some more information about listed buildings and the implications of buying one.

Well, we hope that all of this has made the words ‘listed building’ seem a little bit less scary!  Don’t forget that if you look after it properly and get the necessary permission before making any changes, a listed building can make a beautiful and unique home.  Plus, you just might be able to make a tidy profit on it in the future!