Anyone who’s ever house-hunted, read a property’s particulars or viewed a house or flat escorted by an estate agent will know about the amusing yet infuriating phenomenon of estate agent speak.  But for the uninitiated, let me explain: estate agent speak is the ancient art of exaggerating a house’s features or stretching the truth to fool us into thinking that a dilapidated, run-down old house is actually a fantastic property that we should snap up right away.  Of course, we understand that anyone who’s ever sold anything will talk up their item to increase the chances of a sale, but estate agent speak can sometimes be verging on the ridiculous!  Take a look at some of our favourite terms used by estate agents, and the handy adflyer translation provided…

• ‘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 it comes to buying a house or flat, any home owner will tell you about the mountains of paperwork, bureaucracy and phone calls needed to make everything run smoothly.  But this can seem like a walk in the park when compared to applying for planning or permission to make changes to a property.  So, just what is planning permission?  When do you need to get it, and how do you go about it?  Whether you’re thinking about making changes to your existing property, or you’re considering buying a house or flat that will need some work, adflyer can help.  We’ve done our research into this planning permission lark, and found out just what it’s all about…

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!

At the moment everyone from news readers to T.V. presenters and even celebrity bloggers seem incapable of talking about anything other than the upcoming general election and this can get a bit much at times.  But, the issues being raised on the campaign trail are very important to us all and all this political malarkey can have a serious impact on every aspect of our lives, including the properties we buy and sell.  The most recent example of this is the news from some of the country’s top property know-it-alls that there has been a surge in the number of properties for sale across the UK thanks to the imminent general election.

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.