Category: Property

I remember standing in a damp meadow near Sevenhampton back in ’94, watching a young couple look absolutely shell-shocked because a farmer’s tractor had just rumbled through what they thought was their private, secluded garden. They had been sold a dream of total isolation, but they hadn’t looked at the old tithe maps or the […]

I remember standing in a draughty hallway in a mid-Victorian terrace near Hungerford back in ’94, watching a young couple beam at their “new” home. They’d been sold a dream, but all I could smell was that unmistakable, heavy scent of stagnant earth creeping up from behind the skirting boards. They thought a bit of […]

I remember sitting in a draughty solicitor’s office in Salisbury back in ’94, watching a young couple stare in absolute horror at a stack of conveyancing papers. They had just put a deposit down on a lovely mid-Victorian cottage near Sherborne, only to find out that a centuries-old legal quirk could potentially land them with […]

I remember standing in a muddy garden near Sevenoaks back in ’94, watching a young couple look absolutely gutted because their dream cottage had turned into a plumbing nightmare. They’d been told by a slick estate agent that the drainage was “fine,” only to find out three weeks after moving in that the system was […]

I remember standing in a drafty hallway in a converted barn near Chawton back in ’98, watching a young surveyor stare at a glossy brochure while ignoring the massive damp patch creeping up the north-facing wall. He was talking about “market trends” and “comparable assets,” but he wasn’t looking at the fact that the access […]

I remember standing in the garden of a lovely mid-century detached in Upper Slaughter back in ’98, watching a young couple look absolutely gutted because they couldn’t put up the timber pergola they’d spent months planning. They’d done everything by the book—checked the survey, looked at the floorboards, even the damp proof course—but they’d completely […]

I was standing on the corner of High Street last Tuesday, watching a young couple stare blankly at a planning notice pinned to a lime tree, when it hit me just how much nonsense is floating around regarding conservation area rules explained. They looked like they were waiting for a sign from above, rather than […]

I was sitting in the draughty village hall last Tuesday, listening to a young man in a sharp suit explain that you need a six-figure consultancy fee just to figure out how to get planning permission for a simple garden studio. It’s enough to make you want to pack up and move to a flat […]

I was sitting in a drafty sitting room in a mid-century conversion near Salisbury last Tuesday, listening to a young couple argue over a stack of legal documents that looked thick enough to stop a bullet. They were terrified, and frankly, they should have been; they were being sold a dream of homeownership while being […]

I remember standing in the driveway of a lovely 1930s semi in Upper Clatford back in ’98, watching a heavy autumn downpour turn the bottom of the lane into a proper stream. The agent was busy talking about the “characterful features” and the “proximity to the village green,” but I wasn’t looking at the roses; […]