With your finances sorted and a mortgage in principle in hand, it's time for the exciting bit: actually looking at homes. This is where Rightmove tabs multiply overnight and your weekends start filling up with viewings. Here's how to do it properly.
So you've decided you want to buy your first home. Brilliant. That feeling of having your own place, your own front door, your own space — there's nothing quite like it. But before you start falling in love with listings on Rightmove, there's one conversation that needs to happen first: money.
The UK property market can be unpredictable, swinging between a seller's and a buyer's advantage. Understanding how to adapt your strategy is crucial for success, whether you are looking to buy or sell.
More households are reassessing space in early 2026. If your home feels tighter than it once did, this spring may offer the right conditions to move up.
May brings two bank holidays and a half-term break, offering fantastic opportunities to explore Plymouth and the wider Devon area. As your local estate agents, we've put together some ideas to help you make the most of this vibrant time.
Welcome to our April 2026 market update. At Smeaton Homes, Plymouth's Landmark Estate Agents, we believe in providing clear, fact-led insights into both the national and local property landscape. Let's delve into what the market is telling us this month.
It is a fair question and one worth answering honestly. Using a letting agent costs money, and if you are weighing up whether the fee is justified, you deserve a straight answer rather than the obvious one from someone who has a financial interest in the outcome.
There is a difference between finding a tenant and finding the right tenant. It sounds obvious but it shapes everything about how a letting should be approached, from how a property is presented and where it is advertised, to what kind of applicants it attracts and how they are assessed.
While you are thinking through your next steps, this checklist is worth working through regardless of which direction you go. Getting your property into the right shape before it goes to market will help it let faster, attract better tenants, and set the tone for the entire tenancy.
Most sellers have a clear picture of what they want from the moment their home goes on the market: good photos, on Rightmove, viewings booked. What is less clear is what should be happening in the weeks that follow, and what a genuinely good agent looks like once the initial excitement of launch has settled down.
Choosing an estate agent is one of those decisions that is easy to make quickly and harder to undo if it goes wrong. Most people spend more time researching a new appliance than they do the agent who will be responsible for selling their most valuable asset.
Whether you are about to go on the market or still weighing up your options, getting your home ready properly is one of the most valuable things you can do. The good news is that the things that genuinely move the needle rarely cost very much. It is mostly time, thought, and a willingness to see your home through a buyer's eyes.