In Bramhope we have recently formed ‘Dementia Friends’ as a way of providing support and help for not only people living with dementia but also for those caring for someone who is.

As part of this initiative we are launching the Care for a Cuppa Café – this will take place on the first Tuesday of each month in Bramhope and is an opportunity to come along, share a cuppa, a cake and conversation.

The first Care for a Cuppa will take place on March 3rd in the Robert Craven Hall from 1.30pm – 3.30pm at a cost of £2 per person. Activities will include quizzes, crafts, exercises, games, singing, music and reminiscence but also to provide some time to provide support for carers too.

David Phillip Estate Agents are pleased to be supporting ‘Care for a Cuppa’ – Lesa Brown from David Phillip commented “Care for a Cuppa will provide people living with dementia an opportunity to feel a valued member of the community whilst also forming a new social network. For carers it is a place where their role is respected and valued whilst providing local support that is much needed – we are delighted to be involved” .

If you require further information regarding this event, please call on 01134 676 400 or e-mail catherinebirkby@outlook.com, We look forward to the first meeting in Bramhope for people living with dementia as well as their carers too.

Get serious about saving water - fix leaks and dripping taps, some really small lifestyle changes can make a difference too, don’t run the tap when brushing your teeth, install a low flush shower head and take a shower rather than a bath

Turn it off – hit the off button rather than leaving your electricals on standby – you could see huge improvements, most noticeably in your energy bills

Install a smart meter and ensure it is only turned on at certain times of the day, turn down your energy heater too  – this can help reduce your carbon footprint and decrease energy bills.

Energy efficient light bulbs use less electricity but also last longer (some may last up to 13 years each!) saving money on replacing them

Install solar panels – providing you with completely clean electricity, they can sometimes make enough energy to enable you to sell some back to the grid

Fill your dishwasher all the way before running it, and if you can’t resist using it, run on the ‘top rack only’ instead of doing a full cycle – and if possible run later at night in off peak hours

Embrace natural cleaning products – using chemicals to clean is very bad for the environment, when you wash them away, you are simply putting them back into the environment – this means the water will take more purification before it is safe to use again. Day to day products like vinegar, citric acid from citric fruits and bicarbonate of soda can be used in place of caustic chemicals to great effect

One of the smartest ways to improve your home’s eco-friendliness is to ensure that you use as little energy as possible. Investing in insulation is a great way to do this . Good insulation will hold in the heat meaning you don’t need to burn energy re-heating the home all the time. Within the walls and the roof are the areas to consider but it can also be smart to consider double glazing any windows.

Have your food shop delivered – one van driving around is much better than having hundreds of cars making their way to the supermarket

Use your microwave – much more energy efficient than conventional ovens, and try not to keep the oven door open when switched on

Don’t waste Kitchen scraps and leftovers, simply place a compost bin in your garden – it is surprising how much food that you currently throw away can be recycled

Buy re-cycled – whenever you notice there is a recycled option available, for something like kitchen roll it may be worth purchasing, and use fewer of them too – not only can you buy re-cycled paper but also technology like gaming consoles, mobiles

and finally… buy local, the closer to home products are made and bought the less carbon is created with their transportation – not only that but you’ll be supporting the local community  – Bramhope, North Leeds has some amazing local shops using local produce – it is a great place to live too, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with a great infrastructure to help you make the most of an eco- friendly lifestyle .

for further details call David Phillip Estate Agents t ; 01134 676 400 w: davidphillip.co.uk

House prices increased by an average 33.7% in the last decade and despite being relatively flat over the last couple of years, due to the uncertainties surrounding Brexit, are set to rise by a further 15.3%, according to latest predictions, in the next 5 years. However, there are likely to be significant regional differences with properties in the North of England expected to see the strongest price growth of 24% between 2020 and 2024. Central London properties are also set for a rebound with predictions of 20% growth and only 5% growth in Greater London.

According to Rightmove, the property market will increase by 2% in 2020. But that a lack of supply, with demand remaining high, could push prices higher. Added to which, low interest rates, lenders competing to lend, high unemployment and a continued growth in wages, helps buyer affordability.

So, if you are planning on buying  or renting a property in 2020, how will this impact you?

1. House prices are forecast to grow by 2% in 2020, but stocks are expected to remain low. So, if you are thinking of buying, now is the time to get your property on the market, so that you're ready to move when the right property comes along. If you're renting, the number of letting properties are likely to remain low, which could prompt an increase in prices.
2. First-time buyers. Schemes such as The Lifetime ISA, will help people raise the deposit required to buy a property. Which typically can be up to 20%. The good news is that interest rates are expected to remain low, which will make mortgages more affordable.
3. Brexit. After the UK leaves the European Union on January the 31st, there will be some uncertainty surrounding the housing market. Currently confidence levels are high, so the 'Boris effect' may help property prices remain buoyant. A weak pound however, could encourage more overseas investors entering the market as this makes UK property relatively inexpensive.

So, if you are looking to change career, you may have decided that your new role involves something less office based, perhaps working from home may also be an option – this can provide lots of benefits including, less money and time spent on the daily commute, working hours that are more flexible, no office distractions, a customised environment as well as many health benefits too. 

The home environment, may be one that works well for you and the company you work for, but how do you get the most from working from home:- 

- Structure your day as you would a working one (pretend that you are actually going to work) 

- Try to segment what you do over the course of the day – and don’t feel guilty if you take a break, working from home in the right environment usually means you are more productive anyway 

- Take advantage of the morning hours – plan through meaty projects without any distractions 

- Leave calls and virtual meetings for the afternoon, having un-interrupted time can help with higher productivity. 

- If you work from home but have other members of the family around, remind them that just because you are working from home, doesn’t mean that you are at home, and try not to allow friends to drop by. 

- Make use of free or inexpensive communications technology 

- Put a definite finishing time in each day (as if you had a train to catch) 

- Choose a dedicated work space, that provides you with a place where you might specifically ‘work’ 

If you have decided that working from home is a serious possibility in 2020, then you need to ensure you have somewhere within your home that you can call your ‘office’. 

Take a look at 5, Far Row, at the end of the garden is a heated ‘garden room’ – the perfect office! Here you can feel like you are actually ‘going to work’ albeit your daily commute is one surrounded by lovely woodland and a variety of garden birds and wildlife! 

The ‘Garden Room’ is an ideal space for working, far enough away from the main house to avoid distractions, but close enough to feel at home. Far Row is located at the top of Pool Bank, Pool-in-Wharfedale, and although surrounded by woodland is close enough to all the main roads, stations into Leeds and Leeds Bradford Airport too, plus an easy drive to Otley, Harrogate and Bradford when you need to visit the office. 

Fully heated for winter, but with French doors for summer – what better place could you find to have a more productive working day? – no sound of traffic, just peace and quiet (apart from the sound of birds singing!). 

5, Far Row definitely requires an early inspection, this lovely 3 bedroom cottage has many unique features and is located in lovely setting. Marketed at £410,000 by David Phillip Estate Agents, take a look at the property on Rightmove – with 3D virtual tour and Local area video or call 01134 676 400 to arrange a viewing

• Keep them involved, it may be help with wrapping presents, putting up some decorations or involvement in preparing the meal or laying the table. Try and keep things as close to the usual routine as possible and introduce the Christmas environment slowly – put decorations up gradually so that it doesn’t come as a big change to the person’s usual setting.
• If the person living with dementia is taking any medication, ensure they have enough to get through the festive period
• Create a quiet space – on Christmas Day the house will generally be full of people, which can seem overwhelming. If you have a quiet room this can be really helpful, and if friends and relatives are visiting over the festive period, try to space out the visits
• Christmas traditions don’t have to be set in stone, but flexibility is key. Sometimes it is important to let go of expectations to ensure that everyone is happy. Help them enjoy the day – however ordinary or special it becomes
• Keep things as simple as you can – even the Christmas decorations or the Christmas tree can be a source of confusion if your loved one can’t remember that things change over Christmas.
• Christmas is a time for indulgence, but a full plate can be overwhelming and if your relative gets tired later in the day then you may want to consider eating at lunchtime. This may also be helpful if they are returning back to a home which is better in daylight
• Bring back some old memories, watch films that the family used to watch and find something fun that they can take part in – video the big day and take photographs to share.
• If someone can’t remember it’s Christmas, don’t keep reminding them all the time as this can cause anxiety
• Try not to be disappointed if they show little or no interest in decorations, cards or presents

Also it is important to think about the carers too – take some time out or plan an afternoon or evening away from the family to give yourself a break.

For people living with Dementia, Christmas can be particularly stressful, but the rest of the year can be challenging too.

In Bramhope, we are building a dementia friendly community. Part of this is providing a meeting place for people living with dementia and their carers too.

Our Care for a cuppa café, will take place on the first Tuesday of each month in Bramhope – the first café will take place on March 3rd at 1.30pm. Invitations will be distributed soon, but if you require further information please contact catherinebirkby@outlook.com

Here at David Phillip estate Agents, we are also working to become a dementia friendly environment  for people buying and selling homes . For more details tel 01134 676 400 w:davidphillip.co.uk   

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The new standard will better protect buyers and sellers, with consumers fully understanding the importance and benefits of commissioning a home survey before purchasing a property, as the process and language has undergone simplification and survey offerings are standardised.

The new Home Survey Standard will increase consistency, transparency and competency across residential surveying in the UK. The updated standard aims to deliver not only clarity to the process, but more open communication which will greatly benefit property transactions and will make sure consumers fully understand the process, the different levels of surveys and get the level they need.

At David Phillip Estate Agents we think that this is good  progress, Lesa Brown (Director) commented “having recently opened David Phillip Estate Agents in #Bramhope, #northleeds we are keen to streamline and improve the home-buying and selling process, David Phillip is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors  which enables us to work effectively to meet the changing needs of the market, something that definitely needs to be accelerated”.

For further details contact David Phillip Estate Agents on 01134 676 400

Set up in 2015, the scheme sees the government match any contributions that you make towards the H2B ISA by 25 percent up to the limit of £12,000 by contributing a maximum of £3,000

It is available to people over the age of 16, but you can only apply for it if you have not owned or part–owned a home before – and this includes anywhere in the world.

The help to buy ISA’s  are available to each first-time buyer, not each home, so if you are buying with your partner, for example you will be able to get up to £6,000 towards your deposit.

Instruct your solicitor or conveyancer to apply for your government bonus once your offer has been accepted – don’t wait until completion as this will be too late.

Once they receive the Government bonus, it will be added to money you are putting towards your first home.

November 30th deadline

While you can start the ISA with a deposit of up to £1,200, if you don’t have that much to hand right now, you can put in as little as £1 to get started, which means that you are able to secure your ISA before the deadline of November 30th.

Once you have set up the ISA you can bring your total up to £15,000 with the maximum contribution from the government of £3,000.

So … if you are a first time buyer, move quickly to get on the property ladder, and if you are looking for a great starter home, take a look at a duplex apartment we are currently selling on Moor Road in #Bramhope, #NorthLeeds and if you would like further information regarding  the Government ISA t 01134 676 400 w:davidphillip.co.uk 

Businesses can make a big difference for people with dementia by making a commitment to become more dementia friendly. It is important that organisations consider the role they can play by being supportive to staff as well as customers. This really got me thinking about how our business could  adjust work practises to ensure our environment is more dementia friendly .

People

Employers who have a greater understanding of Dementia will provide a more supportive Customer Experience.

Training is key. There are many videos, e-learning and presentations available on-line that provide an understanding of dementia as well as business case studies – At David Phillip, we have reviewed our company values, ethos and customer journey to ensure we are supporting customers affected – all this will be embedded in employee induction.

Call centres are one of the most frustrating areas for any client but for someone living with dementia this is worse – our company offers one point of contact and extra hand holding throughout the house sale process which is much more beneficial and customer focussed.

Fortunately, our Associate Director Trudy Petrow has had full training on being a Dementia Champion and Trainer, this will enable us to recognise and support people with cognitive decline.

Place

If you are aware that a vendor has onset dementia, it is probably better to conduct business in their own environment or home, however by completing a building audit, there are some simple things that can be done to make things easier if they need to visit your office:-

• Is there sufficient parking or a drop off area, is the entrance well lit? A welcome mat that’s a block of different colour can actually be quite unwelcoming and threatening to someone with dementia.
• Is there good signage at eye level, are glass doors clearly marked and with contrasting coloured handles that are easy to see?  Something as small as a chair close to the building entrance can make all the difference as can a pair of reading glasses to use in the office.
• Is there a quiet area where someone can relax, are toilets signposted well and large enough if help is required, is the crockery easy to use?
• Has the office lots of straight lines to reduce confusion, are table edges round though and are chairs placed well apart?

Process

• Is the website clear, and are there alternative sources of information available?
• We will be carrying the Dementia  Friends logo on collateral to raise awareness.
• Complete a full audit on promotional literature, is it dementia friendly? no jargon or italics. Bold text and headings plus bullet points are key.
• Marketing material should be printed in a larger font if required
• Use more photographs than illustrations and ensure no overlay on photographs

We have re-visited our customer experience and reviewed our services – decluttering, always accompanied viewings, help with home staging and even getting keys cut can make things easier for someone living with dementia.

Lesa Brown a Director at David Phillip commented “Bramhope will be recognised as a dementia friendly community, we want people to live the life they want to live and as a local business we need to ensure that we create an environment and customer experience that supports this too ” 

The Real Estate advisor believes that values in our Region will rise by 21.6 percent between 2020 and 2024 v a UK average of 15.3 percent, although the calculations assume that the forthcoming General Election does not result in a significant shift in policy and that the UK achieves an orderly exit from the EU over the course of 2020 and avoids recession.

“markets further from the capital, such as Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield were much slower to recover post financial crisis and have much greater capacity for house price growth  relative to incomes, even as interest rates rise”.

Savills also carried out exclusive research for Property Post showing how property values have fared in Yorkshires local authority areas over the past 10 years.

Harrogate is the most expensive place to buy a home, but Leeds was fourth with a rise of 30.5%  - this shows that despite Brexit, Yorkshire remains in a positive position.

So if you are looking to move at the beginning of next year when in 2020 Yorkshire and Humber prices are due to rise by 2% call David Phillip Estate Agents for a free market appraisal and take advantage of the Rightmove audience spike  that takes place from Boxing Day to January , we also have 3d virtual tours and local area videos to ensure that your property gets the best publicity coming into 2020.

T: 011134 676 400 w: davidphillip.co.uk  

I read with interest that the Government has announced an initiative to use Proptech (Property technology) to ‘digitally transform house buying’ – this will help to speed up how we buy and sell homes. Having previously worked in the agile world of advertising and marketing in my opinion this is not before time.

However KPMG suggest that just 58% of real estates have a digital strategy in place.

Most companies use Proptech to streamline processes and reduce costs, but 40% have cited customer engagement as a motivation for adopting prop tech solutions – at David Phillip Estate Agents we totally agree, that all technology should enhance the Customer journey.

Findings from the Property Academy home moving trends survey analysis by our data provider Dataloft and based on 15,000 responses suggested that using technology has and will have a positive impact on the experience of buying /selling.

Easing paperwork, providing 24/7 property updates, arranging viewings and valuations online and creating options for virtual viewings were all seen as positive ways in which technology can aid the move  process.

Using tech solutions to share local market knowledge was highlighted by over one third of respondents.

At David Phillip Estate agents our mantra is ‘people sell houses enabled by technology and modern techniques’, with a ‘digital strategy’ to support, we were therefore pleased to see via the analysis from Dataloft that people want exactly what we see as priorities.

Paperwork – we use Property file, which enables buyers and sellers to be up to date with their house move via technology 24/7

Virtual viewings allow potential buyers to view properties from the comfort of their armchair 24/7 and on whichever device they choose. For the vendor this means their property is always an open house and show-home ready – virtual viewings also ensure that ‘face to face ’viewings are made by serious buyers only.

Property videos – take a look at our local area videos, filmed showing the local area at its glorious best – when people are looking to move, it is not just about the house they are purchasing but the area and the community too – take a look at our video of #bramhope, #adel, #otley #pool-in-wharfedale – what lovely places to live.

Local Knowledge – David Phillip has over 30 years’ experience selling properties in North and West Yorkshire. As a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors  – you know you are dealing with someone who has taken qualifications to provide the very best advice when selling or buying a home. With a local office in Bramhope we are ‘hyper-local’ which is a great benefit for our customers.

So if you are looking to sell your home, choose an Estate Agent who has invested in the most up to date technology ‘proptech’ to ensure the best customer experience.

For a free market appraisal t: 01134 676 400 w:davidphillip.co.uk