Q. We moved into our first property, a ground floor London flat, in October last year. Until recently, we never heard anything from upstairs but our neighbours above recently installed laminate flooring. The noise transmission is a real problem. Before we make a hash of it, could you advise how to broach this sensitive subject with our neighbours who are a lovely couple only living a normal life, albeit on flooring which echoes like a cave!

A. The issue must be handled delicately as you do not want to inflame the situation nor get into a dispute with your neighbour, something which would have to be declared to any prospective buyer in the future. I would ask one of the couple down for a coffee when both are in, where it might be easier to demonstrate to them the sound transmission from their flat to yours. If you say that you can hear every detail of their conversation, this could embarrass them into keeping quieter. If the problem does not resolve itself and a rug doesn’t do any good, you could offer to have a builder (at your cost) uplift and relay their flooring over special sound insulation boards such as produced and sold by specialist acoustics firm DomesticSoundproofing.co.uk, but I fear this would be disproportionately expensive. Sadly, your situation is typical of the issues caused by the modern vogue of installing cheap, thin wooden or laminate flooring. If problems persist, your neighbours refuse and you really cannot live with the noise, you may need to, reluctantly, up the stakes by contacting your local EHO (Environmental Health Officer) and keeping a noise diary. The EHO will be able to advise if the level of noise constitutes a statutory nuisance.

Got a burning property question? Leave it in a comment or email us and Barry will give you an answer.

Q. Our home is situated in a small rural hamlet. Between our house and the one next door is a strip of land owned by a person who lives three doors down and who uses it to keep a couple of ponies. We would like to acquire the land as the owner is a very elderly man and we are fearful what might happen should he pass away and leave it to people who do not care about the two houses either side of the land. We currently have a small mortgage on our home so finance shouldn’t be a problem. Would we need to apply for a remortgage or will we have to apply for a separate mortgage on the land?

A. Yes, you could remortgage subject to your having sufficient equity in your home and a good credit rating. Alternatively, if you have had your mortgage for a while and are not tied in to any existing offer or deal, you could ask an independent broker such as John Charcol to take a fresh look at the whole market to find another more competitive deal. It could well be the case that if the land is not prohibitively expensive, a new, increased mortgage particularly with today’s excellent deals, actually costs less than you are currently paying. In the first instance though, you will need to try and strike up a dialogue with the land owner. Given the circumstances you present, this could be a tall order!

Q. I live in a sympathetically restored 1858 cottage and am currently thinking about replacing the flooring in the sitting room with genuine reclaimed oak floorboards. My dilemma is that I have beautiful original high skirting boards which are in fine order. Should I lay the floor and adjust that to size or would it be better to take up the skirting and lay the oak boards underneath?

A. If you have sufficient skills and the right toolkit, by all means take up the skirting as fitting your flooring underneath will always provide the more professional finish. However, please be mindful that your internal walls behind the skirting are probably made up of old lath and plaster. This will be extremely crumbly and should you take off the skirting, you could be storing up all manner of problems when it is eased away from the wall, leaving you with an expensive and time-consuming re-plastering job which could lead you to have to re-size the presently perfectly fitting skirting boards. If you decide not to remove the skirting, you must allow a 10mm expansion gap around the perimeter and use a suitable beading or moulding to cover this gap. It is not an authentic finish by any means but less complicated than skirting removal.

Amidst all the economic doom and gloom, there’s a glimmer of hope for property sellers in prime areas of London. It’s been revealed that the asking prices of properties increased again in January 2009, for the third successive month.

This is highlighted in our latest House Price Index, which is based on an analysis of the prime market in the most prestigious areas of London (and included a sample of over 62,000 properties). Property prices were found to have risen across all five areas of London, with the highest increase noted in West/South West London where a rise of 2.29% was recorded. The property market was particularly good in Chiswick and Hammersmith, where the asking prices of properties rose by 14.3% month on month.

Agents are reporting that there’s been more interest in property over the last three months – particularly from savvy overseas buyers who are keen to benefit from the weak pound.

The House Price Index also revealed that the average weekly rental prices in prime London properties have fallen. Whilst this isn’t great news for landlords, it does put tenants in a great position, especially if they’re willing to negotiate on price.

If you’re an owner of a listed property, or are interested in purchasing a listed property, then there’s a show taking place this weekend that could be right up your street.

The third annual Listed Property Show, which is organised by the Listed Property Owners Club (LPOC), is taking place at Olympia in London on Saturday February 21st (10am–5pm) and Sunday 22nd (10am-4pm). The show aims to offer practical advice and inspiration to homeowners who are looking to restore or refurbish their listed properties. On hand will be plenty of listed property experts and nearly 150 specialist suppliers, who will be showcasing their products and services.

Also taking place during each day of the show will be a number of informative lectures. Some of the highlights from the lecture programme on Saturday 21st February include a look at VAT and the listed building, advice about understanding dampness, a talk on energy efficiency and a look at how you can get the best out of your local council when dealing with planning issues.

On Sunday 22nd February, there’s a chance to delve into the past with a talk looking at how you can go about tracing the history of your house, plus repeats of some of the lectures from Saturday, so you don’t miss out if you’re only able to attend for one day.

Tickets to the Listed Property Show are free of charge. It’s possible to turn up and register on the day, or you can apply for a ticket in advance by registering on their website. For more ideas of what could be in store, why not browse the gallery of highlights from 2008’s show.

Q. My family and I have just moved into a lovely smallholding property on the Pembrokeshire coast. As our region is one with a healthy reputation for inclement weather, is there any way we can do our bit for the environment and help our pockets at the same time?

A. In Wales, you get gallons of rain each year so why not try rainwater harvesting? In essence, rainwater harvesting means channelling your rainwater downpipes to either a series of water butts or some larger more permanent storage tank for use during the summer. The benefits of this are two-fold. Firstly, you get a good supply of free water to use on your garden during times of dry weather, as well as for your greenhouse plants and for washing the car. The second benefit is if enough people harvest rainwater, it could reduce flood risk in areas prone to flooding as a larger volume of storm water is kept out of the main water system. Further advice on all aspects of rainwater harvesting can be found at FreeRain.co.uk.

Q. My partner and I are looking to buy a repossessed property at auction as they are more affordable in the area we live in. My query is how do we obtain a mortgage on an auction property?

A. Buying property at auction is different to a conventional sale as the deal is binding at the fall of the hammer, where you are expected to hand over a 10% deposit. In a traditional deal, you are free to withdraw even if you have made an offer which has previously been accepted. If you fail to complete on an auction property with a 28 day period, you will lose your deposit.

I suggest that you contact several lenders well in advance of the auction date and ensure that you have satisfied their lending criteria and that they are willing to loan an appropriate sum of money “in principle.” Even if you do this, the offer will always be subject to a satisfactory survey by the lender so be prepared to have your intended auction property surveyed at your expense in advance of auction date. The risk with this is that even if you are able to borrow and the lender lend, you could still lose the property on auction day itself which would also mean you forfeit the cost of the lender’s valuation survey. Subject to the terms and conditions of the lender, you could also be liable for a hefty mortgage arrangement fee so check this aspect carefully with any potential lender. Good luck!

If you need further advice on obtaining a mortgage, take a look at our Mortgages & Finance centre on Primelocation.com.

Got a property question? Leave it in a comment and Barry will give you an answer.

Q. Given that so much has been written in recent months about the demise of the 2008/9 property market, what was it that caused the last house price crash? I would be interested to know this in order to do an historical comparison.

A. After the major recession of the late 1970s ended, right up to 1988 in fact, UK property prices saw a similar growth spurt as we have seen in the past decade. There were two key reasons for the crash in the late eighties. Firstly, the era coincided with an increasing demand from a more affluent post-war generation encouraged into home ownership by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Secondly, there was great liquidity in the economy with an easy availability of credit.

However, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, announced in March 1988 that he was ending “double mortgage tax relief,” a process whereby both parties of an unmarried couple could claim tax relief (MIRAS) on mortgage interest, people flocked to snap up property and real estate inflation went through the roof as sellers cashed in on the boom.

As soon as the cut-off date was reached a few months later, interest in property buying subsided almost overnight with viewings and sales plummeting. Estate agents struggled to sell even competitively priced property and the absence of interest in the market led to the crash. The killer blow came between May 1988 and October 1989 when interest rates rocketed from just under 7.5% to nearly 15%. It was this increase coupled with lack of affordability because of the cessation of double tax relief that spelled the death knell for property, a market reversal which was to last for several years. Like all markets, however, recovery eventually comes.

Our favourite new toy at Primelocation.com is Twitter. I’ve been contemplating how to explain Twitter to those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of tweeting and being tweeted at, but then this chap wrote a fun little ditty that I think sums up the experience quite nicely. (Er… sort of.)

(Oh, and if you’d like to follow us on Twitter or you just want to see what the fuss is about, please check us out or perhaps join the twitterverse.)

Q. I have just bought a four-bedroom detached property which needs partial renovation on the ground floor. One of the key requirements is a top-range kitchen. We have had several firms come out to offer ideas and we’ve short-listed them down to three whose product ranges and ideas all fit in with our vision. What steps can we take to ensure that we employ the best company? Our budget is £25,000.

A. £25,000 is a considerable sum of money to invest in one room and so you are right to want to focus your efforts on recruiting a quality team. Naturally, with any installation, you should always go on previous recommendation and so I would suggest that you firstly request from the kitchen company, details of the proposed team to be used on your project and then seek written references with photographs of similar quality completed work by that team which you are able to follow up. By asking previously satisfied clients questions about the timekeeping, tidiness and workmanship, you will be able to gauge if this is the team and indeed the kitchen company for you. Secondly, the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) is a body with a 400-strong membership of accredited retailers dedicated to upholding the Association’s high standards of design, supply and installation. All KBSA members offer either a ConsumerCare or ConsumerCare Plus scheme which protects clients’ deposits and/or work in progress, plus any advance payments.

(Looking for kitchen renovation ideas? Check out our 16 great kitchen worktops article.)