Anyone looking for a lovely three-bedroom house in a cobbled mews? Alex, one of our SEO guys, is selling his delightful property in Hove – and yes, since you ask, it is for sale on Primelocation.com!

“Nine happy years of cobbled life,” said Alex wistfully, when we asked him for a quote. “Oh, and did I mention it’s really close to Hove train station and right by a 24-hour bus route? Location is everything, you know.”

We know, Alex. We know.

(Is nice, oui?)

To kick-start your week, here’s a look at what’s been happening on some of our favourite UK property and finance blogs recently.

Mike from Winging It takes a look at the rental market with his Graph of the Week.

The Rat and Mouse ponders whether the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme is ‘another Government initiative that’s announced loudly, swept under the rug quietly?’

Naomi from GoGreene (the Greene & Co blog) shares her views on the good food, good drink and good times to be had in Hampstead.

Ciara from Royals of Rent has some rather good advice for renters who intend to get back their deposit when they move.

Property Owl comments on the Battle of the Suits: Solicitors vs. Estate Agents.

Rich from the 4Homes blog shares his 5 Fave Things from the Homebuilding & Renovating Show (we love the bathtub).

Jane from Winging It despairs over the lack of lenders offering 90% mortgages. Our favourite bit: “They started talking insanely about taking out a loan to top up my deposit money, but when you’re taking out the biggest loan of your life, the thought of another one doesn’t really appeal.”

Wrapping up the list, Andrew from The Money Blog has run an advice piece on how to decide on fixed rate mortgages.

If you’re looking for inspiration about how to decorate your home, make improvements, save money or even make money from your home, then head on down to the Ideal Home Show.

The EDF Energy Ideal Home Show opened at Earls Court in London on 20th March and is running until 13th April 2009. Now in its 101st year, the show is the place to go to discover new ideas for your home and this year, more than ever before, the emphasis is on ‘loving where you live,’ saving energy and saving space.

With the credit crunch a key issue in many people’s minds, the show is packed with ideas for cutting the cost of living and money saving experts will be sharing their views on how to adapt to the economic downturn. Eco issues are also a big theme and they’ll be plenty of advice and information on how best to go about reducing your carbon footprint and making your home more energy efficient.

The kitchen is often the hub of the house and you’ll find some of the UK’s favourite chefs and food experts on hand at the Celebrity Chef’s Kitchen Theatre. Amongst the names appearing are Raymond Blanc, Sophie Grigson and Aldo Zili, and they’ll be providing cookery demonstrations, answering cookery questions and signing copies of their latest books. Other theatres hosting events at the show include The Smarter Living Theatre, with demonstrations of the latest gadgets and innovations, and Home and Garden Theatre, with talks and demos from some of the top home and garden names.

The show is open from 11am-9pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm at weekends. The ticket prices have stayed the same for the third year running and are priced at £14 on weekdays and £16 at weekends. For more details, or a list of exhibitors, check out the Ideal Home Show website.

If you’ve already been to the show, or are going soon, then tell us what the highlights were for you!

Q. We recently sold our house via a local, privately owned estate agent. However, the commercial relationship did not get off to a good start and after the sale was eventually agreed, the agent failed to return numerous calls, reply to letters and seemed evasive when we asked him for progress reports. On completion, the agent promptly tendered his bill, £4,000 which we are loathed to pay simply because we do not feel that the agent ‘earned’ his money. Can we object?

A. You can of course object directly to the agent but I do not feel you have any legal grounds to withhold a sum for the perceived poor service. The facts are, albeit that the agent was a poor communicator, that they introduced a buyer who successfully completed a purchase. That is key remit of any estate agent – and whilst I do not condone for one moment the shoddy service and agree with you that the agent could have acted more professionally throughout the transaction, I also believe that the fee is due for securing a successful sale alone. As the agent is privately owned, your options for pursuing a complaint are more limited than a chain-owned agency. If you really must complain, I suggest writing a firm letter outlining the key failures of service as you see them and asking the agent to deduct what he considers a fair sum for this aspect – but I suspect it will be a futile request.

If you’re looking for an estate agent to market your home, take a look at our agent listings on Primelocation.com.

We’re increasingly being told about the environmental impact buildings can have on the climate, not least from people like Prince Charles. So it may come as a surprise that the least eco-friendly building in London has been revealed as being good old Buckingham Palace.

The Queen’s des res scored 0 out of 10 in a survey of 170 buildings in London by renewable energy firm Navitron. They were exploring the energy efficiency of buildings in the capital city and many were found to be woefully inadequate. By using thermal imaging techniques, they were able to see how well insulated the buildings were – or were not – and whether heat was contained within the buildings or madly escaping.

The thermal imaging survey of Buckingham Palace revealed it to be a hotbed of activity. Rather than heat being contained within the Palace, it was shown to be pouring out through the building in every area possible – through the roof, the walls, through curtained windows and even through cracks.

As it was built in 1820 and contains over 600 rooms, it’s not surprising that the Palace is experiencing problems with energy efficiency. The Queen has, however, apparently set up an energy-saving committee to try and tackle the problems and reduce consumption.

But it wasn’t only the Queen’s residence that was problematic. It was only last month that the Government launched a new scheme aimed at helping households reduce their emissions by 50% by the year 2050, yet some of the key Government buildings in London, such as the Ministry of Defence, MI6 HQ, the Treasury and the Home Office, were all found to be major polluters.

The full list of top 12 non-green and leakiest buildings in London is as follows:

1. Buckingham Palace
2. DECC (Defra)
3. The Ministry of Defence
4. Horse Guards Barracks
5. The Shell Building
6. The Home Office
7. Houses of Parliament
8. The Treasury
9. Portcullis House
10. MI6 HQ
11. The Albert Hall
12. St James’ Palace

If you’d like to try and reduce energy emissions in your home and make it more eco-friendly, then some simple ways of making a difference include swapping single glazing (as in the palace) for double glazing, improving draught-proofing in your home, using energy-saving light bulbs and turning off lights when you’re not in a room. For more ideas, take a look at our guide to energy saving.

Companies in the North of England who are looking to buy or rent new business premises may benefit from heading down to the Tyne and Wear Commercial Property Show.

Claiming to be ‘the biggest commercial property event in the North’, the 2009 show is taking place on 19th March at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Running from 10am to 4pm, the show will be attended by a wide range of exhibitors, including property agents, companies offering property services and companies specialising in relocation support.

For new businesses wondering whether it’s best to rent or buy commercial property, especially in the current economic climate, or existing businesses thinking about changing premises, it’s a good opportunity to discover the facts from the experts before committing to a purchase or rental. Local knowledge is important when choosing commercial properties and shows such as this are a good place to start. There’ll also be advice on hand regarding how to finance property deals and information about available business support services.

During the course of the day, there will also be two seminars taking place, each running twice during the day. The first covers the Grants for Business Investment (GBI) scheme, and the second looks at the legal issues involved in moving premises.

Wherever your business is in the UK, find details of commercial property for sale and commercial property to rent.

Does anyone reading this know a lottery winner, Russian oligarch, wealthy ageing rockstar or similar? If so you should let them know that according to the Daily Mail, a handsome little village called Linkenholt is up for grabs for the meagre sum of £25m, which is roughly what they would have spent on a two-bed semi in Sloane Square anyway.

 Seriously. Your OWN VILLAGE.

It’s a nice thought, no?

If I was to snap this baby up, I would have a few key questions for the estate agent.

1. Will I be allowed to rename it? Linkenholt is very nice, but I was thinking something with a bit more chutzpah, something a bit more modern and relevant and spectacular. Something that shows we’re down with the kids. Hogwartstonville, perhaps, or Russell-Crow-on-the-Wold. Or New HighschoolmusiCaledonia.

2. Can I kick people out if I don’t like them? For £25m, I don’t want some concrete-faced neighbour telling me to turn my music down. I am a fair person, however, and am willing to implement a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy.
 

3. Can I make some new local laws? Nothing unreasonable, obviously. Just off the top of my head, perhaps it will be illegal in New HighschoolmusiCaledonia to work on snow days, or to walk slowly on the footpath when someone is walking behind you, or to leave the plastic covering on your furniture after you’ve bought it, or to leave your car engine running while you’re parked.

4. Can I have a Bank holiday in my name? Just in the village, of course, not all of the UK. Although everyone will be welcome to celebrate Jessica Townsend Day if they feel inclined. We will have a parade of floats through the centre of town, and everyone will dress up like me and we will dance to Kylie Minogue all night. Tra la la.

Thanks to Mike from Winging It for pointing us in the direction of this Bargain of the Century!

Over to you, then. What would you name your village? Any laws you’d introduce?

Q. I went under offer to a first time buyer in January and the sale went smoothly until last week when, two days before the date of exchange of contracts, my buyer insisted that I reduced my selling price by £10,000 or he would pull out. What can I do? I’ve already spent money on mortgage surveys and a HIP.

A. Welcome to the ugly world of Gazundering, the buyer’s market equivalent of Gazumping. Gazundering is the unethical act of leading a seller on in a depressed market until the point of exchange before hitting them with the hammer blow of having to make a significant price reduction or they will pull out. Although this odious practice is sadly not illegal, a recent study surprisingly revealed that 94% of the population would actually do it themselves in order to get a better price! Until gazundering is outlawed, I would offer the following advice:

• Act normally. A hostile response will further alienate your buyer. Encourage a face to face meeting where you can quiz them directly about their motives and perhaps persuade them to change their mind.

• If structural issues are cited as the reason for wanting a price reduction as is usually the case (when it is really commercial speculation), insist on expert evidence to substantiate such claims. If there are genuine issues, engage your own quotes to do the necessary work which may be significantly cheaper than your buyer’s inflated quotes.

• If it is possible, try to spread the financial load up the chain. It may be possible to get a like for like reduction from the vendors of the property you are buying which will negate your immediate financial issue and hopefully allow the transaction to proceed to completion.

Got a property quandary? Let us know and we’ll try to help out.

A growing trend in the UK, especially amongst younger buyers or those who can’t afford the property they’d like on their own, is to get together with older generations of their family and buy a home together.

It’s not a living arrangement that’s to everyone’s taste and involves a certain degree of cooperation and flexibility, but so-called 3G, or three generation, living does work well for some families. The main property options for those considering living as a larger family group are either to buy a big home and live within it together, or opt for a property with an annexe. The annexe option is a good choice for those that don’t want to be on top of each other the entire time, as it gives a degree of privacy and space.

The Telegraph recently ran a feature on three generations under one roof, which is interesting reading for anyone keen to find out how it could work. The family in question have taken to multi-generational living so well, that they’ve set up 3Generation.org.uk, a website packed with information on how it works.

If you’re looking for a property with an annexe, then here’s a selection of properties around the UK currently up for sale.

Kent
£899,000
This house in West Malling, in Kent, would be ideal for large families wanting to explore 3G living. It’s already split into two dwellings, each with three bedrooms and reception areas, and is only three minutes’ walk from the station.

Surrey
£1,250,000
In East Horsley, Surrey, this five-bedroom house has two thirds of an acre of land, plus a useful one bedroom self-contained annexe. The annexe has been newly fitted with a luxury shower room and has French doors from the sitting room overlooking the garden.

Cornwall
£850,000
This rural property near Lanner and Redruth in Cornwall, is approached via a private driveway and boasts five bedrooms in the main house, plus a one bedroom annexe. Included in the price is nine acres of land (two fields and two paddocks) and several barns and stables.

Cumbria
£900,000
This impressive Victorian house in Rothersyke, near Egremont, has six to seven bedrooms and three reception rooms in the main part of the house, plus an annexe with a further three bedrooms. It’s packed with period features, including original fireplaces, intricate cornicing and stained glass windows.

Midlothian, Scotland
£795,000
This large detached home in Newbattle, Dalkeith, borders the South Esk river and is only eight miles from the city centre. The house has six bedrooms, five reception rooms and five bathrooms, plus a separate annexe.

South Glamorgan, Wales
£565,000
This modern, double-fronted family home in Cardiff has four bedrooms in the main part of the home and enjoys panoramic views over the countryside. The annexe has one bedroom, a 20ft lounge and kitchen. Outside, the large driveway can easily accommodate four to five cars.

Inspired by a comment from Rich (of the 4Homes blog) on our Kirstie rant, we’ve taken our Allsopp love to a whole new level.

Kirstie for PM. Obviously! How has nobody thought of this before?

Kirstie would make a brilliant Prime Minister. She’s savvy AND sassy (two things surely quite high up on the PM job spec?), and would never embarrass us at important world politics events. Plus, I reckon she could fix the economy. For reals and in heels. Probably while simultaneously pregnant, berating Phil Spencer and restoring a Georgian townhouse.

Any thoughts on how we can make this happen? And would you vote for her?