Harrisons Residential Straightforward estate agency advice for UK homeowners.

Harrisons Residential

Straightforward estate agency advice for UK homeowners.

Latest Articles

The Second Visit Is for the Street, Not the House
Market Insight

The Second Visit Is for the Street, Not the House

Most buyers spend their second viewing measuring the spare bedroom and forget to look out of the window. This is a practical way to test the street itself — at the school run, after dark and on bin day — before you commit to an offer.

The Outbuilding Audit: What to Sort Before the Garden Room Goes on the Market
Selling

The Outbuilding Audit: What to Sort Before the Garden Room Goes on the Market

A garden office can look like extra square footage to a buyer and a pile of questions to their solicitor. Here’s how sellers can get the paperwork, certificates and presentation of an outbuilding in order before it slows a sale.

Beyond the Front Door Key: The Handover Pack That Stops the After-Sale Phone Calls
Selling

Beyond the Front Door Key: The Handover Pack That Stops the After-Sale Phone Calls

Completion day is rarely the clean break we imagine. A labelled folder of meter readings, codes and manuals won't just make you look organised — it's the difference between a buyer settling in and your phone ringing for a fortnight.

The Curtains Aren’t a Gift: Handling Fixtures and Fittings After the Offer
Selling

The Curtains Aren’t a Gift: Handling Fixtures and Fittings After the Offer

Once the offer is accepted, the conversation often turns to what actually stays with the house. Here’s how to handle the TA10, common buyer requests and the odd late ask without letting a good sale turn into a haggle.

Selling

Keys, Clutter and the Grant: Selling a Parent's Home Without the Fall-Out

Probate turns a family house into a waiting room with a mortgage. Here's the plain-spoken version of how the sale actually runs — the grant timeline, the two valuations that quietly confuse everyone, what buyers really think of a half-cleared house, and how siblings can disagree without derailing the move.

The Pre-Mortem Survey: Walking Your Own House Before a Buyer Does
Selling

The Pre-Mortem Survey: Walking Your Own House Before a Buyer Does

Most sellers meet their property’s problems through a buyer’s survey report, usually at the worst possible moment. A pre-sale condition check puts you ahead of that conversation — here’s what to look at, what to commission, and how to turn the findings into a calmer sale.

Curtains Drawn, Lamps Lit: The Case for Viewing a House After Work
Selling

Curtains Drawn, Lamps Lit: The Case for Viewing a House After Work

Daylight flatters a house. The 6pm viewing in November does not. Here’s how buyers can use an evening appointment to test the things a Saturday morning hides — and what sellers should do before the doorbell rings.

The Certificate That Isn’t in the Drawer: Selling a Home With Unpapered Loft Work
Selling

The Certificate That Isn’t in the Drawer: Selling a Home With Unpapered Loft Work

A buyer’s solicitor has asked for the building regulations completion certificate for the loft, and the drawer is empty. Here’s what that actually means for a sale in 2026, from the lender’s questions to regularisation, indemnity policies and the realistic cost of putting the paperwork right.

The First Day Is the One That Counts: A Tenant’s Check-In Playbook for 2026
Lettings

The First Day Is the One That Counts: A Tenant’s Check-In Playbook for 2026

A check-in isn’t a formality to rush through before the kettle goes on. Here’s how tenants can build a calm, useful record of the property on day one — meters, marks and all — without turning it into a fight.

The Builder in the Hallway: Making Sense of a Tradesperson-Led Second Viewing
Selling

The Builder in the Hallway: Making Sense of a Tradesperson-Led Second Viewing

A buyer turning up with a builder for the second viewing can feel like an ambush, but it is usually a sign they are serious. Here is how sellers can prepare, handle rough-and-ready repair estimates, and keep any renegotiation anchored in evidence rather than hallway scare stories.

Fences, Noise and the TA6: Handling a Neighbour Dispute Without Torpedoing Your Sale
Selling

Fences, Noise and the TA6: Handling a Neighbour Dispute Without Torpedoing Your Sale

The neighbour question on the TA6 form trips up more sellers than almost any other. Here's how to work out what counts as a dispute, answer it honestly, and keep your sale on track.

The Contract That Outlasts the For Sale Board: Choosing Your Listing Agreement in 2026
Selling

The Contract That Outlasts the For Sale Board: Choosing Your Listing Agreement in 2026

Most sellers negotiate the commission and skim the agreement. That is the wrong way round: tie-ins, withdrawal fees and the difference between sole, joint sole and multi-agency can cost far more than a fraction of a percentage point. Here is how to read the paperwork before you sign.

The School Gate Doesn’t Come With the House: A Buyer’s Guide to Catchment Claims
Market Insight

The School Gate Doesn’t Come With the House: A Buyer’s Guide to Catchment Claims

A sought-after school can shape a house hunt, but an address near the gate is not a guaranteed place. Here’s how admissions criteria, sibling rules, faith places and shifting catchments really work — and what buyers and sellers should check before anyone starts talking up the school link.

Where Will They Park? The Quiet Deal-Breaker Sellers Keep Missing
Selling

Where Will They Park? The Quiet Deal-Breaker Sellers Keep Missing

Parking rarely tops a buyer's wish list, but it often decides whether they come back for a second viewing. A practical look at driveways, permit zones and EV charging — and how to present whatever parking you have.

Beyond the Rainbow Chart: How Buyers Really Use Energy Ratings in 2026
Market Insight

Beyond the Rainbow Chart: How Buyers Really Use Energy Ratings in 2026

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Your Buyer's Survey Is a To-Do List, Not a Verdict
Selling

Your Buyer's Survey Is a To-Do List, Not a Verdict

A buyer's survey can land like a list of everything wrong with your house — and it rarely is. Most of it is standard wording, ordinary wear and a polite nudge to check something. Here's how to respond calmly, with evidence, sensible fixes or plain honesty.

Algorithms Don't Buy Houses: Making Sense of Two Very Different Valuations
Market Insight

Algorithms Don't Buy Houses: Making Sense of Two Very Different Valuations

An instant online estimate and a proper in-person appraisal can differ by twenty thousand pounds on the same house, and both can be defensible. Here is what each figure actually measures, how to tell a real valuation from a lazy one, and how to land on a 2026 asking price that neither scares buyers off nor gives the house away.

First Impressions Are Sold at the Door: Getting the Entrance Right Before a Viewing
Selling

First Impressions Are Sold at the Door: Getting the Entrance Right Before a Viewing

Buyers form a verdict long before they reach the room that actually sells the house. Here is a practical, room-by-room plan for the entrance, hallway and first few metres of a viewing, plus the small fixes that stop people mentally knocking money off an otherwise good home.

Leasehold Homework: The Documents Worth Reading Before You Instruct a Solicitor
Market Insight

Leasehold Homework: The Documents Worth Reading Before You Instruct a Solicitor

Before you fall for the flat, read the paperwork. From escalating ground rent to building safety information, here are the leasehold documents UK buyers should ask for in 2026 — and the red flags that justify walking away.

Selling

Let the House Do the Talking: A Seller’s Guide to Pre-Viewing Videos

A short, honest walkthrough video can answer the questions buyers ask before they book a viewing — and gently filter out the ones who were never serious. Here’s how UK sellers can film one without turning it into a production.