It's happened again. One minute I'm planning the summer holidays and contemplating which activities to book for my children, and in the blink of an eye, I'm shopping for back-to-school bits and pieces! Next stop, Autumn with pumpkins and Halloween and – you've guessed it - Registration Time for new schools, bet you thought I was going to say Christmas?
Yes, schools' admission deadlines are at the end of January/beginning of February. And if you are thinking of selling and if you move quickly, your property can be marketed now, in September, which would potentially give your buyers the time to move into their preferred school catchment area before the deadline. This might not have occurred to you before but, as Keswick School has such an excellent reputation, it's a significant motivation for people wishing to relocate into this area. Keswick School is rated outstanding in all categories by OFSTED (in 2024) and a few days ago pupils and staff were celebrating another outstanding set of GCSE results.
Conventional wisdom is that Spring is the best season to sell your home and, while being ideal in many ways, the flipside is that the market is often flooded with properties. So marketing now, in early Autumn, gives your house a better chance to stand out. Gardens are continuing to look lovely with end of summer blooms, although I'd argue that even in rainy weather we are surrounded by the spectacular natural beauty of Lakeland Fells. The evenings are still light into early October, and this gives plenty of opportunities to arrange viewings.
So don't delay coming to have a conversation with us. The usual reasons for property sales and purchases, such as job relocation, retirement and so on occur irrespective of the season, but Christmas itself is frequently a personal deadline, for exchange of contracts, if not for completion. But as the conveyancing process takes time, we do advise getting in touch with us as soon as possible. We know the area extremely well, having been operating since 1876 and we endeavour to keep in touch with all aspects of the conveyancing process to reach a happy conclusion for all parties. New Year, new house, new you?
Please feel free to come and talk to me at any stage of your thinking.
- Hannah Sims | Branch Manager, PFK Keswick