October Newsletter 2022
Hello and welcome to another edition of our not so frequent newsletter. One can have too much of a good thing.
In this Newsletter we want to tell you about some of the local Food Hubs we are now working with, our new website and present an article entitled “you do not need to bake bread”. Don't worry about setting your oven to 180 degrees / gas mark 4.
Hopefully you don’t mind the occasional contact from us but if you do there is an unsubscribe button at the bottom.
Help us to help
We are all feeling the pinch right now but there are some of us feeling it a little more and we would like to see if there is a way we can help in some small way.
We are working with a number of local food banks/hubs and arranging for collections near to each. We are hoping that some of you may be able to help with a donation?
If you can, we will come and collect it from you and pass it on to them.
This will then be used by the local food banks where demand in the last few months has grown significantly.
We will collect (each month) from:
- Trumpington – 1st Wednesday
- North Cambridge – 2nd Wednesday
- South Cambridge – 3rd Wednesday
- Cambridge City – 4th Wednesday
Food banks across the country are providing a lifeline for many families who simply didn’t expect themselves to be in the position where they have to make these difficult choices.
Generally the following items are always needed: Pasta, tinned fruit and veg, rice, tea and coffee, soup, toiletries, baby supplies, washing powder.
If you are able to donate please email community@cookecurtis.co.uk and we will arrange a collection.
To speak with us please call on +44 (0) 1223 508050 and ask for Jamie Curtis
Our shiny new website
A few months ago I posted on Instagram that we were close to launching our new site. Well 'close' is a suitably ambiguous term, but it is here now and we are very very happy with it. There are some fantastic new features including The Green House where we look at the benefits of trying to be a little greener around your home.
There is a Compare & Contrast feature where you can, er, compare and contrast different properties sizes and features. Finally we have been re-writing our village descriptions 'We Know our Onions, and our area'. We really do.
Here is what we have to say about the village I am proud to call home,
Haslingfield (Hay-sling-field, not has-ling-field).
Haslingfield should be on your list of places to live if you like the idea of living in a traditional countryside community but don’t want it to be too painful to get to a bit of city life if the occasion takes you. By car you’re about 4 miles south west of the city boundary, but if you’re an enthusiastic cyclist or walkenger you can lop a mile off that by taking to one of various footpaths and bridleways that surround the village. Imagine that, a 20 minute morning cycle commute across the fields towards the rising sun, nodding to the rabbits as they move from path to hedgerow so as not to impede your progress.
But there’s more to life than coming into town and Haslingfield is that rare thing – a small, friendly village that you don’t actually have to leave if you don’t want to. You’ve got a shop, a coffee shop, a pre-school and primary school that feed into Comberton VC (about 4 miles), a great playground and park, village hall, tennis courts, skate ramps, walks by the river.
In the winter you can sledge down one of the very few hills Cambridge has to offer and in the summer you can squeeze yourself into spandex knickerbockers and try to ride your bike up it.
If you don’t mind earning your pint, you’ve got a local microbrewery at Button End that you can walk about a mile to, and in the next village, Barton, the deli, wine shop, butchers and general boujeeness of Burwash Manor await. If you want to meet Robson Green, watch boxing-day barrel-racing and dodge riverside country pancakes on your way to some wild swimming then literature’s famous Grantchester is 3 miles on foot or by bike down CantelupeRoad.
For adventures further afield Foxton station is about 3 miles and will get you to Kings Cross in just over an hour and junction 11 of the M11 is about 2.5 miles.
The archetypal rural commuter village, without going too heavy on the rural bit.
If you are thinking of selling or letting a property in the near future this article might just be for you.
You do not need to bake bread
When you are preparing to sell or let your property do as much as time and energy allows but you don’t need to bake bread.
Although it does help….
Trust me, most people do not live in show homes. Frankly it isn't sustainable. And it's amazing what you don't see - that scuff on the wall from a clumsy cocktail shaker or that mark on the ceiling from a willful weaner, will all be overlooked until someone with fresh eyes surveys the space.
I have talked about this before but I think it is worth revisiting as it can have such a significantly positive impact. Over the last few weeks we have experienced both ends of the preparation spectrum.
Many agents will say it isn’t necessary, the market is good and you will get a great result regardless. Normally this advice is from agents who put their agenda before yours. They are targeted to place a number of properties on the market every week so the quicker they can get you on the better. They are not thinking about the bigger picture or putting you first.
To a degree they have a point, the market is good, so why bother? The answer is simple - the better prepared you are to sell or let, the more interest you will receive and the better the outcome will be.
So back to the bread thing. Whilst it isn't necessary, if you have decluttered and done all the touch ups, it is no bad thing. Recently I saw one of my clients in B & Q (other DIY stores are available) buying paint and some decorative bits. In just a few days they had transformed a great house to an outstanding one. Finally as they flicked through interior design magazines planning their next home they baked bread in their garden bakery and placed a warm focaccia in the kitchen ready for the viewings to begin.
The outcome was spectacular with immensely happy buyers and sellers.
If you would like to have a chat about how we can help you prepare for a move please get in touch. I'm rather partial to freshly baked Sourdough ;-)
If you would like to speak to one of our experienced valuation team or arrange a valuation please call us on +44 (0)1223 508050 or click on the link below.
Also if you are looking for your next property to buy or let you can receive alerts often 24 hours before they hit the portals. In a competitive environment often this is just enough.
If you want to get to hear first, click on the link below.