10 top tips for attracting quality tenants Nottingham Estate Agents

The buy-to-let sector is highly competitive and, not surprisingly, the landlords who are most successful are the ones who appreciate the importance of making their properties attractive to tenants. “Presentation, presentation, presentation,” says Roger Wilkinson of Wilkinson Grant & Co. “If you want to attract quality tenants at the best price, it is imperative that […]

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Clear, eat and plan ahead, as leaves and conkers fall | Allan Jenkins

Use up veg and plant for spring as gardens begin a new year

Before the fall. It’s the equinox tomorrow (a later one this year) so I think we can all agree autumn is here and summer over. Just see the hanging spiders, feel the dew on your shoes on an early-morning walk. There is a chill in the twilight, the sun’s no longer winning. For gardeners then, it’s the time to sow hardy annual flowers for spring while the soil still holds warmth.

We will be putting in a row or two of calendula, of course, and pondering love-in-a-mist (nigella). Autumn-sown gives a stronger, better start to spring at a time to pack most flower seeds away. My bookshelves at home are making Henri anxious with multiple bowls of drying flower heads. It will get worse yet.

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Artist in residence: North Yorkshire’s Lebberson Hall reimagined

Renovating a 19th-century home rekindled Shirley Vauvelle’s creative vision

The artist Shirley Vauvelle lives a mile from the coast between Scarborough and Filey in North Yorkshire. Before she starts work in her home studio, she takes a daily swim in the sea, scouring the shoreline for driftwood as she leaves the water. “I’ve always collected found things, such as shells and pebbles,” she says, “but I’m particularly drawn to weathered wood. I love finding pieces and bringing them home.”

Home for Vauvelle is the 19th-century Lebberston Hall. She and her husband had been looking for a renovation project for two years when their estate agent persuaded them to view the house, which was lived in by an elderly woman. “She was like something out of an Enid Blyton novel,” Vauvelle recalls. “The house hadn’t been touched since the 1970s. It was a pretty ugly building really: Victoriana-heavy, with two horses in the paddock.” What convinced them was the potential to renovate the existing garages and outbuildings and, curiously, a mature horse chestnut tree. “It is in such a beautiful position,” Vauvelle says. “It seems to ground the whole building. When I saw it, I could really start to imagine living here.”

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Artist in residence: North Yorkshire’s Lebberson Hall reimagined

Renovating a 19th-century home rekindled Shirley Vauvelle’s creative vision

The artist Shirley Vauvelle lives a mile from the coast between Scarborough and Filey in North Yorkshire. Before she starts work in her home studio, she takes a daily swim in the sea, scouring the shoreline for driftwood as she leaves the water. “I’ve always collected found things, such as shells and pebbles,” she says, “but I’m particularly drawn to weathered wood. I love finding pieces and bringing them home.”

Home for Vauvelle is the 19th-century Lebberston Hall. She and her husband had been looking for a renovation project for two years when their estate agent persuaded them to view the house, which was lived in by an elderly woman. “She was like something out of an Enid Blyton novel,” Vauvelle recalls. “The house hadn’t been touched since the 1970s. It was a pretty ugly building really: Victoriana-heavy, with two horses in the paddock.” What convinced them was the potential to renovate the existing garages and outbuildings and, curiously, a mature horse chestnut tree. “It is in such a beautiful position,” Vauvelle says. “It seems to ground the whole building. When I saw it, I could really start to imagine living here.”

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Student halls and food malls: House of Frasers turn over a new lease

As old leases expire, landlords look at innovative options to reuse department store sites

House of Fraser in Wolverhampton is set to be closed down and redeveloped as student housing or lecture halls, as a £3m sale of the property is expected to be finalised within weeks.

The deal would be a major change for the city centre retail site where the Beatties chain was founded in 1877 before being taken over by House of Fraser in 2005.

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Is patio decking worth it – or is there a better alternative?

I’m worried decking might look good for a year or so, but then go downhill fast

Every week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.

Our small patio is looking rather sad and my husband is desperate to install some decking, which I fear will look good for a year or so, but then go downhill fast. Can you buy inexpensive, long-lived decking? Help me talk him out of it with a better solution.

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Top energy-saving tips Nottingham Estate Agents

Saving energy, like recycling waste, is one of those good habits which people acquire, but all too often lose. We tend to get our lofts insulated and turn off electrical appliances we are not using, then fall back into our bad old ways – and end up with inflated energy bills. It should not be […]

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