Novel Ideas for Selling Houses

With the ever deepening credit crunch biting more and more into our pockets, a house is the most expensive purchase we ever make. So during this difficult time, people are finding it ever more difficult to sell their properties and turning to novel methods of selling and marketing their houses.

While some of these appear ridiculous and others bound to fail, the need for perhaps a different approach is important and the need to make your sale stand out from the many other unsold properties in the Estate Agents window.

There are many quirky attempts people have come up with to entice potential buyers. At present a homeowner trying to sell her converted country farmhouse is offering interested parties the chance to stay the night, visit the local pub and investigate the house. There was the instance of a man including his £150,000 Lamborghini to anyone who bought his £1.1m mansion and a lady who gave away a free two bedroom terrace house when you purchased her parrot for £120,000.

Even on the continent unusual offers have been appearing to whet the appetite. A Spanish developer has been offering to throw in a one bedroom apartment worth £90,000 when you completed on one of his £1m villas.


Other strange sales techniques have included selling by lottery, for a £25 ticket you get the change to own a £150,000 house but you have to make sure you do not fall foul of the gaming laws here. Ebay and Craig’s list websites have also had their share of houses auctioned on them, again you have to be careful. One individual along with his house tried to his Bentley, a lordship title as part of the deal but pulled out when bids reached £3m believing people didn’t have the inclination or funds to meet their offers.

While “open houses” are a popular concept in both USA and Australia , they are still treated with circumspection by the conservative British buyer. Even celebrities have resorted to this method and in 2005 the Osbournes, Sharon and Ozzy opened their now famous Los Angeles mansion for viewing.

For the religiously inclined you could employ the assistance of Saint Joseph , who apart from his many other roles is the patron saint of Real Estate and carpentry. A company called Luckymojo offer for $2.99 a small plastic statue of St Joseph, with instructions for you to bury him in your back garden to ensure a quick and profitable sale.

Who knows maybe during the current recession this may just be the trick you need to make that move.

Two Pints of Larger and a packet of crisps please!

We are all aware of cheap flights to the continent. Deals are always to be found for accommodation but what about the day to day cost of your holiday. How much are you likely to rack up buying the kids ice cream, having a few lunchtime beers or taking your other half out for a meal. These are where you can really make a saving when you stay in Italy ’s, Upper Tiber Valley.

We compared the prices for similar activities in the U.K. and Umbria , these included a pizza meal, round of drinks, day trip out on public transport and visiting a tourist attraction.

AND NOW THAT THE POUND HAS DROPPED SO FAR, THE FOLLOWING PRICES ARE IN WHICHEVER CURRENCY YOU PREFER

	UK	Italy
Pizza, chips and a drink (Pizza Hut)	13	6.5
3 Course Meal (for 2)	40 (minimum)	33(max, with wine)
Train journey ( Cardiff – Bristol )	12.40	3.30 (same distance)
5 mile taxi trip	20	18
Ice Cream	3	1.80
Museum entry (V&A/ Pinacoteca)	9	3.70
Chinese Take Away (for 4)	35	28
Cappuccino	2.50	0.90
Sticky bun	2.50	1
Theme Park ( Alton Towers / Mirabillandia)	99	45
Car Hire (VW Golf - Avis for 4 days)	158	165

So you can still get more for your pound when you come to Umbria on holiday. With lots of attractions, activities and historical sites to visit, gorgeous food to sample and delicious ice cream and cakes to eat you are guaranteed to have a lovely time.

There are many excellent family run restaurants and the market town of Citta di Castello boasts establishments providing Chinese and Mexican cuisine. Public transport is a fraction of the cost with the journey between Umbertide and Perugia costing only £3.30 and bus fares into Citta di Castello from its outlying regions a snip at only £1.10.

If as part of your holiday you would like to visit a theme park, “Mirabillandi” is good value for money. If you buy a pass for one day, the second day is free. For the culture vultures amongst you the entrance fee for Pinacoteca in Citta di Castello also gives you access to the Burri and Cathedral Museums for free.

The main consideration for a holiday has to be the weather and in Umbria you can, usually, be sure of clear blue skies and warm sunny days between Mid June to September. What price could you put on not having rain to contend with?

Why not leave behind the dreary, grey skies and rain and visit us in the heart of Italy ? You could pop to Florence for the day on a train and visit other wonderful sites in the nearby Tuscany region.