PAINT YOUR HOUSE RED... OR BLUE W
NEARLY a quarter of parents have moved house to be within their desired school catchment area, a survey has found.
Some 24 per cent of parents with school age children have either already bought or rented a new property to secure an address near where they want their child to be educated, Santander Mortgages found.
Those families willing to move are prepared to pay a 12 per cent premium for their desired catchment area, equivalent to an extra £26,800 in the current property market.
This is just under the average full-time salary in the UK, at £28,2133, Santander said.
Just over half (51 per cent) of families who have moved to be within a catchment area had sold their previous property, but 30 per cent said they had bought a second home.
Nearly a fifth (19 per cent) of those who moved to be in a catchment area rented a property to secure their desired address.
Parents had also made other sacrifices to be located within a sought-after catchment area.
A fifth (20 per cent) of those who moved had changed jobs, while 20 per cent say they were forced to downsize and 19 per cent moved to an area where they did not feel safe.
A quarter (25 per cent) admit they overstretched themselves, paying more for the property than they could realistically afford and 26 per cent moved to a location far away from family or friends.
The study suggests that the moves made by many of these families are temporary. More than two-fifths (44 per cent) of those who moved to be within a catchment area expect to leave as soon as their child has secured a place, rising to two-thirds (66 per cent) of parents in London.
Miguel Sard, managing director of mortgages, Santander UK said: “Living within a certain school catchment area is top of the wish list for many families but often these addresses come at a premium.
“Our study highlights the significant financial and lifestyle sacrifices that parents are making to be within the catchment area of a desired school.
“Buyers need to do their research as properties in catchment areas often come with a hefty price tag, especially in London where competition for school places is fierce.”
More than 4,000 people were surveyed for the research. HEN it comes to home improvements, it’s much more practical to tackle the interiors now that summer is ending. And the easiest way to update the look of your place is with a paint touch-up. But before you whip out the brushes, remember to sand, file and clean – it might be boring work, but thorough prep is essential for achieving a fabulous finish. stone, concrete and wood up to 20mm deep. Priming is also key to getting a good, longlasting finish. Applying a primer or undercoat ensures your topcoat will adhere to the surface better. For example, shiny surfaces usually have to be sanded, cleaned off and painted with a suitable primer to make the surface matt. Priming can also seal surfaces and make them less porous – new plaster is really absorbent, so always seal it before painting, wallpapering or tiling it.
Another reason to prime is to provide better coverage. If you’re painting over a dark emulsion with a pale one, it pays to use a basecoat emulsion first. Getting solid colour with white water-based wood paints is a problem because they don’t generally cover well, but a good primer will. Work lights can also help you achieve a good finish, especially now it’s getting dark earlier. While you should ideally prep and decorate in good natural light, work lights are fantastic for illuminating a room when it’s gloomy and, because of the tripod, they’re adjustable, so you can highlight where you need.
The downside? Work lights can show up things you can’t see in natural or normal artificial light, resulting in unnecessary prep. Angling the light away from what you’re working on works best. The best way to get a good finish with wooden or laminate flooring is to remove skirting boards and replace them (or fit new ones). This way they’ll cover the expansion gap around the edge of the flooring. If this isn’t practical, fit matching wooden scotia beading over the expansion gap. The easiest way to fix it is with a nail gun, which is much quicker and easier than hammering in panel pins.