Homes & Gardens

Thinking of selling your property? Then here are some excellent reasons to do so over the next coming month:

• Historically Autumn and the start of the New Year are the busiest times of the year for estate agents as many buyers are keen to be in their new home by Christmas or just after.

• Interest rates are currently at an all time low, encouraging buyers to make the most of it and purchase their next home.

• 2012 has been a very busy year full of distractions for us all with:- the Olympics, the Queen's
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With the hectic schedule of everyday life and the nights drawing in, make your bathroom the ultimate room in which to unwind with some easy updates. Indulge in some luxury with Egyptian cotton towels, available in 32 different colourways so there is a shade to suit every style. Add lanterns and candles, such as the Wax Lyrical Moroccan Spice range, to sideboards or windowsills for a truly tranquil retreat.

“The bathroom should be a place of relaxation; create a moody ambience with Moroccan-inspired lanterns and inject colour with luxurious bath linen, such as Dunelm Mill’...

Changes to the laws governing estate agency in Britain could leave homebuyers with no more protection than if they were buying a car in a private deal, The Property Ombudsman has warned.

The Government has relaxed the regulations on intermediary websites which allows them to advertise properties and erect for sale boards as if they were a genuine 'High Street' estate agency. Despite this, all responsibility will lie with the seller who will be left to the marketing, viewings and negotiations with the buyer - all of which would normally be the responsibility of a genuine...

If you've got any fruit left in your garden, as the weather turns it won't be there much longer.

It's time then for a end of season tidy up but also an oportunity to prepare for next year. Here are just a few tips for October:

Once you've picked your last raspberries, cut back the canes that have produced fruit to ground level, and tie in the best new canes. Harvest apples, pears and plums. (Make sure you store apples carefully by wrapping them up individually in newspaper). Remove tomato leaves to expose unripe fruit. Cover fig trees with netting and fill with straw to...