Merry Christmas Everyone.....

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall....

Until next year,

Mr Jackson

Rent's Up...? Not here....!

Rents are likely to go up, is the message from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Remember the rise of the accidental landlord... the frustrated vendors left high and dry by a dead property market and forced to let their homes?

Now - apparently - they've all rushed to sell while the market's revived. The net effect... that surplus of privately rented property has dried up into something like a shortage, and so rents are likely to go up in 2010.

Will it affect Moray ? I don't think so.... RICS tend to base their figures toward the Southern England and London housing markets. So all you tenants can sit back and relax - hopefully.

On average in Moray you should be paying :

1 Bed Flat - £350.00 - £400.00pcm
2 Bed Flat - £450.00 - £500.00pcm
2 Bed House - £475.00 - £525.00pcm
3 Bed House - £525.00 - £595.00pcm
4 Bed House - £595.00 - £695.00pcm

You'll pay more in Elgin than you would in Forres and Lossiemouth, expect to pay slightly more for new builds and recently refurbished properties.

Overall the rental market here is bouyant and still good value.

Rest easy,

Mr Jackson.

Have you got the X-Factor ...?

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that 15 West Heath Avenue in Hampstead, North London failed to sell 2008. It appeared on the market in the midst of the financial crisis when property prices were in free-fall, so it was hardly surprising that no one bit at the £6.25 million price tag. But almost as soon as developer Matthew Frayne took it off the market, it was talent spotted by Talk Back Thames, who asked if it could be used to house the contestants of ITV’s X Factor. Frayne jumped at the chance.

So for the past couple of months, the 16 contestants in this year’s show and two researchers have been living in the house. It has appeared on the television countless times, not least when a gang of school girls attempted to scale the walls. Afterwards security fences and bouncers were deployed.

Naturally, there were a couple of hiccups: the fire alarm went off on several occasions, there was a power cut, and the neighbours complained about the noise.

But on the whole Number 15 has stood up to the X Factor test; so much so that Matthew would consider leasing to the production company again. "I wouldn't change a thing - except maybe build a higher wall on the outside.

Whether the X Factor has helped sell Number 15 remains to be seen. In February Matthew is putting it back on the market for £6.25 million. “It’s a niche house - we didn’t expect it to sell immediately. It’s very sharp and contemporary. We were considering lowering the price but now houses are shifting again we feel more positive. You’re getting a lot for your money.”

15 West Heath Avenue is on the market with Quintessentially Estates: www.quintessentiallyestates.com and Glentree (0208 458 7311).

Until the next time,

Mr Jackson

Talk Talk Towers....

A FAMILY are cashing in on their house - by officially calling it TalkTalk Towers.

Elaine and Darren Snow are being paid £250 to give the phone company "naming rights" to their home for a year.

The deal follows bigger-money deals for places like the O2 Arena and the Emirates Stadium.

Elaine, 33, Darren, 42, and sons John, 11, and Michael, nine, now have TalkTalk as part of their formal address in Sanderstead, South London. Elaine said: "Everyone says your house is your biggest asset so it makes sense to make the most of it."

The phone firm wants 50 more properties to name. Mark Schmid of TalkTalk said: "If the great sporting and cultural arenas of the nation can be renamed why not individual homes?"

Seems cheap to me - Mrs Jackson has agreed we can rename our house 'Kitchen Nightmares' free of charge, after I set fire to the last batch of scones I was cooking - also provided Gordon Ramsay visited for the naming ceremony. I'm all for Kirstie's Retreat, Mrs J, as usual is not as impressed.

It's snowing ferociously here at present, Copernicus would want to go out for a walk right now wouldn't he.... ? I may be some time....

Until the next one,

Mr Jackson

Google Homes.....

The BBC Reports that Google is set to launch a property dimension to its UK mapping system.

The new service will allow both estate agents and private sellers to put their property as an overlay on Google Maps.

The plans were outlined at a conference called Estate Agency Events last week, which David attended (though has to keep tight lipped about this - well done so far after my questioning!), although Google has declined to give official confirmation.

Shares in the property portal Rightmove fell more than 10% as news emerged, the sharpest faller in the FTSE 350 index of companies for the day.

The new service is expected to launch next year and would be similar to a service Google launched in Australia.

That site allows estate agents to list properties for free, with pictures taken from its Street View service and listing details on a map.

Speaking to BBC News, Edward Mead - sales director for Douglas & Gordon estate agents - said that the new system would be a win-win situation for both Google and estate agents.

"The technology to do this is already in place and estate agents are a little busier these days, although transactions are still fifty per cent down on what they once were.

"So this service, which is free, will appeal to estate agents' cost-cutting nature and given that sixty per cent of agents are one-off traders, this will have serious appeal."

Mr Mead said that Google's head of property and classified team, Ben Wood, briefed 30 of England's top estate agents at Estate Agency Events last week, telling them everything about the system, other than an official launch date.

This can only be good news for the property market and your average seller, who will be able get far more market exposure. However we are still waiting for Google's street view service in Moray (Though I have seen the photo cars about).

Lets hope like David, the other agents embrace this and take it forward, as we all know some can be a bit backward with their marketing and in embracing new technology.

My wrist is slowly getting better - Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes and cards, especially to my blog followers for their patience whilst this heals. I'll arrange a get together at the Ord Ban cafe in Aviemore and buy you all a coffee once I'm back up to speed - First 100 only though, otherwise I may have to take out a second mortgage.

All the best,

Mr Jackson.

My Apologies.....

Apologies to my faithful readers - I've been in hospital, after falling in the Cairngorms (Only low-level walking) however a sharp frost overnight ensured that some of the paths were very slippery.

I somehow managed to go over on my ankle breaking my wrist as I fell. Fortunately Copernicus was with me and his barking attracted some nearby fell runners (I am extremly grateful for your assistance if you are reading this - I didn't even get to ask you your names !).

The long and short of it being I've not been able to type or correspond, other than by telephone. My strapping has been removed today - so I just wanted to keep you all updated on the blog.

My thanks once again go to everyone for their kindness and best wishes. Hopefully the blog will be back up to speed shortly.

Watch this space,

Mr Jackson.

Who....?

I was stopped by the police this morning on my way to do my periodic tenancy check on our rental cottage in Cawdor. I thought there may have been a major incident, such was the officious manner of the policeman.

It turns out that there is a 'celebrity' wedding taking place at the church and the police were instructed to discourage fans and on-lookers from parking or camping on the road. After checking my credentials and my ensuring it was not my intention to throw my underwear or camp at the roadside, I was sent on my way.

Who is the celebrity ? I phoned my source at Cawdor Castle to find out, it seems that Cawdor Castle and Drynachan Lodge have been booked for the weekend, for the reception.

It's Mark Owen, they told me.... I was still none the wiser....

Felicity my grand-daughter was very excited when I told her, apparently he's in the band 'Take That' and Robbie Williams (I've heard of him) would also be attending. There would be hundreds of fans there and most of the hotels and guest houses in the area are fully booked.

Now if I'd have known about this in advance then I could have rented out my other property in Cawdor on a short term let and charged an exhorbitant rate for it !

Oh, to move in the circles of the people with their fingers on the pulse, mine was certainly going much quicker as I tried to make my way past the photographers and fans of this man, without hitting anyone in Mrs Jacksons unweildy Volvo estate.

(Here's a picture of the man and his beloved - above - Sunday afternoon at the church in Cawdor, if waiting outside a church in the cold Autumn drizzle is your type of thing).

Perhaps the happy couple may be interested in a cottage to rent in the area for their wedding anniversary, I'll start planning now...

If you go along to spectate, don't get too cold & wet this weekend.

Mr Jackson.