For many who fled cities in the pandemic, this is their first rural winter.
This winter is going to be very different from any that Alexandra and Joshua Knight have ever experience before. Earlier this year they moved from a suburban cul-de-sac in Oxted, Surrey to a remote house with an acre of land in Northumberland, a 20 minute drive from Morpeth.
“We have gorgeous views and the property you can get for your money here is ridiculous compared to Surrey”, said Mrs. Knight, 40, an engineer who founded Stemazing, a social enterprise. “But our house is 200 years old and damp. It was empty for a year before we bought it, an the day we moved in the oil-fired beating didn’t work. The couple who have two children, have been getting ready for the colder months. They have put solar panels on the rood so they are less dependent on electricity from the grid and are about to have a ground source heat pump installed…….
The pandemic and the increase in flexible working have caused a huge rush from towns and cities to the countryside, sending the average price of a British country house up by 10.6 pc in the year to September. This is the fastest level of growth since early 2007, according to estate agency, Knight Frank.
Not everyone who has relocated is as well-prepared as the Knights and the realities of a first rural winter could so sobering, said Caroline Edwards of estate agency Fenn Wright. “There’s everything from the cost of buying logs and filling up oil tanks to setting up an account with a local taxi firm in time for the party season” she said……………
While oil-fired Agas are cosy d look the part in a country home, they are notoriously costly to run. A survey conducted in 2019 by the range company Blake and Bull found that owners of oil-fire Agas spent an average of £1,078 a year on fuel.
Carol Peett of West Wales Property Finders, a buying agent, http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk reduced her Aga bills by having her cooker converted to electricity, meaning it can be programmed so that hotplates and ovens can be turned off when not in use.
“We did this when oil went u last time and the cost saving is huge”, she said. Converting an Aga to electricity starts at £3,763 plus VAT through Blake and Bull.
A quarter of heat is lost through the roof of an uninsulated home, according to the Energy Saving Trust, so insulating the loft is one of the most cost effective ways to save money………
The Daily Telegraph – Saturday, 18th November 2021 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/prepare-first-winter-countryside/
If you are looking to move to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion, or buy a property here, give West Wales Property Finders a call on 01834 862 816. We can fine your perfect property for you whilst saving you time, stress and often money too.
