If you’ve decided to buy yourself a holiday home in France – either as a place to escape to or as an investment – then you’ll probably need to move some of your belongings there at some point. Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than moving within the same country, but it needn’t be too difficult to organise.

There are many people making a move either to or from France at any one time. And a lot of removals companies give you the option of booking in a flexible one way move date. For example, if they have someone moving back to the UK, they can time the Channel crossing so they take one lot of furniture to the UK for one family and use the return trip to move another family’s stuff out to France. If the date doesn’t tie in with your exact travel plans, the removals company can store your belongings for a day or two before meeting you at your new property and you can help them to unload.

If you don’t have much to take with you, you can even opt for a part-load – where you work out how much of the van space you will need and pay accordingly. The more flexible you can be on dates, the better a price you will get.

As your rate will depend on how much stuff you want to move, you may decide that it’s better to replace some furniture rather than take it all from one country to another. For example, sofas can take up a lot of space and with so many sofa sales on you may find it’s cheaper to buy a new one in France. Of course, another reason for buying new is that you might not have enough furniture to furnish two homes from your existing possessions.

It’s possible to buy cheap furniture in most of the mainstream shops in France these days and you can also get things delivered or a many shops have vans you can hire to take the goods home in yourself.

Struggling to sell your property? Can’t understand why? Maybe you need to make some changes… here is a list of top things that can sell a home:

1. The right estate agent. Choose wisely, get positive recommendations and if you need to pay higher fees then it may just be worth it.

2. The right marketing. Don’t be shy about telling the world your house is for sale! Some estate agents even put the price on their ‘for sale’ boards and this could help immensely.

3. The effort you make with your agent. Be available when they need to get hold of you via phone or email, check in regularly and be polite and respectful about their expertise.

4. The viewings. Your behaviour at viewings may be having a negative effect. Do you feel the need to point out the lack of space around double beds or just gush desperately about how wonderful the place is? Do yourself a favour and go out! Let the estate agent do their job and manage viewings for you.

5. The neighbours. Potential buyers envisage themselves living in your house so a friendly nod from your delightful neighbours is going to do wonders. Gloss over the details of any less than desirable residents in your street.

6. Presentation is key. Dress the house to suit your most likely buyers. Sleepmasters have a great range of beds if you need extras and always have fresh bedding neatly on display.

7. Keep it calm. A quiet, relaxed viewing is the most conducive to a sale. Turn off the television and any loud music, send those noisy kids out with the dog which barks incessantly and give potential buyers all the time they need.
8. Care and cleanliness. Show how much you value your home by looking after it properly. Clear up clutter and mend any damage. A much loved house is much quicker to sell.

If your property is on the market and has been sat there for some time with little or no interest then check this list and make sure you are not making one of the biggest mistakes frequently made by people selling a house:

1. Being unrealistic about the price. If you are in negative equity and need to sell high it just might not happen. Marketing a property too high will lead to nothing so make sure you get a professional opinion on what is possible in the current market or decide to wait a while.

2. Surviving the drive-by viewing. Many potential buyers will research properties on the internet and then drive around their desired neighbourhood to whittle down the list further. If your front garden and front door are looking shabby and uncared for you may not get past this stage: remember, first impressions really do count.

3. Living in a mess. It’s not just outside either! Once a viewing is arranged you need to make sure the house is as clean and tidy as possible to show it in its best light. You might not mind a mess but your viewer could be a neat freak! Plus tidy equals looks bigger which also adds to appeal so stash unnecessary bed accessories and put all those clothes away.
4. Talking too much. Believe it or not you may actually be destroying possible interest by saying the wrong thing without even realising. Viewings are best left to the estate agent so clear off out to Sleep Masters for some retail therapy and let them do their job.

5. Creating the wrong impression. Try and use rooms for their intended purpose as many people imagine themselves living in a house as they view it. Star Wars might be your passion but a spare bedroom dedicated to the theme as a shrine to all your memorabilia may just come across as odd! Pack it away for now and dress the room to show off its best features.

6. Keeping it a secret. Marketing and advertising are really important. OK so you don’t want the neighbours to know your private business, but how do you expect to get any interest without letting people know the place is available?! Swallow your pride and tell everyone!

When I was growing up nobody had a second bathroom, and an en suite was unheard of – even in some hotels! I actually think my Grandparents toilet was still an out house when I was very small, though that was unusual even way back then (no, I am not that old…) These days however expectations have changed and every new build seems to have at least one en suite as well as the family bathroom and some larger properties are starting to have shower rooms off the boot room too. Most posh me thinks!

If you are looking to sell your family home and it is an older model with only one bathroom then making improvements to this situation could very well help to sell your house. In this climate of a sluggish property market anything you can do to give your house the edge over neighbouring homes for sale is a good thing and whether it’s walk in baths, power showers or wet rooms there is always something which can be added to catch potential buyer’s eyes.

If a lack of bathrooms is not the problem but rather the need to spruce up the ones you have then make sure you do that too. It is not difficult to make sure that grouting between the tiles looks fresh, everywhere is sparkly clean and the facilities function properly. A lick of paint is easy to do and some cosmetic improvements won’t go amiss either. How about new towels – which you can of course take with you when you move – and some ornaments or house plants? If you have special needs and have installed recommended equipment by www.mobility-plus.co.uk then make sure you advise anyone viewing your house on how to convert the room back to its original state. Bathrooms are big news for buyers so get it right and cross your fingers for an early offer.