CHANNEL 4’s Selling Houses programme is back for a third series and looking for people who are having difficulty selling their home to take part in the forthcoming series to be filmed from the autumn to next spring.

The property must have been on the market for at least eight weeks, the owners must be prepared to spend a minimum of one per cent of their property’s value on improvements aimed at getting a sale, and they must be willing to take estate agent Andrew Winter’s advice. If you’d like to take part, post your property details with a note about how long it’s been on the market and some recent photographs of yourself and your home to Selling Houses, Pavilion House, 6-7 Old Steine, Brighton, BN1 1EJ. Alternatively, email the same information to sellinghouses @ricochetsouth.co.uk or call 01273 604792.

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WITH interest rates at a 52-year low and fierce competition in the mortgage lending market, almost one in five - or 19 per cent of mortgage holders - plan to shop around for a better deal during the next 12 months.Although the research figures from the Alliance & Leicester’s moving improving index reveal that the proportion of borrowers looking to secure a new mortgage has fallen from almost one in four in February to almost one in five, Alliance & Leicester point out this still represents a high proportion of homeowners.

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THE average first-time buyer under-estimates the expense of moving by £6,000, a Norwich Union survey has revealed, and nearly nine out of ten don’t take into account the additional expenses of legal bills, surveys, stamp duty and basic furnishings when buying their first home. However, Fairview New Homes development in Ashford, Greenacres, is offering a “move in free” package on a selection of the their 113 two bedroom apartments. Call Fairview New Homes on 01233 627 4114 or visit their website at www.fairview.co.uk