According to a recent feature in The Times, for a rural village, Tisbury is ‘having a damn good go’ at being cool.

Those of us who have lived & worked in the Nadder Valley for many years have of course known this for a while.

What is behind the emergence of Tisbury becoming such a chique place to live or visit?

It could be argued that the way was led by the reincarnation of The Beckford Arms as a fine dining country pub at nearby Fonthill Gifford and whose complimentary reviews in the national press helped to bring the area to the attention of the London set. This in turn has attracted others to invest in the area, most notably the capital’s fine art gallery; Messums who have established a contemporary art space at the historic tithe barn on the edge of Tisbury that rivals that of Hauser & Wirth in Bruton.

The thriving village of Tisbury

Tisbury High Street

The opening of a number of independent specialist businesses in recent times has helped to re-energise the village’s High Street. The Beckford Bottle shop is described by The Times as ‘the most civilised offie in Britain’ whilst Tisbury Delicatessen, The Fishmongers, Beaton’s Tearooms and the many other smart boutiques and everyday shops have made Tisbury well worth a visit.

For prospective residents of Tisbury, there are plenty of other reasons why they might be attracted to the area not least of which is the railway station with its direct services to London Waterloo. Something of a rarity these days for a rural community, Tisbury is just about self-sufficient with medical, dental and veterinary practices, a primary school, post office and swimming pool whilst the new Nadder Centre offers a range of sports & communal facilities.

Area of natural beauty with historical landmarks

There may be villages which are architecturally prettier than Tisbury but one can’t argue about the beauty of the countryside that it nestles in. The Nadder Valley forms part of the Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs Area of Natural Beauty and its bucolic, gently undulating landscape is ideal for exploring on foot, bicycle or horse.

Old Wardour Castle

The area around Tisbury is rich in history with the lakeside ruins of Old Wardour Castle and its delightful grounds making an ideal picnic spot. The Fonthill Estate with its picture perfect lake and parkland was once part Fonthill Abbey, the home of the infamous William Beckford during the late 18th & early 19th Century.

A short drive away can be found a number of places of tremendous national an indeed, global importance such as Salisbury Cathedral, Wilton House, the Longleat Estate and perhaps most famously of all, Stonehenge.

Culinary delights

Culinary delights

The Beckford Arms is not the only dining establishment that has attracted foodies from far afield to make the journey to Tisbury. The recently reopened and stylishly refurbished Royal Oak at Swallowcliffe is making quite a name for itself while Pythouse Kitchen Garden brings idyllic eating to the fore. The much admired Fonthill Estate run The River Barn restaurant at Fonthill Bishop and the traditional country pub The Compasses at Lower Chicksgrove also offer yummy, locally produced food.

Having become established as a cool, boutique village property agency, Rural View has a fine reputation for the bespoke, personal service it provides when selling, letting & managing their clients’ homes in and around Tisbury from their office situated on the edge of Chilmark.

Why you should considering selling your house now

It’s pretty cold out there and we just seem to be assaulted by one storm after the next. Isn’t that just one reason not to even think about moving house?
Of course we can come up with all sorts of excuses to batten down the hatches and stay put, but the reality is that if you have to move house, for whatever reason, then you should seriously consider selling now.

Here are some very good reasons why now is a good time to sell your house:

Lack of competition in the local housing market

There is currently the lowest number of available properties for many, many years. This means that there is far less competition to attract buyers than there would be in the spring, when we are likely to see more houses hitting the market. It also means that buyers may more readily pay what you are looking to achieve.

Buyers want to move to this area

We have plenty of frustrated buyers who would dearly love to hear about fresh properties in Wiltshire and Dorset. Not only is this a popular part of the world to move to, but there are also those who want to stay in the area and get on with the next stage in their lives. Whether they are upsizing or downsizing, moving from town into country or vice versa, we are in touch with them.

Speed – save time

You can beat the rush and save valuable time. In the summer months solicitors, surveyors and local authorities are often overloaded with work. The quieter months allow them to concentrate on less workload, however, and transactions can smooth through just that bit more quickly. For instance the last couple of summers saw Wiltshire local authority searches take up to a couple of months to be returned which often proved critical. At the moment this is more likely to be one or two weeks.

Timing

Putting your property on the market now should enable a move within the next three or four months which means that you will have the majority of the summer to enjoy getting to know your new home. It is a much more pleasant time to physically move, you will have the longer days and better weather (we hope!) to concentrate on any home improvements, and plenty of time to arrange schools for September.

Presentation

Your house can look as good now as it might in the summer months. Photographers are very clever beings and if you use a professional, as we do, then the best aspects of your property can be relayed with skill. True, they can’t conjure up green leafed trees and bounteous borders, but they can really help to sell an attractive lifestyle, which actually is what it is all about.

Appointing a solicitor for conveyancing

You’ve found your perfect home or your agent has hooked you a buyer, now what? For many, it’s only at this stage that they start to think about appointing a solicitor to act on their behalf in the conveyancing process. i.e. the legal business of buying and selling property. However, we would urge buyers and sellers to do this before arriving at this stage.

The reasons why one should be well prepared in advance of agreeing a sale/purchase are many and varied but could save you time, avoid complications, stress and even help to avoid disappointment.

In this article, I discuss how to go about choosing a solicitor. In a future one, I will write about the steps involved in appointing a solicitor and what happens before they can actually get the ball rolling and get a sale underway.

Conveyancing: do you homework!

First of all, be prepared to take a day or two to do your homework and find a solicitor you feel is the right one to do a good job for you. It is worth doing a bit of research and asking friends, relations and agents for recommendations.

How experienced are they? Have they dealt with your type of property before? How well do they know the area you are buying/selling in as some local knowledge can be helpful?

How transparent is your solicitor? Make sure there are no hidden fees and that you have an idea as to what you are going to be charged for and how much.

How proactive will your solicitor be in issuing or chasing paperwork, raising or dealing with enquiries, liaising with their opposite number and progressing matters as speedily but as effectively as possible?

How available are they? Solicitors are busy people but you don’t want your case to be at the bottom of the pile. You want them to be good at communicating not only with you but also with the agents involved as agents have a role to play in keep things moving and everyone in the chain informed.

Solicitors: choose wisely

Do not necessarily go with the cheapest quote. Bearing in mind the sums of money involved and the potential complexity of a transaction, good property conveyancing is too important a service to skimp on a few quid on. The same can be said about choosing the right estate agent but that’s another story!

There several large conveyancing companies that process sales almost on a production line basis. They are usually cheaper than the more traditional local solicitor whose office you can pop into and some are perfectly efficient, particularly if it’s a straight forward sale but others can be like dealing with a call centre manned by inexperienced staff.

Lastly, don’t forget that where there is a mortgage involved, the loan provider will also be a client of the solicitor.

2017 was yet another busy year in our support of local community events and we are delighted to have been a part of their success.

Fonthill Dog Show

In June we were principle sponsors of the South West Wilts Hunt Supporters Dog Show, a very well attended event on the Fonthill Estate where very serious classes mix with fun. There were a lot of beautiful and handsome dogs and some very proud canine owners left the competition happy. For more information visit:  http://www.thefonthilldogshow.co.uk

Deverills Performing Arts

We have been enthusiastic supporters of Deverills Performing Arts, ‘an inspiring mix of music and drama across the seasons’ since its founding Festival in 2014. This year saw a varied line up of true talent performing to packed venues along the length of the charming Deverill Valley.  Visit the Deverills website at:  http://www.deverillsfestival.com

Chilmark Fete

We provided signage for our local village Fete in June. This year the sun shone throughout the afternoon and as always the village community stepped in with, among other things, Maypole dancing, a Band and the obligatory Pimms tent. An archetypal picture of English summer at its best.

Chilmark Show

Another sunny day in Chilmark, this time in early September where the annual show took place in the Fairmead Field opposite the Black Dog Pub. We were delighted to advertise in the programme and to see a fun packed day with some serious horticultural competition. A significant donation went to Chilmark based charity Team Rubicon, the disaster relief agency. Find out more by visiting their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ChilmarkVillageShow

East Knoyle Village BBQ

A great day was had at Moors Farm in early September where a village BBQ was the successful alternative to the Fete. Very well attended, with Tisbus ferrying revellers to the event, and we were more than happy to design and print the advertising fliers for distribution.  Find out more about this event at: http://www.benofbart.org.uk/index.php/east-knoyle/199-ek-bbq-sep17

Teffont Show

More signage was provided by Rural View for this lovely August Show, set in probably the most attractive location of all in the grounds of Teffont Manor. Here Teffont Evias and Teffont Magna combine to produce a large and memorable event every year and we were again very proud to be a part of it.  Visit the village website for more information: http://www.teffont.com

Donhead St Andrew Fete

A huge annual event which we have provided advertising signage for over the last few years. As with last year this took place on August Bank Holiday and really pulled in the crowds who enjoyed an extensive array of attractions, among which was another classic and vintage car and bike show.

Middle Down Kite Festival

This was the first Kite Festival to be organised by the Friends of Wardour School and we were very pleased to be principle sponsors. Taking place in mid September on the chalk ridge to the south of the A30, it attracted a great turnout, despite the mixed weather, and the kites could be seen for miles around. Next year looks to be bigger and even better.  Pop over to their Facebook page for more details about the event:  http://www.facebook.com/middledownkitefestival

SWW Huntertrials

This is always a good September day out in Fonthill Estate, with numerous competitors and a mini course. Rural View again sponsored the ‘thatched house’ jump and we witnessed some lovely hunters being put through their paces through both sun and rain.  Why not follow them on Facebook to see photos from the event and keep up to date with future events: http://www.facebook.com/fonthillhuntertrials

‘Escape or Die’ Illustrated Talk

Presented by Paul Cordle in November, this was a fascinating and informative talk on the escape of the future Charles II from the clutches of the Parliamentarians after the Battle of Worcester and his fraught journey to temporary exile in France. Dinton Village Hall was packed to hear this story and we were delighted to sponsor it in aid of local village churches.

The answers to our Name the Christmas Artist Competition were: A. Vincent van Gogh, B. William Turner, C. Joseph Farquharson, D. Fra Angelico, E. Peter Rubens, F. Claude Monet, G. Leonardo da Vinci, H. Rembrandt van Rijn, I. Pieter Bruegel (the Younger) & J. Paul Gaugin. The tie breaker – Salvator Mundi sold for $450.3M (£341M). Thank you to everyone who entered. As there were several correct entries, the winner & runner-up were chosen by way of a draw.