Mind the kerb – sometimes the exterior appearance of a house falls flat even before you’ve stepped over the threshold.  But if everything else stacks up – the location, the price, the number of rooms – think about changes to the exterior façade that might improve it – is the brickwork fussy?  Do the windows look dated and cluttered?  Is the front door past its best?

Window dressing – new windows can be a sizable investment so it’s important that you look at windows closely.  Arguably it’s kitchen and bathrooms that will grab your attention first, but if you’re buying a house with old windows, not only will your new property be less than thermally efficient, but you should also think about security.  If you’ve found the perfect property and you’re concerned about the windows and the need for replacement then talk to an Ultimate installer – they’ll happily give you advice.

Door to Door – a lovely new front door  is the perfect way to put your stamp on a property.  It’s also an opportunity to think about the security of your front door too.  It’s always worth checking the security features of all your doors – front and rear.  Very few people actually go to the trouble of changing locks on doors when they move in – but you must, undoubtedly there will be keys to your property in circulation that you don’t even know about.  Better to be safe than sorry!

 Brrrrrrrrrrr – is that a conservatory or a fridge? – conservatories are a fantastic addition to a property – perfect for bringing the outside in.  But if that outside is freezing cold, or boiling hot, then older conservatories will struggle to cope and you’ll end up with a huge fuel bill just trying to keep your conservatory ambient.  But don’t let this put you off a house with a conservatory, increasingly home owners are replacing tired old conservatory roofs with a more thermally efficient solid roofs – ask your local Ultimate installer to have a look at your conservatory and see if this roof-swap can be achieved.