Cornwall LivingIssue #108
Keeping Cornwall moving
If you’re in the throes of buying or selling your Cornish home, then perhaps Mark and the team at Britannia Lanes can help…
Britannia Lanes is a well-established company with Cornish roots, having nurtured a strong reputation across the south west as one of the UK’s premier storage and removal firms. We’re interested to catch up with company Director Mark Lane, to get his take on the current Stamp Duty holiday, the effect it’s having on the Cornish market, and what potential buyers can do to capitalise on it.
With the Stamp Duty holiday extended until the end of June, the Cornish market is especially buoyant right now, with more people than ever seizing the opportunity to sell their homes and make that long-awaited move to Cornwall. And this is a trend that, Mark believes, is set to continue, due to a number of reasons. Not only have three lockdowns left homeowners seeking more space at home and a healthier home lifestyle, Mark explains: “The rise of remote working is also giving many the opportunity to live their dream of moving to our region full time, rather than just for holidays.”
But with such an increase in the volume of sales, the process of buying a home here is inevitably taking longer. To illustrate the point, Mark reveals that because estate agents aren’t currently allowing viewings until customers have sold their existing properties, by the time they then start to look for a new home and get an offer agreed, the time between selling their home and purchasing the next can be between six to eight weeks! “This,” he says, “means that customers not wanting to lose the sale are having to complete on the existing property, then move into storage until their new homes complete.”
Fortunately, Britannia Lanes is here to help. Not only can you benefit from contactless video surveys, advice to help plan and budget your move, and an efficient and professional removals service on a day that suits your schedule, you can also make the most of Britannia Lanes’ state-of-the-art storage facilities, choosing from a range of services tailored to your individual requirements. This means that if you’re faced with an extended waiting time between selling your current house and purchasing the next – which is likely over the coming months – you can rest assured that your belongings will be safe and secure for as long as you require.
As if this wasn’t enough, we recently heard news that Mark and the team are in the throes of launching a state-of-the-art, contactless, satellite self-storage facility in south Cornwall – the first of its kind in the Duchy. We ask Office, HR and Recruitment Manager, Sarah Lane, to tell us more: “The idea is that you can just turn up and choose the size of room you require,” she explains. “You will then complete your contract digitally on a machine that will then give you an access code into the facility. The plan is, that this will just be the first of many of these across Cornwall. It’s important for us as a company, and for our customers, that we are agile and move with the times. We’re used to having peaks and troughs as our business obviously follows the sometimes-volatile housing market. Our satellite storage will help manage this, both in terms of our business and our customers’ needs.” It will also mean for those whose busy schedules have less flexibility, that they can manage their storage as and when they need it.
All of this means that whatever you require when it comes to moving home, Mark, Sarah and the team have you covered. And at a time when navigating the process of buying a new home has never been more stressful, it really is reassuring to know that Britannia Lanes are there to help.
DID YOU KNOW?
Britannia Lanes offers contactless video surveys with lots of advice on the website to help you plan and budget your move. And with a team that’s well-versed in handling large influxes of work, you can be assured of a removal date that suits your busy schedule.
BRITANNIA LANES
01872 560147
