A deceased estate must be valued for inheritance tax purposes before there can be any question of dividing up the assets. This article explains how to value a house, and contents because these often make up a significant part of any estate. It is worth mentioning … [Read more...]
Fly Tipping in London: Why Here of All Places?
London has certainly had its ups and downs over the years, what with three major attempts at invasion in history, two of which succeeded. And then of course there was also a great plague that took an even greater fire to quench. But why do we still have fly tipping in … [Read more...]
Fly Tipping in Kent Accounts for 27.8% of South East
I can’t for the life of me explain how Kent became fly tipping capital of the south east of England. When I was a lad, I remember my father driving the family down from London to the Straits of Dover, and the wonderful holidays we had. I refuse to believe fly tipping in … [Read more...]
Tween and Teenage Hoarders Is This an Excuse?
If your teen or tween has an untidy bedroom, this may be a phase through which they are going. Characteristic signs include chairs piled high with clothes they never put away, and a floor that’s hard to navigate past possessions. We consider tween and teenage hoarders … [Read more...]
Clearing a Hoarded Home in Hampshire Where Ancients Trod
Hampshire straddled the land bridge from Europe during the last great ice age. Mesolithic hunters gathered in river valleys where they hunted giant beasts. Until these became extinct and they began to experiment with agriculture instead. Roman and Norman colonists added … [Read more...]
How to Make a Legal Will that Holds Water
I was helping clear a family home after one of two life partners died. ‘If only I knew how to make a legal will,’ the survivor told me ‘I could have stayed on and retired here. But you see my partner died intestate, and because we never married everything has to go to … [Read more...]
Clearing a Hoarded Home in Hertfordshire’s Richly Diverse Countryside
I love my days driving up from London to clear hoarded homes in England. Especially when it’s time to leave the thundering motorway, and follow a winding road past sweeping panoramas. Clearing a hoarded home in lovely Hertfordshire is one of my treats. Although this … [Read more...]
Clearing Hoarded Houses in Buckinghamshire – Challenging Trash
I’m never happier than when I get calls to assist with clearing hoarded houses in Buckinghamshire, in the heart of England. Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire all have their charms, but being on the fringe of Greater London could … [Read more...]
What to Do When Collecting Turns to Hoarding
Compulsive hoarders may be hard to distinguish from other people until their habit becomes extreme. They just have a compelling difficulty getting rid of things. However, what sets them apart from serious collectors is the items have little or no real value. At least in … [Read more...]
Compulsive Hoarding as a Reflection of Broader Social Norms
There are three main streams of human science seeking to explain individual behaviour. The first of these is psychology, which examines the role of the individual mind. While the second, sociology explores the influence of groups to which the individual belongs. But … [Read more...]