June news on the Uckfield area business scene

Are you a winner or loser in the property stakes? Chris Tofts from Uckfield based Taylor Tofts looks at what it takes to come out on top:

Price governs property sales. It is not the location. It is not the size. It is not the condition. It is the price.

Location, size and condition influence price. But price still governs everything.

So here is a fun game to play with your own home. Estimate three prices.

The first figure, a very high amount, beyond even your most rose-tinted view is the figure that your home would never fetch in a month of Sundays. The second figure, a very low sum, is the sort of price at which a frenzied hoard of ruthless cash buyers would bite your arm off on the first day of marketing - and each then be prepared to gazump wildly if they were unsuccessful.

This is a price that would be met in a firestorm and with everything that could go wrong, going wrong.

The third figure is between the other two. This is the amount your property might fetch if pursued by a couple of ready, willing and able buyers after several weeks of marketing on the internet and in the press.

These buyers wouldn’t have been alone in viewing but the others will have decided against proceeding further for whatever reason. You can play this game with any property and all three figures determine the speed at which the property will – or will not - sell.

Clearly human nature demands a preference for a seller to try and achieve the first figure and a strong reluctance to descend to the second. But the clever player will steer the third, middle course. In a property sale one can determine the price one gets and one can determine the time it takes to sell.

But it is tricky to determine both together – especially in this market. To achieve a perfectly timed and priced sale the seller has to move the price more towards the realistic than the optimistic, and in some cases, sadly, even nudge the pessimistic. Or they must be lucky.

The question every seller has to ask is, am I lucky? Or, do I have time to be lucky? The good news is that even in a depressed market such as we have now there is a level of movement stimulated by those who must sell and/or buy, usually through reasons of birth, death, health, marriage, divorce, job change, retirement or money concerns.

The even better news is that moving home is a game usually played over two legs.

There is the home leg, selling, and the away leg, buying. Usually, what one loses on the swings one gains on the roundabouts. So in the end all things pretty much level themselves out.

Remember that first figure, the highly optimistic one? That territory is reserved for a bull market with buyers scrambling to purchase what little there is available, where lenders are throwing money at borrowers, where there is much less unemployment than we have now and far more confidence, where there are no austerity cuts, where the property market is on a charge upwards and panic buying is rife.

Can there be any reasonable person in this country who feels we have these conditions right now?

Price realistically to win the property game.

Wedding diary service

Uckfield businesswoman Sue Edwards, who runs VA Sussex, is launching an exclusive new service aimed at people planning their wedding. She will create what will, in effect, be a couple’s wedding diary.

Sue said: “This will be your own special wedding 'story' right from the start; from when you first met, culminating in your wedding day, supported by your own special photographs throughout.

“Document all those plans, thoughts, laughter . . . and the tea.

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“I will write your diary for you and present it in a beautifully bound book: paperback, hardback or a luxurious padded version so you can relive those special memories with your family in years to come.

“Each diary is bespoke, exclusive to you and a wonderful keepsake.”

As well as those planning their wedding, Sue believes couples about to celebrate a special wedding anniversary may want to look back on their own love story and produce a special book to mark the occasion.

Each book, as well as being printed, will be available in DVD form. Sue, who is pictured above with husband Phil on their wedding day, will work closely with clients throughout the whole project.

Graphic design for the web

*Chris Dowling – Print and Design Ltd has added graphic design for websites to its wide-ranging portfolio of services.

The company offers a “one-stop shop” for printing (litho and digital), graphic design, large poster printing, copywriting and editing.

Office space available

*An office suitable for a small business or start-up is available to let at The Old Mill House in Mill Lane, Uckfield.

The first floor office is 12’ 3” by 14’ 3” on the first floor of the building overlooking the river.

Use of a kitchen, a parking space and all bills are included in the rent of £326 a calendar month.

The office, above the Back on Track Clinic will be available from July 1.

Craftsman contest adapts

One of the highlights of the South of England Show is the Young Craftsman of the Year competition.

The title of the competition and the setting may suggest it is all about the “arty, crafty” world. Nothing could be further from the truth as the competition highlights a spectrum of skills.

Chairman of the organising committee, Sarah Peay, said one of the newer challenges for the competition and for the judges was to embrace a modern world based on computer technology and to understand and recognise its place and importance in traditional crafts as well as modern ones.

She said: “We want to keep the tradition of craftsmanship but at the same time recognise that we are working with young people in a computer dominated world, knowing also that they will be expected to know about the technology side when they enter the business world themselves.”

The Young Craftsman of the Year marquee is at the heart of the South of England Show, and demonstrates not only skills and rural influences but diversity, technical expertise and the longevity of the craft teaching that is still being passed down the generations.

The South of England Show takes place on June 7, 8 and 9 from 9am to 6pm each day, at the South of England Showground, Ardingly.

Nathan Shaw – winner of the 2011 Young Craftsman of the Year title - is pictured below.

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Another record bid

Electric vehicle technology specialist Weald EVT is planning another crack at setting a speed record.

Just over a year ago a motor-cycle designed and built by Phil Edwards set a new UK record at the Alternative Energy Racing Event at Santa Pod.

Ridden by racer Rob Moon, the electric bike covered a quarter of a mile in 14.1245 seconds.

Phil, whose business is based in Uckfield, said: “Having set the UK record in May 2011, I did say that we’d move on and tackle a different motorsport project. The lure of record breaking is pretty hard to resist though, particularly with such a strong team of people, both sub-contractors and in the company.

“So, we’re heading back to the ¼mile tracks, but this time upping the stakes considerably to take on the best in the world.”

He expects to have a tilt at the title in about a year’s time and at present is putting the finance together to fund the project.

Phil is also looking at an electric car project. The scheme would work in a similar way to how the “Boris bikes” are hired out in London.

The car(s) would be community-owned and designed for use on short city trips, with hire possibly being by the minute. Special lightweight vehicles would be used.

Already one city has expressed an interest in the scheme.

Torch relay - trading advice

Businesses and residents are being given top trading and consumer advice ahead of the Olympic Torch Relay which comes through East Sussex on July 17 And 18.

Carl Maynard, East Sussex County Council Lead Member for Economy, Transport & Environment said: “For many people the torch relay is a once in a lifetime event and we're really looking forward to seeing it in East Sussex.

“We also recognise that the relay is an opportunity for many traders to increase custom. We want to help them with advice about stocking official London 2012 products so that they don't fall victim to suppliers offering counterfeit and potentially dangerous goods.

“We also want to help consumers with advice and would urge them to only buy goods from a reputable source. People buying products should examine the quality before handing over their money. Some tell-tale signs of counterfeit goods include poor printing on labels or poorly finished products.

“We're reminding residents to be wary of advertising and unsolicited mail which may claim an association with the Olympic Games. This includes things like bogus ‘winning prize' notifications or claims that tickets to Olympic events are available if you pay a fee.”