We found a new flat! Very excited! It’s lovely and I can’t wait to move in.

It was actually quite a pain free process in the end. I hate house hunting, it is usually so awful, but this time it wasn’t so bad. Of course there was the odd viewing of places you’d rather die than live in, and the dealing with real estate lingo – understanding that ‘charming’ means ‘needs modernising’, and ‘cosy’ means ‘tiny’. But all in all, not so bad.

The best thing about the whole process was the estate agent at who found us the new flat. How many people can say that about the house hunting process?! She was very helpful and seemed to know just what we were looking for. Rather than just showing me everything and anything like all the other agencies did, she actually listened to what we wanted. Seems simple, but most estate agents I’ve come across don’t seem to understand this fundamental point.

Estate agents certainly have a dodgy reputation, but I’ve never understood why some people think they can treat estate agents like crap and still walk away with a good deal at the end of the day. I’ve learnt that if you are friendly and can build a good relationship with them it certainly works in your favour. They will remember you and call you first when they get a new listing that might suit you – which is exactly what happened, we were the first to view the new flat and took it pretty much straight away. They are also more likely to help you negotiate a good deal so you can save yourself some money, and the process will run more smoothly for everyone involved – and given that moving house is one of the most stressful things ever, that’s important!