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There are several thousand websites available to the house buyer or seller. We've collected some that we regard as the most useful, checked out the sites personally, revisited them regularly to make sure they're still relevant, and kept the list up to date with additions and deletions.

Unlike many such links lists, we do not accept any and all websites notified to us. Nor do we include a site merely because the owner has offered a reciprocal link to ours. Each site listed here is here because we think it poitentially helpful, or interesting, or both.

The list is organised under these headings – click on a heading to go to that section:

Property research
Find the property — nationally
Find the property — in Herefordshire
Find the finance
Ideas, advice and other input
Rent
Build it yourself
Buy to let
Professional contacts
Local information
Links for lawyers
Miscellaneous

Property research
Basic information about the property and the area you're considering is available online from some unusual sources. These are the must-visit websites for the buyer or seller …
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	Maporama Multimap Streetmap ViaMichelin		Four excellent map sites – enter a place name or postcode and you'll get a zoomable map of the area.
	Upmystreet		Type in a postcode and the search engine will use official statistics to profile the neighbourhood – like crime rates, exam results, and property prices.
	Neighbourhood Search		Another postcode checker to give you some idea of what the neighbourhood is like, what the typical house type is, and what financial risks might be associated with it.
	Neighbourhood Statistics		Government-funded website (based on Office of National Statistics data from the 2001 Census) intended to let you check out local areas with detailed statistics for a range of subjects including population, crime, health and housing. You can access statistics according to postcode, town or city name, as well as being able to search by subject for an overview of the best and worst that the UK has to offer. You can also compare areas.
	NeighbourScan		Neighbourhoods rather than neighbours, actually. Another of the useful paid-for search tools (prices from £350) that can help you assess a potential area. This one includes some people problems (including the proximity of paedophiles and peeping toms, it is claimed) as well planning blight, flood risks, parking problems and more.
	PrimeLocation		Property locator site including a useful Your Neighbourhood page – local info on property prices, council performance, schools and local services, plus links to IAmMoving, Homecheck and UKVillages.
	Homecheck		Get a free online report on your new property. Find out about hidden risks such as old landfill sites, flooding, subsidence, radon, toxic sites and contaminated land.
	Environment Agency		Loads of information about potential problems in specific areas – including the proximity of landfill sites and possible flooding problems.
	Good Schools Guide		Proximity to a decent school is a major issues for many families. This site has assembled all the public information that it can find on UK schools, many with short reviews; basic info on exam results and the like is free, otherwise you'll have to pay to subscribe. There were 648 schools covered last time we looked.
	Land Registry		The Land Registry records the ownership of registered land in England and Wales. This site provides has information and forms; you can’t get at ownership details for particular properties, but there is a useful property price database where you can find average prices of residential property in England and Wales. (For information about Land Registration in Scotland go to the Registers of Scotland.)
	Mouseprice		Online valuation service – can calculate the current value of any property in England and Wales provided it has been sold or valued since1 April 2000.
	E-valuations		Anohter online valuation website. You can choose a valuation based on any or all of Land Registry Data, Estate Agent opinions and local property market analysis. Prices from £50 to £100.
	HousePriceCrash		As the name implies, this excellent independent site aims to counterbalance to the huge amounts of positive spin the housing market receives and to provide up to date data and commentary. It's fascinating stuff, meaty and (in the blog) opinionated.
	ReallyMoving		Useful free collection of paid-for links covering buying, selling, financing, moving, and more.
	UKvillages		Free service to villages and local communities in the UK. Lots of local info and opinions; not everywhere is covered, though.
Find the property — nationally
Numerous property websites have online databases for the whole country. Most take their property-for-sale references from a limited number of estate agents, though, and many have a heavy bias towards the South East.
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	Country Life Property		The magazine's website has searchable links to prestige properties from more than 30 estate agents.
	Find A Property		Searchable database of property from several estate agents specialising in London and the South East. Features include a directory of estate agents offering virtual property tours. Could do with a few more entries.
	Fish4Homes		National database with excellent searching. Developed by four big regional newspaper groups, and since local papers are the obvious first port of call for the house-hunter this makes a good online starting point..
	HomeCo		Searchable database covering the country. A map of Britain is the starting point; refine your search by price, accommodation and/or distance from a major town.
	homesonline		Searchable databases of property and estate and letting agents. There’s also a directory of home improvement centres.
	Hometrack		Independent property research service, including unique Housing Database for property prices and trends in particular areas. Over 7,500 reports are received monthly from up to 3,500 Hometrack Approved Agents.
	Housenet		Advertising service for UK properties for sale, with a decent searchable database included.
	HouseWeb		A large property database, but also a good collection of guides on moving house. Also has latest mortgage rates and house prices.
	Loot Property		Mammoth property database, though more geared to renting than buying and to the South East rather than the whole of the UK.
	MoveWithUs		UK-wide network with input from around 1,000 estate agents. Unusually, good on part-exchange deals. A nice website with lots of well-presented and useful information alongside the 'buy members' services' messages..
	National Directory of Estate Agents		Aka UK Property Shop. Claims to be the most comprehensive source of residential property for sale or rent, covering 18,000 estate agents and letting agents in 3,000 towns.
	Period Property UK		Does what it says on the tin — specialises in period homes. Listings of properties for sale, plus tips on renovation and a question-answering service
	Propertyfinder.co.uk		Decent searchable UK-wide database of properties, most with an inviting photo and location map.
	Rightmove		By a stretch, the top property search website in terms of visits – "where people view more property pages than on the next three largest property websites put together". Jointly owned by four big estate agency groups but used by more than half of the top 100 estate agencies to showcase properties. Covers 99% of UK postcodes.
	SmartNewHomes		As you'd expect, the site lists new homes for sale. It's independent but "works in conjunction with leading House Builders across the UK".
	4salebyowner		Private property sales – avoid the estate agent (and their fees).
Find the property — in and around Herefordshire
We operate nationally, but we obviously have a bias towards our local area. It's now well-provided for estate agents, most of them with online lists of properties. Naturally we have well-established contacts with all of these.
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	Andrew Grant
	Andrew Morris Estate Agents
	Arkwright Owens & Co
	Bairstow Eves Countrywide
	Barry Bufton
	Bill Jackson Estate Agents
	Brightwells Property Services
	R M Caldicott Property & Management
	Christopher Lyons
	Clee Thompkinson Francis
	Cobb Property
	Connells
	Cross & James
	Darlows
	David Parry & Co
	Flint & Cook Estate Agents
	Haart Ltd
	Hayes Sales and Lettings
	H.J.Pugh & Co
	Humberts
	J Patrick Power
	John Amos & Co
	Jonathan Preece & Co
	Jonathan Wright
	John Goodwin Estate Agents
	Knight Frank
	Link Up Properties
	Maitland Rachel
	McCartney's
	Morris Bricknell
	Nicholas Craddock Estate Agents
	Parrys Property Co
	Platinum Property
	Re/Max
	Richard Butler & Associates
	Russell Baldwin & Bright
	Shawcross & Co
	Stooke, Hill & Walshe
	Sunderlands
	Taylors Countrywide
	The Property Shop
	Thompsons Land and Property
	Turner & Company
	Watkins and Thomas
	Williams Estate Agents
Find the finance
Competition in the mortgage business has produced a whole range of property-loan options, and you may well need a guide to pick your way through the candidates to find the best deal for your own circumstances.
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	Charcol Online		Helpful site from well-known mortgage broker — good on basic definitions, includes calculators to work out how much you can borrow and how best to repay. You can also apply for mortgages online.
	Essentially Homeloans		As the name suggests, a one-stop mortgages and loan shop that claims to include "mortgage information to cover nearly every possible mortgage requirement".
	Frog Finance		Refreshingly low-key financial information site with lots of good-quality basic information – including sound comment on current money news stories – and commendably not much selling. Good clean design, too.
	Inland Revenue		The Revenue has a lot of useful tax-related information online, including forms and downloadable leaflets relating to property matters. This starting-point link is to the Stamp Taxes Online service, developed as part of the move towards e-conveyancing.
	LoanCheck		If you already have a loan or a mortgage, check whether you are paying too much in insurance, penalising interest rates and other add-ons by visiting this site. If it seems you are being overcharged, LoanCheck can try to get you a refund.
	Money Supermarket		A financial intermediary specialising in online services and featuring an excellent selection of mortgages and other money products. Has probably the best online product comparisons.
	Mortgage Calculator		The mortgages section of the Interactive Investor site has a collection of calculators to help you compare mortgages.
	Mortgage Finder		Best of the mortgage lists — details of 1,500 different mortgages from 90 providers, with daily updates and interactive searching. There is also a glossary of terms and answers to frequently asked questions.
	Mortgages for Business		Claims competitive rates on business and commercial mortgages; MFB also offers commercial property investments and owner-occupier mortgages. The site also has a lot of (free) information for borrowers.
	Mortgages ABC		Useful basic information and commonly-asked questions about mortgages, with no financial products sold or endorsed (though there are ads on the site).
	Mortgages Online		Good first-time-buyers' site with straightforward advice about finding mortgage deals and avoiding common pitfalls.
	Mortgages.co.uk		Impressive and extensive portal for UK mortgages with over 100 pages of information – advice, questions and answers, glossary, separate areas for remortgages, buy to let, commercial mortgages, inheritance tax and how to make a will. Lots of calculators and lists of top lenders in various categories, too.
	Remortgage UK		Website featuring what it regards as "the very best mortgage and remortgage deals in the UK". One of many, but easier to use than some ...
	What Mortgage Online		As the name implies, the online version of What Mortgage magazine. This neatly-designed site has some very useful content, including free guides, calculators and a lot of advice..
Ideas, advice and other input
A potpourri of information and advice for the buyer or seller of property. Many of the services here are also provided by property databases and mortgage-related sites, though …
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	Association of British Insurers		Useful advice on a range of insurance issues, including building, household and mortgage protection.
	BBC Homes		Very wide-ranging collection of ideas and advice for furnishing, decorating and DIYing your home — plus info on maintenance, security, finance, and buying and selling. Sign up for newsletters, get stuck into the forums, bypass the hard sell for BBC property programmes ...
	Good Schools Guide		Check the status of schools in the area – postcode-searchable directory of state and independent schools with Ofsted results, parents' comments and other useful information.
	Home Stagers		Began life when the founder hit problems trying to sell her own home in a difficult market, developed into a franchised network of interior design consultants, and includes this free and very full collection of articles, tips, case studies, financial tools, advice and networking for anyone interested in increasing a home's financial potential.
	HomeEverything		Free service that can compare a selection home improvement companies in your area — "the best companies that have achieved gold standard reputations on the basis of outstanding workmanship and highly competitive prices ... We have filtered out maverick companies that cut corners and / or over charge".
	How to buy a home in England and Wales		This online booklet from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (a 254kb download in PDF format) covers everything you need to know about mortgages, conveyancing, insurance and budget planning. (The CML has several useful consumer publications on this page.)
	IAmMoving		Tell everyone your new address — simple and free change-of-address service.
	OffGrid		Well-designed website for "people, places or buildings without mains water or power". Lots of how-to information, networking and classified ads.
	PeriodProperty		Primarily a properties-for-sale site, but it also lists a good range of products and craftsmen across the UK for older properties. The site also has an agony uncle who will advise on problems such as modifying listed buildings or repointing walls with lime.
	Property Medics		A good-looking and well-filled website for property improvers: "for the first-time buyer, seasoned homeowner or DIY landlord we're here to help you achieve the best from home ownership".
	QuickMoveNow.com		A number of agencies have sprung up offering a quick sale. This one seems more up-front than most; it simply pays "up to" 90% of the appraised value of your home based on the opinions of three independent local estate agents. There are no charges to obtain an offer on your home, and they might even pay up to £500 towards solicitor's fees.
	Salvo		A partial but still pretty good directory of architectural salvage yards and auctions.
	Snagging.org		"Empowering new home owners" claims this site, which provides advice and forums on snagging lists (post-sale problems with new houses) plus some links.
Rent
So you need some temporary accommodation while you wait for your property? Try these quick-reference sites. (Several of the estate agents listed above will also have a number of properties to let.)
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	Arena Lettings		Property to let in and around Hereford, with lists of available properties.
	Belvoir Lettings		Property to let in and around Hereford, especially family houses.
	Rentamatic		Useful resource for anyone looking for a place to rent — includes a comprehensive directory of UK letting agents.
	R M Caldicott Property & Management		Property to let in and around Herefordshire.
	The Accommodation Directory		Nationwide list of available flats, houses and rooms for rent.
	Thompsons Land & Property		Property to let in and around Herefordshire.
Build it yourself
If you're keen to build your own house, these would make a good (maybe even essential) starting point.
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	Home Building For All		Independent and very professional site covering building design, costs, alterations and extensions, building regs, and more. Although run by professional builders it includes advice on cost saving. Much of the information is free; the rest will cost you £30 membership.
	Self Build Information		Practical advice on how to build your own home. Features include a database of UK building plots, directories of architects and builders, and related discussion forums.
	SelfBuild123		A good site from an amateur who has been through the self-build process. Very sound on the preliminaries – researching the whole self-build issue, finding land, getting the finance, sourcing the building materials, and so on. Good links, too.
	The House Planner		Good source of information and advice (mostly via links) for anyone interested in building, renovating or home improvements.
	Yourplot.co.uk		An online retailer of land in the UK – typically vacant plots of around 1/4 acre.
	UK Selfbuild and Renovation		Fact-packed site, with lots of from-the-heart info for the first-timer on finding the land, sorting out costs, building the thing, and even reclaiming VAT. The cost calculator is particularly useful.
Buy to let
A lot of good information is available online for those looking to property for an income – perhaps too much information. Here's a collection of starting points.
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	Mundy's Comment: Are you a would-be landlord?		Our own summary of the key issues, complete with caveats.
	Which? report on Buy-to-Let June 2002		Not as up-to-date as it could be, but all the facts and comments are accurate. The link is for Which? Online subscribers; others will have to purchase the report.
	Association of Residential Letting Agents		An essential stop for would-be landlords, loaded with useful information.
	Buy-to-let		A commercial website with some free information, opinions, and a newsletter. Especially good for beginners.
	The Practical Guide to Buy-to-Let		Downloadable ebook full of useful, practical information – costs £20, comes with a buy-to-let calculator as an Excel spreadsheet. A sample chapter is available at the website.
	The Money Centre		Claims (apparently with justification) to be the UK's largest specialised mortgage broker for Buy to Let, Residential Investment and Commercial Mortgage finance.
	Best Buy to Let Mortgages Best4Let Finance for Living		Three of many specialist mortgage brokers.
	LandlordZONE		Rather good on-line community and portal for landlords, novice and experienced alike. Bags of free information, resources and contacts.
	LetLink		Useful information for the lettings sector. No property listings, but does list local letting agents for landlords or tenants.
	Landlord Law		Fast and economical legal advice for landlords (and tenants). The site includes a substantial database of information, tips, FAQ, and articles.
	Landlord Forum		Claims to be "the fastest growing Landlord Advice website in the UK". It's certainly an extensive online resource for buy to let landlords, tenants and property professionals. Well worth browsing, and there are some low-cost ready-to-use legal documents on offer too.
	Residential Landlords Association		Claims to be "the UK's leading national landlord association for UK landlords and private residential property investors". Some good free material even if you don't join up, including downloadable forms.
	PropertyLicence.gov.uk		Government web pages explaining the revised HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) regulations that came into force in April 2006.
Professional contacts
A collection of sites for the key professional bodies in the property business. Many of these have useful information for the consumer.
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	Council for Licensed Conveyancers		The body that certifies Licensed Conveyancers like Mundy's. The site includes basic information, plus details of the complaints procedure.
	Inland Revenue		The taxman has several guidance notes of interest to homeowners and property investors. The website also has a section on council tax calculations from the Valuation Office.
	Council of Mortgage Lenders		The trade association for mortgage lenders in the UK; its members undertake around 98% of UK residential mortgage lending. For facts on buying a home, and help with mortgage repayments and tax, check out the FAQ section on this helpful website.
	The Law Society		The professional body for solicitors in England and Wales. There's not much here for the general user, but sometimes it may be helpful to see the profession's point of view on matters of policy and practice in legal dealings …
	The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors		A professional body that "represents, regulates and promotes" 110,000 chartered surveyors and technical surveyors. The website is mostly for members, but the public pages have useful information on consumer protection, dispute resolution, finding a surveyor and buying and selling at auction. The RICS also publishes quarterly surveys of the residential property market.
	National Land Information Service		NLIS is a government service that aims to provide an on-line link to various sources of information physically held at disparate and unconnected locations. Initially, only conveyancing professionals such as solicitors and licensed conveyancers can use these services; but the intention is that one day it will be available to the general public as well
	National Housebuilders Council		NHBC in an independent non-profit provider of warranties and insurance for new homes. The website includes its charter regulating the construction of houses, plus a guide to logging a complaint.
	National Association of Estate Agents		The larger of the professional bodies for for estate agency, representing more than 60% of estate agency offices in the UK.
	Independent Association of Estate Agents		A professional organisation for estate agents, effectively in competition with the NAEA.
	Web Law		Independent source of information about business and commercial law.
Local information
Herefordshire and the Marches aren't served too well via the web, but these sites are honourable exceptions in giving a flavour of local life.
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	Herefordshire and Monmouthshire Classic Hits		Hereford and Monmouth Classic Hits Ltd is one of two applicants for a new local commercial FM radio licence covering Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. It is backed by the experienced local broadcaster Laser Broadcast Ltd.
	This is Herefordshire		The best-developed and most commercial local site is associated with the Hereford Times newspaper.
	Hereford.uk.com		Hereford's community information website, now in its seventh year, provides a good portal to information on business, travel, entertainment, employment, tourism, schools, and more. There's a very good what's-on section …
	ThisBritain – Herefordshire		Claims to be "a hand-picked, impartially summarised list of the very best Internet sites for Herefordshire". It makes a reasonable stab at this, though the Yahoo-style hierarchy means you might need lots of clicks through groups and subgroups before you reach the individual site you want