Top 10 tips
Many potential property buyers and sellers have gone to ground in the face of falling house prices and impossible mortgage options. However for those still active in the Scottish housing market, a new...

Who Wins with the New Home Report?
All homes marketed for sale in Scotland from 1 December require a Home Report which will be made available to all prospective buyers by the seller. The pros and cons of the new report have been exhaus...

DM Hall Helps Licensed Trade Businesses
Around 200 licensed trade businesses and registered social clubs have successfully gained their licences under Scotland’s new licensing system, following a marathon feat of organisation by the busy Du...

Reckless talk about a global property slump is costing us jobs
I’ve seldom been so dismayed by what normally reliable people have to say about some aspects of the economy as now when, for reasons nobody appears willing to explain, we’re apparently suffering a dev...

DM Hall team complete Rob Roy Challenge
A team of 5 DM Hall partners and staff completed the tough Rob Roy Challenge last Saturday, raising £2000 for charity.

DM Hall LLP opens new office to keep pace
DM Hall LLP, Scotland’s long-established and highly-respected firm of chartered surveyors, has opened a new office in a prime site in Dundee to make the most of its expanding business interests in the...

DUNDONALD LINKS SET FOR NATIONAL EVENT DEBUT
Following a successful weekend for Scottish Golf, the action returns to the domestic scene on Saturday (14 – 16 June) with Dundonald Links staging its first ever national SGU event , the 2008 DM Hall ...

DM Hall key appointment signals a drive for further expansion
Chartered surveyors DM Hall LLP are poised to make further important business gains in Edinburgh and surrounding areas with the key appointment of new senior building surveyor Greig Adams, who joins t...

Scottish Property Outlook Has a Silver Lining
Scotland is better placed than many other parts of the UK to ride out the stormy conditions in the property and mortgage markets, according to chartered surveyors DM Hall LLP.

DM Hall LLP acquires Cupar’s Johnston Surveys
DM Hall LLP chartered surveyors has made an important addition to its operation in Fife with the acquisition of Cupar business Johnston Surveys, the firm run by highly-experienced land surveying speci...

DM Hall LLP helps Fife social clubs survive legal hurdle
Scores of Fife registered social clubs have successfully negotiated the critical transition process to Scotland’s new licensing system, thanks to the foresight and organisation shown by Dunfermline-ba...

My working life
The face of Edinburgh has changed dramatically over the last 20 or so years and one of the biggest transformations has been on the property front, with prices on numerous occasions being on par with L...

New Airdrie base for Chartered Surveyors DM Hall LLP
Chartered Surveyors DM Hall LLP are opening a new Airdrie office, to answer the growing local need for a dedicated base in the area.

DM Hall Southside moves to new and better premises
Chartered surveyor DM Hall LLP’s busy office on the south side of Glasgow has moved to what Partner Steven Graham describes as "ideal" new premises in the heart of the area’s main trading circuit...

Festive fizz for Dunfermline winners
The Christmas festivities brought a fizz of champagne cheer for the staff of the Dunfermline branch of DM Hall, one of Scotland’s leading chartered surveyors, as they landed first prize in the firm’s ...

How a proper layout plan will help licensees
Time is fast running out for licensees as the long, drawn out process of licensing reform in Scotland grinds its way to a conclusion. And although everyone involved in the trade ought to be aware of u...

Buy to let market is blooming, but tax change could make it a fragile flower
Buy to let investors are now an integral part of the UK property sector. They have filled a gap left by institutions and ignored by private equity investors. Private investors have effectively re-fina...

New layer of young talent at DM Hall
DM Hall, Scotland’s leading chartered surveyors, has added a new layer of young talent to its professional team with the successful passage of three practitioners from the Glasgow North office through...

Finding the silver lining in Post Office closure plans
Uncertainty spooks markets. That much is certain. Whether it be equities, housing, bonds or macro-economics, nobody likes to make a move until the air around them clears and they have a fighting chanc...

Two New Directors of Surveying Services
DM Hall, one of Scotland’s largest independent firms of Chartered Surveyors, has promoted two leading associates to the new position of Director of Surveying Services. Alan Cunningham who operates fro...

A casual approach to training can backfire badly
How much training is it worth giving to temporary staff – and does it matter if you use relatively unskilled bar operators, so long as there are competent managers and charge hands to supervise them o...

Focus on Ayrshire
Whilst the growth of budget airline Ryanair’s presence at Prestwick Airport continues to garner the lion’s share of attention from business commentators, and justifiably so, the airport itself remains...

Musselburgh’s housing market remains stable
The housing market in Musselburgh and its environs still remains stable, with no discernible downturn in value or volume, despite the chill winds which have blown through global financial territory in...

DM Hall’s Andrew McFarlane Appointed to Judging Panel for The Herald Scottish Property Awards 2007
Andrew McFarlane, a partner in DM Hall, Chartered Surveyors, and a specialist in building surveying, has been appointed to the judging panel of the first Herald Scottish Property Awards 2007, having p...

Is There Such a Thing as a Zero Carbon Home?
With a quarter of all carbon emissions said to be emanating from our homes, ‘zero carbon homes’ have become a talking point in the construction sector. Indeed, Gordon Brown recently unveiled plans to ...

Prosperous younger generation still struggling for home comforts
The younger generation walking Auld Reekie’s streets may be thankful for the wealth of employment opportunities being generated by the city’s ongoing prosperity, but when it comes to putting a roof ov...

Exploding The Urban Myth of the Migrant Tradesman
The influx of migrant tradesmen from eastern Europe into Scotland’s construction sector over recent years has given rise, in some quarters, to an urban myth that their willingness to take low-paid job...

New Scots mean a sunny future for the hospitality industry, but are there clouds on the horizon?
Recent years have seen Scotland’s licensed trade witness one of the biggest waves of immigration in decades. The latest figures show that 43,000 people from recent EU accession states have regis...

The Secret Ingredients for Making a Successful Loan Application
The process those most competent follow when preparing a meal is similar to that which should be adhered to when approaching lenders to raise funding on the value of a business.

DM Hall Mid Amateur Title Wide Open At Duddingston
The 14^th staging of the DM Hall Mid Amateur Championship gets underway this weekend, at Duddingston Golf Club (16-18 June). Boasting the strongest field of players with the handicap ballot ...

Consultation? what Consultation?
The Scottish Executive recently announced a consultation on new draft regulations which require houses for sale to be marketed with both a single survey and a property sale questionnaire before an off...

Capital’s Commercial Property Sector Set For Take Off
Edinburgh’s commercial property market is presently at the embryonic stage of the development cycle, with all the signals suggesting that 2007 will herald a marked uptake in activity.

Is Glasgow’s West End on the move again?
The West End of Glasgow is an institution. It is where the cognoscenti come out to play, and find themselves mixing with students, thespians, arrivistes and the proletariat. It is the city’s Bohemia.

3 year deal with Scottish Athletics
DM Hall have signed up to another 3 year deal wtih Scottishathletics. The latest deal which continues through to 2009 is for the Scottish Indoor Championships, an event that attracts the most high pro...

Time for Scotland to be Open for All - Regardless of Ability
Two years after new duties were introduced requiring businesses or service-providers to remove or alter physical features which make it difficult for disabled people to use their services - and over a...

Why The Single Survey Could Spell Bad News for House Buyers and Sellers
The single survey system of buying and selling houses which the Scottish Executive has scheduled to be introduced early in 2008, could spell bad news for house buyers and sellers unless urgent action ...

How to Avoid the Potential Pitfalls of the Leasehold Market
In town and city centre locations throughout the country the majority of commercial properties are held as investments by either property companies or private individuals through their SIPPs (Self-Inv...

Do You Know Where Your Nearest Fire Exit Is?
If a fire were to break out at your workplace, would you know where your nearest fire exit is? When did you last consider what to do in the event of a fire at work? If you’re struggling to answer eith...

How to Square the Circle Between Maintaining Green Belts and Fulfilling the Demand for new Housing Stock?
Planning, by its very nature, is contentious. In fact, it must be one of the most contentious matters with which local authorities have to contend. The reason why planning is so contentious is that ev...

Homeowners Have the Power to Reduce CO2 Emissions
Given that buildings produce around half of the total national CO2 emissions, housing developers and homeowners clearly have a central role to play in the UK’s battle against climate change. Acknowled...

East Kilbride market girds itself for lean times ahead
Just as an ambitious £400m redevelopment of East Kilbride town centre has been given the go-ahead by South Lanarkshire council, the housing market in the new town is showing signs of stuttering to a h...

Why Vendors Must Get Their Houses in Order Prior to Going to Market
Without exception, licensees seeking to sell up and move on will instruct their business transfer agent to seek the best price for their business. What some vendors do not always appreciate, though, i...