Vivastreet blog

Mom deserves something special. To help you find it, we’ve released our new Mother’s Day Gift Category so you can find that perfect Mother’s Day present.

Here are some amazing deals to spoil your mum this Mother’s Day.

• Glasgow – Award winning, professional make-up artist offers make-up lesson gift vouchers. Each voucher is £75 and comes in a gorgeous gift box, tied with ribbon and can be mailed to any location.

• Cheshire – Italian Restaurant in Cheshire presents exclusive Mother’s day adoration lunch and dinner. Each Mother will be spoiled by an exquisite glass of Bellini cocktail or their legendary Sicilian Emporio red or white wine!

• Cambridge – Very unique flat tree aromatic candles in four different scents: ocean, apple, orange and lemon.

• South Shields - Spoil your mum with a private chauffeur driven Alfa Romeo and a free bottle of champagne.

• Croydon – Brand new vintage silk scarves from only £5.

The latest unemployment figures have just been published and they show that the number of people out of work has dropped for the second consecutive month. However, when you actually look at the figures, we are talking by a very small amount. More illuminating are the stats on the number of people who are working in temporary employment. The part-time job market has exploded over the past year as more and more people turn to part-time work while they wait for a full-time position to become available. The Office of National Statistics report shows that there are almost 1.5 million people in temporary employment and that 34.6% of people working on a temporary basis, said they had looked for full-time work with no success, and were working on a temporary basis until the job market improved.

We know how tough it is out there at the moment for the all those people out of work, but don’t give up, there are definitely jobs out there which could match your skills. VivaStreet.co.uk has seen the number of new full-time jobs posted on the site increase threefold in the past six months and that’s positive news for those of you out there actively looking for work.

We currently have a huge variety of jobs on the site, both full-time (2,624 new jobs) and part-time positions, from childcare and nanny jobs to marketing and accountancy jobs.

And for those of you specifically looking for part-time positions, we have 7,151 new part-time jobs currently posted on the website.

Finally, don’t forget you can post your CV on the website for free and create alerts so that you’re the first to hear whenever a hot new job is posted on the website.

Good luck!

Well it’s that time of the year again, where hearts are fluttering and mens’ brows are perspiring!! Yes, Valentine’s Day is on Sunday,  and across the UK, thousands of men will be tearing their hair out because; 1/ they’ve forgotten to buy their loved one a present or 2/ they have no idea what gift to buy their loved one – something which encapsulates, very simply, how much they love them – awwwww! Trust me chaps, two tickets to Chelsea vs Liverpool won’t get her heart palpatating, I promise you!

To be honest, if they could get away with it, most men would happily just buy their girlfriend/fiancee/wife a box of choccies and a cheap card from the local service station, on the way home from work. Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding it chaps – your loved ones will want sooooo much more than choccies, naff cards and a bunch of roses bought over the counter at Tescos! Don’t worry, it’s not too late to save yourself from spending a night in the doghouse… if you act now!

And because over here at Vivastreet, we care about the welfare of our users and particular those male users who could be spending a night in the doghouse, we thought we’d lend a helping hand if you’re in desperate need of some Valentine’s gift ideas inspiration. Vivastreet has set up a special category for one week only dedicated to love!!! Yep boys, your salvation, and more importantly a happy girlfriend, is just a click away. So, don’t delay, find a Valentine’s gift today, in our special category, which is listed in our Buy and Sell section on the Vivastreet Homepage.

Good luck!

Once you have found a property that meets your requirements, it is important to inspect the following:

• Time – Take your time looking round the property
• Ask Questions – Don’t be afraid to ask direct and blunt questions about the property
• Photos – Take pictures of the property so that you can look over them later with fresh eyes.
• Measuring up – Take a tape measure with you to calculate the size of each room, or get a rough idea of floor space in a room with furniture by looking at the ceiling size.
• Bills – Find out what is the cost of Council Tax and the average costs of other utility bills such as electricity, gas and water.
• Damp – Is there a smell of damp or any other sign such as the walls feeling damp, wallpaper peeling, paint bubbling, watermarks or mould.
• Power – Make sure there enough power points - how old do they look?
• Internet & Phone – Ask if the property has a phone and internet connection and where are the connection points.
• Electrics, plumbing and heating – Ask the agent or the owner to confirm that the boiler, electrics and plumbing in the property are all in decent working condition, and to see copies of guarantees and service certificates. Have there been any problems with the boiler; when was it last serviced by a Gas Safe engineer?
• Planning permission – Ask if permission has been granted in principle for an extension or other home improvement. Can you put up pictures or redecorate?
• Exterior – Don’t forget to examine pipes, drainage and the condition of the roof.
• Insurance – Check if there have been any recent claims on the property’s buildings insurance – including flooding – and ask for details.
• Neighbours – What are the neighbours like – are they noisy

The new year is a good time to consider relocating

With the new year comes an opportunity for fresh starts and new beginnings, and in our previous post we showed you lots of ways you can dust off those cobwebs and kick start a brand new you.

However some of us may be considering a bigger life change than simply losing a few pounds or getting a new hairstyle. Maybe you’re thinking about a complete change of scene, and upping sticks and moving homes. Well, the new year is the perfect time to think about relocating as more people put their homes on the market once the chaos of Christmas is out of the way.

Here at VivaStreet we have a wealth of properties for sale and for rent, from tiny pied-a-terres and studios to this luxury five-bedroom house. Perhaps you have had enough of city life and have always dreamt of living near the sea. We’re happy to report that you could go and make that dream a reality with this lovely 1930’s property in Devon, complete with panoramic sea views. Or for those who prefer a more tranquil water location, then take a look at this gorgeous house which has its own canalside private mooring. Heaven!

For the more ambitious, we also have a section specially dedicated to land for sale for those looking to build their own home. If you are in the fortunate position of having a sum of spare cash you’re looking to invest wisely, you could do much worse than considering purchasing land. Take a look at our investment land section where you will see an array of different types of land for sale from building plots on the Scottish borders to cheap land in Bulgaria.

Which leads us smoothly on to the option of relocating abroad. Our overseas property selection is extensive, with properties for sale in Europe and beyond. We list a huge number of homes on the market, from farmhouses in Italy and France, to ski chalets in Austria and villas in Cyprus. This farmhouse in Brittany kills two birds with one stone, as it comes complete with an established cattery business – ideal for those wishing to relocate asap!

So what are you waiting for? You may be saying au revoir to cold Blighty before you know it!