When I bought a house in a private square little did I know that I would end up managing the place – the leaseholders all own a share in the management company and I was elected to run the committee because I was the youngest. Well, the others were all aged 75 or more … This can be a real challenge if you do not find the right contractors to do work at a reasonable price.  There is a UK based website called Facilities Management UK and this has been really useful.

They can help you find gardeners, window cleaners, plumbers, lift engineers – all the trades you need to keep a building running. The directory seems to cover every area of home maintenance and every county. Without these guys you could be really stuck so have a look at the website and bookmark it.