Summer can make a home look its best, but keeping it viewing-ready while family life carries on is another matter.

Homes here are agreeing fast and often above their guide, even with more choice than usual. Speed like this is built before launch, not after.

It is one of the hardest moments in any home sale. The photographs are done, the house is immaculate, the listing is live, and then nothing. No calls. No viewings. Silence.

The Government's recent push to modernise the home moving process is aimed at one thing, cutting the delays and fall-throughs that make selling a home so stressful. For sellers in Hertfordshire, the practical answer to that is getting your home Contract Ready, having the information gathered up front rather than scrambling for it later.