Househunter: Dormans Park, Surrey

A house built seven years ago by the present owners is for sale in Dormans Park, between East Grinstead and Lingfield in Surrey. Crispin, built in the grounds of an older property, has a guest suite on the first floor of the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house. The one-and-a-half-acre gardens and grounds are in a wooded setting. The house has the remaining balance of a ten year NHBC guarantee. Offers in the region of pounds 425,000. Agents are Knight Frank (01892 515035).

For what it's worth: This week has seen the launch of a "buy to let" initiative by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), to encourage small investors to put money into property. Since the slump in the late Eighties, first-time buyers, who often saw the value of their flats plummet, have preferred to rent before going straight for a larger home. ARLA expects to attract better-off, middle-aged investors stepping in. Halifax Mortgage Services, Homeloans Direct, Mortgage Express and Woolwich Direct will offer mortgages of up to 75 per cent and will take rental income into account. So will estate agents be encouraged to shift their least attractive properties with talk of income potential? Andrew Reeves, a national council member of ARLA, advises: "The first port of call should be letting agents, not estate agents. You must know what properties have a rental appeal."