This week questions on timber garden furniture and taking garden plants are answered.

Timber garden furniture

This summer I intend investing in some good quality timber garden furniture. I am keen that anything I buy is made with wood that is harvested from a sustainable source. Some of the furniture I have seen is, to my mind, suspiciously cheap or rather there is a huge difference between the cheap stuff and the top priced furniture.

One way of easing your conscience that the timber you are buying is from a sustainable forest source is to look for the FSC symbol - it's a tree symbol with a little tick incorporated into it. This means that the wood has been passed by an international body - the Forest Stewardship Council - whose aim is to improve the practice of forestry.

If you see the symbol you can trust that the wood has been grown in an environmentally sensitive, socially beneficial and economically sustainable way.

All timber grown in Coillte forests is FSC-approved and timber producers have to go through a rigorous and heavily monitored approval system before they earn the right to use the FSC symbol.

(For more information on this subject a good place to check out would be the website www.fscoax.org).

Prices do vary considerably in the outdoor garden furniture market and, as in most things, you do get what you pay for.

However, only invest in expensive furniture if you are prepared to look after it, covering it in the winter, treating in the spring - other wise it'll look as tatty as the cheapest stuff after a while.

Taking garden plants

When I sell my house I want to take some of the plants in the garden with me. At what point do I tell the buyer of my intentions and how is this request usually received?

Whoever buys your house will expect to take possession of it with the garden looking much the same way as it did on the first viewing. It's not unusual for sellers to take a slip of a plant for sentimental reasons or discreetly remove the odd plant - and that's usually okay - but once the house is on the market you shouldn't remove anything that materially changes the look of the garden.

It's difficult to know from your letter what you mean by "some plants" - if you intend moving whole lines of shrubs, trees, mature hedging or even some rare and therefore expensive plant, then you should specify this in the selling details at the beginning. That way there should be no room for argument or confusion after the sale. The same goes for garden features - such as ponds, sheds, pergolas etc. If you mean something less drastic you could wait until the sale is going through, approach the buyer with your request and rely on their goodwill.

Clarification

A question in last week's Q&A asked what level of stamp duty clawback would apply if you decide to rent out a house you bought as an owner occupier. The amount payable to the Revenue Commissioners is the difference between the lower rate you paid as an owner occupier at the time of its sale and the higher rate applicable at that time  to investors.  The amount of the clawback  remains the same irrespective of the length of time during which the property is rented.
Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.