Property

Many people want to own their own home, but despite this desire, selling a property can be a long and stressful slog, even in London where the market has started to slow. The best way to sell a home is obviously to sell it quickly - to do that you need to make your property as attractive as possible to potential buyers. Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks of the trade that will convince your viewers to make those...

By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent According to the Aldermore First-Time Buyer Index, getting on the property ladder is ‘extremely difficult’, said nearly four in ten first-time buyers. The two biggest obstacles were raising a large deposit and increasing house prices. We compare the original monopoly board, just over 80 years old with the new 2016 board created by Barratt London, which features the 22 cheapest boroughs in the capital for first-time buyers....

Every weather forecast on the BBC this month has sent chills down the spine of landlords and home owners across the UK as ‘grim up North’ weather parades itself around the country like a Gallagher caricature. Let’s hope that 2016 doesn’t have too many visitors from ghosts of Christmas past and the floods that battered large swathes of England are in semi-retirement now. It is a safe bet though that the rain will pour and the snow will fall, so...

An innovative scheme which hides scaffolding behind flowers and strawberries has found its first project to shield. St Mark’s Church in Mayfair is currently undergoing a £5 million makeover, and to conceal the project and improve the environment Grosvenor has teamed up with building company Arup to unveil an innovative ‘living wall’ which could reduce air pollution by 20 per cent. Seeds were planted late in June and the 80 square metre front has now flourished into a wall garden made...

A new project can be exciting but it can also be incredibly daunting. There are so many things to consider, plan and prepare for before it can even begin to take shape. Whether you are plotting your own ‘grand design’ new-build, undertaking a renovation job or even just a looking to complete a comprehensive assessment of your land, there are several important things to organise and coordinate well in advance. One of the most important, if not the most important,...

Millions of households across the country could be literally giving burglars a helping hand, according to a new report. Over the last 12 months, more than a half a million British homes have been broken into, with each theft netting thieves an average haul worth £2,267. But despite these shocking figures only a third of people have a burglar alarm or security windows, less than one in five rely on light timers and one in ten has external security cameras....

By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent - the estate agent comparison site. More than four hundred-thousand landlords who pay the basic rate of tax will be forced into a higher tax bracket from April 2017, as planned changes to landlord taxation come in to force. The news comes as the National Landlord Association (NLA) met with Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell. Landlords can currently deduct mortgage interest payments, letting agent fees, insurance...

By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent - the estate agent comparison site On 4 October 2016, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme released its latest annual report revealing an increase in the number of consumers contacting the scheme for help. In the Ombudsman’s first annual report following her appointment last year, Katrine Sporle provides an overview of 2015, which confirms the scheme: Received 16,265 enquiries from consumers seeking advice. Resolved 3,304 formal complaints (a...

Britain is a nation at war with each other, according to new research, with one in four admitting to arguing with their neighbours. Bust-ups are happening on an almost daily occurrence over land boundaries, noise and trees, the study found, with car parking, loud music and pets key aspects of contention. Rows have also started over bonfires, anti-social behaviour and building work. But when they aren’t arguing, it also emerged half of UK adults barely know those next door, with three in ten admitting...