Property
Will stroppy sellers, annoying agents and noisy neighbours send buyers packing?
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent Work on your curb appeal, clean the interior of your home, declutter, decorate the corridors, brighten the place up… all things we’re told when selling our home. We’re also told about obvious deal-breakers with buyers, such as location, schools, public transport and crime rates. But often we forget, or haven’t been told other (not so obvious) factors that can potentially ruin a deal - rude sellers, pests...
10 Energy Saving Tips to Cut the Cost of your January Bills
The New Year can be an expensive time, especially if you’ve overspent during the festive period. It’s also the time of year when many of us put in place resolutions to change our lives. If you want to start lowering your energy usage in the New Year, either to save money or reduce your impact on the environment, the expert team at Pump Sales Direct have a few simple tips to help you. 1. Switch Off One of the...
Housing shortage prevents couples from living independently
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent New figures released today show young people across the country are struggling more than ever to live independently because of the cost of housing. A new research project - How Many Homes - commissioned by the Town and Country Planning Association found the housing requirement to meet projected household formation until 2031 is lower than previously anticipated. This is because younger people cannot afford to buy their...
Trick or treat. Harmless fun or a homeowner’s worst nightmare?
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent This weekend our streets will fill with ghosts, ghouls and zombified celebrity look-a-likes. Halloween is upon us and kids everywhere will be buzzing at the chance to partake in the ghostly Halloween custom of trick or treating to get some free sweets. But is trick or treating a harmless bit of fun or a homeowner’s worst nightmare? A recent survey by eMoov.co.uk revealed a monstrous 72 per...
52,000 Londoners Helped Into Mayor’s Low Deposit Shared Ownership Homes
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent More than 52,000 Londoners have moved into new homes across the capital, as part of the Mayor Boris Johnson's First Steps housing scheme. The scheme targets low and medium income Londoners and helps them purchase a home at a lower cost than buying in the same neighbourhood on the open market. With many potential buyers struggling to save the large deposits required to get onto the property...
Manchester will need to build more houses…
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent A detailed report of the Manchester 2025 vision projects a prosperous future for the city at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse. The city is likely to attract 'significant investment' over the coming decade, and create more than 5,000 new jobs per year. The most interesting point in the report set out by global investment firm BNY Mellon is Manchester’s population prediction by 2025. The report states...
Forget AirBnB, there is an easier way to make money from your property (and you don’t need to provide breakfast)
THE time is 7am, and a large lorry is arriving outside an Edwardian terrace house in Kensal Rise. When the children are packed off to school, a dozen people file in, the floor is covered with plastic sheets and boxes of equipment are unloaded. Then another ‘family’ arrives - the husband, wife, teenage son, grandparents and visiting friends - while giant daylight lamps are rigged up in the garden and over the kitchen skylights to give the impression of a...
The Property Ombudsman issues revised Codes of Practice
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent Today, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme has issued amended and updated versions of all its Codes of Practice for UK and Scotland, to support the introduction of new legislation that has come into force within the last 12 months. The review process involved trade associations, representatives from large and smaller agents in both sales and lettings and a representative from The Property Ombudsman’s independent Council. The Property...
Deadline approaches for smoke and CO alarms compliance
By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent Tomorrow, 1st October is the deadline for landlords and managing estate or letting agents (on behalf of landlords) to ensure all rented residential properties comply with the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations. The legislation – which applies to England - requires the installation of working smoke alarms on every floor of a rented residential property, where there is a room used wholly or partly as...