» Asset Management Private Rented Sector Update

Property Maintenance Top Tips

May 12, 2012 by Hannah Phillips Leave a Comment

Clean House Worksheet

If you have read our PRSupdate blog before, you may have come across the spring cleaning tips that we posted last month. Hopefully you found it an easy way to break up your cleaning into manageable (and possibly even enjoyable?!) chunks.

That said, there were plenty of one-off incidents not mentioned in that post. From children drawing on walls to spillages, unexpected accidents need to be cleaned up – and usually right away. Today we hope to let you in on a few tips and tricks to keep your home in tip top condition. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with cleaning, home, Private Rented Sector, real estate, spring clean, top tips, young london

Olympian Broadband for Stratford’s East Village

May 10, 2012 by Michael Oakes 1 Comment

High Speed FTTP Broadband

Infrastructure’s not just about roads and rail links these days. Equally important, especially to businesses and residents, is telecoms infrastructure.

With the Olympic countdown continuing, we take a quick look at the legacy that the herculean telecoms infrastructure project will leave to the future residents of Stratford’s East Village.

During the Games BT, the official communications partner, will be running a high speed broadband and wireless network across 94 locations expected to handle four times the amount of traffic as during the Beijing Games. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management, Investment Tagged with buy-to-let, east village, home, infrastructure, investment, olympics, Private Rented Sector, property, real estate, regeneration, stratford

Property Maintenance: Drains

April 20, 2012 by Hannah Phillips Leave a Comment

My team of property managers are very keen on preventative maintenance. We all like to think of ways to stop major problems occurring, so today we thought we would share our advice and experience of drains.

A blocked drain is not pleasant, but there are key causes and by knowing them you can ensure your drain stays blockage free. It is important to know what you shouldn’t be putting down the drain and how to check for any build-up that left unnoticed could cause a blockage.

Checking for build-up

Check plug holes in the bathroom for hair and remove any debris
Frequently pour hot water down plug holes to prevent build-up (about once a week)
Approximately once a month pour bleach or similar down plug holes to remove any build-up

What not to pour down the sink

Hot oil is a key culprit and should never be poured down the sink (or toilet for that matter!)
Food is a major cause of blockages so use the drainer in the sink to trap the food and then throw away
Animal fat blocks drains as it solidifies, so meat juices should be thrown away instead

Top Tips from the Property Managers

Silly one but don’t put straws, plastic items or any animal bones down the sink as this WILL block the drain and the waste disposal will NOT be able to get rid of such items. I thought this was obvious until someone did this… twice! Daniel Thomas
I have seen a metal nut cracker in the waste disposal. Not a good idea, but clearly people will try everything! David Lockyer

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with diy, drains, homes, maintenance, Property Management

Property Maintenance: Spring Cleaning

March 29, 2012 by Carla Bradman 1 Comment

The sun is shining so get those windows open and some fresh air circulating around your home! After all, this is the time of year where getting your home into a spotless condition takes on a fun new persona under the ‘Spring Cleaning’ ethos.

There are many things you should do all year round to ensure your home stays in good condition, but there will always be arguments over how often you should defrost the freezer, clean the oven and wash the sheets. If you don’t do these things as often as you should, we suggest you work through this list in order to get back on track.

Chances are you will need more than one session before your home is thoroughly cleaned. To make things easier I have split this list into three sections: the first part is the longest list, compiled of the simplest and quickest tasks; the second is slightly shorter, with tasks taking longer to complete; the third list includes the jobs everyone likes least, but it is well worth the satisfaction at the end to complete them. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with cleaning, home, life, maintenance, property, spring

Gas Safety Inspection Regulations

March 26, 2012 by Kelly Smith Leave a Comment

New legislation concerning gas safety inspections has recently been announced. This means that an engineer accessing a property to carry out a gas safety inspection will need to access the flue – this is an essential safety check. As these flues tend to mostly be found in the walls and ceilings of flats and apartments, hatches would need to be fitted so that the engineer can check the flues.

Obviously, if the engineer is able to see all of the flue, no action needs to be taken.

The hatches will need to be fitted before 1 January 2013, as after this date any Gas Safe registered engineer will have to turn the boiler off and formally advise you not to use it until inspection hatches have been fitted in the appropriate places.

Although legally we have until the end of December 2012 for the works to be completed, it is an issue we should think about sooner rather than later. After all, engineers are bound to be busy leading up to the legislation kicking in!

More information is available here.

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with gas, house, inspections, law, property maintenance, regulations, safety

Big and Small Agents – What are the Differences?

March 13, 2012 by Neil Young Leave a Comment

The adage that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is currently all over the media.

Well, in the world of property agencies it seems that the large property agencies are growing and trying to dominate ever more. Meanwhile at the other end of the spectrum are the new agencies that are springing up with online offerings with little service.

Let’s start with the big boys:

Jones Lang LaSalle took over King Sturge
Countrywide purchased Hamptons who have an agreement to work closely with CBRE
Savills acquired London Planning Practice’s 16 planning specialists creating a 60-strong London planning team
Australia’s UGL completes DTZ takeover

Is this good for the industry, or just inevitable? I guess it depends what perspective you have. I have yet to come across one of the big agencies that really excel at customer service – yes, they have good individuals, but the service culture is not built in as they have more of a transaction focus – the bigger the better. However, they do have the global reach that international corporates demand. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with business, economy, estate agent, finance, investment, property, real estate

Landlord’s Guide to Lettings

March 7, 2012 by Rajiv Mehta 2 Comments

Letting a property is not simply a case of agreeing a price and receiving bank details. If a property is to be let it needs to be done so legally – and there are many practical and financial aspects to take into consideration before an agreement can be reached.

Without employing the services of a professional lettings agent you run the risk of getting caught in a loophole you may have been unaware of. Similarly, you don’t want to hand your property over to a company who doesn’t practice at industry standards. Good agents will belong to professional industry bodies – check out our list to find out what they mean. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with business, landlord, law, lettings, london, property, real estate, rent

Don’t Play the Games

March 5, 2012 by David Mackenzie 1 Comment

Last year, I wrote an article looking at the pros and cons of letting property for the short term with an eye to maximising rental income from the Olympics. At that time, a year ahead of the Games, I cautioned against trying to ‘cash in’ by highlighting the practicalities involved:

• Potential voids
• High agency fees for short term lets
• High turnover of tenancies (typically 3-4 nights at a time)
• Local authority short–term letting restrictions and licensing
• Leasehold restrictions on short –term lets at apartment buildings
• Potential for a glut of property coming back to the market post-Games

My recommendation was to think very long and hard before turning away from the security of an incumbent long-term tenancy as the pros looked distinctly outweighed by the cons.

But add to this the fact that demand for short term ‘Olympic’ rents is yet to materialise and it seems even more prudent to steer well clear.

Our philosophy is to always look at the big picture and to take a long term view of your property assets and associated returns; after all, property investment isn’t a game.

Filed under Asset Management, Investment Tagged with 2012, business, finance, investment, lettings, london, money, olympics, property, real estate, rent

Property Maintenance: How to Clean a Fridge

February 16, 2012 by Carla Bradman Leave a Comment

image: Andrew Booth

Last year I was at home when I heard a very loud noise in the kitchen. A bottle of lucozade had exploded, covering the inside of the fridge.

Lucozade is not an easy thing to clean up after. It was a domestic nightmare – in the end the only way I could get it clean was by soaking shelves and compartments in the bath, before scrubbing them for what felt like hours on end. While there is no shortcut to cleaning lucozade (at least not to my knowledge) there are a series of simple things that you can do on a regular basis to keep your fridge clean. Even a quick fortnightly ritual can keep things sparkling. Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with cleaning, diy, home, maintenance, property, property maintenance

Property Maintenance: Top Tips

February 10, 2012 by Carla Bradman Leave a Comment

We require a property to be cleaned to a professional standard at the end of a tenancy, but as furnished flats of ours can include things like saucepans, cutlery and a kettle, we sometimes find that these objects are often forgotten about in the haste to clean more obvious kitchen heavyweights like the fridge and oven.

So here are a few tips on how to clean things up (not just at the end of a tenancy!) and a couple of general household maintenance pointers that the Young London office found quite surprising… Read more of this post

Filed under Asset Management Tagged with cleaning, household, ideas, management, property maintenance, real estate, tips