By Admin Property marketing 0 Comments

The Best Ways To Market Your Properties In The Winter

Winters is always a good time to both market and sell your property. Properties continue to sell well in the winter as it is a very strong, seasonal month.

Marketing your property in the winters can take a lot of time and it may require certain ingenuity. However, the task can still be done as it is no rocket science. What basically sells during the winters is attractiveness. If you are considering to sell your property during the winter season, you must make sure your property is attractive because without any attractiveness, it will definitely not sell.Market Your Properties In The Winter

Irrespective of the kind of property you do have, whether it is a big building or a small one, you should try to keep these things in mind as they will help you sell the property in a much better way.

Inform The Buyers About The Area

Even though your main aim is to sell the property, there are other
things that are important. Winters are beautiful but if you want the potential residents to see another side of the property, you should inform them about the location as well. There are many winter activities that usually take place in nearby localities that you must inform the buyers of. You should make sure that you provide all the necessary information to the buyers when you are marketing the house you are looking to rent. Potential buyers may largely be interested in all these things and such things can really add to the overall perks of your property. You must also inform them about all the activities that they can get involved in all year round as it will increase their interest and help them make the decisions better.

Remind Them Of The Warmth

In addition, helping the potential renters to see what the property will look like in the summers can really help them make the decision a lot easier. Usually winters are really fuzzy and therefore showing a bit of the warmer side can help buyers learn more about how your property will look during the summer season. Without snow or ice on the ground, these pictures will really help all those who are looking to buy the property from you. Whenever you are marketing your house, you must make sure that you add all these pictures because they will really help you in selling your house better. Potential renters will get a good idea of what living in the property will be like. Basically you should show the renters all sides of the house and allow them to view the house in all capacities with all the amenities as it will help in marketing your house in a much better way.

Add Some Decoration

You should really make everything cheerful as winter is usually the holiday season for both the renters and the renters. Don’t go overboard with your decorations though as you should try to go for low key options to decorate the house during the holiday season. Adding some decorations can really keep the apartment complex and it will really make your house look very attractive. You can therefore call that place home. Adding some decoration will give a very welcoming message to the people and it will give the potential residents an overall sense of valuation and appreciation.

Keep The House Clean

If you are looking to rent a property in the Winter you must make sure that the house is clean. In addition, you must clear off the snow and keep the area dry and clean as possible. Moreover, you should focus on the dry areas as they should be taken care off. Making the property clean can lead for it to be more inviting and will make the property much safer to look and it also improves the chances of those who will look at it and will rent it.
Additional Tips

Keep The Heating On

Nobody likes stepping in a cold house so, in order to make your house comfortable, you must keep the heating on. The warmth will give the potential renters a good overall feel of the house. It will also erase any doubts regarding the house. However make sure you warm the house and not making it a heating room.

Make Sure You Make Your House Look The Best

When you are marketing your house, make sure that your house looks its best. If you are worried about the buyers not being able to imagine the house the way you want to show it, you must then therefore try to make your house look the best. This will basically help the buyers visualize how the house will look all through the year. Your property will therefore be redeemed in the eyes of the buyer.

Add Some Lights

Winter days are usually dark and therefore adding lights will help in improving the image of your house. Try to add as many artificial lights as you can. Turn the lamps on, add the lighting fixtures and do everything you can in order to brighten the home. Winters can be dark and depressing and nobody wants to step in the house that is dark and gloomy. Thus to attract potential buyers you must make sure that you add lights. It will add a very welcoming effect.

Clean The Windows

Last but not the least, you must add everything you possibly can in your house to make sure that the house is clean. Yu should clean the windows and enhance the sunlight in the winters. Clean windows will ensure that the sunlight appears in the room and streams freely in the house. More importantly, you should also try to avoid any muddy streaks that can come on the windows because of winter rain showers.

Thus marketing your house in the winters can be a bit challenging as the season is dark and gloomy however following the tips mentioned above can really increase your chances of selling your property well.

By Admin Power Flush Services UK 0 Comments

Powerflush – 5 reasons to powerflush your central heating system

As you’re probably aware, particularly during the colder winter months, having an efficient central heating in place that heats your home evenly, and relatively cheaply as well, is incredibly beneficial, yet sadly, most people simply aren’t benefitting from the energy that they’re paying for.

Sure their central heating systems may produce SOME heat and may help to warm the house, but in actual fact, particularly in older systems, many central heating systems just will not perform as efficiently as they should be, which basically means that they just won’t generate as much heat as they should.

Need a powerflush? Simply call Cenultra on 02071275128

The main reason for this is all down to dirt and debris which is found within the central heating pipe work. In central heating systems, you have a main boiler which is connected to a series of pipes that run around the house, to various radiators located in different rooms. When the central heating is switched on, the boiler heats up the water, pumps it to these radiators via these pipes, which then fill up with hot water and generate heat.

Powerflush services london uk
Photo from: www.tester.co.uk

However, if a pipe is full of dirt and debris, central heating systems can fail, or will simply not give off the heat that they should. All of this however, and much more besides, can be rectified by having your central heating system powerflushed. A powerflush is a process carried out by experts, that basically flushes your central heating system, removing dirt, grime, and build-ups of metal from the system, thus helping it to perform correctly. Here’s a look at 5 reasons to powerflush your central heating system.

If you’ve had a new boiler installed –

If you’ve had an old central heating system and boiler for some time, chances are that, at some point, you will need a new boiler installing as a new boiler would help provide more hot water, more pressure, and hopefully save you more money in the process. When new boilers are installed however, you often find that, due to the fact that they generate more water pressure, more dirt and grime coating the pipes is rinsed away from the surface, where it can accumulate in the boiler, and cause the entire system to fail. Not only that, but radiators can also become blocked with sludge and grime, meaning they don’t give off enough heat either. If you’ve just had a boiler installed, it is always recommended that you have a powerflush carried out before you begin using the boiler as this will ensure that the system is clean and efficient. The last thing you want is for your brand new, and highly expensive boiler, to suddenly break down due to all of the grime in your system, and a powerflush will help ensure that this never happens.

To save money –

During the winter months, obviously your central heating is going to be used a lot more than the summer, and so to help ensure that you keep your bills as low as you possibly can, again, a power flush should ideally be performed. Over the years, you’ll generally find that your bills for your heating will have been increasing more and more, which could be down to build-ups of dirt and grime in your system. You see, if your radiators aren’t giving out enough heat, or if they’re taking longer to heat up, you’ll probably leave your heating on for longer, which is obviously going to be more expensive. By removing accumulations of dirt and grime from your system however, the hot water will flow freely around the system, your radiators will heat up quicker and stay hot for longer. So you won’t need your heating on for as long, so will use less energy, and will therefore pay less money in the process.

Your radiators have cold spots –

The next time you have your central heating switched on, take the time to go around your radiators and touch them in different places. If your radiators have cold spots I.E hot in most places, but remain cold in others, this is almost certainly down to build-ups of sludge, dirt, and grime, that is preventing the hot water from flowing freely around the system and around the radiator. If these issues are left unresolved, build-ups of dirt and sludge can become greater and greater, until your entire radiator may need removing and replacing, or worse still, your entire central heating system may need replacing.

Your central heating system is noisy –

If you’ve noticed that your central heating system is loud and noisy, this could very well be a clear indication that your system is full of detritus and debris, and that it will need flushing sooner rather than later. Loud noises in your pipes and radiators, is almost always caused by accumulations of dirt and grime, which means that the system struggles to deal with any blockages and build-ups in your pipes or radiators. If the water can flow freely however, it will be virtually silent, and won’t struggle in the slightest.

You wish to protect your boiler –

As a homeowner, you will probably be aware that the most expensive appliance in your home, is your boiler. So ensuring that your boiler remains as effective and in as great a condition as it can possibly be in, is absolutely essential, unless of course, you want to shell out thousands upon thousands for a new boiler. Sludge and debris that builds up inside of your central heating system is actually corrosive, which means that heat exchangers within the boiler, which are often made from aluminium, will rot and decay.

These are very expensive to replace, not to mention the fact that various other parts of the boiler can also be affected, which is why a powerflush on a regular basis is very highly recommended. Even if you’ve had no issues with your central heating thus far, you should still have an annual powerflush to help ensure that that trend continues.

By Admin Landlord 0 Comments

My Tenants Are Getting Divorced – What Should I Do As A Landlord?

Couples who are in a civil partnership or married are generally a wise choice when finding tenants for your property. Unfortunately, though, things don’t always work out, and many marriages end in divorce. As a landlord, what should do you do if your tenants inform you they are getting divorced? That depends in part on what type of tenancy they are under.

Joint tenancies

Most couples, whether married, in a civil partnership or otherwise, rent on a joint tenancy. If this is the case for your tenants, they remain jointly responsible for rent payment even if one of them leaves.Tenants-Are-Getting-Divorced-What Can I do?

One option is to draw up a new agreement as a sole tenancy with the remaining tenant, but bear in mind this could complicate things legally as you are dealing with only one of the two original tenants. If you want to take this course you must ensure that the tenant who has moved out agrees to the change. It would also be practical to seek legal advice.

You may wish to consider leaving the agreement as a joint tenancy for the time-being to protect your rental income – after all, if both parties are still liable, you can contact the absent spouse if the present tenant defaults. However, this could draw you into marital disputes you wish to avoid.

You should also bear in mind that under a joint tenancy both tenants still have a right to access and / or occupy the property, therefore, you or the remaining tenant cannot change locks or otherwise refuse entry to the tenant who had left. If this is going to be a problem, you can solve it by drawing up a new agreement on the basis of sole tenancy or getting a court order denying the other tenant access.

Above all, be flexible. If one person wants to surrender the tenancy after the fixed term, be prepared to allow the other tenant to continue on a sole tenancy if they wish (and can afford to). You may wish to consider renewing the contract on the basis of a shorter fixed term or rolling tenancy in case further problems arise, and to give your remaining tenant greater flexibility.

Sole Tenancy

You might think that, if the tenancy is in one name only, it is the tenant who signed the Tenancy Agreement who has the right to remain in the property. This is not the case – under what is known in England and Wales as ‘home rights’, both spouses have the right to remain in the property for as long as the marriage or civil partnership still exists in law.

However, only the person who signed the Tenancy Agreement is responsible for rent. This could make for a complicated situation, especially if it is the spouse who did not sign the contract who remains in the property. If this is the case, and the other spouse wishes to surrender the tenancy, you would need to transfer the tenancy before the divorce becomes final.

Whether you are letting your property on a joint or sole tenancy, there are some points to remember. Firstly, keep communication lines open, and try to avoid being seen as taking sides. This will hopefully smooth over any problems and avoid you getting drawn into arguments.

Secondly, seek legal advice – it is as important to you as it is for the couple to have sound legal backing whatever course you and your tenants agree to take. Finally, you may wish to consider advising the remaining tenant on their financial options, for instance, housing benefits or debt advice charities. Not only does this help them, but it can also protect your investment by ensuring that rent can still be paid.

By Admin Landlord 0 Comments

Why Are EPCs Important If You Are A Landlord?

Sellers have to provide an EPC to possible buyers. They can be a very helpful guide to the energy efficiency of a property. However, they shouldn’t be taken as a bible.

First things first, what is an EPC?

An EPC is a standardized document that ranks properties in terms of energy efficiency and which home sellers have to render to the possible buyers. The EPCs include information regarding the property’s energy; what they use, their costs along with their recommendations regarding to make the whole thing more efficient and cheap.EPCs Are Important If You Are A Landlord

You may not think a lot of the Energy Performance Certification; less than 10 percent of the tenants say that they are considered energy efficient of their existing home as a very vital factor for deciding to live there. Having an up to date EPC is crucial, and there are many situation that might prove to be difficult for a landlord if you do not have one. These include not being able to regain possessions of a property or being able to let it out. More importantly, a landlord might already be breaking the law if they have not provided a valid certificate when the property is marketed.

Why Do You Need An EPC?

From 2020, If a property Landlord might not be able to let their property unless and until it is rated E or higher;

By the year 2018, renewed and new tenancies will have to meet an EPC rating of E or above, with all the tenancies falling in line in April 2020. The failure to ensure that the property is up to this standard will mean that you are breaching the law, and resultantly, you might face a fine of up to 4000 pounds. You will not be able to rent out the property unless and until the improvements have all been made in order to ensure that they meet the energy efficiency requirements.

You Have To Give One To Your Tenants During The Start Of The Tenancy

All landlords should give their tenants a valid EPC amongst other things during the start of the new tenancies. If an EPC hasn’t been supplied, you might not be able to serve a valid Section 21 notice, effectively which will prevent you from gaining possession of the property till the EPC has been provided to the tenant. However, this is only true and applied if the EPC was needed when the property was marketed.

EPCs Are Needed When You Market Your Property

All adverts for either selling or renting the property must clearly indicate the energy rating of the building. This includes all the ads places in the magazines and newspapers, any written materials produced by the landlords and on the internet. You must, therefore, render an EPC free of charge to the prospective tenant as your earliest. There is also a penalty set for those who do not provide their EPC. The penalty is mostly 200 pounds for failing to render an EPC. You will have to be warned, but there are a lot of exceptions as if there was inadequate time for the prospective landlord to be fairly expected to have obtained an EPC prior to letting the building or
if the landlord has been provided a valid EPC to the tenant as quickly as reasonably practicable after letting the property.

Circumstances In Which You Might Not Need An EPC

EPCs are not required on construction, rent or sell for the following:

Places of worship

On rent or sell for buildings due to the fact of being demolished
Industrial sites, non-residential agricultural buildings with a very low energy demand.

What Will Happen If You Do Not Have An EPC?

There are many drawbacks of not having an EPC. The penalty for failing to obtain an energy performance certification available to any prospective buyer or tenant when letting non-dwellings is fixed or when selling, is at 12.5 percent of the rateable value f the building, subjected to a minimum penalty of 500 pounds and a maximum of up to 5000 pounds. There is also a default penalty of up to 750 pounds where the formula is not applicable. However, you will still require an EPC.

Basically, the reason why you need an EPC is that your property ‘s EPC needs to be available to all the possible buyers as soon as you start to market your property or rent it or sell it. You must also get an approved DEA, the domestic energy assessor, in order to produce the EPC.

If you are implementing any of the energy efficiency recommendations outlined in the EPC, you might wish to get a fresh EPC done in order to include these in the improvements.

EPCs are known by their rating scale along with the relative financial implications of the scale when it comes to selling the house. It also includes a lot of other information that is designed to help in making the house greener. So the information basically includes fuel costs, carbon dioxide emissions. It also includes estimates of the energy that your property potentially uses and who to contact for the complaints.

Nearly all houses need an EPC, but that technical definition is that the building requires an EPC if it uses air conditioning or heating. By definition then, it uses energy to condition an indoor climate.

You receive an EPC when you are thinking of buying a new home, or you should be provided with an EPC free of cost. This applies to existing stocks and new homes as well as the existing stock. If you are considering about renting a property, you should try to get an EPC from the landlord free of cost. That said, you will not need an EPC until and unless you are thinking about just renting a room with shared facilities instead of just renting the entire property itself.

The EPC rates a building performance in the following terms:

  • The energy uses per square meter of the floor area
  • Environmental impact which is based on CO2 emissions
  • The energy efficiency that are based on the fuel costs.