Victor Michael

Whether a flood is caused by ground water, falling water, or home water system malfunction, there are some best practices you’ll need to employ within the first 24 hours after the flood to ensure the safety of your home and family and give you the best outcome possible with your insurance company.

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Safety First

The first step in any major home disaster is to remain safe. You may be forced to leave your home if the flooding is bad enough. Make sure you are also safe when you return to your home to begin dealing with the aftermath. This may include turning off the power, as water and electricity obviously do not mix. Be sure to wear protective clothing–such as rubber boots and gloves. Not only will you be dealing with the water itself, but also whatever else the water has been in contact with, namely debris or even sewage. It is best to protect yourself against whatever harmful chemicals and items the flooding may have washed in.

Be sure to never eat food that has been contaminated by flood waters, or even in close proximity to the water for an extended period of time. If the water was high enough to reach your refrigerator or any of your pantry cabinets, it is safest practice to go ahead and throw the food away and just buy more. Be sure to thoroughly wash any dinnerware, glasses, and flatware that might have been caught in the house flood before you use it again.

 

Take Pictures

Before you remove any water or make any repairs, fully document the damage for your insurer by taking photos or video. Digital versions are best, because they can be stored electronically and easily copied. If you start removing water or making repairs before you photograph the damage, you could potentially decrease the extent of your coverage, he says.

 

Drying Out Your Home

Even if you are successful in removing all of the standing water from your home, everything will remain damp and wet, especially if heavy rains have increased the humidity in your area. If you have power, use your air conditioning and portable fans to help dry the wet areas of your home.

Dehumidifiers are also a big help, especially in closed off spaces such as basements or crawl spaces. Dehumidifiers work by removing excess moisture from the air. This is the easiest way to dry out your home and minimize the potential water damage you might be dealing with, as it does not require you to actively clean. However, in the case of a house flood, dehumidifiers are only supplemental, and you are likely to need multiple methods of action. Dehumidifiers are recommended for anyone who lives in a damp climate or an area that experiences longer rainy seasons, as they can prevent some of the problems associated with this type of weather, both for you and your home.

 

Repairs

The aftermath of a house flood can typically take the longest amount of time. You may have broken windows from the water rushing in, flooring that may need to be replaced and broken possessions in need of repair. After your insurance company pays out for qualified damages, you can hire a contractor if one is needed. Be sure to board up any broken windows and remove any harmful debris from flooded areas.

If you have electronics that were submerged in water or were damaged in the flood, make sure to have them checked out by a professional before plugging them back in to a power source. This includes your television sets, stereos, game consoles, computers, and appliances.

If you are unsure about what your first steps for home repairs should be when your house floods, then hiring a construction company that specializes in flood or natural disaster repairs can be helpful. They can determine if walls need replaced or if your floors have been compromised by the flood waters. A professional construction company can help you safely enjoy your home once again.

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… but don’t give up easily!

The profile of a first time buyer (FTB) is clear: around 32 and with an income of £66,000. They want a home and usually turn to mortgages to become homeowners, but still have a hard time getting what they want.

First time buyers still struggle to get on housing ladder in London

However, another advantage of a young first time buyer is that they don’t give up easily. So, despite the challenges, first time buyers seemed to get the loans they needed in January. The figures rose compared to December and November, which is a good sign…

Home loans to first time buyers in the UK increased in January

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                 VS 

Every buyer must have had this dilemma in their minds at one point: is it cheaper to rent or to buy?

Those in Scotland can almost be convinced that it is better to buy than to rent. It’s the statistics there for the last 9 years, time in which the cost for buying a property actually decreased.

First time buyers are better off in terms of cost than those who rent in Scotland

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Shared Ownership

This scheme allows you to buy a share in a property and then pay rent on the remaining part.  This means you can start of paying the mortgage that you can afford and then overtime buy a bigger share of the property when your finances allow, this process is called ‘staircasing’.

 

To be eligible to buy a home through Help to Buy: Shared Ownership in England you’ll need to:

Have a household income of £80,000 a year or less outside London, or £90,000 a year or less in London.

Own no other property (you cannot be a homeowner or be named on the deeds of another property).

Have no outstanding credit issues.

Properties that can be purchased through shared ownership are from Housing Associations and can either be new builds or resales of existing shared-ownership properties.  When purchasing a shared ownership property you will work with a Home Buy agent, who will manage your application.

Other shared ownership schemes

There are other schemes that offer shared routes to shared ownership and are focused on particular groups.

 

Key Worker Housing Eligibility:

 

Each housing association will have a specific allowance of properties that are reserved for key workers. Each local authority will have their own specific list of key workers and eligibility criteria but as a general rule you must be employed in a qualifying key worker profession and have a minimum of 5 years to serve before reaching retirement.

 

Eligible key worker job roles include:

NHS

Education

Police

Prison Service

Probation Service

Local Authority

Fire Fighters

Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Environmental Health Officers

Highways Agency Traffic Officers

 

HOLD (Home Ownership for people with Long-Term Disabilities)

This scheme helps assist people with long-term disabilities to purchase a home and live independently. As with other shared ownership schemes, you buy an initial share and then more shares as you can afford it from the Housing Association or Registered provider.  The difference, however, is that if the properties available are not suitable to accommodate your needs, you may be able to buy a property from the open market.  This requires a referral to a specialist provider and your local authority to validate the application.  It is a voluntary scheme and as a result not necessarily available throughout the UK.

 

OPSO – Older People’s Shared Ownership

Supporting people over 55 to home ownership, it follows the same principles as other shared ownership schemes but the properties available are exclusively for those over the age of 55. The maximum you can own however is 75% of the property and if you do so, you will not have to pay rent on the remaining 25%.

If you already have a property this will need to be sold before applying to the scheme.

Extra Care is an extension provided by some OPSO schemes and is a Sheltered Shared Ownership scheme, which provides the added benefit of onsite care. This allows residents to live independently in self-contained, modern homes with access to tailored care package and support programme.

 

Rent to Buy is another route to shared ownership for those who haven’t yet been able to save the 5% deposit that is required.  Housing Associations and registered providers offer homes to rent, the rents are typically about 20% less than the open market rent, giving you an opportunity to save a deposit.  You will also be given the option in the future to purchase a share of your home and staircase up as you are able to invest more in your home.

 

Starter Homes is a new scheme which is due to launch shortly aimed exclusively at people 23-40 looking to get on to the housing ladder.  As part of the planning conditions, developers will be required to supply specific ‘starter homes’ which will then be sold through an approved scheme, priced at least 20% below market value.  The maximum property price outside London will be £250,000 and inside London £450,000.

 

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If 2018 came with some extra courage for you, we have some ideas on how to materialize it! Start a business in real estate for some extra monthly income and good use of your spare time. And there might be months when the money are just going to come, without any effort.

As any other business idea, becoming an entrepreneur in the real estate domain is tricky. Might not seem easy at first, but things are not very complicated. Just ‘do your homework’ in advance, as this article on Property Division says and you should be prepared.

Do Your Homework Before Investing in Real Estate

Feeling ready? We’re here if you have any questions and you can go to our website to search for types of properties that are worth investing in. 

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The average price of a property coming onto the market in January 2018 is up by nearly £2,000 compared with December 2017, but sales are down by 5.5% from this time last year.

Rightmove, which tracks 90% of the UK property market, said there had been a “good start” to 2018, with more than 4 million visits a day to its site, up nearly a tenth on last year. The average price was up 0.7% to £297,587.

But sellers may be being hopeful in their pricing and may have to reduce the price to find buyers. Rightmove said the average time to sell a property has jumped to 67 days compared to 55 days last summer, which is an extra 12 days.

 

The period from now to late spring is traditionally the busiest time of the year for house hunters as they aim to complete transactions and then move during the summer school holidays and be settled in time for the Christmas holidays, but Rightmove said the pace of activity had slowed down.

Asking prices continue to fall in London. The average price for a home listed by the website in the capital is currently £600,926, down 1.4% on the month and 3.4% over the year.

With affordability stretched and incomes falling behind inflation, most property forecasters are predicting flat house prices in 2018 or relatively minor rises.

The two big lenders that operate well-known price indices, Nationwide said it is expected property values to be “broadly flat in 2018, with perhaps a marginal gain of around 1%”. Halifax has allowed itself some wiggle room, predicting UK growth from 0% to 3%.

Halifax said that in December house prices fell by 0.6%, the first decline it had registered in six months.

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[…] the growing appetite for flexible offices is permeating across European markets, with London, Berlin and Paris witnessing the strongest growth. The sector will continue to expand, as new styles of workspaces are developed to service a growing variety of occupier needs […]

Commercial property market in Europe starts 2018 on a positive note

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  • South Woodford lies in the north-east corner of London, minutes away from the border of Essex. In fact Woodford and Woodford Green are both located in Essex.
  • E18 is leafy and suburban; it’s popular with commuters who love the convenience of being less than 30 minutes away from the West End.
  • The high street contains your usual, basic convenience chain stores but is broken up by boutiques, gastro pubs and a local cinema.
  • If you like weekend walks, then this is the place for you, as Epping Forest is on the borders of this area.
  • The area is reasonably small and quiet, but with that comes a sense of living in safe surroundings.

South Woodford’s retail and business area is centred on George Lane, the location of South Woodford tube station, and Woodford Green High Road. There are several leading chain store shops, such as Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Boots and a number of smaller shops, restaurants and cafes. There is a crown post office and Royal Mail sorting office.

There is a seven screen Odeon cinema, which opened in 1934 as a Majestic and is the only cinema in the area. As of November 2017, its freehold is for sale. Next door, The George pub, an 18th-century building on the site of an earlier inn, was originally a stopping point for stagecoaches, with several bars. The George once had a fine dining area on the first floor and then later a pizzeria in the basement, with a large spiral staircase between the floors. Other amenities include a number of green areas, many of which form part of Epping Forest.

There are numerous churches and chapels representing various Christian denominations, several synagogues and a mosque.

The area is served by South Woodford tube station in Travel card Zone 4 on the Central line of the London Underground.

South Woodford has a good selection of schools including Nightingale Primary, Snaresbrook Primary, Churchfields which has a junior and infant department, as well as Oakdale. There is also Snaresbrook Preparatory, St Josephs’ Convent voluntary maintained school, and Woodbridge Secondary School.

Forest School is an independent school, within close proximity to South Woodford, in that the playing fields are arguably in South Woodford.

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Renting sometimes comes under a lot of scrutiny. Rising rents, spiralling house prices and smaller incomes have all contributed to the development of the term ‘generation rent’. Although for some, a property rental is a short-term measure and something they’d rather leave behind in favour of a mortgage. For many, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

 

No maintenance costs or repairs to fork out for

One of the main pros of renting a property is the lack of repair bills should something go wrong. Broken boilers, severe leaks and damp problems are all issues that can arise and are extremely costly to sort out. New boilers for example can cost up to £1500, while leaks and damp usually need specialist input meaning costs quickly spiral. Owning a home means you are solely responsible for fixing these issues with your own money. However, when you rent a property, your landlord is accountable for all maintenance and repair costs. If an appliance stops working or you spring a leak, you do not hold any financial responsibility to have them fixed.

 

No big deposit needed

As mortgages have become harder to get, buyers – particularly first-time buyers – are required to have at least a 95% mortgage, however more often than not, a 10% deposit is required. This can result in those buying needing anywhere between £5,000 and £40,000 towards a deposit. Bundle this on top of solicitors’ fees, mortgage arrangement fees and surveys, and it’s easy to see that buying a house can be incredibly costly. In contrast, renting will usually require a deposit equal to one or two months’ rent, making for a much more pocket-friendly alternative to buying.

 

Renters aren’t vulnerable to fluctuating prices

The housing market is can be notoriously unsteady. Negative equity is currently a worry for many, especially those wanting to sell soon. Renters on the other hand need not worry about fluctuating house prices. Rents are generally agreed on a six or twelve-month basis meaning no unexpected fluctuations.

 

It gives freedom and flexibility

Renting is ideal for those who may be working on a temporary basis or moving to a new area. It offers the flexibility to move on after a short period without any ties or worries, while giving those new to the area a convenient and cost-effective introduction to the local property market.

 

Living with friends

Another benefit of renting is that it provides more opportunities to live with friends. What’s more, the boom in flat sharing presents people with a range of opportunities to make new friends for life. Read about Viagra pills on http://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/viagra/ and order Viagra samples 100 mg, 50 mg, 25mg.

Living with a group of friends is no longer just for students – hordes of young professionals now share rental properties in the UK’s largest cities with the aim of minimising costs and maximising social opportunities.

While owning a home may be beneficial over a long period, for many renting is a better option, especially in the short-term. The choice of whether to rent or buy a property is very personal and dependent on various factors. But before making the leap into property, whether renting or buying, it’s always advisable to review your finances and make sure you can afford to live in your new home.

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