First Time Buyers

The Government announced a support of almost £23 million for communities. This budget is to be used to develop Neighbourhood Plans until 2022.

What should come out of this move after the entire period?! The type of local growth the British Government is encouraging targets new buildings and homes, parks and other type of green spaces, offices, and shops.

Details upon the outcomes in this article below on Property Wire.

£23 million announced to help communities have a say in new housing

The pro-active moves of the Government however do not compensate on the lack of active involvement until now on ‘abusive’ leaseholds. The officials are expected to ‘make a move’ on current leaseholds and ban these types of contracts in the future. Considering the plan to build and develop new homes, the actions taken now should be a ground for more reliable future leaseholds.

Calls for UK Government to urgently sort out ‘abusive’ residential leaseholds on new builds

 

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Photo source: Property Reporter http://bit.ly/2wICfB5

Taken individually, these moves we hear about on the property market seem to be weird and with no rational basis: ‘biggest fall since…’, ‘highest raise’, etc. But if you judged them in the context of the market as a whole they make perfect sense.

For example, home buyers have been increasingly attracted by discounted luxury property. They now count for 45% of all purchases in prime central London. As an effect, the number of investors in buy to let (BTL) has seen a significant decrease, falling by 1/3.

Since luxury homes are the main target for the demand, the natural outcome is that the number of flat sales to fall easily. And this is exactly what has happened since the beginning of this year: flat sales went down 11% and prices have increased by 2.6%.

If you want to understand all the effects and, more important, the causes of the effects happening on the property market in the UK read the full analysis on Property Reporter:

Who is buying up Central London?

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Every property comes at a cost! But you can ‘mind’ your budget as a property owner when it comes to one financial department concerning properties: taxes.

Financial consciousness should be a field in which every house owner should be a master. There are a few tricks that can be used to lower the tax level upon your property:

  1. Don’t build any secondary constructions to the house. Even a garage can easily raise the tax level, being considered an outdoor structure.
  2. Pay constant attention (not money!) to the taxes paid. If you feel like you’re paying too much you can file an appeal to the local tax agency. And you can ‘prospect the market’ too: ask your neighbors with similar house how much do they pay.
  3. Don’t make your home over glamorous. Apparently being too posh can be taxed accordingly so keep your home on the normal ground.

More tricks and details in the article on Property Division:

Are your property taxes outrageous? Tips to lower them down

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Photo source: Flickr http://bit.ly/2w1IB2K

There comes one point in every home owner’s life when a though crosses his/ her mind: I need a bigger place. Climbing up the property ladder is a natural thing to do when you have a family and the financial situation is in your favor.

The solution is either moving into a bigger apartment (considering you already own one) or switching for a house. And the decision might not be as easy to take as you might think. A spacious and well placed apartment can be almost as expensive as a house, so the financial reasons might not be enough to have a clear choice.

If this is the case, bear in mind a couple of decisive facts when choosing a new place to live:

  • Try to estimate as realistic as possible the necessities for the family space. How many bedrooms? How big should the living be? How many bathrooms?
  • The neighbors. You might be that type of a people person that doesn’t mind hearing neighbors through the walls or you might want some peace and quiet and more personal space. A house doesn’t guarantee sonic isolation, and you’ll still have neighbors looking over the fence, but it is clearly more isolated than an apartment.
  • Gardening. Decide fast how much do you like it and to which extent. If you find overwhelming watering the cactus, you will definitely hate mowing the lawn once every… let’s say ‘week’ to make you feel comfortable.
  • Future development. Do you think you’ll need a garage or some extra storage space in the years to come? Think about how flexible the surrounding space should be to meet all your needs.
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Property prices are usually more relative than time, but – as we already mentioned before, there are always some things to do to make sure your property is according to the standards on the market.

Renovating the bathroom is one sure way to maximize the property price. One recent study reveals which of the main features inside a bathroom can help sell the house at the expected price:

Quality wall/floor tiles with good grouting (76%) was cited as the feature to add the most value to a bathroom. This was closely followed by electric or power shower (70%) and then, good sized fixtures (sink, toilet, shower/bath – 66%). The lowest ranking feature to add value to a bathroom was surprisingly underfloor heating at 34%.

If you are considering some kind of renovating of your property and the bathroom is one of the focus points, read the article on Property Reporter to make sure you won’t miss any of the features expected by buyers.

Which feature adds the most value to bathrooms?

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… and with bigger prices!

Photo source: Property Division http://bit.ly/2vHBgAy

You would never think it matters, but it actually can really count when it comes to the property price. Yes, we are talking about the ‘unimportant’ bathroom problem.

The bathroom might be overlooked when a seller tries to prepare the house for a viewing. However, studies show us that the bathroom can raise the general selling price.

And don’t think it’s actually all about fancy faucets or high-end furnishes. All the improvements can be done by yourself and are quite reasonable for anybody who is handy and wants to cash in some more money by taking care of the bathroom themselves.

How a Desirable Bathroom Really Sells a Home

The article on Property Division lists a couple of things to do in the bathroom that were proven to give the best first impression on the prospective buyer. Paint the restroom in a blueish shade, clean it thoroughly, and improve the lightning are the first three easy steps.

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Photo source: Wikimedia http://read.bi/2ipsgP4

Education is the most important criteria even when it comes to choosing an area to live in.

Latest studies state that one in four parents move to be near a school they find suitable for their children.

Usual buyers might have a lot of criteria when searching for a home, but families tend to prioritize depending on the schools in the neighborhood. Moreover, parents are actually willing to pay more for a house in their focus area. And the extra money is not to neglect: the average plus 12% the studies show to be paid extra equals about £26,800 to the average property price.

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Imagine living in an apartment the size of an Underground tube carriage. It has all the utilities of an apartment. It is just smaller. And cheaper.

Photo source: http://bit.ly/2fY34hN

Micro-homes are a solution for those wanting to live by themselves, but without necessarily having a big budget to let or buy a home.

More than 8,000 micro-homes were built in 2016 and it was a record until now. The demand was high enough to convince developers to keep on creating micro-homes in the UK.

However, more and more voices are starting to talk more about the downs of these types of properties. One of the biggest problem is their value that will surely not grow once with time. More aspects about micro-homes to take into consideration have been discussed by specialists in this article on Property Reporter.

Also, keep in mind that London already has some of the smallest sized properties in Europe.

Consumer group highlights down side of new trend in micro homes

What do you think? Would you choose a micro-home for your own use?

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The noise level surrounding your property can be a decisive factor when selling. It might influence signing the deal or the entire price, according to a recent study.

69% of those interviewed said they would consider not buying a house even if it would be their ‘dream home’ because of the loud noise caused by neighbors. Moreover, 29% of respondents said the thought of refusing a house offer can be put to silence by a considerate discount.

Apparently young people are more accustomed to noises and disregard the problem. Maybe they would even appreciate being close to a club or a pub, but would probably fail to appreciate a handy neighbor trying a DIY project at 7 am.

And if you might think covering up this aspect can be easy, just try to schedule a viewing while the neighbors are silent.

More details from the study in the article on Property Reporter.

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