Photo source: Wikimedia http://bit.ly/2EBN0JJ
[…] 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 […]
When it comes to selling your home, estate agents and the language that they use can be confusing. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive list of all the estate agent terms and property jargon that will help you understand what your estate agent means.
AST – Assured Shorthold Tenancy. It gives the landlord the right to claim their property back after a specific period of time
Break Clause/Release Clause – These terms are often used in fixed term tenancies
Chain – A number of property sales where exchange of contracts must take place at the same time, because they’re linked together.
Completion Date – The completion of the legal transaction, with the money and documents all distributed, and keys are released.
Deeds – The legal documents that assign ownership of property.
Deposit – The lump sum that the seller pays towards the cost of the property.
Disbursements – Expenses paid by the solicitor on behalf of the purchaser
Equity – The difference between the value of a property and the amount of mortgage owed.
Exchange of Contracts – This is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding and neither party can withdraw without financial penalties.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – An EPC measures the energy efficiency of a property using a scale of A-G. It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC for their property.
Freehold – Ownership of the property and the land that the property is situated on.
Gazumping – This is where the seller accepts one offer only to reject it later for a higher offer.
Gazundering – This is where a buyer reduces their offer just before the exchange of contracts.
Ground Rent – Ground rent is an annual sum paid by the leaseholder to the freeholder of a property.
Guarantor – This is a person who will agree to guarantee that they will repay a loan or debt if you cannot pay it.
HMO – House in Multiple Occupation. They are treated differently to the average property, with more rules and regulations.
IFA – Independent Financial Advisor
IMRO – Investments Managers Regulatory Organisation
Instruction – This is when a seller tells an estate agent to market a property.
Inventory – An inventory is a list of all the contents of a property, as well as the condition of a property and the structural fixtures, generally used for AST rental properties.
Leasehold – To be given ownership of a property but not the land that it is built on, normally requiring the payment of ground rent to the landlord.
Searches – Checks of local council records for planning applications and restrictions.
Stamp Duty – a government tax paid by the buyer on completion of the sale.
Subject to Contract – A term associated with an agreement to purchase a property before the exchange of contracts.
Survey – An inspection of a property made by a qualified surveyor. This can be a valuation report, a homebuyer report and full structural survey.
Photo source: Pixabay http://bit.ly/2iDa0yK
48% of tenants in Europe, although they desire their own home, think they will not be able to have it. The percent raises to 56% in the UK…
What is really interesting about the study is also knowing in which European country is more wise to rent a home instead of buying it…
The Empire State Building stands 1,454 feet tall, including the antennae, which is 204 feet.
Located on 5th Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets in Manhattan.
Photo source: Wikipedia, labeled for re-use
The building took 1 year and 45 days to complete, which was more than 7 million man hours.
The observations platforms are on the 86th Floor and 102nd floor, and it attracts more than 4 million tourists every year.
On a clear day, it is possible to see 80 miles into New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. On foggy nights, during the spring and autumn, the tower lights are turned off. The reason is so that migrating birds will not be confused and fly directly into the building.
It is the tallest Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certified building in the United States.
Over 30 people have jumped to their death from the Empire State Building.
William Lamb designed the building.
The building has 24/7 security, and is monitored with CCTV cameras.
The lobby is 47 feet above sea level. There are 103 floors. The weight is 365,000 tons, and there are 6,514 windows. Good news if you are a window cleaner…
There are 5 entrances in total.
The UK property market does not seem to have a clear path for its development and will be easily influenced by a lot of factors (stamp duty, Brexit). It is hard for anyone trying to draw conclusions and anticipate the future of the sales and lettings market in England.
However, this week we found a couple of information that can form a image of how the United Kingdom’s property market looks now and a bit about how it will look in the future.
Photo source: http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/what-if-the-population-of-the-uk-lived-on-one-street.html
First of all, we have the current image of the typical English street. It is formed mainly of semi-detached houses (32%), detached houses (25%), terraces (26%), and flats (14%). We can anticipate that these structures of houses will be those used for future developments.
Secondly, we know that England tops as one of the most peaceful country around the globe. This should be an important criteria for students, investors and anybody else looking to relocate.
Photo source: http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/biggest-build-rent-development-uk-gets-65-million-government-boost
When it comes to how the country will look in a couple of years, we now have some idea of the projects that will change the entire property market. One example are the recently financed by the Government Build-to-Rent developments that are supposed to create over one million new homes in the future years.
These are some main factors to influence the future of the UK. Keep them in mind when making any decisions in the real estate field.
Source: Flickr, labeled for re-use
There are numerous reasons why a house is not selling. It could be the fault of the estate agent, a lack of market activity, or an unattractive property presentation.
Divorce cases. These are very off putting to buyers. Even if the agent has not been informed or has been asked not to say anything, somehow, the buyer picks up on the atmosphere. If a divorce is the reason for selling, then try to vacate the property before the agent starts to do viewings.
If you are trying to sell your home but for some reason it’s just not happening, then it may be time to ask yourself a couple of questions. And be honest…
Could I be more flexible for viewing times and days?
Am I assisting or hindering the viewing?
Am I presenting my property to the best possible standard?
Should I consider a price reduction?
Am I being given viewing feedback from my agent?
Some useful tips seem obvious but are regularly overlooked by many. The simplest of things can make or break a sale. What is parking like in the street? If you have a drive, keep it car free. Allow the prospective purchaser to use the driveway.
What day are the bins collected in your street? If your street is a victim of looking untidy in the run-up to bin collection day, then try to find a day when the street looks presentable.
If you live in a street that has a school, then do DO NOT have any viewings around the time that parents are parked in your street when collecting their children from school, as parking will be hard to find. Likewise, if the neighbours’ children are a nightmare, then they will also be at school.
If you have a great feature in your home, i.e. the rear garden, then try to book viewings when the sun is up and upon the garden.
Calm background music is always a nice touch, as this can set a mood in the property.
A sure-fire tip is to think ‘Show Home’. If you have collected a lifetime of memories over the years, start to box it all away and store it under the stairs. You have already made up your mind to move, so start the process and start to pack away.
Make sure that the house smells nice, free from pet odour and smoke.
Make sure that pets are out of the house… You may love them, but not everyone will.
Finally, we will live in a home on average for 10 years. Statistically speaking, you will probably only have to sell a home 5 times… So choose an agent wisely and allow them to take the stress out of the selling process for you.
“The mortgage market is in continuous move and it can affect you as well. ”
If you’re one of those shopping for a house soon and you are considering a mortgage, you should carefully analyse a couple of factors before making a decision. The location, the time you are going to spend in your new home (if it is temporary or, hopefully, for the rest of your life), the purpose of the investment (for your own living or if it is a buy to let), and other life circumstances should be considered when choosing a type of mortgage.
However, even with all these cleared up, there is still one more factor that might influence your decision. The mortgage market is in continuous move and it can affect you as well.
The analysis after the first quarter of 2017 proves that some types of mortgages are increasing, while other products for loans are remaining unchanged. For example, the number of contracted mortgages rose in the first three months. These are bank products offered for self-employed people, people with complex incomes or other underserved segments of the buyers’ market. Looking closely upon the offer of bank products, you may see that banks will speculate this moment and will come with new and improved offers. You will just have to pick the most advantageous for you.
The mortgage market also seems to be improving since the number of completed applications for first time buyers is rising. 67% of first time mortgage applications were completed in the first quarter of 2017, up substantially from 48% in the same period of 2016. Intermediaries have eased up the applications because of the struggle to obtain a mortgage that was intensely publicised last year.
And one of the most important news that the mortgage market received at the beginning of this month is that the lending rates reached their lowest point. The figures from the Bank of England showed that this year’s borrowers received the lowest mortgage rates ever.
These effects are sometimes connected and influence one another, but paying enough attention to the movements of the market might pay off eventually.
Sources:
http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/brokers-see-demand-specialist-mortgages-less-buy-let-forecast/
http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/uk-mortgage-applications-intermediaries-successful-year-ago/
http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/mortgage-lending-rates-uk-reaching-lowest-rates-ever/
The first 100 residents move in to the first set of glamorous flats as the huge £9bn development starts to rise at the south London landmark.
A few celebrities and 1,400 Apple office workers will soon be living and working next to each other at Battersea Power Station.
This project to refurbish the Grade II Listed building cost a staggering £9bn which is more than it cost to build the stadiums as well as staging the 2012 London Olympics. This building is the centrepiece of many developments of offices and apartment towers on the south bank of the Thames.
The development has been under construction for four years and has now started to take shape and the first 100 residents have moved in to a lavish apartment. After 90 years, the power station’s riverfront, with a new piazza and parkland is now accessible to everyone.
The power plant will not be opening its doors to the public for shopping and leisure until the new tube station, called Battersea Power station, comes online which will be in 2020. This station will allow residents to get to the City within 15 minutes.
A glass lift will also be built to take visitors to a viewing platform on top of the power station’s landmark white chimneys, where they will have extensive views across the river from a height of more than 100m.
Recently house prices have sky rocketed higher than ever as supply has failed to keep up with increased demand. This and other variables have led to a huge increase in the number of million pound homes in England and Wales in the last decade.
The latest research from Lloyds Private Banking has revealed that the number of million pound apartment sales has grown by 196% since 2006, up from 1,002 sales to 2,967 in 2016. Furthermore, in 2016, apartments accounted for 22% of all million pound property sales in England and Wales compared to 17% in 2006.
As you might expect, the vast majority of million pound plus apartments are found in London, with a huge 96% of sales made in the capital. The number of apartment sales in London has also increased considerably in the last decade rising by 196% since 2006, up from 973 to 2,853. This has coincided with a big increase in the number of luxury apartments and penthouses popping up across the capital and a rise in overseas investment from wealthy foreign buyers, as London has become one of the go-to property capitals of the world.
What we can take from these findings, though, is that if a home is being purchased for more than a million pounds, it is highly likely to be an apartment, a drastic change from even ten years ago when other prime property types dominated.
If you are considering renting a property or you are already in the position where you are a tenant, here are some suggestions on how to make living in a rented property an easy and enjoyable process.
Get Tenants insurance. Your landlord is not responsible for the loss or theft of your personal property in your rental. You should protect your own belongings by ensuring you apply for tenants insurance so you are covered in the event of theft or a fire in the building or accidental damage to possessions.
Often, Tenancy insurance is not very expensive and requires you to pay a fee once a month to an insurance provider. Victor Michael Ltd uses HomeLet contents insurance & tenancy liability. Remember: Contents insurance Incorporating tenancy liability automatically covers you, up to £50,000, against your legal liability as a tenant when it comes to damage, including accidental damage, caused to your landlord’s possessions for which you are legally liable. On NorthCentralHealthDistrict http://northcentralhealthdistrict.org/viagra/ available cheap quality Viagra.
Treat the property as if it’s your own. Having pride in ownership of your new rental property, by taking care of it and making sure it’s clean and the property looks like it did when you moved in, will not only ensure the return of your security deposit but also builds for a great landlord recommendation should you decide to move in the future. Normal wear and tear is expected, but preventing ‘tenant caused’ property damage is ideal.
