Buying, selling and letting - Letting

On the horizon

Second city bags 50-floor landmark
                             
Developer Dandara has announced that planning permission has been granted on
The V Building, an iconic 50-floor landmark building, set to play a major
role in Birmingham’s continuing regeneration.

Scheduled for completion in 2013, this stunning 150-metre building will feature 655 private residential apartments and 51 serviced suites, along with three premier restaurants and cocktail bars, a library, spa, leisure space and a rooftop observatory.

All the apartments, from studios to three-bedroom apartments, have been designed to maximise space, light and breathtaking views. The V Building will be set in a new civic plaza featuring fountains, lighting, patterned paving and specially designed street furniture.
The building, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Eric Kuhne, derives from its name from the elongated V-shaped formation, with a scissor-shaped roof and latticed cladding.
Follow progress on this amazing scheme at dandara.com.       

Student lets

Mortgage

With the average student debt now standing at nearly £14,000, and property continuing to be seen as a smart bet for investment, the children’s uni years are seen more and more as a double opportunity: why not earn while they learn?

Student debt can take up to 11 years to clear, which seriously hinders a graduate’s financial start in life – and makes the property ladder all but inaccessible.
With this trend for parents of university-age offspring to buy property in uni towns, it was only a matter of time before.

A savvy parent can help their son or daughter get ahead by buying a buy to let for their child to live in while at university. With property prices rising at a steady rate equity can be built up in the property during the university years and then used to pay off student loans and debts on graduation.
Britannia’s Buy to Let mortgages, unlike many others, allows properties to be let to family members - so a son or daughter can live in and manage the property while at university, with additional rooms being let to fellow students to pay the mortgage. A survey recently carried out by Britannia shows that 57 per cent of potential Buy to Let investors would like this family friendly option.

With a property of £150,000 rising at approximately 10 per cent per year over a three year period it would be possible to make around £45,000 which would cover the expenses involved in buying and selling a property and go a long way to pay off any student debts.
Neville Richardson, Group Chief executive at Britannia, said 'This is a great way of giving your child a solid financial start in life and a safe place to live while at university. Britannia's research showed that 42 per cent of potential Buy to Let investors feel that their property would be better maintained if it was rented to a family member.'

Rooms are always in demand in university areas and they can be registered with the university's accommodation cell to find student tenants. Owning the property is also a good way of getting piece of mind knowing that your offspring are living in a safe well maintained house.
 
Facts

Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported UK house prices rose by 204 per cent in the past decade compared with a 94 per cent increase in average wages.
 
According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the average house price in the UK in May 2007 now stands at £209,454 (£218,225 in England ). UK annual house price inflation rose by 10.9 per cent. Annual house price inflation in London rose by 14.5 per cent.
Britannia will only lend to people with a maximum of three properties with Britannia.
We offer a LTV of 85 per cent or less. There is no Higher Lending Charge up to 85 per cent LTV.
A deposit of 15 per cent is required for a buy to let and this may be able to be freed from equity in an existing property.

The monthly rental income must be at least 120 per cent of the mortgage payment on  an interest only basis at the product rate.

Case study: Become a parent landlord

BARRATT’s Southampton and Eastleigh developments are attracting interest from parents keen to invest in accommodation for offspring attending Southampton University or Southampton Solent University next year.

Rented accommodation is one of the largest and least avoidable expenses for students and relatives alike so it is fast becoming a trend for parents to invest in accommodation for their children.
Figures published last year revealed that 83,000 of the 2.6 million second home owners in the UK were parents who had purchased a property for a child studying at university – an increase of 26 per cent since 2000.

Jodie Wincomb, Barratt’s on-site sales negotiator, reports: ‘The one and two bedroom apartments at new development Twyford Square on Twyford Road, will be ready for occupation next summer. And ready to move into now are a number of citipads, one and two-bedroom homes at Oceana Boulevard on Briton Street in the city centre. The properties are perfect for one person or two people sharing. We’ve had a number of enquiries from parents whose children will be attending one of the city’s universities next year or are currently in their first year.

‘These parent landlords are planning ahead – they would prefer to invest in a stylish apartment close to the university than pay ‘dead money’ towards living expenses in student rented digs.’
Jodie said that it can make sound financial sense to purchase an additional home to let to a child rather than shelling out thousands of pounds on rent over three or four years, the usual duration of a university course.

And according to recent reports, buying a property in a key university town can provide a yield of up to 16.5 per cent over a three-year period, the usual length of a university degree course, and buyers can still make a profit when they sell three years later.
 Also, new figures reveal that this autumn’s batch of students can expect to pay an average of £60 per week for rented accommodation, an increase of seven per cent on last year. University owned accommodation isn’t any cheaper – average weekly rental fees hit a high of £82 recently, a rise of 23 per cent in the last two years.

‘The new trend of parental investment really does make sense,’ Jodie continued. ‘Investor parents know their children are living somewhere safe. Also, a brand new apartment is low maintenance and comes with high energy-efficient ratings - so monthly utility bills will be lower.
‘There are further advantages if the property is purchased in the student’s name as a main residence,’ Jodie added. ‘It will not be subject to capital gains tax when the property is eventually sold, whereas if it is bought in the parents’ names, they will have to pay income tax on rental income as well as capital gains tax.’

Twyford Square is a unique new development of 161 one and two bedroom apartments located off Twyford Road near junction 13 of the M3 and adjacent to the River Itchen. Eastleigh town centre is a short walk away with high street shops and the Swan shopping centre. A short rail or bus ride will take you into Southampton city centre.

Oceana Boulevard is located just minutes from the city centre and adjacent to Dockgate 4, overlooking Queens Park and close to the waterfront. Southampton is a bustling place and the universities are located within easy access of the city centre.
For more information call the sales office at Oceana Boulevard on 02380 837494 or central sales on 01489 796 382, alternatively log onto barratthomes.co.uk.    

Isleworth’s Aura launches 20 October 2007

-  A landmark development from Bellway Homes -

Launching on 20 October 2007 is a new development from Bellway North London. Located on London Road in Isleworth, the 174 home, landmark apartment development named Aura, will offer for sale one- and two-bedroom apartments from a sales and marketing suite and show apartment on site.
Set over seven floors, this innovatively designed development is built to high specification and offers spacious, contemporary one- and two- bedroom apartments priced from just £224,995. First occupations are expected in spring 2008.

The development comes with a package of enhancements for the local community in addition to the children’s play areas. These include over £180,000 contributed to local education services, funding for the nearby Thornbury Playing Fields and contributions to local transport. One and a half acres of the site, set on former commercial land, will be a dedicated public open space including two play areas.

Ian Sloan, Sales Director of Bellway North London, says:
‘We are very excited to be launching this scheme which will provide homes that are contemporary, spacious and excellent value for money. Nearby Isleworth station offers excellent links to Waterloo station within 35 minutes and the site is convenient for the A4 and M4.’
Isleworth's facilities include a public library, swimming pool, gym, and an abundance of green spaces including Osterley and Syon Parks. The town was home to Francis Pear’s famous soap making empire for a century from 1862.

The sales and marketing suite will be open 10am-4pm daily from 20 October where a sales negotiator can be contacted on 0845 676 0257. Alternatively visit www.bellway.co.uk
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Rushmon Homes’ Prospects in Reigate is a collection of two-bedroom apartments at prices ranging from £212,950 to £272,950. The new designer show apartment is open on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 10am to 4pm; call 07795 681909 for further information. For further details about Prospects or any Rushmon Homes developments, visit www.rushmonhomes.co.uk or call 01932 586777.

  Imagine Homes, the UK's buy-to-let specialist, has just acquired St. Mark’s - a brand new off-plan buy-to-let opportunity in High Wycombe, due for completion June 2008.

St. Mark's features a selection of exceptionally large high specification 2 bedroom apartments and penthouses within walking distance of High Wycombe town centre. Ideally located for commuters, High Wycombe railway station is less than half a mile away with journey times to London Marylebone taking just 33 minutes. High Wycombe offers great accessibility to major road networks including the M40 and M4 and is ideally located for Heathrow Airport, but is one of the few local areas not in a flight path.
St. Mark's is an excellent opportunity for professionals who want to work in the city and live in the country. High Wycombe is home to the Chiltern Hills and the River Thames runs close by. Officially designated an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Chilterns and Thames Valley offer some of the most stunning countryside in England within a stones throw of London.

Significantly High Wycombe is undergoing a massive regeneration scheme known as Eden. It will soon be home to one of the hottest new shopping and leisure destinations in the country. Projected level of total investment stands at £500 million. This is unprecedented in the town's history which demonstrates the scale and ambition of the planned changes.

Grant Bovey, CEO of Imagine Homes, commented: ‘High Wycombe is set to become one of the most sought after areas within London's commuter belt. There is increasing demand for properties in the Home Counties with excellent travel links. Continued regeneration in High Wycombe will encourage strong capital growth and rental demand.’

Imagine Homes offers its customers a worry-free way to invest in residential buy-to-let. Through its expertise, Imagine Homes source quality new build opportunities in excellent locations with strong capital growth and rental prospects. Imagine Homes also find the tenant, manage the property and guarantee the customer a unique rental return of 7.5 per cent of the purchase price per year for two years.
Prices at St Mark's currently start at £208,000. For further details and to register your interest, please telephone 0808 180 0464.

Imagine Homes currently have a range of buy-to-let properties available at developments throughout the UK. For further information on Imagine Homes and their portfolio of properties simply log onto www.imaginehomes.co.uk

Aston Grange, Ralph’s Ride, Bracknell, Berkshire  

Ideally located in a peaceful woodland setting, with exceptional transport links as well as local facilities and amenities, Aston Grange in Bracknell, Berkshire, is attracting a wide range of buyers – including first-timers. All ten remaining apartments at Aston Grange have allocated parking. Prices start from £199,950.

A contemporary development of 24 two-bedroom apartments from Michael Shanly Homes, Aston Grange is well situated on the outskirts of Bracknell – with Martins Heron and Bracknell mainline stations both located nearby. Services to London and Reading take one hour and 20 minutes respectively, while the M3 and M4 are also both easily accessible – providing good access to Heathrow and Gatwick International Airport.
All homes at Aston Grange include a stylish integrated kitchen with stainless steel oven, hob and hood. A fridge freezer, washer/dryer and dishwasher are also standard
Master bedrooms have fitted wardrobes and en suite bathrooms with chrome fittings. Bathrooms are fully fitted with white wall hung sanitary ware, polished chrome taps and fittings, Trevi mains showers, chrome towel rails and ceramic tiled walls and floors.
 
Young friendly Location:

Weekend activities are also well catered for, with Bracknell town centre boasting a cinema and ten-pin bowling centre, an ice rink, a dry ski slope and a range of bars and restaurants. The new Ascot racecourse is situated within three miles Aston Grange.

For greener leisure pursuits, Bracknell Forest and the rolling Berkshire countryside are close by, offering a range of outdoor activities such as hiking and horse riding and for shopping enthusiasts, Princes Square and Charles Square offer all the high street names
Reading is close by where there is a good shopping centre (The Oracle) with many high street names, good bars, restaurants and nightclubs

Imagine private clients acquires prime thames-side properties.
 
Imagine Private Clients is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of 33 plots at Richmond Lock, a unique riverside development set in 14 acres of mature gardens.
 
Purchased from Octagon, the 86,559 square foot site is the first major acquisition for Imagine Private Clients, a new division of Imagine Homes Ltd targeting high net worth investors.
 
Part of an award-winning scheme of 100 houses and apartments built around the Italianate mansion Gordon House, once the home of Lord Kilmorey, the Imagine Private Clients phases of Lion’s Gate and The Grand Terraces at Richmond Lock will consist of substantial four and five bedroom houses ranging from £1.5 to £4 million.
 
Completing in 2009, the Grand Terraces and Lion’s Gate at Richmond Lock will retain the look and feel of the original Octagon development, but the properties will have additional specifications including a fifth bedroom, underground car parking and larger living spaces.
 
James Taylor, managing director of Imagine Private Clients comments: ‘The Richmond Lock acquisition will help meet the huge demand for quality freehold houses in highly sought-after areas within Greater London. Richmond Lock is a unique development which we have enhanced greatly in terms of design and specification and will have huge appeal to the home owner and the investor.’
 
The first release of eight properties is now available to the UK market. For further information please visit www.imageprivateclients.com.


Overview:    The Imagine Private Clients phases of Lion’s Gate and The Grand Terraces are part of an award-winning scheme of 100 houses and apartments built around the Italianate mansion Grade II Gordon House on the River Thames.

Unprecedented demand for apartments at Modus, Ipswich!

Investors buying apartments at Modus in Ipswich, a new development by Fairview New Homes, certainly made a wise decision!  Local letting agents are finding that these stunning new apartments are being snapped up by tenants as soon as they come to the market!

Located in Orwell Quay, Modus comprises a collection of one and two-bedroom apartments and live-work duplexes, set within beautifully landscaped surroundings with tree-lined avenues, squares and courtyards. Each new home provides light-filled living space, stylish kitchens with a range of integrated appliances and contemporary bathrooms featuring the latest fixtures and fittings.

The most popular rental properties are proving to be the two-bedroom fully-furnished apartments. With prices starting from just £144,000 for a two-bedroom apartment and Fairview New Homes offering complete furnishing packs at a reasonable cost, these new homes are excellent value for money.

Tucked between Duke’s Street and Fore Hamlet, Modus is in an up-and-coming area within easy reach of the town centre, the marina and the university and college campuses in Ipswich. This location is one of the key factors in the development’s popularity according to Jim Holliday, sales director for Fairview New Homes:

‘At Modus, we have experienced a high level of demand not only for investors who are really pleased with the response from the rental market, but also from first and second time buyers. With close proximity to the university and colleges, the apartments are appealing to teachers and lecturers and to parents who want to buy a property for children of university age or above. The development is also popular with local BT workers, both those who are settling in Ipswich and those who are contracted to work in the area.’

‘The new apartments offer plenty of space and some have balconies or terraces. They are easy to maintain, energy-efficient and within walking distance of the town centre – what more could young professional buyers or tenants want?’

For further information on Modus, please contact Fairview New Homes on 01473 286462 or visit the website on www.fairview.co.uk.

Phoenix Parc helping Ebbsfleet Valley rise from the ashes

The Ebbsfleet Valley regeneration project has been voted the third most valuable physical regeneration scheme in a special report undertaken by Regeneration and Renewal publication. Ebbsfleet Valley is one of the largest developments in the Thames Gateway and is right on the doorstep of the new Ebbsfleet Channel Tunnel Rail Link station. In the heart of the Valley lies the Phoenix Parc development by Explore Living, the residential arm of international construction company Laing O’Rourke.

Phoenix Parc was the first project launched by Dartford based Explore Living and is built on the site of a former factory. The development is comprised of 151 one and two bedroom apartments and 34 two and three-bedroom houses. All the homes have been carefully designed and enjoy spacious layouts with a high level of specification.

John Inglis, Sales and Marketing Director of Explore Living, comments: ‘Phoenix Parc is in the heart of the huge regeneration project in Ebbsfleet Valley. Just by its very location there is fantastic potential for strong capital growth in years to come. The development is situated within half a mile of the new, soon to open, Ebbsfleet International station, which will offer services to central London within 17 minutes as of 2009 and Paris in a little over two hours in November 2007. Due to such wonderful transport links it is no surprise that interest has been from those looking for a sound investment and commuters.’

‘Phoenix Parc offers purchasers the ideal opportunity to capitalise on the growth of the area with apartments starting from £226,995. Investors are able to benefit from an investment package and good value for money. This is evident in the fact that we now only have 10 apartments available left to sell.’
For more information on Phoenix Parc call 0845 4504360 or visit www.exploreliving.co.uk. Explore Living offer a fantastic choice of styles for your new home. From bathroom and kitchen fittings to the colour of the walls and the tiles on the floor, individuality is presented in each and every apartment. Backed by Explore Living’s exceptionally high standard of customer service, making the move could not be more pleasurable.

Phoenix Parc is perfectly designed for those with a love for high-tech creature comforts. All apartments come with provision for Sky+ and HD TV as well as pre wiring for a flat screen television in the lounge. Telephone points are situated throughout the apartment as well as electric under floor heating.
The development is well located for the modern lifestyle. With the completion of the high speed rail link travellers will be able to reach St Pancras in less that 20 minutes in 2009, where as Paris will be a little over two hours away via Eurostar. Phoenix Parc is also ideally situated with those with a love for retail therapy, with the extensive Bluewater shopping centre, the largest of its kind in Europe, providing a range of high street names, luxury designer goods and boutiques stores.

Over 6,000 Square Feet of Outside Space in London

57 per cent of people rate a garden as essential in their choice of property, according to a recent survey.*  In urban areas, outside space can demand a premium, however with the modern pressures of everyday working life, gardening can become a low priority. Higgins Homes’ new development The Roof Terrace, in Woodford Green, solves this dilemma by allowing residents to take advantage of over 6,000 square foot of roof top garden, without worrying about the up-keep.

Jeremy Marcus, Sales and Marketing Director, Higgins Homes, comments: ‘Outside space in London is very desirable but can be costly to maintain. By creating a garden on top of the development, residents can benefit from 6,135 square feet of space without any maintenance. The Roof Terrace is a small, boutique development in a sought-after location which embodies the attention to detail and bold design associated with Higgins Homes.’

 The development comprises 23 contemporary one and two bedroom apartments and two bedroom penthouses situated above office and retail premises. Most apartments benefit from a private balcony or terrace and all have access to the communal roof terrace. The development also benefits from a secure underground car park with enough space to provide one space for each apartment and the ability to purchase a second space if required.
Externally the development uses red and natural stone shaded brick work and stone voussoirs to create an intricate and stylish frontage. The architectural design of The Roof Terrace combines gabled roof tops with dramatic sweeping curves and angular insets, reminiscent of the Art Deco architectural period.

Each apartment comes with a stylish Urban Myth kitchen which is fitted with Smeg appliances which including a stainless steel electric oven, a stainless steel gas hob, an integrated fridge/freezer, a washer/dryer and a dishwasher.

Woodford Green has a wide range of shops and restaurants and South Woodford underground station has direct central line trains to Liverpool Street Station which take approximately 20 minutes.

Construction on The Roof Terrace has already begun and first completions are due in spring 2008. Prices start at £299,950 for a two bedroom apartment - less launch incentives of £500 towards legal fees and £2,500 for flooring. For further information and brochure requests please contact Higgins Homes on 020 8505 0614 or visit higginshomes.co.uk.

Crest Nicholson, Courtyard, Bishop’s Stortford

The Courtyard, the first development by award-winning developer Crest Nicholson, in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, is now for sale, comprising a stylish selection of two bedroom apartments and one individual three bedroom cottage. The Courtyard, located just off Hockerill Street, is set to be popular with young local professionals commuting into London and those looking to invest. Just a few metres from the centre of this pretty market town, the development has been thoughtfully designed to blend seamlessly with the local vernacular and strikes the perfect balance between old and new.

John O’Kane, Director of selling agents, Savills, comments: ‘Currently there is nothing else quite like The Courtyard on the market in the area. Bishop’s Stortford is one of Hertfordshire’s oldest market towns and Crest Nicholson’s experience in quality, design and workmanship is evident and has produced something really exceptional in the market. Purchasers seeking the very best in terms of location in the town centre and specification need look no further than Crest Nicholson at The Courtyard.’

Located within an established conservation area, The Courtyard takes its architectural design from this and the surrounding listed buildings. Exteriors combine classic cream render and local stock brickwork complemented by weather boarding and a mix of slate and brick red roof tiles to give a timeless and elegant appeal.

The contemporary interiors create a perfect contrast to the traditional façades. Designed to suit purchaser’s busy lifestyles, the smart, stylish and practical living spaces have been created with fitted kitchens featuring a Bosch stainless steel oven with gas hob, an integrated fridge/freezer and a washer/dryer. Bathrooms feature sleek Villeroy and Boch sanitaryware and are complemented by Hansgrohe chrome accessories.

Helen Moore, Sales & Marketing Director, Crest Nicholson (Eastern) Ltd, comments: ‘I expect The Courtyard to prove attractive to young professional buyers, as well as investors, thanks to the development’s excellent location close to Bishop’s Stortford train station and Stansted airport. Commuters can be in London in under 40 minutes and the accessibility to Stansted airport ensures that the apartments at The Courtyard should have excellent rental potential.’

The ideal commuter location, trains from Bishop’s Stortford station take residents into London Liverpool Street in as little as 39 minutes*. Alternatively, the university city of Cambridge is less than 30 miles away. However if travelling further a field, Stansted airport is just 5 miles away.

Residents at The Courtyard will each benefit from their own allocated parking space.

Two bedroom apartments are priced from £230,000.

For more information contact Crest Nicholson on telephone: 01277 693262 or visit: www.crestnicholson.com  

Owners buy their island

Over fifty percent of the first phase of apartments released at The Island, a new development in Islington, London, N1, have been sold off-plan. Ten of the 17 properties in the development have been snapped up since the launch in mid-September at the Chesterton New Homes office. The majority of these sold to owner occupiers attracted by the quality specifications and generous size of apartments.

The Island is a contemporary development of 58 one and two-bedroom apartments and duplexes developed by George Wimpey and scheduled for completion from November 2008. The apartments are arranged around a private landscaped courtyard.

Wood is used throughout the apartments with real oakwood flooring in the hallway, kitchen and living-rooms and ashwood internal doors. Each kitchen is has Mirari white gloss fitted units with Delta down-lights. These are set off against the stainless steel cooker and sinks. Security is provided with video entry-phones in each apartment.

The Island is situated off trendy Upper Street and within walking distance of both Angel Tube Station and Essex Road Train Station. The area enjoys an abundance of pubs, bars and restaurants, as well as the N1 centre. Antiques shops and markets can all be found on 'Camden Passage' and the area is rich in local theatres.

Conrad Mazen, Chesterton New Homes Director, comments: ‘We are delighted at how successful The Island has been amongst owner-occupiers. Many new-build residential schemes are geared towards investors and the units themselves are often quite small. The Island, however, features well-proportioned apartments which appeal to home-owners – for example all the one bedroom flats measure well in excess of 500 sq ft.’

Prices in the current phase start from £330,000 for one-bedroom and £415,000 for two-bedroom properties. The second phase of The Island is due to be released in Spring 2008.

For more information on Chesterton New Homes, please contact Conrad Mazen, Chesterton New Homes Director, on 020 7288 0330 or see chesterton.co.uk.

Property Fever Following Walthamstow’s Olympic Effect

Property prices in Walthamstow are set to rise by as much as £100,000 because of the 2012 Olympics effect. London developers and estate agents are earmarking the area as an investment hotspot and residential schemes, such as Higgins Homes’ new development Uber, in the centre of Walthamstow, are being snapped up by residents and investors alike.

Scot Philp, Residential Manager at Strettons, local estate agents in Walthamstow, comments: ‘The Housing market is still very strong in many parts of London and preparations for the 2012 Olympics preparations are creating a very buoyant prospective rental market. The spill over from Stratford in to areas such as Walthamstow has already provoked a property price increase in the area of up to 12 per cent this year. Because of the cultural vibrancy and transport links, the location is very desirable for renters and every property on our rental books is let within 10-14 days. With statistics like this it is no wonder that developments like Uber are extremely popular.’

Jeremy Marcus, Sales and Marketing Director at Higgins Homes, comments: ‘Uber has been extremely popular, with eleven apartments being sold in the first week or so of launching. Walthamstow market is less than 50 yards from the development and the train and tube stations are within a short walk. Walthamstow is also undergoing a massive regeneration campaign which will further the potential for capital growth and improve the facilities for residents.’

Uber comprises 100 studios and one and two bedroom apartments on Erskine Road. The building has a cascading and ascending flat roof, sculpted with aluminium panels to give a dramatic profile. The development incorporates a secret garden, so residents can read a book and enjoy the sunshine without being overlooked.

Most apartments have glass panelled balconies providing buyers with outside space and there is also a video entry system in each property. Internally each apartment has a designer Urban Myth kitchen which comes fitted with Smeg appliances including a stainless steel electric oven, gas hob, integrated fridge/freezer and washer/dryer.  

Walthamstow provides residents with a wealth of amenities ranging from boutique market stalls to designer clothes shops in The Mall, Selborne Walk.  St James Street train station, near the high street, has regular direct trains to London Liverpool Street which take approximately 16 minutes*. Walthamstow Central underground station is on the Victoria line and trains take approximately 23 minutes to Oxford Circus**.

First completions are expected in spring 2008. Prices for a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment start at £205,000 and at £260,000 for a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment with balcony. The marketing suite is open seven days a week between 10am and 5pm. For further information please contact Higgins Homes on telephone: 020 8521 7885 or visit the website: www.higginshomes.co.uk

Berkeley Homes (South East London) Ltd are pleased to announce the launch of its Caspian Wharf development, located on the banks of the Limehouse Cut, Bow, E3. The 82 studio, one, two- and three-bedroom apartments were released for sale on 24th May and are proving a huge success with purchasers.

This vibrant waterside development offers contemporary individually designed apartments that strike an excellent balance between function and comfort. The properties are situated in a brick six-storey building that features extensive glazing, glass and steel balconies and large terraces with views towards the canal and Canary Wharf.

White handless glass units and grey composite stone worktops, splashbacks and upstands create sleek, luxurious kitchens that are completed with Siemens stainless steel integrated appliances, Elica stainless steel and glass telescopic glide extractor and optional TV units.

Elegant clean lines, chrome fixtures and fittings and white sanitaryware ensure that the bathrooms offer a calming retreat away from the stresses of every day life. All of the apartments also benefit from zoned underfloor heating and electronic audio door entry systems, with the majority offering outside space by way of balconies or terraces.

Residents at Caspian Wharf will enjoy the use of a communal terrace on the fourth floor as well as the landscaped podium on the first floor, which will provide cover for the limited car parking spaces that are available on selected plot.

Caspian Wharf is well connected for travel into the City. The development is within easy reach of Bromley-by-Bow underground station on the Hammersmith & City and District lines while Devons Road DLR station is also close by. Langdon Park is the new DLR station due to open in Summer 2007, and is also within easy reach.
The A11, A12, A13 and M11 offer road links to Greater London and the North. The proposed Olympic Village at Stratford is situated close by offering a lasting legacy on the doorstep.

Victoria Park offers plenty of open space and residents can enjoy the festivals, fetes and open-air concerts that take place while nearby Mile End Park offers an international standard athletics stadium. A wealth of cafes, bars and restaurants can also be found within easy reach of the development.

Jon Hall, Head of Sales & Marketing for Berkeley Homes (South East London) Ltd commented: ‘We’ve had an excellent launch of Caspian Wharf with an overwhelming response from purchasers. This contemporary development offers sleek, luxurious properties in a vibrant waterside setting and we are confident the remaining properties will prove just as popular with both investors and owner-occupiers alike.’

Prices for the apartments at Caspian Wharf start at £215,000 for a studio apartment. For further information contact the Sales and Marketing Suite, which is situated at 99 Leman Street, London, E1. It is open 10am to 6pm weekdays (until 8pm on Tuesdays) and from 10am to 5pm on weekends. Call 0844 800 1152 or see berkeleyhomes.co.uk.

Letting a holiday home commercially has many benefits, but what do you do if the unexpected occurs? Mark Lavington offers top tips on how ensure the correct insurance is in place.

Many holiday home owners may unwittingly be relying on normal home insurance cover or, worse, have no cover at all. If you let out your holiday home, you should make sure the insurer is aware, and that all the necessary covers are agreed.

Your policy must cover property owner’s liability of at least £2m for injury to individuals - such as your tenants, visitors or guests - and damage to their property. In this litigious society, anyone who owns a business can easily find themselves on the wrong side of a compensation claim that can seriously damage their wealth. Whether you manage the property yourself or let through an agent, it is equally important that you have liability cover. However, cover is no substitute for good risk management. It is therefore vital that you carry out a full risk assessment of your holiday home and its garden and meet relevant safety legislation.

You should also have employer’s liability insurance. As an owner of a UK holiday let, you might think this is unnecessary. However, in the course of managing your property, you will probably employ a casual cleaner, gardener, handyman or painter and decorator. A quality holiday home insurance contract should provide employer's liability insurance cover of £10m to protect you against claims made against you in respect of your legal liability for death or injury to such employees.

Buildings cover is also important. To properly protect your holiday home, you need to cover all buildings against all insurable risks for the full reinstatement cost, including any garages or outbuildings, fixtures and fittings, patios and driveways, garden walls, fences and swimming pools. You must include the cost of clearing the site in the event of complete destruction and the associated legal, architect and surveyor fees. Remember, the reinstatement cost is unlikely to be the same as the market value of the property or the price that you paid for it and is worth proper research. If you under-insure your building, any claim payment may be reduced proportionately, which could involve a significant loss to you.
Most insurers will index link the buildings sum insured so that you maintain an accurate insurance value over time but this depends on you getting the right value in the first place.

The very nature of a holiday property is that it is a `home from home' and is therefore let on a fully furnished basis. As holidaymakers’ expectations and competition increase, the owner will often spend tens of thousands of pounds furnishing their holiday home. LCD and plasma TV screens, surround sound home entertainment systems, hot tubs and expensive garden furniture are becoming increasingly common. A policy that includes full accidental damage cover on a new for old basis will provide you with the peace of mind that your property is protected. The sum insured should be adequate to cover the replacement value of the contents in total.

Owners should consider completing an inventory of contents together with photographic evidence and schedule of values in case of a total loss. A tip for photographing your audiovisual electrical equipment is to take a shot of the serial number, which can help identification and recovery in the event of theft.
Your holiday home policy should also provide loss of rental income cover for insured perils that make the property uninhabitable. For example, it may take up to two years to rebuild a property levelled by fire; you should therefore check that you are covered for sufficient loss of rental income for this period.
Finally, the holiday home owner must not fall foul of the ‘powers that be’. Remember to get permission from your mortgage lender and your landlord - in the case of a leasehold property - before you let your home for short-term holidays; otherwise your insurance could be invalidated. Make sure you understand your policy cover and your obligations regarding any warranties. You or an agent may need to inspect your property every 14 days while empty, or ensure a minimum temperature is maintained during cold spells if the water isn’t turned off and drained. Do check that you are still fully covered even if your property is vacant for long periods; some policies will reduce cover to a minimum or even exclude certain provisions completely.

If your holiday letting is seasonal, you may consider letting the property on a short hold tenancy agreement for six months. Make sure your holiday home insurance policy allows for this.
Mark Lavington is the director of Boshers. For more information visit boshers.co.uk

Good lighting really does transform a home, but it can be a difficult task to master. Leading electrical regulatory body NICEIC offers some practical advice on how to get to right.

Well positioned lights will really help to enhance the mood of a room, but just how much light is needed to create the right effect? One way to determine the correct light levels for a home environment is to measure the room size in square metres and multiply this by 25 for incandescent lamps, 15 for halogen lamps or 19 for compact fluorescent lamps. This will give you the total watts required to light the room.  It’s best to place lights at a height where the bulb can’t be seen directly to avoid and reduce any glare. Don’t hang pendants so high that the bulb is clearly visible underneath from below and if lights are to be positioned over or near reflective surfaces make sure they have a diffuser.

The lighting for each room in the house will depend on its function, and the following tips will help you decide which light sources are best.
The living room Used for relaxing, entertaining, socialising, reading and watching TV, the living room is a multi-functional space. Work out where your furniture will be positioned and where you need lighting. That way you can advise your electrician if new sockets need to installed and so avoid long cables and flexes running across the floor.

Aim to use plenty of different light sources so you can create different levels of lighting.
One central pendant light with up lighters and table lamps placed around the perimeter of the room will create a feeling of more space as the light radiates inwards. Floor lamps are effective at brightening up dark areas where it’s tricky to fit wall lights. Just one chandelier situated in a living room can provide an element of glamour – they were traditionally lit by candles so use a low wattage bulb to give the same subtle affect.

The kitchen Lots of light is required in the kitchen. Under unit lighting is important to cast efficient light over work surfaces and a good ambient light is also useful. Downlighters in the ceiling creates a glare free effect while remaining functional, but it’s important that each spotlight is fitted properly with a fire hood. Pendants aren’t best suited to kitchens as they attract grease and dust.  
The dining room How you light this room depends on its style, but usually the main light source is hung over the dining room table, which can then be supplemented by wall lights and table lamps. You could also fit a rise and fall pendant, which can be adjusted to the desired height. If candles are used ensure they are far enough away from the light fitting. Long dining room tables look great with long lights suspended on wires.

The bathroom For make-up application and shaving it’s best to have a bright light, but if relaxing for a soak in the tub you’ll want to be sure you can dim the lights. Wall lights must be out of reach, or enclosed to keep water out, especially spotlights that are installed above a shower. Lighting can be controlled by a wall switch, which must be mounted outside the bathroom. Some mirrors have sections of the reflective surface removed and lights fitted behind. You can also use LED floor lights, which are set into the floor and come in different colours.

The bedroom Here you can really be creative with your lighting scheme, using bright neon colours or sparkling fairy lights. The right lighting will help you create a relaxing retreat to wind down and get a good nights sleep, but be sure to include more general lighting for getting dressed in the morning. Adjustable reading lamps are ideal if one of you is reading or watching TV while the other sleeps. They can be mounted on the wall, hotel style, or they can be fixed to the bed head or used as table lamps. To make the most of your dressing table make sure it is lit from both sides of the mirror, so it doesn’t cause shadows across your face.
To find a registered electrician in your area visit findanelectrician.info

General tips

Bright light is not always good light
Different effects are produced when light is reflected by surfaces, so consider this when you are deciding where to situate lights
Direct lights are best for reading or working
Lights can also be used to highlight features such as paintings or objects and help add atmosphere to a room
For multi functional rooms install a dimmer switch so you have the option of more light for reading or working and lower light levels for relaxing
Incandescent bulbs give off warmer colours and will help achieve a cosy atmosphere, while fluorescent light bulbs will offer a cooler but more efficient light for utility rooms
Dark coloured rooms absorb more light, so additional light will be needed
If you have a feature wall or coloured surface, illuminate it with lighting to add colour

Tax may well be playing on the mind of many property investors as they prepare to file their self assessment tax return. Although the final deadline is the end of January next year, for those who want the Inland Revenue to calculate their tax for them the deadline 30 September.
The problem for many investors is that the complexity surrounding tax issues means it can be very hard to know what is and isn’t deductable – the end result being that investors can end up paying too much or too little in income and capital gains tax.
Before you tackle your tax return this year it is worth ensuring you have considered everything you can to correctly minimise your tax bill.

GET ORGANISED

Property investors need to be organised. A separate bank account should be set up and investors should keep track of rental income and expenditure, holding on to all relevant receipts. Hiring professionals such as accountants and solicitors will help to make the process much easier. Any professional or legal fees can be offset against the rental income. However, fees incurred during the actual buying process cannot be claimed until the property is sold.

SINGLE OR JOINT OWNERSHIP

If the property is owned by more than one person then careful consideration needs to be given to the form the ownership takes, whether it is joint ownership, partnership or through a syndicate, each method will have its own tax implications. As the Inland Revenue assess income individually, each legal owner of the property is required to submit an annual return.

OFFSETTING EXPENSES AGAINST RENTAL INCOME

Income tax is payable on rental income after allowable deductions have been taken into account and the list is extensive when it comes to what is and isn’t deductable. Investors can offset costs including utility bills when properties are empty, management agents’ fees and interest paid on borrowing costs, including mortgages and loans.
In addition, costs relating to repairs of maintenance can be offset. However, improvements made to a property, such as adding a conservatory are not tax deductable, but they can be offset against the capital gains tax liability when the property is sold.

RUNNING YOUR PROPERTY AS A BUSINESS

A buy-to-let property should be treated as a business and as such certain costs associated with running the property are deductable. These include marketing and travel costs and office costs such as a proportion of the utility bills and office equipment.

EXIT STRATEGY

When it comes to selling the property there is likely to be capital gains tax on any profit accrued on the property, which could be up to 40 per cent. However, there are steps which you can take to reduce the bill. For example, you can claim exemption on the tax for the period you have permanently resided in the property and the final 36 months of ownership, irrespective of whether you have lived there. Other tax breaks include taper relief and personal capital gains allowance of up to £8,500.

PLAN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

It is vital to plan for the next generation and to protect your assets from inheritance tax (IHT). The current threshold is £300,000, which means you are likely to be liable for inheritance tax, especially if you have a portfolio of properties. However, there are various methods for reducing IHT. It is worth consulting a professional to ensure you minimise your family’s bill. It is essential to make a will, to ensure your estate is passed on according to your wishes and if your property is overseas you should seek inheritance tax advice and write a local will, as your British will might not be accepted.
Whether you are buying in Britain or overseas you need to be fully aware of all the tax implications. Don’t be fooled into thinking you won’t be found out, the authorities now have the power to discover exactly what your income is whether it’s here in Britain or overseas. Be prepared, pleading ignorance will never count in your defence.

David Austin is managing director of Property for Life. Visit propertyforlife.com

Most people rent because they believe they cannot afford to buy. But what if there was an option to own a place for the same or less than what it costs to rent? Amanda Shiel spotlights one such competitively priced development.

Milliners Place combines the conversion of a former hat factory three new buildings on Midland Road to create 119 luxurious one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Situated in the town centre, Milliners Place is a five-minute drive to the M1, making the North and South of England easily accessible. It’s also a short walk to the train station, which offers the town’s commuters fast trains to London’s St Pancras in just 23 minutes and an easy commute to Luton Airport. 

Redeham Homes has sensitively converted Milliners Place to retain the building’s original Georgian architecture, while creating stylish apartments that maximise the available space and light. The apartments have been built to a high specification including a choice of kitchen designs incorporating an integrated stainless steel oven, extractor hood, fridge/freezer and washer dryer. A choice of layouts includes open-plan and semi-open plan styles as well as those with separate kitchens.
The contemporary bathrooms include Roca Laura wall-hung white sanitaryware complemented by Grohe fittings, thermostatic showers and heated towel rails. To provide purchasers with an added level of style and luxury, a range of the apartments include en suite facilities to the principal bedroom. Some of the apartments also benefit from balconies or terraces. Private parking is also available at the development.
Milliners Place is ideally situated for Luton’s wide range of facilities and amenities including the Arndale Centre, which is within easy walking distance.

Prices for the remaining apartments at Milliners Place start at £130,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and from £170,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. For further sales information contact Redeham Homes on 01582 456692 or visit redehamhomes.co.uk.

We look at a no-nonsense guide for landlords who let to students
 
The Landlord’s Guide to Student Letting is an invaluable guide to understanding the continuous flux of a profitable market and the legislation attached to it.

Written by seasoned student landlord Catherine Bancroft-Rimmer, it is candid about the pros and cons of student letting, making complex and confusing legal procedures easier to understand and act on.
Sample letters, forms and useful addresses of organisations are included to help the landlord. Rimmer also takes into account the long-term view of the student letting market nationally and shares her knowledge about potential future changes made by the government which will have a long term impact.
If you’re interested in investing in student housing, The Landlord’s Guide to Student Letting will arm you with information about your rights and responsibilities and prepare you for the highs and lows of landlord life.
 
The Landlord’s Guide To Student Letting by Catherine Bancroft-Rimmer is published by How to Books Ltd and is available at £10.99 in major bookshops and online retailers.  
howtobooks.co.uk

Lettingagent.com offers advice for those considering entering the student property market.

Letting to students is a popular way to realise value from your property investment. But there are things you should keep in mind to help ensure success.

Think carefully about location Local knowledge is invaluable. Know where the ‘student areas’ are and be wary of up-and-coming areas. Similarly, avoid places where students wouldn’t want to live in or would not be welcome. Not all university towns are equally profitable. Do research by talking to local agents about what yield to expect.

Choose a reliable letting agency An efficient, experienced and professional letting agent is crucial for landlords with demanding full-time jobs. A third party can save the hassle of dealing directly with tenants when things go wrong – and can save a considerable amount of money in property repairs. Landlords should choose letting agents that are registered with an official organisation, such as the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Register with the uni accommodation service Being on the university database is an easy way to advertise a property directly to students and offers them a quick, hassle-free way to access property details and managing agent’s contact details.

Be aware of health and safety regulations Landlords should pay particular attention to the HMO Licensing and Housing Act legislation to ensure that they comply with the rulings and any recent amendments. Those renting flats to students should check this information carefully as some are exempt from certain clauses.  

Insert a clause in the lease to allow for potential damage This will allow for circumstances where students fail to follow the procedures required (for example, where damages are caused). Students should be given a clear inventory and a flat inspection should be carried out the first day of tenancy so that breakages or damages can be noted at the end of the term. A list of emergency numbers and useful contacts and dates (e.g. ‘bin day’) can also prove very helpful.

Get referencesTenants must have a reference from their previous landlord. An untrustworthy tenants means hassle, worry and expense. Make sure the rental contract clearly states when the rent is due – and in what format – to help avoid any problems over rent payment.

Consider what a student needs Student properties don’t need to be cluttered with accessories that are more than likely to be broken during the course of their tenancy. The interior should be comfortable, clean and functional with desks, chairs, bookshelves and lamps in each bedroom.

Avoid false economies Though no one would advise buying expensive carpets, curtains or sofas, the furniture provided for students does need to be hardy and able to withstand a bit of ‘wear and tear’.

Get building insurance This is important for all buy-to-let properties. Make sure your property is adequately covered – even something as small as a burst pipe could end up causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Building insurance will sometimes cover a limited amount of public liability, so landlords should check the wording of agreements carefully.

Sort out council tax forms Properties occupied only by students are exempt from council tax. Ensure all tenants fill out the relevant forms and return them as soon as possible.

Property investors are gaining in experience and confidence, according to a specially commissioned London Landlords’ Day survey from Landlord magazine. Even as the stock market felt the effects of the US sub-prime crisis, the reponses point to was optimism in the market.

Among the findings of this survey was the fact that readers of Landlord are fairly evenly divided in terms of the value of their portfolios; 21 per cent own between £250,000 and £500,000 worth of property, while the same percentage controls a portfolio spanning the £1 million to £2.5 million range and a further 20 per cent bridged the gap with ownership of property totalling between £500,000 and £1 million.
Among the remainder, representing the extreme lower and higher ends of the value spectrum, only six per cent owned under £100,000 worth of property, while a surprising number possessed a portfolio of £2.5 million to £5 million (nine per cent) and nearly as many (eight per cent) owned over £5 million worth.
The ratio of male to female readers is 65:35 and the average reader owns 9.5 properties.
Concerning the recently introduced tenancy deposit protection (TDS) system, almost half (49 per cent) of those who have agreed an AST since its April start have used Deposit Protection Services, while 17 per cent have opted for Tenancy Deposit Solutions. Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) have opted not to take a deposit at all, and nine per cent prefer an insurance-based alternative.

Optimism is the rule of the day for Landlord readers. Forty-seven per cent of the landlords expect positive performance from the private rental sector over the next 12 months, while 14 per cent expect very positive perfomance and three per cent go so far as to say the future is extremely positive. Thirty per cent expect no change, while six per cent are expecting poor performance.

De-cluttering expert Sue Kay found herself drawing on the advice she gives to clients as she traded her East Finchley home for a central London pad. Johnny Turner talks to her about the move, our shopaholic culture and the psychology of having too much stuff.

In this must-have, must-shop world it is worth stepping back occasionally and wondering why we have accumulated what we have. When I moved six months ago, I went through two culls of paperbacks and still had two copies of some novels; ridiculous as it sounds, I couldn’t decide which cover I liked better.
And a pile of VHSs when I no longer have a working VCR?
Which leads me to a catchphrase that, however inappropriate when considering the clutter of others, is very tempting to use when looking at my own: ‘How sad is that?’

Sadness, of course, cuts to the heart of why it is difficult to let go of things. For Sue Kay, de-cluttering expert and author of two books on the subjects, a degree in psychology is a useful tool when dealing with clients. ‘It is emotional,’ says Kay over the phone from her new Marylebone home. ‘You’re coming across things from your past – maybe you’ve lost someone or had a difficult breakup.’
As in the song ‘These Foolish Things’, mementos trigger longing for what was: ‘A cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces / An airline ticket to romantic places / And still my heart has wings …’
So why should we part with what makes us nostalgic? ‘You’re moving your life forward, and to do that you have to let go,’ she says. But this forward motion is not without a price, as we all know. ‘There’s a always a tweak – and a tweak for me may be a pain for someone else.’

Our homes have emotional power in our lives; the need to feel secure is, after all, one of our most basic driving forces. Sue is very aware of this and with her easygoing, friendly style she makes it easy to look honestly at your habits with regard to your possessions. ‘I’m not here to judge or bully you,’ she says. ‘I would never tell you to get rid of something that’s important to you.’ The key to the de-cluttering process, says Sue, is ‘standing back and looking at something and asking “why?”’
I wonder whether, in moving from quickly gentrifying north London to Marylebone, an area that boasts a peculiarly urban mixture of the cool and the chaotic, she found herself having difficulty living by her own teachings?

‘I could feel the piles of paper starting to build up for a while – that feeling of, where are things? It’s good to reconnect with that.’ Somehow I doubt those piles of paper got too high, for she is a true believer in letting go of things that don’t serve a purpose. Clutter, according to Sue Kay, is defined as ‘things you no longer use or love’. Many people have a mistaken idea of the process, she finds. ‘Sometimes they confuse it with being puritanical but it’s not that at all. Being organised doesn’t mean you’re not a free spirit.’
And just as hoarding ‘things’ is a habit, so is that reflexive feeling of being quite content to dispose of things that fit the above definition. And at the heart of this philosophy, says Kay, is the ability to take an honest look at ourselves and why we feel the need to ‘over-have’ if you will - not to mention investigate the modern mania for shopping, owning, collecting, three ways of validating ourselves in a way that rather misses the point of validity.
‘Were all struggling with the way we live,’ she says. ‘Fast, furious, constant consumption. It’s hard to stop, hard to say enough. I can’t do IKEA – I get muddled and buy the wrong sizes, then I have to go back, which is not what I want to do!’

She has found the property market has a bearing on her work. ‘We’re living in extraordinary times, when people have all this stuff and don’t have a bigger home.’ And it works the other way around as well – after all, clutter is a good way to drive away prospective buyers.
The green movement is a sibling of the Sue Kay philosophy – and surely the best way not to waste things is not to gather too many things to begin with. Surprisingly, however, in some ways she has found her work complicated, not eased, by the new green awareness. ‘I’m pro-green but it adds an extra level of stress to de-clutter ethically.’ She laughs, ‘I got an email about old pill bottles: “What do I do with these?”’

With her client visits she is very careful not to judge; rather, she acts on empathy and frames her work in terms of the good it can do. ‘It’s my job not to feel overwhelmed. You have to manage their expectations.’ The most difficult consultations are when people veer strongly to one extreme or the other. ‘Either they have to agonise over everything or they want to throw everything away.’
She treads lightly when helping a client with those possessions that trigger particularly personal or painful feelings and memories. ‘When you come across your dead husband’s bus pass – that can be agonising.’
It is natural to feel vulnerable when clearing away life’s detritus, she says – particularly in the presence of a stranger. ‘People get very defensive and worried. It’s like someone seeing your knicker drawer – your muddle and your mess. Things you hide from the outside world, like if you haven’t paid your bills for six months.’

Having written two books on de-cluttering, she would now like to dig deeper into the psychological basis of keeping things well past their use-by date, and how this ties in with the all-consuming consumer culture. ‘Everything’s so cheap, we’re living in this Primark culture. Is it making us happy? I’d like to look at that. If somebody gave you a great CD, you’d enjoy it. If they gave you three – that’s nice. But ten? You start thinking, God I can’t cope with this!’
For now, though, she has taken a month off and is getting to know her new neighbourhood. ‘It’s certainly lively. I’m down towards the Edgware Road part of it – it’s lively , it’s noisy. I’m between Marylebone High Street and Oxford Street.’ One of the most cluttered areas of the capital, I can’t help but think.

Sue Kay’s books, No More Clutter and Hoarder To Order, are available at bookshops and online. Visit nomoreclutter.co.uk

Mary Anne Bowring, creator of Leasehold Support, advises leaseholders how to deal with rogue freeholders

The freeholder has a responsibility to the lessees and should comply with his schedule of covenants such as keeping the building insured, carry out necessary repairs to the structure and ensure that communal service are maintained.

However, leaseholders can be at the mercy of the freeholder who can take advantage by charging inflated prices for insurance and requesting unjustified service charges. Due to lack of awareness of their legal rights, leaseholders are often in a state of limbo and continue to pay the service charge and building insurance even though little is being done. If that isn’t bad enough, some freeholders simply cannot be traced – which makes it impossible to sort out maintenance issues such as communal areas not being cleaned or a leaking roof.

Leaseholders can claim their right to manage to take charge and stop poor management of the block. However, this is only possible if 50 per cent of the leaseholders in the block support a right to manage movement. The same applies to buying the freehold which again could solve the problem of an absent rogue freeholder. Provided two-thirds of the flats have long leases and 51 per cent of the ‘qualifying lessees’ participate you can force the freeholder to sell you his title.

Unfortunately, for a lot of leaseholders gaining support from the rest of the block is an issue. The recent buy to let trend means many flats are owned by investors who remain nonchalant when it comes to the repair and maintenance of the block or have passed the buck to a letting agent. For example, Ringley’s legal services team has just dealt with an absentee freeholder case where only one of the flats in a block was actually occupied by the leaseholder, with the rest rented out. This created a nightmare for the resident leaseholder as she couldn’t drum up any support from the other leaseholders about the state of repairs as they didn’t live there.

If getting 50 per cent of the block to support the right to self manage or buy the freehold is out of the question, don’t worry – there is another option. If you are concerned that the block is falling into disrepair and the freeholder isn’t managing the block effectively then you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to request they appoint a managing agent of your choice.
Before you apply, you will need to select an agent that has sufficient expertise to satisfy a tribunal that they are fit to fulfill the role of court-appointed manager, able to take over the role of the freeholder and abide by the schedule of covenants set out in the lease.

Requesting a court-appointed manager is different to claiming your right to self mange, as there is a need to prove the freeholder is at fault. In order to persuade the tribunal to appoint a manager, it is necessary to justify your reasons why such a course of action is reasonable and would be in the best interests of the block as a whole.
It is possible to present your own case at tribunal if you have a good understanding of your lease and can find the relevant clauses of which the freeholder is in breach. However, you will need to provide supporting material such as visual evidence of disrepair, works for which you feel you have been overcharged or unauthorized alterations and a record of all unresolved disputes. It is also necessary to produce copies of service charge accounts which do not comply with the Landlord & Tenants Acts.  
If you are not confident in presenting your own case then its better to enlist the support of a managing agent, typically a firm of chartered surveyors who have the necessary experience. To lodge an application with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal costs between £150 and £350 depending on the number of dwellings in a block. At the tribunal, each party bears their own costs but if the tribunal feels that one or both of the parties is wasting their time or not following directions on the information and evidence to be heard it does have the power to award costs of that part of the hearing.

Mary-Anne Bowring is founding director of Ringley Chartered Surveyors and a member of the RICS and the Association of Building Engineers. The Ringley Group subscribes to the RICS ten- minute free consultation service on this topic. To get the ball rolling, feel free to call 020 7267 2900 and ask to speak to Mary-Anne Bowring or Teresa Tuck

House prices continue to rise and one of the major difficulties facing first-time-buyers is the high cost of properties in relation to teachers' salaries. Here one newly qualified teacher tells us how she broke the parent trap and found the financing to buy her dream home.

After six years of teaching, Susanna Pinkus had packed up her life in the South East and moved to Cambridge to take a masters degree and then a doctorate in special education. But when her studies came to an end she found the move back home a bit of a shock.
‘I was in my thirties and returned home to find all my friends had houses of their own and yet I was back living with my parents with £10,000 of student debt. I needed to do something about the situation quickly,’ she says.

Pinkus's new job as an advanced skills teacher working in the London Borough of Harrow provided a comfortable salary; however the chance to have a house of her own was still a bit of a pipe dream.
With the average price of a home in England and Wales topping the £177,000 mark in 2007 and prices in the South East averaging £217,000, it is increasingly difficult for teachers to buy a home. ‘Most of my colleagues who are not married are either living with their parents or renting,’ says Pinkus.
Banks traditionally offer mortgages which total four times a person's salary. But in Bushey, where she wished to live, a mortgage of this type would only allow her to purchase a one-bedroom flat. With a big family who visit regularly, and the need for an office where Susanna could get on with finishing the book she was writing, a one-bedroom flat was simply not an option. ‘I had also been a little spoilt, living in the most beautiful setting in Cambridge and did not like the thought of moving to a basic flat with no garden.’

The chance to house-sit a friend's apartment while she was travelling helped Susanna to move out of her parents' home. It also provided a good opportunity to save for a deposit, but with house prices in the area increasing every month, the chance of finding something liveable in her price range seemed to get slimmer and slimmer.
‘It all came to a head one day when I went home and blurted out my frustrations to my parents. I felt that there were no options left for me to have a decent home of my own.’
Not the type of people to give up easily, her parents agreed to help in her search. Her mother is a teacher and knows the difficulties of buying a home on a teacher's salary. She and her husband were one of the first few couples to take a mortgage out with the Teachers Building Society when it was set up many years ago and they suggested Susanna should try talking to them.
Lenders occasionally allow a parent to guarantee their child's loan when their offspring's salary does not match up with current house prices. However, the parent is asked to guarantee the entire loan and this was not an option she wanted to consider. ‘I did not want to put that financial risk on my parents, no matter how small the chance of me defaulting on the loan.’
The Teachers Building Society offered a solution. Her parents could guarantee the part of the loan that crept above the total of four times her salary, rather than the whole amount –
an option that both Pinkus and her parents were happy with.
The mortgage repayments would be a tight squeeze so she did her sums and managed to reduce her outgoings in other areas to ensure she would be able to afford the repayments. By shopping around for a different gym membership, mobile phone and health insurance deal, she managed to reduce her outgoings by 30 per cent without having to give up any of her luxuries.

Much to her disappointment, the first house she put an offer on fell through. ‘It was a huge blow. After making all these adjustments to afford the right house, seeing the opportunity disappear was simply awful. Just afterwards, interest rates began to rise and with each hike I felt my chances of being a home owner disappear.’
However, the Teachers Building Society agreed to keep to the mortgage deal that she had secured before the interest rate rise and this enabled her to purchase her dream home which she found six months later.
Pinkus bought Lavender Cottage for £231,000. The property was in need of some serious renovation, so her newly-retired father, friends and relatives were all drafted in to transform the home in four weeks and within a £10,000 budget.
The two-bedroom cottage has the garden and study that she wanted, and with the added bonus of being only 15 minutes from work, she can get home in time to enjoy her evenings in her new surroundings.
Would she recommend the Teachers Building Society to other teachers looking for a mortgage? ‘Most definitely. What they did for me was beyond the call of duty. I was often on the phone to them two or three times a day and they were always happy to help. They understand teachers and they were very flexible in a way that other banks would struggle to compete with.’

Teachers Building Society provides mortgage and savings products to the education sector. Visit teachersbs.co.uk for more details

Lawrence Garry takes issue with the recently introduced tenancy deposit rules

Is the tenancy deposit scheme bad for landlords?

Just a few months ago the government introduced regulation requiring landlords to change the way they handle their tenants’ deposits. Those who rent out a property with a tenancy that starts after 6 April 2007 will have to either: place the deposit in an approved, ring-fenced tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) that is open to arbitration in the event that there is a dispute after a tenant leaves; or take out insurance so that in the event of a dispute their policy will be used to settle the claim for the disputed amount.

As a landlord I am in favour of a scheme which protects the rights of tenants and gives them greater confidence in the rental market – after all, they are our bread and butter. But is this scheme the right way to make sure tenants are not taken advantage of?

With such high property prices, especially in the South East, most landlords either break even or make a small loss on their rental income. If you are like me, the long-terms goals of capital appreciation far outweigh any short-term goals of earning a profit on your rent.

The deposit paid by tenants has historically offered some landlords a useful way of shoring up their reserves, especially after coming through a void period when they may have had to refund the last tenant’s deposit and pay an agent a letting fee of between seven and 15 per cent of their rental income for finding a new tenant. As most agents collect their commission at the start of a new tenancy, some landlords were previously tempted to call on their tenants’ deposits to manage their cashflow even though it is clearly not allowed to be put to this use.

With rental yields falling, anything that saves money is to be encouraged. I decided to join a tenants’ deposit scheme to avoid having to fork out on insurance premiums. At least if I cannot hold the tenant’s deposit I also would not lose any money on insurance premiums.

The use of tenancy deposit schemes is a corrective measure to close a loophole which gave landlords access to extra funds and bank interest. However, as a result of the direct loss of this privilege landlords like myself are compensating by increasing our rents – within reason – to improve our cash flow and profitability. You may want to consider this method providing it works in your particular market.
Lawrence Garry is a director of Milestone Financial Services. Email him your questions for future columns at lawrence.garry@milestonefs.com. Also call 020 7719 0171 or visit milestonefs.com

Mary Anne Bowring, creator of Leasehold Support, advises leaseholders how to deal with rogue freeholders.

The freeholder has a responsibility to the lessees and should comply with his schedule of covenants such as keeping the building insured, carry out necessary repairs to the structure and ensure that communal service are maintained.
However, leaseholders can be at the mercy of the freeholder who can take advantage by charging inflated prices for insurance and requesting unjustified service charges. Due to lack of awareness of their legal rights, leaseholders are often in a state of limbo and continue to pay the service charge and building insurance even though little is being done. If that isn’t bad enough, some freeholders simply cannot be traced – which makes it impossible to sort out maintenance issues such as communal areas not being cleaned or a leaking roof.

Leaseholders can claim their right to manage to take charge and stop poor management of the block. However, this is only possible if 50 per cent of the leaseholders in the block support a right to manage movement. The same applies to buying the freehold which again could solve the problem of an absent rogue freeholder. Provided two-thirds of the flats have long leases and 51 per cent of the ‘qualifying lessees’ participate you can force the freeholder to sell you his title.
Unfortunately, for a lot of leaseholders gaining support from the rest of the block is an issue. The recent buy to let trend means many flats are owned by investors who remain nonchalant when it comes to the repair and maintenance of the block or have passed the buck to a letting agent. For example, Ringley’s legal services team has just dealt with an absentee freeholder case where only one of the flats in a block was actually occupied by the leaseholder, with the rest rented out. This created a nightmare for the resident leaseholder as she couldn’t drum up any support from the other leaseholders about the state of repairs as they didn’t live there.

If getting 50 per cent of the block to support the right to self manage or buy the freehold is out of the question, don’t worry – there is another option. If you are concerned that the block is falling into disrepair and the freeholder isn’t managing the block effectively then you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to request they appoint a managing agent of your choice.
Before you apply, you will need to select an agent that has sufficient expertise to satisfy a tribunal that they are fit to fulfill the role of court-appointed manager, able to take over the role of the freeholder and abide by the schedule of covenants set out in the lease.
Requesting a court-appointed manager is different to claiming your right to self mange, as there is a need to prove the freeholder is at fault. In order to persuade the tribunal to appoint a manager, it is necessary to justify your reasons why such a course of action is reasonable and would be in the best interests of the block as a whole.

It is possible to present your own case at tribunal if you have a good understanding of your lease and can find the relevant clauses of which the freeholder is in breach. However, you will need to provide supporting material such as visual evidence of disrepair, works for which you feel you have been overcharged or unauthorized alterations and a record of all unresolved disputes. It is also necessary to produce copies of service charge accounts which do not comply with the Landlord & Tenants Acts.  
If you are not confident in presenting your own case then its better to enlist the support of a managing agent, typically a firm of chartered surveyors who have the necessary experience. To lodge an application with the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal costs between £150 and £350 depending on the number of dwellings in a block. At the tribunal, each party bears their own costs but if the tribunal feels that one or both of the parties is wasting their time or not following directions on the information and evidence to be heard it does have the power to award costs of that part of the hearing.
Mary-Anne Bowring is founding director of Ringley Chartered Surveyors and a member of the RICS and the Association of Building Engineers. The Ringley Group subscribes to the RICS ten- minute free consultation service on this topic. To get the ball rolling, feel free to call 020 7267 2900 and ask to speak to Mary-Anne Bowring or Teresa Tuck

De-cluttering expert Sue Kay found herself drawing on the advice she gives to clients as she traded her East Finchley home for a central London pad. Johnny Turner talks to her about the move, our shopaholic culture and the psychology of having too much stuff.

In this must-have, must-shop world it is worth stepping back occasionally and wondering why we have accumulated what we have. When I moved six months ago, I went through two culls of paperbacks and still had two copies of some novels; ridiculous as it sounds, I couldn’t decide which cover I liked better.
And a pile of VHSs when I no longer have a working VCR?
Which leads me to a catchphrase that, however inappropriate when considering the clutter of others, is very tempting to use when looking at my own: ‘How sad is that?’
Sadness, of course, cuts to the heart of why it is difficult to let go of things. For Sue Kay, de-cluttering expert and author of two books on the subjects, a degree in psychology is a useful tool when dealing with clie