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Ever Considered a Lodger?

Friday, February 17th, 2012

I’m sure none of us need reminding that we are still battling through financial turmoil, however, as a direct result of the economic instability, it seems that there has been a growing trend recently of more and more property owners taking in lodgers in order to make a bit of spare cash.

Can I make money from it?

A lodger, on paper, seems like a fantastic idea as it is possible to make a nice little profit provided you have a spare room to accommodate them of course. Furthermore, the cost of taking in a lodger is significantly lower than the cost of renting out an entire property. When taking on a lodger, you obviously don’t have the hassle of having to maintain an entirely separate property because the lodger will live in the house you already maintain!

A friend of mine has recently taken in a lodger and she commented: “It was a pretty easy decision and they’ve proved to be beneficial both financially and socially.”

How do I find a lodger?

There are a whole different range of options available to you when searching for a lodger. Most letting agents and websites will be able to advertise your room. For example, easyroommate.com might be a good place to start as you’ll often find individuals looking to rent a single room during the week; just somewhere they can lay their head at night. Furthermore, you may find that family friends or even relatives would be willing to become a lodger in your house; it might be worth letting people know that you are after a lodger!

Also, you can use social media as an alternative way to advertise a room vacancy. You’ll struggle to find anyone who isn’t on Facebook or Twitter these days!

Are there any risks?

By taking on a lodger you are potentially giving a complete stranger access to your private home. So it will be important to have a screening process in place before accepting a particular person. You need to know you can trust your lodger at all times! It will also be important to make sure you actually get on with your new lodger. If there is a personality clash then it will be an uncomfortable and tense situation for all concerned.

You will also need to let your property insurance provider know that you have taken on a lodger. It’s an obligation that you must fulfil as they will need to be aware of how many people live at the property. Your premium may also be adjusted.

It will also be important to make sure you price your room accurately. If you are serious about taking on a lodger then it will be worth scouting out the local competition. Look around on websites to see what other prices people are charging per room, and price your room accordingly. At a difficult financial time, taking on a lodger could be one of the wisest things you do, as long as you take care of all the little details correctly!

Tags: Lodgers, Property insurance
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Building a Portfolio

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Today we’re thinking about property investment and the possibility of building a property portfolio. If you’re already a landlord then this may not be too far from your mind either as it is a dream of many to finish the day job and become a full time property investor living off the profit from your property portfolio.
However, the reality of this happening is certainly difficult, but not impossible!

Risks?

Of course with an everyday job you will have a steady income. Every month you will know how much money is coming in, and roughly how much is going out, which provides financial stability. If you decide that this is no longer for you, then you can be presented with a big challenge, a risky industry and financial difficulties, at least in the short term.

Generating Income

In terms of generating some profit, it is important to remember that you need to make an excess on your rental income above your mortgage repayments and costs. It is always important however to bear in mind the long term goals! A property portfolio is something you can hit the jackpot on in the long run rather than the short!

Further risks attached to property investment are credit risks. It’s important to have a decent amount of financial backing behind you along with strong credit ratings, however if you have been paying off your mortgage steadily then this is likely.

Reducing Costs

When building a property portfolio it is also important to bear in mind that the larger the portfolio gets, the cheaper certain things will become. For example, agency fees, property insurance, maintenance and management costs will all begin to reduce as your portfolio grows as the more work you offer to suppliers, the less they should charge. It is a similar idea to “buying in bulk”. This is something that a property investor can begin to take advantage of in order to make as many savings as possible!

Property investment can be tricky, but can ultimately lead to large profits in the long term. It’s always important to keep your eye on the goal, and make careful decisions every step of the way.

Tags: Property insurance, Property Investments, Property Portfolio, rental investments
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London Popularity Booming With Overseas Investors

Monday, February 6th, 2012

In recent weeks and months a huge amount has been written about overseas investors buying property in London, and so today we are raising the question, why?

Why is London property amongst the most popular in the world?

It may seem like a fairly easy question to answer, London is, after all, one of the biggest and best cities in the world and one of the global financial hubs too. It is famed the world over for its infrastructure, shops, town houses, popular landmarks and parliament buildings. Let’s be honest, there is just so much to be seen and done in the UK capital!

Furthermore, the Olympic Games are coming to town in the summer which is undoubtedly one of the reasons why so much buzz surrounds the capital at the moment. Celebrities the world over will descend upon London for the few weeks that the Olympic Games takes place as will the super rich and super powerful!

London also has such a rich and interesting history and walking the streets one can, at times, feel that history reverberating around the place.

The Main Reason?

However, one of the main reasons why so many overseas investors are looking to London for their property purchases, and thus requiring property insurance quotes, is one that you may not have thought of as it is certainly not an obvious one.

And that is the high standard of education available to children. The Chief Executive of London Central Portfolio, Naomi Heaton, has explained that the third generation of a wealthy overseas family may be taught in British primary schools due to the thought that after someone has made their fortune they are likely to put their children through the British education system, including a university education.

Another Main Reason

In addition, Ms Heaton has been explaining further reasons why London is popular with overseas buyers: “People feel very comfortable here, it is a cosmopolitan society, it is one of the most visited destinations in the world, it is the centre geographically, financially and culturally [of the UK].”

London has such an extensive past, present and future and so many reasons for overseas investors to pump their money into property and such reasons are only likely to continue growing.

Tags: London 2012, London Property, London Property Investors, London Property Market, Overseas Investors, Property Insurance Quotes
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Winter Freeze

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

I’m sure you will have notice that some very cold weather is currently upon us, and unfortunately it is here to stay for a little while with snow falling around some parts of the country and snow forecast in other areas of the country too. For all property owners and tenants preparation for the cold snap should hopefully already be in full flow as there are a number of things you can do to ensure property safety.

Structural Safety and Pipes

Modern homes are built to be robust and withstand freezing temperatures, however some older properties may struggle in severely cold conditions if they are not looked after properly. Perhaps it will be worth investing in a structural survey if you have any doubts? It will also be extremely important to bear in mind a decent property insurance quote that will cover you in the event of seasonal damages.

In terms of the water pipes that run through your property, freezing temperatures can, naturally, cause the pipes to freeze, so it will be important to keep your heating on, at least very low, in order to make sure the pipes do not freeze. It may just be the case of turning it on for a few hours a day, and anyway, in such cold weather it may just be a necessity to have the heating on!

What to do Outdoors?

It’s not just the pipes internally that need looking after, it’s the external ones too! Guttering and drains can crack if they freeze so it will be important to make sure they are clear and clean and especially not broken as this could then cause a whole host of problems.

Furthermore, driveways and any paved areas outside your property can become slippery and dangerous due to ice. Therefore, if you own a property it may be worth investing in a bag of grit or a very large bag of salt to sprinkle across the surface. This will minimise the chance of anyone slipping over, and if you are landlord it will be in your best interests to ensure the safety of your tenants. Perhaps instruct them to get a bag of grit or salt and then reimburse them at the earliest convenience.

The winter weather can have an overwhelming impact on a property if it is not properly looked after. With some care and attention however, it will be more than possible to fight off the cold snap and prevent any damages befalling your property!

Tags: Cold Snap, Freezing Conditions, Property insurance, Winter Weather
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Data Reveals Small Decline in Property Prices

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

An analysis of indices has shown that UK property prices were almost unchanged throughout 2011. It has been revealed that December saw the biggest monthly fall in prices last year as they dropped by 1%.

House Price Watch

Furthermore, the House Price Watch analysis of data from CLG, LSL Acadametrics, Halifax, Nationwide and Rightmove has portrayed that property prices, over the entire year, were almost unaltered with annual growth for 2011 being recorded at -0.1%. So, whilst less people may have been acquiring a new property insurance quote due to fewer people buying a home, actual property prices did not vary much at all it seems.

It has now been reported that the average price of a home in the UK is currently £195,166. This is around 9.6% lower than at the peak of the property market in October 2007 when the average price was as high as £215,089. That was however a time when the majority of people had more disposal income.

Rate of Growth

Meanwhile, this latest report has revealed the annualised rate of growth for each month’s data. Data is also regulated over three and six month periods, which provides a less volatile representation of market trends than individual monthly cut-outs. The annualised rates at three and six months show growth to be at -4.9% and -3.7% respectively.

Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz, has been commenting on the House Price Watch data: “Property prices were relatively flat in 2011, recording a nominal annual price fall of 0.1% in December which translates as £268 in monetary terms. This lack of growth can be attributed to poorer job prospects, with unemployment now at its highest level since 1996 according to the ONS, and the ongoing Eurozone crisis which is impacting confidence and making lenders more cautious.”

Investors Returning

Mr Law went on to add that he expects a “Spring bounce” to occur and that London along with other major towns and cities have remained strong and on an upward curve despite the overall stagnation.

He also stated that the competitive nature of the mortgage market has resulted in more mortgage products becoming available on better terms.

It is expected that more investors will be, and already are, returning to the property market in a bid to take advantage of reduced prices. However, it is true that some landlords have seen minimal capital growth on their investment in the last few years.

Tags: House Price Watch, House Prices, Property insurance, Property Investors, Property market
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Moving House?

Friday, January 27th, 2012

It’s a daunting task isn’t it? But with the economy (hopefully) beginning to pick up, we can expect more and more people to move home in coming months and years. Furthermore, in London, property sales have remained high as have property prices. So we do indeed know that people are still moving to new homes, despite economic doom and gloom.

In addition, it has been reported that in the first ten days of 2012 there were over 44 million property related internet searches, which is an encouraging 30% more than the same time last year. So it does indeed seem that more people are thinking about a new home.

Packing

The most daunting thing about moving house is, for me, the packing! I hate packing, as I’m sure a number of people reading this very blog do too. It’s just so tedious isn’t it? Now, when I say I hate packing, the only packing I’ve ever really done is when going on holiday, or moving into and out of fully furnished rented accommodation, and yes that is difficult and tedious enough! So I cannot even imagine how stressful packing up an entire house can be. Nevertheless, it’s just one of those things that we all need to get on with at some point!

However, moving can be a time to have a good clear out. Get rid of anything you know you will never need again – you may find that you can donate a large number of items to local charity shops, so before throwing things away maybe run them down to local charities to see if they are interested.

Removals

Furthermore, my advice is to get yourself a good, professional removal company in order to help you transport everything. This can only be done once everything is packed, but it could be easier to pack in stages, and thus transport your belongings in stages. It would be a wise idea to hire a removal company around two weeks before you are due to move as this will allow you enough to time to find one that is free on the date you need them! In order to try to save some money it will be worth hunting around for a good deal, or for any sort of discount they may be offering.

It will also be good to inform the removal company of the amount of large items you need to move, such as furniture for example.

Admin and Legalities

In addition, it will be important to make sure you carry out all the paper work and admin that needs to be done when moving house. You will need to arrange property insurance at your new home; you may find that you can simply transfer your existing policy to your new house without much of a change in the price. You will also need to inform just about everyone you know of your new address, along with banks and utilities companies. Basically any company you have any connection with needs to know your new address, just in case they send you anything important. It will also be worth leaving a forwarding addressing for the new occupants of your previous house, just in case anyone still sends post to the old address.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that need to be done when moving house, but as long as you are organised then everything should run smoothly!

Tags: Moving House, Property insurance, Removal Company, Removals
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Top Property Locations

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

I came across an interesting article today that discussed the best locations to invest in London in 2012, and the list was a rather surprising one.

Property prices in London have been rising and they are expected to keep increasing over the year, especially with the Olympics coming to town in the summer which, as we know, will result in rents rocketing, but prices to buy in London will also be effected, which could in turn effect property insurance quotes too. The more expensive a property, the more expensive the insurance is likely to be.

So, what are the top three areas that will be the winners over the course of the year and subsequent years to come?

Kentish Town

First on the list was Kentish Town and Peter Malcomess of Chesterton Humberts has been quoted saying: “With the opening of the new French school in Kentish Town last September, enquiries on family homes directly related to the school currently make up around 15% of all our enquiries. These requests are mainly from French families living in London looking for large apartments or family houses in the area.” Kentish Town is now beginning to compete, in terms of property prices, with its neighbour Camden.

Would you look to invest in Kentish Town if you’re a property investor?

Battersea

Second on the list is Battersea, home to the much loved dog rescue facility. Battersea was listed as the second best place to invest in 2012 due to the fact that an extension to the Northern Line will put Battersea on the Tube Map once and for all. A local estate agent at Douglas & Gordon, Mark Hutton, has been upbeat about the new plans as people are already looking to invest, as he stated: “People are already buying into the area with these plans in mind.”

Furthermore, David Barnett, a property developer has been stating that investors will increasingly become attracted to the large expanse of land, the accessibility and the fact that the land is relatively cheap. The American Embassy is also to be built in coming years which will in turn help with the regeneration of the area.

Croydon

Third on the list was Croydon. Now this to me was quite a surprise at first, especially if you think back to the riots in August last year, however, we must not forget that the South London borough is already home to some very wealthy property owners and some very expensive homes, and it has great links to central London.

Over coming years property in Croydon is also expected to become increasingly popular, and therefore prices are set to rise. There are also plans for a Westfield Shopping Centre to open there which will of course pull in visitors from all over the country! Croydon could indeed become a property hotspot in future months and years.

Out of these three locations, hypothetically, where would you most likely invest your money?

Tags: London Property, London Property Market, Property Insurance Quotes, Top Locations
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Facebook Move into Property

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Some blog worthy news today comes fresh from Facebook, and that is the news that a property application has been launched on the social network. It is intended for selling, buying and renting property, and is simply called Property Place.

Having launched today the app has over 400,000 properties listed. Facebook obviously built up an extensive database of properties across the different markets before putting the app live.

Cost Saving

Property Place will allow users to advertise property that is for rent or for sale and is a means by which to cut out expensive estate and letting agent fees. It seems Facebook’s people in charge are aiming to create a platform whereby the average internet user can do almost everything they want via Facebook.

It must be said that this new venture from Facebook demonstrates some very clever, innovative thinking. They’ve found one of the most stressful tasks that people are faced with, moving home, and created an app on their site in order to simplify things and save property hunters time and stress.

Through Facebook viewings can be arranged either by the user themselves, or via a Property Place partner, Emoov, the online estate agency, as they can handle the logistics and management for a fee of £295. This is still at a fraction of the cost of a high street agent and so will save users thousands. With such big savings, more people may be encouraged to invest in more comprehensive property insurance, rather than just paying for the bare minimum.

Big Fans Already

Just one of the many people already familiar with the app is Jack Eddowes, from Leeds. He uses Property Place to let out his Sheffield student properties, and he has been commenting: “Typically students spend more time on Facebook than any other website so it makes sense to market my properties with Property Place on Facebook. It’s far more convenient for me and prospective tenants to communicate.”

The founder of Property Place has confidently gone as far as stating: “It’s the future of buying and renting property!” Is it now a case of move over Rightmove and Zoopla, Facebook is now making a very big splash in your relatively small pool? Or will people stick to using the more established online property portals, or alternatively, a good old fashioned estate agent and/or letting agent?

Tags: Estate Agent, Facebook app, letting agents, Property insurance, Property Place
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Who Wants a Games Room?

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Last week we blogged about our perfect, dream house, and today it has been reported, in a rather contradictory, ironic fashion, that apparently landlords are doing away with dining rooms in order to try to make their property more attractive to potential tenants. Well, in all honesty, I’d quite like a dining room!

Survey Carried Out

Lloyds TSB carried out a survey to determine whether property owners were considering a more open plan design, and whether a dining room was really necessary. The survey revealed that over a fifth of homeowners have already set about knocking down walls over the last ten years, and it is expected that around a similar number will do the same over the next ten years.

The study by Lloyds TSB also revealed that there are now several new rooms that are becoming increasingly attractive to potential tenants. For example, the utility room is thought of as a necessary addition, whilst the en-suite and the games room are added bonuses. Every young man would surely love their own games room, wouldn’t they? I know I would! I’d deck it out with a large flat screen TV, some computer consoles, a pool table, a darts board and a foosball table…maybe I’m just a big kid though?!

Update Your Insurance!

Now of course, for a property owner, such changes will need to be included within a property insurance quote as they may well affect the value of the property. So, be sure to update your policy! It will also be important, if you are a landlord, to advertise such fantastic additions such as a games room and an en-suite. They could be a real selling point for prospective tenants!

Simon Hamilton, International Director at the British Institute of Interior Design, has been commenting about such changes: “Property particulars are starting to look very different. Houses, especially older properties, were designed with people’s lives in mind, with set rooms for set activities, but as times change so does what we want from our homes.” I agree, however, surely a games room is a set room for set activities…

If I was a prospective tenant, a games room or an en-suite could definitely win me over, provided the price was right of course. What would work for you?

Tags: Attracting Tenants, Property insurance, Property Insurance Quote, Property Value
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Dreaming up a Perfect Property

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Today at PropertyQuoteDirect we are talking dream property! The news has recently been filled with property prices going up, down and sideways, but mostly down, and so today, in order to help stem the January blues, and to try to find some respite from the poor state of the economy, we have been thinking about some of the best property locations, and what would make the perfect dream property.

Location Matters!

Now in terms of location here in the UK, we decided the number one spot is somewhere in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of London, but not too far from it! Our perfect pad would be somewhere rural but with great transport links as well. After all you wouldn’t want to be unable to get into the centre of town, or be unable to quickly pop down the shops would you?

It would also be important for the property to be located near schools and in areas of low to nonexistent crime. This is something that will inevitably help when acquiring property insurance! In short, the outskirts of a beautiful little village with a friendly atmosphere, that wasn’t too far from the UK capital, would be a perfect location.

Now the Property

So what about the property itself? Well, this is a tricky one. Of course a lot of people would go straight for the large mansion, whereas others would prefer a smaller, prettier cottage for example. My own personal preference would be somewhere in the middle. Not too big, but big enough to house an average family.

The property would also be surrounded by beautiful scenery and greenery. Ivy would cover part of the front of the house and the driveway would be scattered with gravel. The property would also have its own private gates, and a private garage.

Upon entering the property you would be greeted with real wooden finishes and some grand art work on the walls. The main reception area would also be one of the top attractions within the house – a place to mingle perhaps?

The garden would be large enough for a decent number of people to get involved with a game of football and there would also be a couple of swings hanging in the corner.

At this point it is inevitable that people will be disagreeing with me, so we ask the question: what would your perfect property look like?

Why don’t you too start dreaming up your ideal home? It’s a lot of fun, and a good distraction from the harsh reality of our current economy. Feel free to let us know what you come up with!

Tags: Dream property, Prime Property, Property insurance, Property market
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