It is important for landlords to prepare their property for tenants. The first is to think of what type of person are you looking to attract. Trying to attract Professional people and achieve maximum rent is not going to work if your property is not looking its best!
In Bournemouth And Poole the majority of properties are unfurnished where as in London they are predominantly furnished. I am often asked if it makes a difference with what you can achieve rent wise – and it doesn’t make any difference. If anything, furnishing a property will restrict your enquiries dramatically. If you can be flexible with furniture then you are reaching the whole market. Students are obviously the exception as they do expect a furnished environment.
Décor is best being kept to whites and neutral colours. Skimmed walls are easy to maintain than wallpaper. It is a good idea to implement into your budget a repaint throughout your property every 3-5 years in order to keep your property looking fresh. Most people expect modern kitchens and bathrooms these days. If these rooms are more than 10 years of age it might be worth thinking of updating these. The Majority of kitchens now include a cooker, washing machine and a fridge/freezer. At the end of the day it is an investment and the return will come back by attracting good tenants, good rents as well as the saleable value at the end.
The better the handover with the tenant the better the handover will be back. It is really hard to insist on a carpet clean at the end of a Tenancy when at the commencement it was clearly not cleaned. Here are a couple of tips;
Clean carpets throughout
Clean windows inside and out
Make sure oven and hob are clean
Garden is in good order (no weeds or long grass)
Move On Rentals now have a monthly newsletter updating landlords on the latest legislations. If you would like to receive this, then please email sharon@moveonrentals.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Latest Lettings Legislation no-one is talking about...
Gordon Brown’s outgoing amendment in the Housing Sector which practically came out from nowhere was rushed through just before parliament dissolved – despite petitions quickly signed and sent to Downing Street!
What is it I hear you cry, well on and after 6 April 2010, changes implemented by The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes)(Amendment) (England) Order 2010 will mean that in certain circumstances, a landlord wishing to let out a property nay need planning permission before doing so.
There are now three classifications of a dwellinghouse which fall under Class C3 (a), (b) and (c) and a totally new Class C4. The main effect of the new use classes will be that in order for a property to be defined as a ‘dwellinghouse’ it must be occupied by people who form a ‘single household’ as defined in the Housing Act 2004. A single household means the occupants must be related, such as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins – you get the picture? A couple co-habitating will also form a single household under C3 (a). These are okay it is where between 3 and 6 unrelated people live in a property and share one or more basic amenities (bathroom, kitchen or toilet) the property will classed under a new Use Class 4. Presently that could be 3+ nurses sharing, 3+ friends sharing (students or professional) and this is where it is going to bite as initial enquiries in costs have been over £200.
Also, if granted a C4 use and then you choose to subsequently let to a family and then subsequently after the family you revert back to sharers again you will have to apply for planning consent as you can go from C4 to C3 use but cannot go from C3 to C4 without change of use.
It does not however apply to any existing HMO(house of multiple occupancy) in occupation.
If you are concerned or have any queries then please do not hesitate to contact us.
What is it I hear you cry, well on and after 6 April 2010, changes implemented by The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes)(Amendment) (England) Order 2010 will mean that in certain circumstances, a landlord wishing to let out a property nay need planning permission before doing so.
There are now three classifications of a dwellinghouse which fall under Class C3 (a), (b) and (c) and a totally new Class C4. The main effect of the new use classes will be that in order for a property to be defined as a ‘dwellinghouse’ it must be occupied by people who form a ‘single household’ as defined in the Housing Act 2004. A single household means the occupants must be related, such as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins – you get the picture? A couple co-habitating will also form a single household under C3 (a). These are okay it is where between 3 and 6 unrelated people live in a property and share one or more basic amenities (bathroom, kitchen or toilet) the property will classed under a new Use Class 4. Presently that could be 3+ nurses sharing, 3+ friends sharing (students or professional) and this is where it is going to bite as initial enquiries in costs have been over £200.
Also, if granted a C4 use and then you choose to subsequently let to a family and then subsequently after the family you revert back to sharers again you will have to apply for planning consent as you can go from C4 to C3 use but cannot go from C3 to C4 without change of use.
It does not however apply to any existing HMO(house of multiple occupancy) in occupation.
If you are concerned or have any queries then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Move On Sponsoring Shane Board single
Move On Rentals have joined Bournemouthtown.co.uk to support Shane Board's latest single due out for release.
Shane is a local lad who went to St Edward's School in Poole and was in the same year as Sharon Moore's twin daughters.
‘Your day will come’ is being manufactured and distributed by Sony and due for release on World Diabetes Day in the UK, on 14th November. Brit award winning producer Simon Ellis known as musical director for the Spice Girls and Britney Spears on her Circus tour has written the song to commemorate the day. The CD will be available to download from all major download sites and standard shopping outlets. The music video of ‘Constantly You’ which features one of Sharons daughters best friend was filmed in a house in Sandbanks, which Michael Howard of Brittainia property services kindly offered for use during the shoot.
Shane is a local lad who went to St Edward's School in Poole and was in the same year as Sharon Moore's twin daughters.
‘Your day will come’ is being manufactured and distributed by Sony and due for release on World Diabetes Day in the UK, on 14th November. Brit award winning producer Simon Ellis known as musical director for the Spice Girls and Britney Spears on her Circus tour has written the song to commemorate the day. The CD will be available to download from all major download sites and standard shopping outlets. The music video of ‘Constantly You’ which features one of Sharons daughters best friend was filmed in a house in Sandbanks, which Michael Howard of Brittainia property services kindly offered for use during the shoot.
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