Don’t let the energy efficiency standards leave you with ‘unrentable’ properties – LandlordToday.com
Landlords now is the time to make sure your properties are compliant before the new MEES legislation is brought in. You have been warned!
There are now only six months until the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) are implemented – a sweeping change due in April 2018, that will rule out any new or renewed leases on commercial property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of F or G.
Time is running out and landlords with commercial portfolios would be well advised to prepare carefully, or risk losing out on potentially significant amounts of rental income.
Below are some key tips to help protect you from inadvertently allowing your property to become ‘unrentable’.
Generation X spending THREE times what baby boomers did doing THIS to their homes – Daily Express
While the Millennial generation below them are unable to save for a deposit, Generation X are splashing their cash to beautify their homes and are smashing records in doing so.
Today’s generation spends three times more money beautifying their homes than their parents did 30 years ago, Ikea has revealed.
Britons are increasingly more enthusiastic about interior design and men in their thirties are now the most passionate about making their home look beautiful.
The average Brit spent £886 last year redecorating their home, with those in their thirties typically splashing out a whopping £1,364 on home-decor.
PROPERTY CLINIC: Is it worth converting my buy-to-let properties to short-term holiday lets? – Daily Mail Online
Thinking of making the change from Buy-To-Let to Holiday Let? To make it a smooth transition, find out mortgage brokers John Charcol’s top tips on pulling it off.
Turning it into a holiday let means you may be able to up the rent you pull in and benefit from a more generous tax regime following the reduction of the tax relief on mortgage interest that landlords with longer term tenants can claim.
But be aware that the process might not be as simple as you think. For example, you need to make sure you are not breaching the terms of your mortgage as you could face paying a fine or even end up risking a demand for repayment of the mortgage within a month.
Follow these top tips from mortgage brokers John Charcol to help navigate your way through the options…
Government plans crackdown on ‘overpriced’ property service charges – The Guardian
Finally the government are discussing the overpriced service charge issue which has plagued UK homeowners and tenants for years, as we eagerly await a verdict in favour of fair and realistic costs.
Proposals to crack down on “overpriced” service charges and “unfair” costs paid by renters and leaseholders in England have been unveiled by the government.
Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, said ministers were considering changing the law to create a fairer property management system and make it easier to outlaw “rogue” letting and management agents.
The planned crackdown is the latest series of measures relating to tenants and leaseholders. In July the government proposed a complete ban on the sale of newly-built houses as leasehold in England, alongside restrictions on ground rents that could limit them to as low as zero. And in late 2016 ministers announced proposals to ban letting fees for tenants.
Grand Designs: You’ll NEVER believe what this house that took 16 YEARS to build looks like – The Daily Express
This staggering Grand Designs house took an agonising 16 years to create, but the finished product is absolutely stunning and self-sufficient producing its own energy.
GRAND DESIGNS headed to the Peak District this week to follow one couple’s journey to build a dream home on a 30 degree slope. The final bill reached a staggering £1million, and the time it took to build was years longer than expected.
After 15 years of saving and planning, ecologist Fred and communications manager Saffron Baker began work on their new family home in a village in the Peak District.
But their plans to transform a £100,000 former dairy into an “earth shelter” built into a limestone hill was quickly met with difficulties.
Government proposes new watchdog to police leasehold – The Telegraph
The government have been targeting the property industry in recent weeks, as another new proposal emerges regarding regulation for the leasehold side of the market.
A new independent watchdog may be established by the Government to better protect the interests of leaseholders and tenants.
Today, Sajid Javid, the communities minister, published a document seeking views on how to protect people living in around four million leasehold homes across Britain.
Services charges, levied by property management companies, have reached £3.5bn a year, the Government said.
The most haunted houses that you can visit in England and Wales – Country Life
With Halloween just around the corner, Country Life magazine has shortlisted their top rated stately homes with things that go bump in the night. But are you brave enough to visit them?
Every self-respecting country house is in need of a ghost. Sceptic and believer are both in happy agreement on this point, and if owners and guides are to be believed, they are very rarely disappointed: the ghostless stately home or castle seems a great rarity.
But if you fancy trying to spot a ghost yourself, bagging an invite to a haunted pile might not be all that easy – thankfully, there are plenty of (supposedly) ghost-ridden places open to the public – many through the National Trust.
Here’s our pick of haunted places that you can visit, all of which have a fascinating story to tell – even if you’re not lucky/unlucky enough to run into an other-worldly apparition…
POSTED BY 
