Those who can’t sell are letting, those who can’t buy are renting, and those who can’t make up their minds are putting their houses on to the market for sale or to rent. This is how people are taking shelter from the cold wind of the recession, neatly avoiding the struggle to borrow and the fear of further price drops. To the article …
Twitter from Bathori.
What could Gumtree and other classifieds sites do about the increasing number of scam ads in their accommodation section?
Even if we say we would never fall for those scam ads - filtering still wastes a lot of our precious time. The last time we tried to find a flat through Gumtree, we ended up contacting the professional letting agent just to avoid further headache. The first two replies from flat advertisers were scams, and our patience ran out.
It’s hard to protect people with just providing warnings, hoping everyone will read them carefully. The youngsters and foreigners are usually in a hurry to find a place to live. Many have no-one to talk to, no-one to ask advice from.
It’s also very unlikely you’ll hear someone confessing falling for a scam like that. Cry in a pillow is what they’ll do. That doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist.
The scammers aren’t disappearing anywhere, so no use denying. In the 7,5 million people metropolis, the fraudsters know there’s always someone who’ll swallow the hook.
We like Gumtree too much to give up using it so we’re hoping their team is working on the solutions as we speak. Perhaps a simple IP registration notification could scare some? Or should all private landlords go through some sort of digital or physical authentication process?
Seems that the estate agents have strong faith in their soon to be launched new website. EstateAgentToday conducted an online survey on where the agents plan to advertise in the future:
There is a clear message that agents are planning to reject paid-for portals in favour of free sites, with three-quarters of agents saying they will not renew their subscriptions to Rightmove.
Yesterday morning, 959 votes had been registered. Of these, 726 (75.7%) said they would not renew with Rightmove, and 233 (24.3%) said they would.
Asked where agents would be placing their property advertising, the clear leader was Globrix with 401 votes, followed by the National Association of Estate Agents’ new free portal, Property Live, with 218 votes.
The paid-for portals Findaproperty with 231 votes came next – meaning that it is almost neck and neck with Rightmove – with Propertyfinder just behind, with 218 votes.
Make sure you don’t miss the annual event of Open House London, and mark your calendars now - the dates are September 20 & 21 (Sat., Sun.).
On those two days we will be able to get into nearly 700 of Capital’s buildings, for free!
Photo: City Hall
And landlord Lord Cardigan thought he had seen everything!
Rumor has it that Pete Doherty’s gig was promised to be held at the barn of the his rented home, the 18th century origin Sturmy House in Durley, after he was banned from performing at Moonfest.
The news must have been shocking to the landlord, who took action right away by writing to the local police:
“Should Doherty’s manager ever plan to carry out this threat, please be advised in advance that there are absolutely no circumstances in which the owners of that house where Doherty lives would ever sanction such a thing,” wrote Lord Cardigan on behalf of the Savernake Estate trustees, who are the owners of the property.
Keep an eye on that barn!
Photo: Miguel Da Silva
Foxtons Mini Coopers have yet again been redesigned. The theme of 2008 is space rockets - featuring futuristic colours and NASA-style numbers on the sides and roofs.
See all the previous designs HERE.
So apparently the event is so popular it’s now being held every Tuesday.
Check out the event calendar HERE.
***
After arriving unfashionably close to the 7pm start, I was relieved to see potential flatmates spread thinly over the dance floor. Smiling attendees greeted me and, after confirmation of my place on the list, I was awarded a bright pink badge. Stuck to my chest my name was inscribed above a plaintive truth: I NEED A ROOM.
The new owners of The Australian pub building on Milner Street in Chelsea SW3 don’t care much about the lager lovers as the pub is now a posh furniture showroom instead. The good news is that the rooms that were once occupied by the pub staff have now been turned into 2 rental apartments. One has been let and the other just got some valuable advertising space in Times.
This 3-bedroom maisonette, designed by the owner Helen Green, is worth £2700 per week. Letting agent Lisa Kennard from Knight Frank says that tenants in Chelsea are tired of beige and taupe which used to be popular as people tried to recreate a deluxe hotel room. The flat on Milner St is said to have much more character.
The ad for the flat is HERE.
The furniture showroom downstairs has a website, too: The Helen Green Collection. We’ll add it to out Interior Market section as well.
Photo by LondonConstant
The National Landlords Association NLA will merge with the National Federation of Residential Landlords NFRL. The new organisation will remain under the title National Landlords Association and will represent nearly 20,000 landlords. It will be the largest representative body for landlords in the UK.
Via: AboutProperty.co.uk
Some go and negotiate with the bank, some cut the staff, some just go nuts:
Agents at Falcon & Foxglovein Burnley have been burying statues of St Joseph in the gardens of 12 properties for sale. So far, three have sold.
They probably stumbled into this website selling special home-seller kits.
Maybe faith will help them sell!
Good publicity anyway.
Today we are looking into the wallets of the people in the UK real estate industry.
- A good negotiator (agent) can earn between £27-£35k (per year);
- A good quality Branch Manager that has a track record of consistent performance can now command salaries up to £50k;
- A good valuer can command a salary of £18k upwards.
The information comes from the founders of the new recruitment website Buzzrecruit.com, which specialises in Consultants for Estate Agency, Lettings, Sales, Property, Customer Service and Financial Services.
Via: EstateAgentToday
Douglas & Gordon’s green campaign
Estate agents are being blamed for not knowing enough about the energy efficiency performance.
Do the same survey among professional landlords, please!
Well, I’m sure they are all studying the subject as we speak. The deadline is October the 1st, when tenants are entitled to ask to see the Energy Performance Certificate.
Until then - don’t forget to ask the landlord or agent for the latest Summer and Winter utility bills before renting a new place. Otherwise you might me unpleasantly surprised!
New Lodge (c) Evening Standard
Yes, believe it or not but a residence in the very heart of Hyde Park will be on available to rent from September! Evening Standard reveals that altogether 5 rentals in London royal parks have already been rented out, and 3 more will be available shortly.
New Lodge in Hyde Park will be rented out by a Knight Frank letting agent. The weekly rent for the 5-bedroom 3-storey house built in 1876 is £4,950. It has a large private garden that will be maintained by park ground staff. Tenants will have their own key to the park gates (locked at night). Royal Parks chief executive Mark Camley and trustee Joel Cadbury will host a viewing for potential tenants vetted by letting agent Knight Frank. The lodge will be let on short-term lease of between 2 and 3 years.
Blackheath Gate Lodge in Greenwich Park and Richmond Gate Lodge in Richmond Park are being refurbished and will come on to the market later this autumn. 5 best ones have already been let: Prince of Wales West Lodge in Hyde Park; Queen’s Gate Lodge in Kensington Gardens; 2 lodges in Regent’s Park; and a flat in Bushy Park.
We won’t hold our breath for the chance of seeing the Hyde Park rental advertised anywhere…
We’ve been dying to know how the property rental market in Beijing China has been doing since the games started. Chard London Sales & Lettings Blog has some answers:
Zhongda Hengji (Golden Key), one of the largest estate agencies in the Chinese capital Beijing, says over 20,000 apartments had been available to rent during the Olympic games, many of them having been bought from new specifically for this event. Rents were increased to 4.6 times the average rate.
The result? Well only 8,000 apartments were rented out – that’s just 40% of the supply – and those that went quickest and for the best rent were high-end properties in the centre of the city, rather than those closest to the sporting venues.
I have to say that it is not too easy to find accommodation in Beijing over the Internet, and even Zhongda Hengji does not seem to have their website in English (could be that I just couldn’t find the option). Those landlords/agents who have decent presentations on the web - with at least 3 photos and in many languages - definitely have an advantage in case of such global events.
*The 2-bedroom apartment in old Beijing District, Tianqiao (photo of the complex above, from ownersdirect.co.uk) cost £63 per night until the 15th of July and £79 per night from 16 July - 15 September 2008.
We are living in an Accidental Landlords era!
What energy Energy Performance Certificate?
From 1st October 2008 landlords must provide an Energy Performance Certificate to all new and prospective tenants!