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Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) (on the photo) tells Telegraph:

“There are two types of agencies closing – there are the corporates that have to answer to the City, and if they are not providing the income they have to cut costs; and there are the agencies that have opened up in the last few years, when any idiot could set up. I have no sympathy with these agents going out of business.”

According to the property website Rightmove, 150 estate agency branches have gone bust, and 4000 agents are left without work in UK since the beginning of this year.

One of the tips we gave you for negotiating a lower rent, was that you should find out for how long has the rental been on the market for.

But where can you find dates on ads that are on the Internet?

The agent’s website or real estate portal doesn’t usually show when the listing was first put up on the Internet but if it is with an agent, you have more options to find out. One is by checking the property search engines, who get their ads automatically from agent’s websites on the same date they are put up. They usually show when that was done, too. Write your rental’s address in:

1. Zoomf – the property search engine has date first seen on internet with each.
2. DotHomes – shows how many days ago the ad was posted.

We were wondering for how long the house Roedean Crescent was on the market for before it rented out (assuming it did). Got the answer from DotHomes, where it says the listing was posted 20 days ago. Well, that was fast then!!!

I could be mistaken but it looks like Knight Frank has rented out Roedean Crescent. Why else would they have the sign RENTED on the ad. Plus it has been removed from FindaProperty.com.

Others still have their ads up.

Amenity such as a pool, gym or a sauna in a well managed apartment building can be a true blessing. We’ve searched out 14 rentals in London, where the tenants have access to a communal pool.

1. 2 Bedroom flat for £3012 per month in Discovery Dock East, Docklands E14 (Foxtons).

2. 3 Bedroom flat for £1400 per month in Ealing Village, Ealing W5 2EB (Oaktree Ltd)

3. 2 Bedroom apartment for £1777 per month in Shootup Hill, Kilburn, NW2 (Liveproperty.co.uk)

4. 2 Bedroom apartment for £2773 per month in Fennel Apartments, 3 Cayenne Court, SE1 (Hamptons)

5. 2 Bedroom flat for £3662 per month in The Whitehouse, Belvedere Road, Southwark, SE1 8YP (Mylondonhome.com)

6. 1 Bedroom apartment for £1950 per month in Albion Riverside Building, 8 Hester Road, SW11 (Chesterton)

7. 2 Bedroom flat for £2058 per month in Highgate N6 (Pickett & Ellis)

8. 2 Bedroom apartment for £3250 per month in Pembroke Road W8 (Edward James)

9. 1 Bedroom apartment for £1001 per month in Balmoral Court, Surrey Quays,
London, SE16 (Winkworth)

10. 4 Bedroom flat for £7250 per week in The Knightsbridge SW7 (Savills)

11. 2 Bedroom flat for £2350 per week in The Phillimores W8 (Savills)

12. 3 Bedroom apartment for £1250 per week in Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, NW8 (Regents Residential)

13. 3 Bedroom flat in Westfield £1100 per week in Westfield, Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead NW3 (Goldschmidt Howland)

14. 2 Bedroom flat for £3878 per month in 811 Duncan House, Dolphin Square, Pimlico SW1 (Dolphin Square)

Which one would you jump in first?

MondaytoFriday.com is a website for homeowners who are willing to rent out a room in their home, or for lodgers, who need to find somewhere to stay from Monday to Friday. I tried the free search for lodgers and got 161 offers in London – not bad? The cheapest listing was a single room in Bounds Green for £260 per working week. Most expensive a 20″ x 20″ room in flat in Chelsea for £1400 per working week.

The website does charge for getting all the details from the database. The ad for the homeowners costs £29.95 for three months (inc VAT), for lodgers £10 (inc VAT) for one month’s access.

Buying rooms and suites in hotels or so called aparthotels is the latest trend for London landlords, writes Telegraph. A seemingly good solution for those who are fed up with worrying about the rental management – finding tenants, cleaning and repairs, are taken care of by the hotelier. We recommend you do a good research on the manager before making that investment but for starters, here are a few examples of that type of hotels in London:

Westminster Bridge Park Plaza
Situated in SE1. Already 80 per cent sold. All rooms have 999 year-leases and 6% guaranteed income return until 2015. Studios are from £265,000, one beds from £350,000 and one-bedroom suites from £575,000. A two-bedroom with a 900sq ft terrace facing Parliament is on sale for £2.3 million.

The Jones
In Bayswater on Inverness Terrace, one of the stately Victorian streets that run north from Hyde Park. Rooms start at £317,000, and the hotel is due to open this summer following a multi-million pound redevelopment programme. Investors are guaranteed a 6 per cent return for the first year. Photo from Guest Hotels.

Guesthouse West
All sold out. 163-165 Westbourne Grove, in Notting Hill W11 2RS. Buyers are receiving returns of 8 per cent, and Guestinvest claims that those who have used its resales service have achieved average capital growth of 15 per cent.

Chelsea Bridge
Chelsea Bridge Hotel is expected to get a four-star rating and has 218 rooms, of which 66 are for sale.

Blakes
3 Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF. Impressive interior decoration by Anouska Hempel. Since it opened in the early Eighties, Blakes has become one of London’s most popular retreats for A-listers, with rooms costing from £210 to £1,000 a night. The 39 hotel rooms are not be available for sale on the open market, but will be offered for purchase to the hotel’s regular guests, many of whom are luminaries from the worlds of music, film and fashion. Room prices start from £1,000,000.

If you are interested in getting a room in that type of a hotel – Guest Hotels has five of them on their list.

Kudos to Chard for writing a blog!

Chard operates in Notting Hill & Kensington, South Kensington & Chelsea, Fulham, Pimlico & Belgravia, and Book Green.

Have something at home that you don’t need? Need something but don’t have money to pay for it? Want to SAVE THE WORLD???!!!

An organization called Freecycle brings together people who are willing to give away stuff that they don’t need, for FREE. HERE is a link for all the London Freecycler’s message groups on Yahoo. Just click on the area that is closest to you, join and post your wanted or offered ad.

For example, in Kensington and Chelsea group, there are 7597 active members at the moment. I see 202 wanted and offered messages posted in May only, which means the system must work pretty well. I’ll post The ads from today, the 10th of May, to give you a better idea:

Wanted: Blinds and freeview box
Offered: Collection of classical music on cassette tapes (SW3)
Offered: various inc dat tape, printer ink etc (SW6)
Wanted: Hob and Oven, W14
Offered: Double divan bed and mattress with drawers
Wanted: Fridge Freezer
Wanted: Mens Racing Bike
Wanted: Desk Fan
Offered: Rubble / hardcore – build your own Silbury Hill

Full descriptions and locations are there, too, of course. I do like the fact that you can even communicate via Yahoo online instant messenger.

Do sign up, dear tenant!

Active Freecycle.org groups in London region

Bethnal Green tube station

The Times’ reporter Kasia Macieowska (Polish?) shares her experience of a flat search in East London. In Victoria Park E9, to be more specific. She stumbled on a landlord who has, let’s just say – a bit lower standards than everybody else on this earth. Read her story here.

I was considering renting in this area back in 2004, and saw a basement flat right next to the roundabout of Lauriston Road. Thankfully I was with an agent, and didn’t get to meet the landlord, who could have very well been the same one with the cats:)) Turned the offer down then and there, realizing those basement flats are downright inhumane. Alright, if it is a part of a flat that is on two levels but otherwise – those premises should be inspected as too much dampness, and very little natural light is very hazardous to your health in the long run.

Victoria Park is quite a nice area although I admit to have missed what is SO good about it that I would want to move there. A friend of mine lived in one of those newer apartment buildings on Victoria Park Road. It reminds me of the terraced Victorian homes, squirrels, the roundabout, and that you should be careful when jogging alone in Victoria Park. The nearest tube for Victoria Park is Bethnal Green, central line.

I couldn’t resist posting this, sorry!

Guess who is now working at the grocery store:

“Can I have a bunch of bananas please?” [Sharp intake of breath]

“Well I’d love to, love to, had a super bunch last week, went to a really nice couple. But this week [dramatic pause] … have you ever thought about a bag of apples?”

“Um, I’d prefer bananas, but I suppose … Could I see them?”

“Not until next week.”

“Oh, how much will they be?”

“Well, they want 80p, but we could go down to 78p if you commit now.”

All the good agents are laughing with me – they are glad to see the incompetent ones go.

Joke from The Guardian.

In the middle of all the news about agencies closing down their businesses, it comes as no surprise that the supermarket chain Tesco has dropped it’s plans to come out with an edgy real estate agency. FT reports that they are planning on selling the website and possibly some ideas to Spicerhaart (you’ve heard of Haart, right?), who comments:

“Final negotiations are taking place with Tesco to buy their estate agency business,” said Paul Smith, chief executive of Spicerhaart. “Spicerhaart is developing a new innovative virtual estate agency business in partnership with Tesco, who will be the main distribution partner.”

OK, sounds like they have come up with an out of this world and out of the box idea. You can see right through them though – it is obviously just that they are buying a virtual island together at Second Life and start selling virtual milk bottles with property ads on them.

On the more serious note – considering all the publicity that comes along with the deal – well done already!

Tenants are always open to new ideas that help making renting a bit easier.

LSE students, Photo: LSE

Telegraph writes about renting to students in England, gives tips, and advises landlords to do their homework before stepping into the student lettings market.

The main reason for the growing popularity of the seemingly unpopular choice of student as a lodger is because of the higher rents that can be achieved by letting the property out room-by-room. According to accommodationforstudents.com, the average rent for a London student is £102,85 per week. Also, these tenancies usually last for a year, and thanks to the growing demand in the segment, there is no fear of the void periods. The downside of the student lets is that the level of property’s wear and tear is higher as there are more people using the apartment. One thing is for sure – as the students are more eager to complain, the management has to be fast and effective.

Anyways, just thought it would be an interesting read for landlords and students: Buy-to-let landlords university challenge.

Herbert Crescent SW1X £7000 per week at M2 Property

Knight Frank‘s residential research says that the demand for rentals costing £1000, or $1990 a week rose close to 10% in 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Here are some interesting details from an article in International Herald Tribune:

Most popular areas among the wealthy tenants are in central London – Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Mayfair. Preferred types and rents in these areas:

- 2-bed apartment, starting at 800 square feet (74m2) that typically costs from £650 to £5,000 per week;

- 3-bed apartment about 1,200 square feet (112m2) will rent for £1,000 to £10,000 a week;
- Houses typically at least 2,000 square feet (186m2), rent for £1,500 to £8,000 a week;

The following statement sets some light on why Roedean Crescent is so carelessly priced:

Tim Hassell, rental manager of Foxtons real estate in Sloane Square: “At the upper end of the market, money isn’t an issue; tenants don’t mind if they’re paying £2,000 a week or £3,000, or even more.”

Really?

Mim & Ian’s travel blog has an interesting post on how new Londoners have decided to move from West to East. Why choose Canary Wharf over Earls Court? Read here.

Photos: illustrative, Savills on the left, Foxtons on the right.

3D visual of the penthouse that costs 100 million pounds at One Hyde Park, the new ultra exclusive apartment building that is due to be completed in 2010.

We’ll never be able to rent this one:S

3D from Daily Mail.