Tips: Attracting Good Tenants Requires Some Basic Hard Work

It is the dream of any landlord to have a tenant who has few complaints and looks after the property well and pays the rent on time. But in reality not all tenants fit this description. Still some hard work can increase the chances of finding a good client using the following tips.

Research Take a look at the rental market in your area and see what other owners of buy-to-let property are offering. If other properties are having little sign of wear and tear and not requiring any hard maintenance, try to enhance the standards of your property to command the same rent. Now think seriously about hiring a letting agent. Or arm yourself with all techniques to find suitable tenants for yourself.

Hire a Letting Agent: If the landlord has a busy life, or have little inclination to search for tenants a letting agent could be ideal. The letting agent will take photographs of the property and advertise it online including his own website and other third party property websites like Zoopla


Advertise the Property: In case you do not want a letting agent and want to do it yourself go aggressive with advertising using online channels.

Know your facts: While managing the property viewings all by yourself, be prepared to face the questions from the prospective client for which you need to have convincing answers. So, you must all aspects about your property ranging from the neighbours; their nature: what days the bins are collected: how much the council tax is: where are the nearest shops: nearby schools and bus stops. Property viewings are opportunities for meeting tenants and encouraging people to select you as their landlord.

Credit Score Check: Before finalizing the deal for long term flats check the credit score of tenants and speak to their previous landlords and employers. Doing so can give a good idea whether they are reliable and can pay their rent on time. So, take your time and make sure you carry out all the appropriate checks and find the perfect tenants you were hoping for.

Never rush a Deal: Although lean periods can be trying never rush your search for tenants. The danger is that the haste may land you in the hands of someone who is a fraud and defaulter on rent and also refuse to vacate your property. Consulting letting agents in London will help to follow the right course. 

Notting Hill Carnival: The Biggest Street Festival Of London

The Notting Hill Carnival on 25 and 26 August is an immensely famed festival of London's Caribbean community. The event has evolved into Europe's biggest street party. 

Source: thenottinghillcarnival.com

The Carnival sets London on fire and unveils the Caribbean spirit in all extravagance where calypso and Soca musicians, costumed dancers, giant sound-systems and steel bands accompanied by a million revellers of all ages pump thrill into the London city.

Venues

The venues of Notting Hill Carnival are the streets of Notting Hill, Kensington and Chelsea. The roots of the Notting Hill Carnival go back to the Caribbean Carnival on 30 January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall that had the agenda of improving race relations in Britain.

It was organised by Claudia Jones, regarded as the Mother of the Notting Hill Carnival. The event became a huge success despite its indoor nature. The second strand was hippie inspired festival in Notting Hill in August 1966 with Rhaune Laslett as its prime mover. It was a more diverse Notting Hill event to promote cultural unity. These two strands combined ultimately to give today’s version of the Notting Hill festival.

Plenty of kids in bright colours join the dancers' wearing feathered costumes. The adults will shake their legs in many of the stages including the Channel 1 booming dub, and the jazz-reggae. And tunes of all tastes reverberate from house to hip-hop.

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So you can expect the big crowd to spread in a huge area giving an exhausting day out. So, anyone loving a party, can have the Carnival time to get an absolute delight of the London summer.
The Notting Hill Carnival’s contribution is viewed positively by the authorities as a celebration of London's multi-cultural diversity and the exposure of Caribbean culture with its best traditions.

Visit London

The Carnival offers a fantastic opportunity to visit London and enjoy its energy. This will also be an occasion to taste the living in London and watch the festival.

Notting Hill Gate is one of London’s upmarket cosmopolitan areas and is famous for its Portobello market. It is dotted with a number of entertainment avenues and shops. Short visitors can look for small studio flats and some fairly expensive apartments for a joyous stay. There are many rental flats in areas near to the Carnival site such as areas adjoining Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which are a short walk away from that area.

London: Rising Demand And Falling Supply Driving Up Property Prices

Londons’ property prices are soaring phenomenally. The trend is driven by factors such as heightened foreign demand for central London properties and huge shortfall fall in new developments. The astounding levels of demand for housing property is driven by rising population London city and may bolster the rental sector positively.

Rising demand for property in London has led to projections of a substantial price rise and skewed supply of properties. It is clear that in the next decade London property prices will be one of the world’s highest.

This is because the supply of new homes in London fails to keep up pace with demand. The analysis of global property research firm Knight Frank indicates that the prospect of London house prices soaring is clear. The demand is outstripping supply by 50 percent or more and that in the next decade the trend will only persist.

Rising Influx to City

The boom in residential developments across London will not be able to take care of the housing needs of the rising influx of people moving to the capital. Studies suggest London will see 38 percent rise in new households by 2012 and demand will translate to 525,790 new homes. But the supply pipeline is only 277,240 units.

London Mayor Boris Johnson has been pushing hard to encourage higher levels of development, underscoring the soaring housing shortage in the capital.

Price Rise

According to statistics, average London prices grew 6 percent in 2012 and jumped more than 20 percent in some boroughs driven by foreign demand for London property.

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The positive aspect of London property prices is that the high demand helped the London property market to get away from the negative fallout of the financial crisis because of the growing supply-demand mismatch. Amazingly the city recovered drastically from the slowdown with values of prime central London properties jumping 60 percent since 2008.

The rising demand for London property from national and international buyers have aided the market recovery and higher margins in the process. This trend is not set to change in the next few years.
Many units currently in the planning pipeline are likely to be delivered over the next decade. It will be around £80bn based on rough estimates upon current average borough values. It is highly unlikely that the new units can meet the projected of new households as population continues to expand.
While people living in the capital have seen prices rising by 20 percent over the last two decades, housebuilding levels only crashed 30 percent during the financial downturn from 2009 to 2010 period.

Greater London

Greater London has some good news. In the next 10 years, some 277,240 residential units will be finished and 1,77,340 of it will be in the private sector.

Taken positively, this housing shortage can turn into a boost to the rental property sector where more institutional investment is coming up. That means more developments to rent in London will be available  and can offset the demand for new property from new households.

Dress Up Your Property Smartly to Optimise its Rental Values

Properties are the finest assets to raise your wealth and income levels. Rental income is always a good source as a side income.  A well developed property will fetch maximum rental income if given on lease or rent to a reliable tenant. But optimising the appearance of your property is the key to it. But prior to putting your property on the market, there are a few things to make it attractive.

•    Location Value: The main selling factor of any property is its location.

•    Dress Up: Even if a full makeover is not possible, there are ways to spend less and spruce up things.

•    A Fresh Coat of Paint: A visually soothing living space can enchant any visitor. Giving some simple but selective touches on the walls with a new coat of paint will be nice. This can make the house or apartment stand out.

•    Embellish: Enhance the colours by choosing blinds, curtains matching the colour of the walls.
Your table throws and sofa cushion covers can be chosen wisely to add some visual pleasure to any visitor.

•    Furniture: Modify the furniture. Chuck out all old couches and invest in some new furniture preferably armchairs.
There are places to find affordable yet very good furniture to add value to your property.

•    TV Cabinet: Keeping a nice TV cabinet for your TV set will make an impression on potential tenants, much more than having your TV kept on top of a small table.

•    Be Tidy: Remove all clutter as no one likes a cluttered house or apartment. Show your future tenant that your place is very clean and tidy.

•    Weekly Cleaning:  Keep a cleaning session each week than doing a hectic, hired cleaning before your tenants move in. Invite the potential tenants to view the property only after you have cleaned it. Placing some nice flowers around the house can generate a nice effect.

With these basic steps you can expect your property--be it a house or apartment, to stand out from the rest of the crowd in your area and can exert a ‘pull factor’ on the prospective clients.

We at Rentals London, manage many properties in London and decorate them to let out asap. And, for your information, we have 9 applicants for every single properties. You can now imagine how these above tips are making different to us from others.

London Rental Market is zooming exponentially

The long term rental market in London is soaring high as property investors across the board are acquiring homes in London. There seems to be a surge in the buy-to-let market as more people want to take out their money from banks and put into real estate.

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Market watchers say that the London property rent market gives a current return of 7 per cent besides capital appreciation in the medium-term. According to a survey by London-based KinleighFolkard & Hayward, rents in London have zoomed an average of 8 per cent this year as compared to last year. While the rental prices are increasing, the tenancy lengths are also going up.

According to market watchers, more and more London property owners are putting their property for rent. On the demand side, an increasing number of people are seeking property on a rental basis . Adding to it is a squeeze in rental property supply in the last few months.

London, being a cosmopolitan city is a sought after place for renting property. At the same time, finding a suitable property for rent may be difficult unless there is professional people and agencies to help you out.

Professional Help

Those looking for apartments to rent in London can take the service of reputed firms who are ready to help you with their long drawn expertise in residential letting.

For long term rental in London their vast database can be a boon to the users in locating the best rental properties anywhere in London. Location wise search is also possible for properties in select areas like,

•    Beaufort Park
•    Canary Wharf
•    Ealing
•    Hampstead
•    Highgate
•    Hyde Park
•    Imperial Wharf
•    Kensington
•    Knightsbridge
•    West Hampstead

The agency also maintains some exclusive properties on their website. The advantage is--any kind of residential property for rent in London, be it long term rentals or short term serviced apartments can be found easily and that too in a cost effective way. The offerings range from luxurious studio apartments to family houses suiting all lifestyles and budgets.

Letting agents will have to join redress scheme

Landlords and tenants are finally being offered better protection from rogue letting agents after the House of Commons approved an eleventh hour amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Reference: propertydrum.briefyourmarket.com

The coalition government has bowed to pressure from Labour and industry groups by amending the Bill to allow for a system of redress.

All letting and managing agents as well as those agents engaged in leasehold management must now belong to an approved redress scheme, or ombudsman, which will offer landlords and tenants access to an approved redress scheme in order to deal with complaints when they arise.

Peter Bolton King (left), RICS Residential Director, said, “From now on, should a tenant or landlord experience problems due to poor service, they will be able to register their grievance with an independent redress scheme which, if appropriate, will investigate and award compensation.”

The move has been welcomed by various property professionals and industry bodies as a positive step to raise consumer protection by giving access to an independent disputes resolution mechanism and also an opportunity to raise standards across an industry thought to handle £14 billion a year, earning £1 billion for itself in the process.

Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer (right), said, “I have been

pressing for such a change for a number of years and I therefore very much welcome the government's approach to this important element of consumer protection.”

However, while many feel that this is a step in the right direction, there is widespread feeling that further action will be needed to remove all rogue letting agents from the sector, after the Government stopped short of backing an amendment introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Hayter, the Labour peer who has led the campaign for change.

Caroline Kenny (left), UKALA Executive, commented, “Whilst well intentioned, the previous proposals that letting agents to be brought within the scope of the Estate Agents Act 1979 fell short of providing a genuine solution.”

Nevertheless, the Housing Minister’s announcement that the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will be used to provide a basis for future, specialised regulation of letting agency standards should ensure that landlords and tenants who choose to use professional letting services receive adequate protection.

“The National Landlords Association [NLA] looks forward to working with the Government throughout the forthcoming industry consultation to make sure that any regulation implemented encourages professionalism, provides financial protection and aids the development of a healthy and sustainable private-rented sector,” said Chris Norris, Head of Policy at the NLA. 

Calls for legislation have intensified in the past year or so amid a major shift towards renting in the UK. There are now 3.84 million households privately renting in England, up from 1.9 million in 2001.

Marc Von Grundherr of Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings commented, “Given the increasing move to a renting society with older owner occupiers, we need more rental stock not less and therefore the sector needs to be fully transparent, professional and have redress for all sides. The only way is through regulation.”

The London Coffee Festival 2013

It’s hard to resist temptation when the aroma of rich fresh coffee brew fills your nostrils. It almost gets to your mind!!! If you are one of the millions of coffee lovers in this world then The London Coffee Festival is your celebration. Scheduled from 25th - 28th April 2013 at The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane (Spitalfields, London E1 6QL), is the prime event of UK Coffee Week which commemorates the love for this aromatic beverage in London.

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

The anticipated footfall for this year’s event is approximately 15,000 including coffee enthusiasts and gourmets, trained baristas, and cafe owners coming together to make the event promisingly interesting and useful. The onset of the public celebration will be marked by Espresso Martini Launch Party on 26 April (Friday) from 5pm onwards.

You can expect the event to be a wholesome combination of entertainment, knowledge and of course, coffee! There are demonstrations, tasting sessions, brewery tours, live music and a lot of variety of street food. The event emphasizes on good quality coffee being produced all around the world and offers coffee aficionados a chance to know more about this world famous drink.

The event venue, The Old Truman Brewery, is very famous with the residents of Canary Wharf, Shoreditch, etc. particularly on weekends. It is a collective house with 200 small businesses, related by a run of passages and courts across the area. The area is divided into various zones (Soho, Hyde Park, Shoreditch, etc.) for you to figure out which event or stalls do you want to go to.

It’s quite easy to reach there by overground & underground rail network or by bus or on foot. You can take the tube or rail to either of Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East or Shoreditch High Street from where The Old Truman Brewery is at a walking distance. The tickets to the event can be purchased either online for £9.50 or you can also buy it from the venue for £12.50.

All other related information and FAQs are there on the event website which can give you a comprehensive insight into the line-up of all the four days. For more information about this festival please click here.