Author Archives: isaypromotions

Interesting Properties for Sale in the UK

Posted on by
2

If you love property as much as we do, then you probably thoroughly enjoy having a look at homes of all shapes and sizes. It’s fun to fantasise about your dream home, and no matter what your taste, there’s bound to be a property out there that suits you in every aspect from the location to the colour of the walls. Often, of course, these homes are a little out of our reach financially!

In the spirit of this property rubbernecking, we’d like to share with our readers the Telegraph’s list of 15 unusual buildings currently on sale in Britain. Unfortunately, the majority of these homes are indeed out of the reach of most, with some prices in the millions. Worth mentioning, though, is the former Cornish seaside fort – situated right on the beach and complete with battlements – which has been converted into studio flats. One of these flats is on the market; a bargain at £162,000.

Of course, if you’re looking for something a little more conventional, you won’t be very interested in naval fortifications or converted factories. In that case, you’d do well to check out our property search feature. Just put in a postcode or town name and you’re away. You can even filter by purchase price or number of bedrooms.

For an even more flexible and interactive house hunting experience, try out our Pinpoint service. This feature allows you to draw the area you’d like to search on an interactive map, allowing you to expand or limit the search quickly and easily and allowing you to search multiple adjacent towns.

We can’t necessarily promise you properties that are quite as interesting as those listed by the Telegraph. What we can offer is a wide range of homes on the market from a wide range of estate agents in towns and cities all over the UK.

How to Find the Cheapest Homes to Rent

Posted on by
Reply

How to Find the Cheapest Homes to Rent

Rental propertyWith the current state of the economy, it’s no surprise that those who haven’t yet been able to get their feet on the first rung of the property ladder are struggling with high rents. Throughout the country, rental costs are increasing faster than wages, meaning that it can be difficult for potential tenants to find a home that they’re going to be happy in. Those who are looking for cheaper accommodation should bear the following in mind:

Compromise

We know it can be hard, when you begin searching for a new home with certain expectations, to adjust your predictions when you realise that you’re not going to be able to live in the kind of home you had wanted originally. With that said, it needn’t be a disaster. Several aspects of your ideal rental property are probably available for compromise. if you commute on the train, you probably don’t want to look too far from the railway station, but do you really need a separate living room? Or will a combination kitchen/living area suffice? Do you really need a garden? You get the idea.

Get a Housemate

For obvious reasons, this can dramatically reduce the amount of rent you have to pay. Finding a housemate will probably be very easy in highly-populated areas, especially given that many people will be in exactly the same position as you are. If you were already planning to live with someone, try to convince them of the need for a third person. And this doesn’t mean that you need to start looking for 3-bedroom properties – take a leaf out of a student’s book, and turn the living room into a bedroom. Suddenly, you’re splitting the rent on a two bedroom property between 3 people, and things start to look much more affordable.

Check the Market Often

From time to time, you will find very good deals on the rental market – only to find that someone else got there first. By checking frequently, you can increase your chances of finding a great home and booking the first viewing. PropertyPropertyProperty can even simplify this for you by setting up free property alerts. Just register with your email, or simply log in through Facebook, and we’ll be able to send you information on properties matching your specification as soon as they hit the market.

PropertyPropertyProperty Comments on Mortgage News

Posted on by
Reply

Mortgage Rates

The PropertyPropertyProperty team has issued a press release following an announcement that the shape of the mortgage market is changing.

With the news that homeowners are now more likely to go to a mutual or building society to borrow against their property, it is likely that bigger financial institutions will be forced to drive their prices down further in order to compete. Christopher Marriot explains the likely causes and effects of this change: Shift in Mortgage Lending Patterns

Property as an Investment

Posted on by
Reply

Buying Commercial Property

Property investment is a great way to ensure that your money is working for you. At a time when savings accounts are offering a pittance in interest rates and the financial markets are still struggling to recover from the events of the 2007/2008 crisis, land represents a stable commodity with guaranteed demand. Simply put, no one is making any more land. There is no danger of a strong increase in supply and a fall in rents, especially as the population is increasing.

If you’re looking to buy and list property for rent in either the residential or commercial market, you need to be sure that you’re getting the best return on your investment. So how do you do this? Firstly, and most obviously, you need to avoid overpaying. The less you pay to purchase the property in the first place, the more quickly you will be able to recoup your costs with the rent that you charge. If you get a good enough price, you might even be able to undercut rival landlords, ensuring that your property is always in use. Secondly, however, you need to bear in mind that sometimes the more expensive property is worth the increased outlay. As famous investor Warren Buffett says, it’s better to buy something good for a fair price than to buy something fair for a good price. A shopfront property might be going for cheap, but shifts in the retail market mean that it could be better to purchase office space or residences.

Stay ahead of the market near you by signing up to our property alerts service. Just pop your email into the box and we’ll keep you up to date as fresh properties become available, saving you time and effort and making sure you’re amongst the first to see each one.

How to Find Great Student Accommodation

Posted on by
5

Student Houses to Rent

It can be very hard to find a good student house. By the time you’re looking at properties, you’ve already had to deal with a lot of fuss. Here at Property Property Property, we’re familiar with the plight of students. There are often arguments when it comes to deciding who’s going to live with who, how much rent you can afford to pay, how close you want to be to your University campus or public transport; the list goes on. When landlords list property for rent, they know that there’s always great competition between students to snap up the best houses. This means that they don’t need to spend too much time on their listing, as they are guaranteed to receive requests to look around almost immediately. It is very important to ensure that you and your new housemates are being kept up to date with all the properties on the market as they become available.

Those searching for student housing would be wise to make use of our property search feature. All you need to do is put in your town/city or postcode into a box. With the click of a button, you’ll be shown everything available, with property to rent in London or the smallest of towns. We’re able to show you a wide range of student homes because we work with a large number of estate agencies, with properties available all over the country.

And if you want to make sure that you really are on top of things, sign up for our property alerts service. Simply head over to our page and register by entering your email address and we’ll keep you up to date with the latest properties as soon as they hit the market.

How to Make Sure That You Hear About the Best Properties

Posted on by
Reply

Staying Ahead with Property Alerts

In today’s competitive property market, it can be hard to get ahead. Despite the fact that there is a great amount of pressure on sellers, some of whom may be forced to sell for less than they might have expected, it is still very difficult for buyers to find the right property at the right time. This task is harder still for those looking to buy property for the first time, as they have even fewer homes to choose from and are competing with thousands of other potential homeowners with similar budgets.

For these reasons, it is essential to make sure that you are being kept abreast of developments in your local property market. You can do this just by checking the listings on a daily basis. However, this can get a bit irritating, especially if you already have a busy day and don’t want to spend a part of it trawling through properties that don’t interest you. Alternatively, you can make use of our convenient property alerts service. Just sign up with your email and we’ll let you know about the hot properties that match your preferences and which are hitting the market near you, as soon as they are listed. This way, you can be sure that you’re among the first to make inquiries about the home you love – and you’ll save a good amount of time and effort, too.

Thousands of Properties to Buy

Our properties are sourced from a network of trusted estate agents in every corner of the country, so you can be sure that you’ll find a great new home in your area. Whether you’re after student accommodation, a fashionable city centre flat, or a beautiful suburban semi for your growing family, Property Property Property can help you.

Reasons to Live in London: The Rolling Stones and London

Posted on by
Reply

Last week, in celebration of Spice Girls Week, we looked at some of the premiere music venues in London, and uncovered some unknown tidbits about their history. This week, the Rolling Stones, another iconic British group, hit London for two gigs as part of their 50th Anniversary tour. So today we’re going to dive in to their history as a band, looking at the venues, hotspots and property in London, which any Stones fan ought to know:

The Formation

A lesson to all of us about the wonders and possibilities of taking public transport, rather than drive ourselves around. Though technically in Kent, at Dartford train station, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would meet each other by chance, having previously gone to the same school together. Jagger happened to be holding some records, so the subject of the conversation turned to music, leading to Richards joining Jagger’s band at the time, soon after. Just goes to show what can come about from a train journey.

The First Gig

On July 12th 1962, the Rolling Stones performed for the first time at the London Marquee Club, located then in Oxford Street (Westminster, London). The club would relocate to Soho during the 60s, where other great names would grace the stage, like The Who and David Bowie. Many progressive and groundbreaking genres saw their seeds sewn in that building; perhaps though, none as influential as the rhythm and blues-inspired “bad boy rock” of the Stones.

Where To Eat

Carnaby Street celebrates the Rolling Stones turning 50

If you’re in town for The Stones and you need somewhere to eat, there’s no more suitable place than former bassist Bill Wyman’s Sticky Fingers restaurant, located in the affluent Kensington area. If you’re a fan of your meat, this is the place for you, and is the ultimate haven for any fan of the band. Memorabilia adorns the walls; so while you dine, you can take in the history of the band. Incredibly instagrammable.

Where to Shop

Few bands would take over an entire street when they’re in town, but then the Stones are no ordinary band. Take a trip down to Carnaby Street to see the specially themed-decorations, as well a shop specifically selling merchandise for the band – a perfect opportunity to stock up for the fan you know. The area has a special resonance with the band, as this is where they practiced early on, all those decades ago. It’s just another reason to live in London; the city is brimming with culture right on your doorstep, and always popping out the next big things in music, film and art. Who knows how big that band playing in front of 10 people near you, will become?

 

 

Protecting Vacant Property

Posted on by
1

With a recent and controversial change in the law making squatting a criminal offence, the media has been awash with opinion pieces on the matter. Alongside all the polite debate and raging arguments, there has been a very public renewal of interest in the security of properties which are vacant, for however long and for whatever reason. Property Property Property are pleased to present the following guest post from the nice folks at Safe Site Securities, who have some advice about leaving your property vacant. Rent in London can take a chunk out of your monthly income; so you don’t want to be paying out to replace stolen objects or repair broken property.

When your property becomes vacant, it is paramount to ensure that you don’t get caught out when it comes to insurance. The majority of standard property insurance policies only continue to provide cover for a maximum of 30 days should the property become unoccupied, with the most generous policies only allowing up to 45 days.

Why is a Property Vacant?

Both residential and commercial property can become vacant for a number of reasons. It could simply be a time lapse between tenants for a landlord, or a death in the family may leave a property vacant whilst probate is administered and the property is left until prepared for re-sale, and sometimes property owners simply aren’t able to manage resulting in properties lying dormant. A job relocation could result in a property lying vacant whilst a buyer is sought, and many holiday homes are only occupied during certain times of the year. Both professional and amateur property developers regularly buy a renovation property at auction which may lie empty for many months before it is ready for occupation once more.

Why bother with Specialist Insurance?

The answer is simple – to protect your assets. Vacant properties are at constant risk from vandals, arsonists, thieves and decay. Whilst at first glance opting not to take out vacant property insurance may seem a risk worth taking, spend a few moments thinking about the consequences if something does go wrong.

Left unnoticed and not dealt with, prolonged water damage can ruin the fabric of a building. Whether the source is simply a blocked drain or missing roof tile water can quickly penetrate walls and joists potentially resulting in hefty repair bills.


Any obviously empty property offers a great temptation to both vandals and squatters. The damage caused by such criminals can be endless – from smashed doors and windows, to fires, theft of fixtures and fittings, graffiti and the build up of debris and detritus. The eviction of squatters can be both a lengthy and costly affair, and the bill from professional repairs and a thorough cleanse of a property really can run into thousands of pounds.

Conditions of Empty Property Insurance

Vacant Property Insurance comes with a host of conditions that must be adhered to for the cover to remain valid. Some of these can be considered common sense, such as ensuring adequate locks are fitted to all doors and windows. Other conditions are more extreme, such as the requirement to ensure the property is inspected on a regular basis for signs of damage, decay and developing problems, and any concerns are both recorded, reported and dealt with swiftly. There may be a requirement that surrounding land is kept maintained, as well as simple tasks such as ensuring a letter box is regularly cleared.

Call in the Specialists

If your property is to remain vacant for a long time period, it pays to call in the experts. Not only will this enable you to obtain the highest levels of vacant property insurance, it will ensure that your property is far more likely to remain safe and secure. Security specialists can not only advise on securing doors, windows and other access points effectively, they can carry out enhanced security measures such as installing steel security screens and mobile security alarms. If your empty property isn’t local to you, reputable security firms can be a god send, able to carry out professional property inspections both internally and externally weekly or bi-weekly as required by your insurance firm.

Whilst all this might seem a little extreme, in my mind it makes perfect sense. Property is money, why risk it?

Safe Site Facilities are empty property security experts, with extensive knowledge of the concerns and risks that property owners face with their uninhabited properties. SSF know that with a few simply deterrents and barriers, you could save many thousands of pounds in damages.

Reasons to Live in London: A History of Music Venues

Posted on by
Reply

Why Living in London Has Its Benefits

One of several advantages of living in the City (whether you own or rent in London) is that you are just a tube ride away from many excellent music venues. For the music buffs who routinely go to live gigs, if you live in London, you needn’t worry about those things which out-of-towners have tos when they travel in for a gig. These include:

  • Running for the last train, missing the last few songs of a set, including your absolute favourite.
  • Packing a big bag for a full day trip; hence being weighed down or paying for the cloakroom, which you then have to queue for later. Additionally, it’s hard to look as cool with a big bag, compared to someone who glides in smoothly with just their wallet, phone and keys.
  • Having to take the day off from work that day/the next morning, or risk extreme tiredness.
  • Dealing with canceled trains or detours going and returning.

Either way, you’re probably aware that London hosts several prestigious venues, brimming with music history; whether a small, intimate hall where a fledgling indie rock band start out, or a large venue with a seating capacity in the thousands. You may not know however, about some of the history behind these locations.

The O2 Arena

Feeling my age, I remember when this was the Millennium Dome around the turn of the century; one of several projects to celebrate this moment, alongside the London Eye. However, the exhibitions inside the dome on opening, weren’t met with much enthusiasm by the public after all the hype that it would both entertain and educate. The Jubilee station which serves the O2 arena in Greenwich, is the largest in Europe.

Hammersmith Apollo

Formerly a cinema, the previously-known Gaumont Palace cinema was opened in 1932. It has gone through a number of name changes, including the Hammersmith Odeon, Labatt’s Apollo, Carling Apollo Hammersmith and Hammersmith Apollo, to reflect its ownership and various purposes. Earlier this year, it was announced that AEG Live and Eventim had secured the property, having recently been one of eleven venues run by the HMV and MAMA group. The Apollo’s Compton pipe organ is one of few in the UK to remain in their original building.

Wembley Arena

Formerly called Empire Pool, Wembley Arena was originally built to as a swimming complex for the 1934 Olympic Games (which, when you look at the exterior, makes a lot of sense). Before the O2 Arena came into being, Wembley arena was the largest indoor arena in the UK. It too received some love as part of the Millennium regeneration project.

 

Terrific Tips for a First Time Property Investor

Posted on by
3

Buying your first home can be an exciting time, but it is also one fraught with confusing issues and hurdles which can be difficult to leap. Here at Property Property Property, we know that it can be easy for first-time buyers to feel overwhelmed, trawling through all the estate agents in London (and especially if they view their property as an investment opportunity). Hopefully, the tips given below will be helpful in relieving some of the stress associated with the buying process. Don’t forget to check out our search tool and property alerts service to ensure that you’re among the first to see new properties as they come onto the market near you.

Buying a house is probably the biggest purchase you will ever make, so you need to make sure you are getting what you pay for. Spend as much time as you need on looking at a property because you want it to be right for you. If property investment is your plan, then the same rule applies. Property investment is a challenging, yet rewarding project; use some of the tips listed below if you are a first time property investor.

Do not buy the first property you see
Even if you are in love with the property, you need to do your research and shop around because there might be a better deal. You need to consider a number of aspects, not just how much you love it.

Do not be afraid to ask for advice
If you are confused about your process, then you should ask for advice. By asking for advice, you are avoiding silly mistakes that could potentially be crucial. Property investment is not easy and if it is your first time, then you should really not be afraid to ask for advice.

Work out your budget
Without a budget plan you could cause yourself big problems. The budget is a huge factor in property investment. You need to work out your overall budget for everything; you will need to have a rough price in mind on how much you are willing to spend on the actual property and then another figure for the work you are going to do.

Do not just look at the property once
Go back as many times as you think is necessary. Buying a house is a huge purchase, so you need to make sure you are getting what you are paying for. Make sure you are not taking on a job that is too big for you to handle, otherwise you will struggle to make a decent profit.

Begin with a small project
Do not go straight into property investment with a huge goal, you should start small because you need to find out whether it is right for you. If you figure out half way through the job that you do not like it, then you will wish that you had not created such a huge project. You also need to see what you can do. By all means, go for a larger project after you have experienced the first.

Create a contact book
If property investment is something you are serious about, then it would not be a bad idea to have a contact book that lists a number of people you may need to call; this contact book can include numbers for plumbers, electricians and estate agents. Create good relationships with these people so they will be willing to help whenever they can.

Now you have a few tips on property investment, you can go ahead a begin your project; just remember to take your time. You do not want to rush a property investment project because there is a lot of money at stake; you should begin with a smaller project and then work up to larger ones, once you have got a good idea about what is going on. It is not always going to be easy, but it is most definitely a rewarding job.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.sxc.hu

About the Author: Janet is a financial advisor who deals with a lot of property investors. As a financial advisor, she helps people work out a budget and makes sure they are aware of how much money they need to spend. She recommends online tools and calculators to help plan out a budget.