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October 2009
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Calling All Independent Estate Agents
Dear Agent,
With the property market in a state of flux, most homeowners remain undecided about either moving or improving their present home. In order to assist the homeowner, Orchard Planning Solutions is seeking to work collaboratively with independent estate agents across England and Wales. If you are interested in this exciting and unique opportunity to add to your income stream and raise your local profile, please do not hesitate in contacting us by clicking on the following link:-
http://www.doineedplanningpermission.co.uk/contact.aspx
Kind Regards
From All the Team
Good News for First Time Buyers?
With low interest rates and the recent falls in property prices, most people would be better off buying than renting. For the estate agency profession, this news could not have come at a better time as the property market is traditionally entering a slow down period in the run up to Christmas.
According to the high street bank Abbey, first time buyers in all areas of the country (outside London) could save £52 a month by becoming owner-occupiers rather than renters. The reason for this is due to the sharp falls in property prices and low interest rates. It is estimated that the typical starter flat or home has fallen by approximately 9% meaning that a terraced home or 1 bedroom flat can be bought for approximately £92,000.
Whilst this is all very exciting for those thinking of buying rather than renting, the bad news is that you will have to have saved hard in order to raise the 25% deposit upon which these calculations have been based. If you are lucky enough to be in that enviable position, based on a 4.38% mortgage rate, your monthly repayments would be £382. Renting a comparable property costs an average of £434 per month meaning that you could be some £600 better off a year. Great news and yes worth a celebratory drink (not too many as remember the deposit). However, the uncomfortable reality check is the 25% deposit. In the dim and distant past when I bought my first property, I managed to cobble together a 10% deposit for which I was extremely proud. Today, those nest seekers have little choice other than negotiate a "loan" from the Bank of Dad or purchasing a property with a partner. Have the days of independence gone forever?
Panel Radiators
Are you looking for an effective way to keep your home warm? The answer could be right beneath you...
Talk to any interior designer and it is without doubt that if they could have their own way, conventional radiators would be consigned to the science museum. Yes, they can be considered ugly given the blank panels hanging to walls but also the pipework that feeds them. When compared to underfloor heating, a properly laid system can provide consistent warmth as opposed to the hot and cold spots of conventional radiators and free walls from clutter.
Whilst some systems use electric-powered underfloor heating, this tends to be energy hungry and in these days of high energy prices, can equate to expense. Instead, the reality of underfloor heating is that it is likely to be a wet system of pipes filled with circulating hot water.
Yes, you have guessed it; it works very much on the same principle of a conventional heating system with pipes buried in a solid floor or between the joists of a suspended timber floor.
The system is very much favoured by green builders who use it for its energy saving potential. Underfloor heating works by creating a giant radiator from the floor. This has the effect of warming you directly rather than the air around you for which I am reliably informed means it can run on lower temperatures.
When compared to underfloor heating, radiators work on the principle of giving off only around 20% of their heat by radiation, the rest by convection. The hot air rises from the radiator then flowing across the room and drawing up cool air in its wake. Not only is this extremely inefficient with the warmth located invariably at ceiling level but it also means that the temperature of the water in the system has to be much higher. It is believed that the water temperature has to be in the region of 80 Degrees C as opposed to 45-55 Degrees C. Moreover, if your room only has one panel, think that single panel has to heat the entire room...
The benefits of underfloor heating include its ability to run off any type of boiler, and that it can be bolted onto any existing central heating system. For most of us, the last thing we really want to be doing is lift existing floor slabs. However, if you are considering an extension or converting your loft, why not install this type of system? Additionally, it runs at low temperatures making it an ideal for renewable energy sources such as solar panels or ground source heating, which are unable to provide water at high enough temperatures for traditional heating systems.
Whilst the benefits of underfloor heating cannot be denied, the system has drawbacks and these are largely to do with installation and the flooring beneath which you wish to install it. Should you wish to choose this form of system, you will need to compliment it with high levels of insulation at floor level. Additionally, if your floorboards are prone to warping or shrinking, this may also affect the efficiency of the system. Some say that underfloor heating is best avoided beneath timber flooring and others believe that if the floor is properly seasoned, there should be no issue.
When considering any alteration work, there is more to heating than simply panels.
How to Improve Your Home
With Christmas looming larger than my next utility bill, focus is turning toward the festivities and the task of hosting relatives who descend like a plague of locusts. In the days spent with me, they eat and drink me out of house and home and make barbed comments that the improvements I have been promising to undertake remain as untouched as the Christmas Day washing up. Fear not, in this article entitled how to improve you home, we will consider imaginative ways of improving your bathroom without having to go to the costly expense of ripping it out and starting again.
Our first tip is don't despair. In most cases, a degree of imagination and inspiration will help rejuvenate that space. Setting aside the sanitary ware, which can often be costly, think about those elements, which can be replaced fairly readily and easily. By these, we mean the lights, taps, tiles, bath panel and colour scheme together with your toothpaste holder and towels for example.
Our six-point guide to a rejuvenated bathroom:
- Flooring: If your floor covering is unattractive, have you thought about removing it and painting the floorboards or concrete which sit below?
- Taps: An instant success is to replace the basin and bath taps together with the toilet flush handle. There are some many styles to choose from that you will quite literally be spoilt for choice. If you want to go for a contemporary look, the vogue is for brushed steel. If you live in a period property for example, why not visit your local architectural salvage yard. You will be surprised what bargains you can find there!
- Bath panels: A bespoke bath panel can often set your bathroom apart from the rest. In choosing the next generation of panel, be sure to choose one that is not painted MDF (will often not stand up to repeated splashing) and that can be removed easily in order access any pipe work hidden behind it.
- Mirror: As we have done in our bathroom, how about completely mirroring one wall? This instantly creates a sense of space, light and openness. If you do opt for a full width mirror, do pay the extra fitting fee a glazier will charge as believe you me, screwing a 6 foot mirror to a tiled wall is not fun (particularly if you really don't know what you are doing). If you can't afford a new mirror or indeed are looking for something out of the ordinary, do visit your local second-hand shops or flea markets.
- Tiles: Tiling the entire bathroom may be too expensive and therefore not an option. In that case, how about tiling small wall areas in order to provide visual contrast?
- Accessories: Once the hard work is over, let your imaginative side take control and go for those colour co-ordinate accessories. Good quality towels in sophisticated colours can in their own way make the space. Add to this a few candles together with an unusual towel rail and you have created your very own sanctuary. One you will be proud of and be completed in time for the locusts!
Back To The Future As House Prices Return to the 2008 Level
For many of us, we can breath more easily (at least for the time being) as house prices have recovered to the same level as a year ago. According to the latest statistics from the Nationwide, the average price of a house last month rose by 0.9% to £161,816 which is almost identical to the September 2008 figure.
However, this is not all good news as the Nationwide continued by warning that the recent house price increases were unlikely to continue at this present rate if more homes were to enter the market. Like so many other sectors, the property market is influenced by the feel good factor, which as we all appreciate is in short supply at the present moment. However, life is not simply about statistics and economic forecasting. As I maintain, our investment in property is long term and above all, our homes should be enjoyed to their maximum potential. Yes, things are depressed at the moment, but as we all appreciate, the long term trend is for house prices to continue rising. So, get out there and improve or move home!
