How to Effectively Pack Your Belongings When Moving Home

Moving home is noted as one of the most stressful experiences of our lives. That’s no surprise, considering what a mammoth affair it can be. Transporting your entire life to a new location was never meant to be easy. However, there are measures you can take to reduce your stress levels and ensure a smooth transition to your new home. Here, we’ll give a few handy tips on how to effectively pack up your belongings. So, let’s get to it.

Buy plenty of packing materials

Before you can start packing, you need to ensure you have enough packing materials to store all of your possessions. It can be surprising at just how much stuff you actually own when you start packing. So, to avoid coming up short, buy plenty of packing materials. Boxes, tape, containers, bubble wrap, and anything else you may need should be bought in abundance. It’s always wise to have too many packing materials than not enough. Any excess packaging you have can be stored for future use.

Plan and pack well in advance

This is the most important aspect of facilitating a smooth transition to your new home. Without proper planning, you face the risk of having a disorganised, haphazard move. If you’ve got a move coming up over the next few months, then start planning and packing now. You can never be too organised when it comes to moving home, and formulating a plan of action will not only put your mind at ease, it will also make the whole moving process much, much easier.

Start packing non essential items now

We all have items in our home that can be considered non essential. Items such as decorations, rarely used goods, and possessions we can afford to miss for a month or two are all items that can be packed away now. The sooner you start packing your non essential items, the sooner your move will become a reality. Be ruthless too, and anything that you can do without pack away. You’ll feel better for it once it’s packed and ready to go.

Create a checklist for your items

After you’ve got all of your non essential items boxed up and out of sight, start creating a checklist for your other goods. Decide when you can afford to pack other items that you may need at this present time, but not further along the moving process when moving day is approaching. It can be a wise idea to formulate a weekly packing plan. This will not only help you pack in bite-size chunks and make the process easier, it will also ensure you stay on top of your packing right up to your moving day.

Finally, label every box

You also need to consider your plan of unpacking when you reach your new home. If you haven’t labelled your boxes, then you’re going to have a nightmare when it comes to finding your possessions. If you can, group items together, such as ‘living room items’ or ‘kitchen utensils’. You’ll be thankful for it when you reach your lovely new home.

Follow those packing tips and you should find the whole moving process a lot easier. Moving home should be exciting and not stressful, so make sure that it is.

Help keep animals safe this firework season

As November approaches, the Scottish SPCA is warning that fireworks can have a serious impact on the welfare of domestic, farm and wild animals.

Read the full article and show your support 

http://www.scottishspca.org/news/1095_help-keep-animals-safe-this-firework-season

What is Condensation?

Condensation is an extremely underestimated cause of damage to our homes and is almost certainly the most common form of dampness within a building. It occurs where warm moist air comes into contact with cold air or a surface that is at a lower temperature. When the moist air cools, it is unable to retain the moisture and is released to form condensation in the air or on the surface.
Learn more about it and how to avoid it by watching this short video ....

Lets for Pets: Are dog-friendly flats too scarce?

Welfare charity Dogs Trust have launched a campaign aimed at better advertising of pet-friendly rental accommodation.

The charity have signed up television property-show presenter Jasmine Harman, known for her work on Channel 4 show A Place in the Sun - Home or Away, to front the campaign. Mrs Harman is also a landlord.

Dogs Trust have run a 'Lets with Pets' scheme since 2009, aimed at helping tenants who were having problems finding rental accommodation where their four-legged friends were welcome.

The latest campaign is named 'Ask, Advertise, Add', and it is aimed specifically at letting agents, to encourage them to always enquire of landlords whether they are happy to list their properties as 'pets considered'. The charity say that one in three pet owners have struggled to find rental accommodation where their pets are allowed, despite over 70% of landlords surveyed saying they would be willing to consider allowing pets in their property. The problem, the charity has concluded, is therefore not a lack of properties, but a lack of advertising.

Jasmine Harman on dog-friendly flats:

     Mrs Harman said, "As a pet-friendly landlord myself, I am delighted that Dogs Trust is looking after the interests of renters with pets.

"In my experience, many landlords would be happy to consider pets but lettings agencies have sometimes been slow to pick up on this and some could do more to find out if pets would be considered."

Following on from Harman's comments, Susie Jones of the Dogs Trust added, "We know from experience that some people will go to extraordinary lengths not to be parted from their pets. People have moved areas or rented larger homes than they need simply to keep their pets with them.

"We hope that the Lets with Pets 3A's campaign will encourage and support more landlords and letting agencies to take up a 'pets considered' approach to letting their properties." 

Here at Property Locker we're definitely behind dog friendly Properties, being dog owners ourselves we are proud members of the scheme

Testimonials

Check our website for more glowing testimonials like these ...

“Barry is extremely professional in all aspects of the services he provides. From providing quality letting opportunities, portfolio management, and restoration analysis, the standards of service from Barry and Property Locker were always first class. I would have no hesitation in recommending Barry and his company to anyone looking for a professional result.” 

http://www.propertylocker.co.uk/11/Testimonials_/

Arrears - The true costs ....

The archenemy of the landlord has always been the tenant who is in arrears. Tenants who fail to pay on time are immensely costly to landlords, but it’s not just the missing rent that needs to be sorted out, there are a whole host of other costs that need to be funded too. Here are a few incentives to make sure your tenants pay up on time!

Time Costs and Chasing

A tenant who is late paying is not all that likely to ring you up and apologise if they miss rent, although it does happen. What’s more common is that landlords have to spend considerable time chasing tenants who don’t pay which is time that could be spend better doing other things. If you seem to spend your whole time chasing tenants about rent, it’s worth keeping track of time spent writing emails or on the phone: you may be surprised how much it costs!

Interest and Missed Payments

Rent that doesn't come in on time usually means a missed payment on a mortgage for smaller landlords and that can come at an enormous cost. Not only will you be charged a lot of interest but you will have a permanent blemish on your credit record. It’s possible to alter what the record says, but it’s a lot of hassle that’s best avoided.

The Opportunity Cost of Missed Rent

Finally, rent that is late is rent that you could have put to better use elsewhere. Even if you were only intending to put the rent towards savings or, perhaps, to pay off the overdraft, you’re missing out on interest that you could be owed. A lot of tenants suffer greatly from this and one of the best remedies is to charge tenants penalties equivalent to your opportunity cost for missed rent.

The only sure fire way to avoid arrears is to take out rent guarantee insurance, this way you know you’ll be paid on time, every time. Don’t let arrears build up too much and if a tenant is habitually not paying then it can pay real dividends to talk to both your tenant and your insurer to sort things out once and for all.

New EPC legislation

New regulations came into force this week changing the requirements on letting agents and landlords with regards to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). 

Any EPC which is issued before 1 October 2012 will remain valid for the following 10 years. Therefore, the changes in legislation will only affect EPCs issued after 1 October 2012.

Letting agents and landlords are now required to make a copy of the EPC available to prospective tenants for inspection prior to entering into the tenancy. 

If the property is currently let, the letting agent or landlord must provide a copy of the EPC and the related recommendations report to the tenant free of charge. These requirements do not apply where a letting agent or landlord is renewing a lease with an existing tenant. However it would be good practice to adopt this requirement.

Since 2008 there has been a requirement on the issuer of the EPC to register the EPC in the Scottish EPC Register. This is a register which is operated by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government. The new regulations introduce a registration fee of £1.15 for residential property and £5.36 for commercial property registered after 1 October 2012. 

There are also further changes coming into force from 1 January 2013. 

From this date, prospective letting agents or landlords will be required to include an EPC rating for their property in any advertisement for the property including newspaper advertisements, property schedules and internet advertising. 

A “To Let” sign outside a property does not need to include an EPC rating. 

Where a letting agent or landlord fails to comply with the advertising requirements, a Penalty Charge Notice may be issued within 6 months of the breach. The amount payable under a Penalty Charge Notice is up to £500 for residential property.

Finding it tough to acquire a full deposit?

Are you looking to rent a property?

Finding it tough to acquire a full deposit?

We now have a simple solution!

Deposit Approve is a ground-breaking Tenant Guarantor scheme covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This provides a cost effective solution to people’s ability to rent private residential property. This is done by providing Landlords and their agents with all the reassurances and guarantees required to feel 100% secure throughout the tenancy period.

Instead of paying the normal deposit of 4-6 weeks rent in advance you now pay a simple one off “No Deposit Warranty” to cover you whilst you are in the property.

This will enable you to move into the property of your choice for a lot less money than you thought.

At Property Locker we now have a number of properties suitable for both working tenants and those that are in receipt of benefits. Providing you can pass a referencing check then many of our properties require a simple £150* fee for payment of the “No Deposit Warranty”.

Please call our Office (0845 805 9102) for full details and find out how you can move into a new property today!

*For monthly rents up to £600

Value of Scotland's detached houses up by over £800 per month in past decade

The value of Scotland's detached properties has increased by an average of £815 per month over the past decade, the largest increase in cash terms compared to other property types.

The latest research from the Bank of Scotland shows that since the middle of 2002 the average price of a detached home has grown by almost £98,000, or 70%, to £238,111.

Over the past 10 years the average price of terraced houses in Scotland has grown by 85% to £114,921, the average price of semis has increased by 82% to £139,017, followed by flats by 75% to £111,602 and bungalows by 70% to £171,172.

Detached houses have outperformed all other property types since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. In the past five years, the average price of a detached property has fallen by 9%. This compares with a 16% decline in the average price of semis and a 17% fall in the price of bungalows. Meanwhile terraced houses have fallen by 27% and flats by 23%.

The Bank says that the tightening in mortgage lending criteria since 2007 has impacted many buyers, making it more difficult for first time buyers, in particular, to enter the market. This development is consistent with terraced houses and flats recording the largest price falls in recent years as these property types are very popular with first time buyers. Terraces and flats combined accounted for 71% of all first time buyer purchases during the first half of 2012 in Scotland.

In contrast, terraces and flats recorded bigger price rises than other property types during the five years before the crisis from 2002 to 2007, up by 152% and 126% respectively. Circumstances for first time buyers were easier at this time with a much greater availability of high loan to value mortgages.

The average price of a detached house is now 71% higher than that for a semi detached home, a gap that has widened from 59% at the height of the housing market in the middle of 2007, the research also shows.

Similarly, percentage differences in prices between detached properties and terraces and flats have also widened. The average price for a detached home is 107% higher than for a terraced house compared with 67% five years ago. Since 2007, the difference in the average price of a detached house and that of a flat has more than doubled to 113% from 45% five years earlier. ‘The prices of those property types in Scotland that are less reliant on first time buyers, such as detached homes, have been more resilient since the financial crisis in 2007,’ said Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland.

‘Nevertheless, prices of all property types in Scotland have fallen over the past five years with the biggest declines for flats and terraced homes. These types are particularly popular with first-time buyers and their sharper price falls probably reflect the difficulties that those looking to enter the market for the first time have been facing,’ Patel added.

The research also found that semis and terraced housing account for a larger share of house sales since 2007 at the expense of flats and detached homes. These two types have seen their combined share of all home sales rise from 35% to 45% in 2012. Terraced properties now account for a quarter of all house sales, up from 16% in 2007. The share of semi detached homes has edged up from 18% to 20% during the period.

In contrast, flats have seen a drop in their share of all sales since 2007 from 36% to 32%. Detached homes have also seen their share of all sales decline, from 20% in 2007 to 14% in 2012.

The research says that the increase in the share of sales accounted for by semis and terraced housing may be due to greater difficulty in trading up to detached houses and low transactions levels for flats given low new build volumes and existing flat owners are often unable to trade up because of little or no equity.

Private landlord who threw tenant onto street jailed

A Sheffield landlord has been given nine months jail for throwing one of his tenants onto the street without his shoes.

Jay Allen of Padley Way, Sheffield Lane, forcibly evicted Chris Blades from his home on Handsworth Road. Mr Blades had ran up £900 in rent arrears.

The court heard that Allen, 30, told his tenant that "I don't have to give you f*** all" after being told by Mr Blades that he was entitled to notice. An altercation followed which resulted in Mr Blades ending up outside his house.

Councillor Harry Harpham, Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods at Sheffield City Council, said: “Words cannot express how disgusted I am to hear about this case. The only saving grace is that we have managed to take these bullies to task and they have been punished for their crimes.

“Landlords take note, we will not tolerate this kind of activity. We are committed to making sure that private renting offers a safe and desirable form of housing. This includes making sure that there are high standards and responsible management." 

Landlords and tenants argue more about cleaning than anything else

According to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), the cost of cleaning a home when the tenant leaves is the single biggest cause of landlord-tenant discord.

Although only 2% of tenancies end in a deposit dispute, the AIIC have found that when such a dispute does occur, 52% of the time it is due to an argument about cleaning up the property at the end of a tenancy.

A poll amongst landlords conducted by meetmyagent.co.uk explored concerns amongst landlords, and found that 73% of landlords found that their properties were returned to them in a poor condition when tenants leave, with only 27% feeling that homes were left in a good condition. Though just 5% of landlords thought that homes were a 'complete wreck' after handover, 40% of landlords claim to have needed to refurbish a property owing to the condition it was left in.

10% of landlords claim to have spent £2,500 or more on repairing a property to its initial condition at the end of a tenancy.

Landlords and tenants clash over cleaning issues
 

Speaking out on the findings, AIIC chair Pat Barber had this to say:

"Many tenants fail to leave their property in the same condition at check-out and are often very surprised when they are told that professional cleaning is required. Tenants rarely treat their rented property in the same way as they would a property they owned themselves. Unfortunately accidents do happen during a tenancy and tenants need to realise that they must take financial responsibility for things that are beyond normal wear and tear.

"Recently a tenant was outraged when she was told that the oven, which was listed as in clean condition at time of check in, was now very dirty and needed a deep professional clean. When this was explained at the end of the check-out inspection she commented that surely this is normal wear and tear, I had to cook food in it during the tenancy."