GENUINE PEOPLE | HONEST VALUATIONS | REAL RESULTS

Personal advice from Cathy, our Lettings Manager

We find ourselves in a market where supply and demand are just not marrying up, with more properties coming to the market, so to be a successful landlord and achieve a rental at the best possible price and as quickly as possible. 

Now more than ever, is the time to make your property stand out from the crowd.  Tenants have choice, so ensuring your property presents in the best possible way is essential. Often between tenancies a  fresh coat of paint will brighten and freshen a property and make it just like new again!  Keep it neutral, then tenants can personalise the property better and make it their home. maybe making a feature recommend taking any of your personal artwork down, as it may be your Picasso… but someone else’s Banksy!   If the carpets have seen better days, if you think you may have original wooden floors below, take a peek, it would be wonderful to be able to use them again, get them sanded and varnished, but first if it’s a flat check your lease, it me be a requirement to have carpet.  If your property might need some TLC then we can suggest local contractors, also we have some great interior designers who can help create that essential Wow Factor.

Another tip we can offer and something that has worked just last week for a new landlord of ours , is to engage a staging company to dress it simply adding some high quality furniture and some gorgeous soft furnishings, will present your home to the highest standard.  For this property, we did just that and we let on first viewing and the new tenants loved the presentation so much, that the landlord agreed to purchase the main items, therefore, a very happy tenant and a fantastic rental price achieved. The pictures show just what was created.

On the brink of another lockdown I can say that for all of us around the world this has been a year unlike any other, and it sure ain’t over yet. 

So far we have been told we can stay working from the office, last time we all worked from home and our property managers were especially busy, this time probably more so as at this time of year heating system failures and leaks are bound to increase, fortunately we have excellent contractors who are on call. If we have to work from home out landline calls are diverted to our mobiles and we all log onto our office systems. 

 
The stamp duty ‘holiday’ has certainly increased activity in the sales market, it finishes at the end of March next year. Effectively this has meant that, in most cases, to benefit as a buyer you will need to have a purchase agreed and under way before the middle of December due to the time that transactions take. The lockdown could make even this timescale difficult to achieve. There has already been lobbying of the Chancellor to extend the scheme, now we have the lockdown it is  bound to intensify. We have to concede that the debt mountain of the country is reaching monstrous proportions and has to be paid somehow. I doubt that there will be any announcements until the budget next year, although a change in the rates would be welcome, the current system that was initiated by George Osbourne was overdue for reform, we can only hope that  Rishi Sunak agrees! 

With the new lockdown measures looming, why not enjoy fine dishes from London’s most authentic French brasserie at your own dining table? 

All you have to do is sit back, order in, and enjoy Gazette food from the comfort of your own home.  Order via the online portal and choose to either collect within twenty five minutes of placing an order or have the food safely delivered to your door via Gazette's touchless home delivery service. 

 Home delivery hours are Wednesday - Saturday 6pm-9pm.  

Visit the website: www.gazettebrasserie.co.uk to place your order.