More Red Tape For Landlords

 

This has been expected for some time now.  I just picked this up from the lovemoney website so you can read directly here.

Last week, Housing and Planning Minister John Healey announced that, from April, it will require any landlords who want to provide Houses In Multiple Occupation (HMO) to apply for planning permission first, before they build or convert a home.

This costly and time-consuming measure will put many off, and even those who jump through the hoops could be denied permission. There are fears that NIMBYs (people who say Not In My Back Yard) will oppose each and every HMO planning application to stop students, migrants or those on low incomes moving into their neighbourhood.

What exactly are the new rules?

Landlords will need to obtain planning permission where a material change of use will occur – which will now include renting a property to three or more occupants who are not members of the same family.

Healey also outlined proposals to give councils the right to introduce licensing schemes without seeking permission from central Government in so-called ‘hotspot areas’.

Local Authorities currently have to seek approval to introduce HMO licensing schemes, which require all private landlords with properties within the area to get a license.

The councils can also decide if the landlord is a ‘fit and proper’ person to manage their properties, impose conditions and standards on licenses and charge landlords a fee at their discretion.

Why the crack-down on houses in multiple occupation?

The Government says that a cluster of too many shared houses can cause problems, especially if let to short-term residents with little stake in the local community. It also claims tenants can also suffer from poor conditions and management of the properties by landlords.

The new rules are intended to help ‘stem the growth of large pockets of shared homes – which can change the balance and nature of communities.’ They will also aim to tackle these ‘pockets of unsafe and substandard accommodation’.

The Minister claimed that many towns and cities across the country have suffered the effects of a concentration of HMOs. Market, coastal and university towns have reported problems due to large student populations and HMOs.

And the reaction to the changes?

The National Landlords Association (NLA) condemned the changes saying they will reduce the supply of essential shared housing.

It claims that by making it more difficult and costly for landlords to provide this type of accommodation, the measures will reduce choice for tenants and increase pressure on local authority housing lists.

Plus it notes that last year’s Rugg Review, an independent review of the private-rented sector commissioned by the Government, dismissed these changes as an ‘extreme response’ which local authorities are ‘ill-equipped to handle.’

Of course you’d expect the NLA to be peeved at the measures, but it’s not just them. The British Property Federation, Residential Landlords Association, and National Union of Students have all rubbished the rules.

Many of the objections point to the fact that the Government seems to have bowed to a small number of people who have shouted very loudly about anti-social behaviour in areas with a high level of HMOs. The NIMBYs have won.

But by making it harder for landlords to offer these properties they will have to raise rents, which will drive students and migrants in to ghetto-style communities, a far cry from the Government’s stated policy of social integration.

Shared housing accounts for 20% of the private rented sector and plays a vital role in provided low cost housing for students, young professionals and those on low incomes.

The British Property Federation argues that a tiny fraction of places suffer from a high concentrations of HMOs and that using a broad brush approach to deal with different issues relating to anti-social behaviour makes no sense.

The NUS added that students contribute hugely to their local areas, not least by giving the local economy a massive boost. Indeed, small businesses in new HMO no-go areas would be likely to suffer.

Defending the Government

A massive 94% per cent of respondents to a Government consultation on this issue last year said they’d experienced problems of the effects of HMOs, including anti-social behaviour, litter, noise, and problems with parking. A whopping 84% of respondents agreed with the proposal that planning legislation should be amended to deal with the problems associated with high concentrations of HMOs.

Of course, this could well be a small minority of people punching above their weight. Perhaps there wasn’t enough landlord representation during the consultation process, for which they, and their trade bodies, only have themselves to blame.

Bound by red tape

However, the Government has a pretty good track record of being heavy handed with landlords over the last few years. They are already regulated with an estimated 50 Acts of Parliament and 70 sets of regulations governing the sector, and more on the on the way, according to Paragon Mortgages.

Just when they have got to grips with the tenancy deposit protection scheme, introduction of HMO rules, and the need to provide Energy Performance Certificates, more rules are proposed. These include a National Landlords Register, licensing all letting agents and statutory regulation of buy-to-let mortgage lending and advice, on top of the new regulations above.

On the one hand the Government says it wants to develop a vibrant rental market, but its approach of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut when it comes to regulation doesn’t support this aim, in my view.

Of course, protection is essential for tenants and affected homeowners, but landlords are being ever more tightly bound by red tape. A survey published last week showed that 60% are worried about the level of regulation.

The housing market needs a healthy private rented sector to help fill the enormous gap caused by insufficient housebuilding and the growing population.

 

 

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Good Bedroom Design Tips to Increase The Value Of Your Property

 

Property Investing Bedroom Design 1 The bedroom is a very important room that needs to be considered when developing property.

One of the most important aspects of good bedroom design is the colour. For a small room or one that doesn’t receive much natural light, the use of light colours such as white or magnolia is a must. Such colours create a sense of space.

If you are new to property developing, I would recommend you try experimenting with different colours in rooms of differing sizes. For example, for a short room where the room is very wide but not long, you could try a cool colour on the end wall and dark colours on all the sidewalls. This will cause the room to appear much deeper than it actually is.

Conversely, where the room is longer than it is wide, you could try painting the end wall with a dark colour and side walls with lighter colours. The net effect is a room that appears larger and squarer than it actually is.

For those property developers who are more adventurous, you could introduce some design and style into your bedrooms. Horizontal patterns with a light coloured back wall will make any room look spacious and long. Vertical patterns will create height, especially useful if your property has low ceilings for example as in period cottages.

Prior to putting your newly developed property on the market, you should consider furnishing the property. Unfortunately a lot of potential buyers have difficulty in picturing how empty property will look when furnished. Well furnished property thus achieves higher prices than their unfurnished counterparts.

When furnishing your newly renovated bedrooms, always use good quality furniture. For example, teak tables, teak chairs, deep plush seating and good quality beds which would match your potential market’s taste. If you do not own such furniture, you should definitely consider hiring something for the period during which the property is on the market.

If you are unsure of the type of furniture to use, you should visit other similar size properties in equivalent areas as your target market will already have furnished these properties to their own tastes.

Finally, when developing bedrooms, never lose sight of your budget. It’s easy to go overboard when it comes to expenditure, so you need to keep a strong grip on all expenses throughout the development.

Successful bedroom design and modelling is an art that takes experience to perfect. It is not as easy as randomly placing furniture in the room and hoping for the best. Furthermore, expensive designs don’t always work best. What is more important is for you to know who your target market is, and to design your bedroom according to their tastes, not yours.

When developing property, you should always try to make your house stand out from all the other newly developed properties of the same size and in similar locations. For example, you could have a teen bedroom in the house. You could try experimenting with colours too, for example pink for girls and blue for boys.

You may also want to stage a bedroom as an office by adorning it with high-end computer peripherals, and other modern technological equipment. Obviously, how far you go will depend on the size of your property. Having an office in the only bedroom of a one bed flat will not work!

Clever bedroom design and staging is definitely an art any good property developer needs to learn. Bedrooms designed and furnished according to the target market of that property can help you achieve a far higher price than you would otherwise have obtained.

 

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Use Good Bathroom Design To Add Value To Your Property

 

Property Investing Bathroom Design 1We all know that bathrooms form an important part of any property. A bathroom is one of the most frequently used rooms in the house. It is also one of the rooms most visible to guests. It can show visitors how lavish the occupants of that house are and also creates a great impression to the outside world.

If you take a look at any property magazine today, you will see that some bathroom design ideas are unique, some are simple and some can be quite outrageous.

 

Different people have different ways of designing their bathroom, no matter how beautiful or weird the outcome may be.

The basic design of a bathroom includes type, style and colour.

There are three basic types of bathroom:

• guest
• family, and
• master bathroom.

When developing property, you don’t always need to build all three. However, if space and budget dictates, you should definitely consider this in your project scope as it will greatly enhance the value of your property.

When it comes to bathroom style, the most frequently used styles are American, English, Southwestern, Victorian, and the Country look. The final decision of the property developer would be to choose one that matches his target market. Designing a bathroom in a style that does not suit your target market can become a very expensive mistake.

When deciding on the colour of your bathroom, 90% of the time, you should opt for lighter colours, for example white. A dark bathroom will not appeal to many people so should be avoided wherever possible.

One very popular option is to go for the natural look, for example a bathroom containing good looking plants, rocks, and falling water. Again, these options would appeal to a more affluent market and may not appear in a smaller 1 bedroom flat.

You could also install a plant shelf or greenhouse window in the bathtub area if space allows.

The addition of plants is especially useful for the purposes of viewings.  These plants can obviously be removed once you have sold or rented your property.

 

Other natural bathroom ideas are:Property Investing Bathroom Design 2

• Natural lighting.

Some people have skylights installed in their bathrooms. This brings the feeling of a natural relaxing environment.

Halogen lights look much better than bulbs and fluorescent lights and should also be considered.

• Natural accessories:

These include objects made up of wood or Bamboo. One important aspect of these accessories is that they are durable and don’t break easily.  Again, don’t worry how expensive any accessories are, as they can be removed once your outcome of a sale or let has been achieved.

When designing a bathroom, you should consider the three primary sources of lighting: ceiling-level, ambient and task lighting. Task lighting could appear around the mirror and throughout the room, for example near your taps, doorknobs, towel bars and toilet paper holder.

If necessary, your bathroom design should also consider using larger tiles to create a sense of space, or rectified porcelain tiles. The rectified porcelain tiles have narrower grout lines making them more pleasing to the eye.

You could also change the door style of the bathroom by using sliding doors especially when the property you are developing is small. For larger bathrooms, you could add a glass sliding door to divide the bathing area and toilet area. The options are limitless.

By planning your bathroom design carefully, you should be able to work with your project manager to create a design that works not just for the property but also for your potential market and most importantly your budget!

 

 

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Take Control Of Your Life

 

You could spend thousands of man hours training yourself up to do well in a certain area of your life.  You could attend hundreds of seminars and read a huge amount of books.  However, unless you’re mentally geared to succeed you won’t do it.

 

I’m offering you two free tickets to this weekend event which could change your life.  Rather than me rambling on about how great the event is, why don’t you watch these two videos and then click the link below the videos to claim your FREE tickets valued at £1,790!

 

 

 

To claim your FREE tickets, click below now:

 

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To claim your FREE tickets, click below now:

 

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“He Who Says He Can And He Who Says He Can’t Are Both Usually Right”

 

I just found this great video by Will Smith.  There’s a lot of good points in here that you can utilise in your own lives.

 

 

 

 

“This is what I believe and I’m willing to die for it”

“Talent is something you have naturally” 

“Skill is developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft”

“I have a ridiculous sickening work ethic”

“While the other guy’’s sleeping, I’m working”

“While the other guys eating, I’m working”

“You need to dedicate yourself to being better every single day

“I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill”

“You don’t set out to build a wall”

“You need to lay one brick at a time….every single day”

“If you’re not making someone else’s life better, then you’re wasting your time”

“Your life will become better by making others lives better”

“You can create whatever you want to create”

“You have to believe in yourself”

“He who says he can and he says he can’t are both usually right”

“You really got to focus with all of your fibre, all of your heart, all of your creativity”

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something”

“If you want something, go and get it, period.”

 

Oh, and if you haven’t already read this book, you really should get yourself a copy of “The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream”:

 

 

 

 

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Keep Going And You Will Get There …..

 

I recently watched “Facing The Giants” and thought i’d share just a couple of quick lessons with you.

 

 

 

Firstly, don’t ever quit.  If your goals are bigger than you and you truly believe you can do it, then if you persevere and keep faith you will get there.  If your focus is on serving others rather than just making money, you will find yourself meeting your financial targets much easier.

 

This has got to be one of my best buys this year and it cost less than the price of lunch!  You should definitely get yourself a copy of this DVD today while it’s still at such a low low price and let me know how it goes for you:

 

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