News
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Maximising the Quality of Repairs and Maintenance
July 21st, 2010
Having a team of skilled and reliable tradesmen (and women) is absolutely crucial for any Durham letting agent and for landlords who manage their own properties. In choosing the tradesmen that we work with, we use this checklist:
Skill and knowledge in their area of expertise; evidenced where appropriate by the necessary qualifications.
Reliability: in terms [...] -
Don’t wait until Autumn
July 8th, 2010
With the sun shining and summer holidays beckoning it’s all too easy to postpone decisions about important property matters. It would be quite wrong to think that it’s holiday time so nobody is looking to rent somewhere. In fact, summer is the busiest time of year for professional lettings (that’s letting your property to a [...]
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Time to give up on the undergraduate market?
July 2nd, 2010
If you are one of those people who has let to students for years but suddenly found that you don’t have any tenants for this summer, then now may be the time to give up on the student market and offer your Durham house to the professional lettings market instead. What would this involve?
The first [...] -
In praise of the humble signboard
June 7th, 2010
Letting and estate agent boards are really important in maximising the number of people who know that your property is on the market. Even in this age of the internet, e-mail and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the humble signboard remains a vital tool for your agent to promote your Durham property.
You [...] -
End of HIPS
May 20th, 2010
The suspension (and future abolition) of HIPS can only be a good thing for the Durham housing market. One has to feel sorry for those people who spent large sums of money training to be HIPS providers and setting up their HIPS businesses, but the fact that a house can now be put up for [...]
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We’re Desperate!
May 18th, 2010
If you’re considering letting your Durham house or flat, then now is a great time to do it. After a quiet winter, we have let so many properties in the last couple of months that we desperately need more houses and apartments as soon as possible.
Many clients are asking us what is happening. We’re not completely [...] -
Tired and Old-Fashioned Properties
April 23rd, 2010
Three years ago there was a rental market for rather tired houses. So long as the asking rent reflected the property’s condition, there were tenants who were prepared to do their own decorating and put up with older carpets or wallpaper in order to reduce their monthly spend. The market has changed though, and this [...]
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Should I accept that offer? (cont’d)
April 8th, 2010
Last week I started considering the factors to take into account when deciding whether to accept an offer on your property. This week I’m going to continue by looking at questions of tenancy length and finish date.
How long are the prospective tenants likely to stay? Every time a tenant moves out of your property, it [...] -
Should I accept that offer?
March 24th, 2010
It is sometimes difficult for a less experienced landlord to know whether they should accept an offer that’s been made for their Durham house or apartment. This week and next, I will be discussing the factors which we believe are important for a landlord to consider in making that decision.
How much are the prospective tenants [...] -
Getting Referencing Right
March 19th, 2010
The risks of allowing someone to rent your Durham property without properly referencing them can hardly be overstated. Referencing does not absolutely guarantee that you will never get a bad tenant, but it does massively reduce the risk. As a result, we place great importance on getting good references. The key components of proper tenant [...] -
Make it Shine!
February 24th, 2010
If as a Durham landlord you want to minimise the time that your property is empty between tenancies (what we call the void period), then it is absolutely essential that it’s looking its best for showing to prospective new tenants. This has two main elements: firstly the property’s underlying state of repair and decoration and secondly, how clean it is.
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Tenants – Help us to help you!
February 24th, 2010
Letting agents are a lucky lot, we love the challenge of helping people find their ideal home within a sensible budget. But you can also help us to do that even better by following these three tips.
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How to choose the right property
February 24th, 2010
When you are looking to rent somewhere, the key to making a wise choice is to know what you are looking for. The first step in this process is to work out in your own mind what your priorities are. These are some of the factors that people often consider.
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What privacy can a tenant expect?
February 19th, 2010
During such visits, the landlord does not have the right to inspect the contents of cupboards, drawers etc. Of course, when it comes to the final inspection of the property at the end of the tenancy it is permitted (indeed, it is essential) for ….
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What maintenance should a tenant do?
February 19th, 2010
Repairs and maintenance are the occasional subject of lively discussion between tenants on the one hand and landlords and their agents on the other. What sort of jobs can a tenant be expected to …
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The Importance of Accompanied Lettings
February 19th, 2010
We strongly believe that a letting agent should conduct all the viewings of any house or flat. There are a number of reasons for this…
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Can’t sell so must let?
February 19th, 2010
The last year has seen a growing number of people finding that they cannot sell their property at a price that they are happy with. If they need to move anyway, then they are…
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Taxing Issues
February 19th, 2010
We are often asked about what landlords can and can not offset against rental income in respect of a residential property. This can be a…
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Manage Your Investment
February 19th, 2010
Some landlords simply use a letting agent as a route to market in order to find a tenant. However, whilst a return on investment is …
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A Proper Inventory
February 19th, 2010
All residential tenancy deposits must by law be protected by being lodged in one of the three government-recognised schemes, such as the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS). These schemes are all evidence-based. This means that …
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Gas – The Landlord’s Responsibility
February 19th, 2010
Gas and electricity can both be lethal. From a landlord’s perspective however, the law relating to gas safety is more …
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Consent to Let
February 19th, 2010
For many homeowners facing the reality of the current climate, letting is an obvious and very positive alternative to…
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With you all the way
February 19th, 2010
The sad truth is that many letting agencies do no more than…
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The Changing Shape of the Market
February 19th, 2010
The property market has historically been fuelled from below, with first time buyers paving the way for…
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Sharers
February 19th, 2010
The number of people sharing rental properties is rising. There is clearly a social trend afoot, possibly prompted by…
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Showing Tenants Around
February 19th, 2010
Some people feel that flats and houses should be able to “let themselves” and do not need to…
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Touching Up
February 19th, 2010
A tenanted property can sometimes experience harder wear and tear than..
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The Advertising Myth
February 19th, 2010
It would be perfectly reasonable to assume that as a property comes onto the market to let, a letting agent will simply..
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The Critical Importance of Referencing
February 19th, 2010
In an ideal world, once a tenant has been found, it would be good to think that the landlord can simply..
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Top Tips for Tenants
February 19th, 2010
The rental market is getting increasingly busy, so be thorough in your research – avoiding the need to move again in a few months’ time.
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Three Important Regulations for Landlords
February 19th, 2010
Whilst there are over one hundred pieces of legislation with which a letting agent should be familiar, three come particularly to mind in relation to advising landlords on the basic responsibility that they have for the safety of their tenants, as well as helping landlords avoid a £5,000 fine or six months in prison for non-compliance!
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The Rental Rush
February 19th, 2010
The end of the holiday season usually prompts great activity in the rental market and landlords should not only be prepared for this, but also take advantage of it.
The summer holiday not only marks the end of the school year, but also the end of a time of employment, with a surprising number of people handing in their notice immediately before leaving for their holiday. So in many ways early summer is a good time to capture these tenants and we have indeed been especially busy over the past few weeks. -
Who’s Choosing Your Property?
February 19th, 2010
An Englishman’s home may be his castle – but research suggests that it is often a woman who chooses it!
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Putting Your Property on the Map
February 19th, 2010
If location is fundamental to letting a property, then mapping is surely the most obvious way of highlighting location.
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What does “furnished” actually mean?
February 19th, 2010
We are often asked what “furnished” actually means. Needless to say, the answer is not as obvious as people might think and there is no precisely agreed national definition. However, at Cathedral Lettings we tend to work with four broad terms which indicate different levels of “furnishedness”: unfurnished; part-furnished; furnished and fully furnished.
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Buying to Let – Getting Practical
February 19th, 2010
An increasing number of people are unhappy with the interest they are earning on their cash and are also taking the view that property prices must be getting near the bottom. As a result, they are beginning to think about buy-to-let property as a sensible home (excuse the pun) for their savings. Here are some practical elements that they should consider as a part of that investment decision:
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All Roses in the Garden?
February 19th, 2010
Landlords often ask us what they should do about their garden and what they can reasonable expect of a tenant in terms of looking after it. These are good questions and certainly need to be considered.
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The First Steps in Letting
February 19th, 2010
When letting your property, your primary objective is simple – you want to find a reliable tenant who pays the rent regularly and looks after your property as you would yourself.
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A Feeling of Space
February 18th, 2010
Unlike their continental counterparts, British tenants do not generally take account of the square footage of a house or flat when looking for their next home. Nevertheless, spaciousness is often a priority and invariably comes at a premium.
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The Right People
February 18th, 2010
Despite the fact that some people regard all letting agents as more or less the same, there are in fact numerous selection criteria on which to judge the good from the bad, and the exciting from the mildly indifferent.
