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 [...]
