Recent Articles in Maintaining your property checklists

Prices up by nearly 5% for some, down by nearly -5% for others - find out why
Jan 24, 2020

Every month different property price indices give their view on what is happening in the property market. The reason it’s important to understand these headlines, is that they will influence what the newspapers and media say is happening – and for those that don’t know the real story behind the numbers, it can affect whether they buy or sell property, which in turn impacts on the price you will pay or receive. For investors, it also lets you know whether you are likely to get a good deal OR end up overpaying for a property which is often a ‘death knell’ for making money. Read my article to find out what's really happening to property prices.

Stop! Find! Check! Label! WaterSafe urges homeowners to take stop tap action
Dec 24, 2019

WaterSafe, the UK register of approved plumbers, is urging homeowners to stop, find, check and label their internal stop tap and make this job the top of their ‘to-do’ list this winter.

The property market needs practical solutions not 'voter grabbing' policies!
Nov 20, 2019

I was recently chatting to Clive Bull on LBC about the up and coming election and housing policies. He asked me an interesting question: are you looking forward to hearing about new government housing policies? My answer surprised me a little, as normally I would just say yes and then go on to talk about existing and proposed policies and their pros and cons, but as I was thinking on my feet, what I actually said was ‘no’, what we really need is practical solutions, not policies. And I do think this is key to sorting out housing problems.

Properties are more affordable today than 12 years ago
Oct 3, 2019

I never quite understand why many property companies and much of the media think that only ‘bad news’ stories about property sell.  I also don’t understand why very few property companies, charities or property organisations aren’t telling people how affordable property is today, particularly for first time buyers, and still insist on making tenants feel so ‘miserable’ if they rent. I was asked to present at the recent RICS Housing Hub and chose the topic ‘how we can afford to put a home over everyone’s head’. To me that’s a question we should be asking and answering, rather than constantly shoving out ‘bad news’ stories. To find out more, read my article.

Why buyers' and sellers' decisions need to be based on local expert advice
Sep 18, 2019

Whether you are ‘up north’, ‘down south’, in Scotland or Northern Ireland the market is now completely different. Pre-credit crunch, property markets tended to move in a ‘ripple effect’ but this trend appears to have stopped for now so it’s vital buyers and sellers make their decisions based on local expert advice rather than national or regional headlines.  What we do know is that across the board, since 2005, property price growth has slowed dramatically versus previous years, and now moving in line with inflation as opposed to above, impacting on those looking at investing in property for a pension or living.