Getting More from your Property

Buying property is the most important business exchange that most people will make in their lifetime. Whether the property is for your home or a business, understanding how to improve upon existing features of the property may well help you to make a profit when you decide to move on. Getting more from your property can involve doing some interior decorating, or perhaps building an extension on excess/unused land. Both of which you could probably depend upon improving the value of the property. Both of these things are however, something which you will only derive a monetary value from when you are ready to sell it. If you intend to stay there for a number of years, you can take other measures to make the property more liveable, as well as making the maintenance of the property more affordable. Taking measures to use the garden and roof of the property allows you to enjoy the property in a new way (such as creating an allotment to grow food and save money), as well as saving money with a wind turbine or solar panels. All of these methods will likely save money in the long run, or increase the value of the property, allowing you a profit when you sell it on.

Tips to Retrieving your Full Tenancy Deposit

A deposit can occasionally mean a payment in the world of lettings, and students, in particular have seen huge sums taken out of their tenancy deposits, perhaps for damage or using up the landlords time. This is however, unlikely if you have kept your house in good conditions.

An inventory is a valuable document both for landlords and tenants, and it can help make sure you receive your tenancy deposit. An inventory gives the tenant an opportunity to note down the condition of the home, therefore when they leave, they can say ‘the damage was already there’ or ‘I didn’t do this’.

We recommend you take images with a camera that records the date and time, so that the images can be looked at, at the end of your tenancy, meaning the landlord will have to give your deposit back, else you can take them to court.

Maintaining your Rented Home’s Garden

When it’s not your own home, you may not feel obliged to maintain the garden in the same way you would if it was your own house. Bu you do have to consider taking some sort of responsibility, and to make sure you keep your landlord or lettings agency happy, we’re proving you with some tips.

You shouldn’t have to spend hours on a garden, but the following garden work is important, and it’s common throughout the year:

  • Picking up leaves
  • Mowing the lawn
  • Sweeping the patio
  • Removing weeds
  • Watering plants

These steps are typical in any garden, and it won’t take up a significant amount of time, depending on the size of your garden, so if you want to make sure you’re not charged extra at the end of your contract due to poor garden maintenance, this type of straightforward gardening can keep your landlord happy.

Advice for Student Tenants

If you’re a college or university student looking for a house to share and rent, we’re providing you with some key pieces of advice. There are plenty of landlords out there who may be looking to take advantage of you, and as a tenant it’s important to make sure you don’t come away ripped off.

Firstly the inventory is one of the most important documents when signing a letting contract. The inventory gives you the chance to note down any issues with the house, perhaps a stain on the carpet or damp on the ceiling, and it’s ultimately your chance to describe the property before you move in. This form should be filled out carefully, perhaps even taking images with evidence, and it ensure you do not get charged at the end of your contract due to damage that wasn’t your fault.

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Students tend to have most trouble at the end of their contracts, and you if you take detailed pictures of your room before you move in, you can then take detailed pictures when you move out, proving no damage was done.

Of course this is just a precaution, and you may have a reasonable landlord who is not out fine you with extra costs. So keep it as clean as you can and prove you’re a tidy tenant, and you’re less likely to run into any issues.

 

Moving out in the Open Country

If you’ve been a town or city person throughout your life, then moving to the country can be a big change. You may want to break away from the busy life, and live in natural surroundings with nothing but ducks, foxes and birds to keep you company.

Many people will argue that renting in the countryside is not always cheap, and some could see lining out in the open country as a luxury, which is why prices are likely to be higher than those homes on the outskirts of towns and cities.

There are plenty of reasons why you may not want to move too far out in the country, and the main reason involves amenities. Bus routes, shops, supermarkets, schools and main roads are important to our daily lives. Commuting on long exhausting country roads can be problematic especially in the winter when the gritters may have ignored your area.

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If you have children, the school run shouldn’t literally be a school ‘RUN’, and it’s always good to have one nearby within walking distance.

Before you make the move to rent or buy a home out in the open country think carefully about your daily  life, perhaps even your future, because while there is plenty of grass in the countryside, it may not be greener.