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Dozens of luxury apartments in a converted Solihull office block are attracting heightened interest after the recent mini-budget raised Stamp Duty thresholds, according to estate agent DM & Co. Homes. The collection of 32 residences in Warwick House, near the town centre, is due to be completed in early 2023 by renowned local developer, BPG. Ann Wood, new homes sales executive at DM & Co. Homes, explained that with prices ranging from £175,000 to £232,500 all of the apartments could now be sold to First T

Time is running out for commercial landlords to ensure existing leases meet tighter energy efficiency rules coming into force in April 2023 or risk fines of up to £150,000, property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood is warning. Currently, landlords granting new leases for commercial premises must hold an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or above, unless registered as exempt, under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) which was implemented in April 2018. The current rules

Issue 122 of News on the Block has now been published and is available to read online. This issue includes a special Property Management Awards feature which includes all of the 2022 winners.  This issue includes some of the following articles:  Another new housing minister is appointed  £2.5m boost helps firm step up heat pump production Preventing domestic abuse on my block - What can you do if you discover that people are in danger? Lighting audits are a bright idea A third of retirees would consid

Property Management Recruitment are raising money for Shelter UK across the Christmas period.  Their team have created a PMR bauble and for each tree it is photographed on £20 will be donated to Shelter UK. This festive campaign aims to not only raise funds but awareness for Shelter UK. If you would like to support them please reach out to mark.allen@pmr.uk.com and they will arrange for a bauble to be sent out to you.

In the digital age of today, online shopping has well and surpassed the high street. With online shopping comes deliveries, and with a rise in deliveries, an unfortunate trend has emerged; one of criminal opportunists known as ‘Porch Pirates’ - a term coined in the US and becoming increasingly popular in the UK, which refers to the theft of parcels from porches and doorsteps.  Diving deeper into this worrying trend, home security specialists, SimpliSafe, has found just how many Brits are falling victim to

We’re delighted to announce a new addition to the Future Group team; Louis Hart, Director of Operations for our Future Regeneration division. Louis grew up in Hertfordshire and demonstrated an impressive work ethic from the tender age of 13, starting with the classic paper round. Louis held several positions over a decade before, including work as an electrician at the site of the London Olympics and for a 16-storey office building overlooking the Thames.  Another decade passed and, with many years of exp

Gallagher’s specialist residential property broking business, Deacon, was rebranded as Gallagher on 5 December. Deacon became part of Gallagher when it was acquired by the firm in 2013 and employs a team of over 50 insurance professionals.   Deacon was established in 1989 and specialises in buildings insurance for residential blocks of flats and buy-to-let properties. From two flats in a converted house to more than 200 in a purpose built block, including estates and listed buildings, standard and non-sta

Compare My Move’s data shows there was a surge in the number of moves from England to Wales in 2021, increasing by 48% compared to 2020.  We took a sample of 100,000 Compare My Move removals and found England to Wales moves increased significantly post-pandemic compared to pre-covid times. Our data shows that this trend peaked in 2021 with more people than ever before seeking a new life across the border. Migration from England to Wales has steadily grown since 2012 but 2021 is predicted to be the biggest

The key to growth for letting agents is to offer more services while cutting the time spent on unprofitable admin, according to business optimisation specialist, Sally Lawson. Lawson, a former president of the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) and founder of estate and lettings industry coaching firm Agent Rainmaker, believes that too many letting agents concentrate on lettings and management instead of being business owners. Speaking at the PayProp Connect conference at One Moorgate Place

FirstPort has renewed its commitment to improving and strengthening its environmental performance and process systems’ management, being awarded ISO 14001 and 9001 certifications for the second consecutive year. In 2021, FirstPort became the first organisation in the industry to receive the internationally-recognised certifications, which have now been successfully renewed, following an extensive auditing process. The IS0 14001 certification looks at how an organisation’s activities affect the environment

A modern block of fully let apartments in the Black Country has been sold for £1.15 million in a deal sealed by property experts Bond Wolfe. The property at 27 Sutton Road in Walsall contains nine two-bedroomed apartments spread across three floors and producing a total of £70,200 in rent per annum. The apartments in the freehold property all have high specification finishes, including ensuite bathrooms and allocated car parking spaces to the rear. Bond Wolfe handled the sale on behalf of Dinamead Ltd, a

Not-for-profit company Capital Letters has made a major move in its work to tackle the homelessness crisis by partnering with unique property maintenance company EVO Digital Technologies (EVO) to digitalise its repairs, maintenance and compliance services through a unique tenant-driven platform. By automating a large part of the administration process related to the management of the repairs service through EVO, tenants will benefit from an excellent and responsive service and Capital Letters can reinvest