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A new online property portal has launched to help individuals save thousands of pounds when buying or selling a property. Housetrade.co.uk enables individuals to sell their property privately, avoiding excessive estate agency fees and putting them in control of negotiations and viewings.

The deaths of six residents in 2009 in a fire at Lakanal House, Camberwell, South London has prompted a re-examination of the safety of high-rise social housing blocks. While many of the blocks in use do provide levels of fire safety commensurate with current building regulations, others (mainly those which are provided with only a single staircase) do not.       It has long been the view of many fire safety professionals that automatic fire suppression systems could be used to supplement existing

The Ringley Group have recently produced a market research report into the ownership, services, management and running costs of apartment buildings in London. Here Mary-Anne Bowring shares some highlights.Apartment buildings There are currently 1,252 apartment buildings across inner London containing 30+ dwellings, 60% of which are in Zone 1 and the Docklands constructed during the last property boom. The balance comprises 2,123 smaller apartment buildings with up to 29 dwellings and commercial premises.

In an interview with Janet Entwistle, the new CEO of the Peverel Group, News on the Block have learned more details about the purchase of Peverel and some of the plans moving forward. To facilitate the transaction, a new company was formed as a corporate vehicle to purchase the operating businesses of Peverel from the holding companies.  Janet explained: “£50.7m was paid for the business and £11m in cash was retained.  RBS have provided £25m of debt and that has given us a more suitable capital structur

£62m BUYS PEVEREL OUT OF ADMINISTRATION Peverel bought out of administration £62m transaction £125m borrowings reduced to £25m New CEO & Chairman appointed Peverel Group, the largest residential managing agent in the UK, has been bought by a consortium of private equity companies comprising Chamonix Private Equity and Electra Partners.The holding companies of Peverel were placed into administration in March 2011 and Zolfo Cooper were appointed as administrators.  However, this trans

The Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2012 (the ERMAs) recognises the excellence and professionalism of all specialists working in this industry both at an individual and company level. The awards will be held at The Congress Centre, 23 - 28 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LS, on May 24th 2012. There awards are judged based on a set of comprehensive entries from industry professionals against a range of specialist criteria which includes quality of service, case studies, technical expertise,

We often hear from clients ‘Is all this “Elf ‘n’ Safety” nonsense necessary, it’s only a residential property after all!’ Sadly “Elf ‘n’ Safety” makes the job of the professional advisors so difficult to put over the very real legal obligations that face our Clients. The formula of exaggeration, half-truth, generalisation and myth-making has created a great British joke, the one about health and safety gone mad. It’s entered our social fabric, something to be shared and ‘tut-tutted’ at over breakfast tab

It’s very important to get independent advice from a chartered surveyor prior to starting the process. Before commencing the lease extension or enfranchisement process, it is always prudent to obtain advice from an independent chartered surveyor as to likely costs. Indeed, it could be a costly error if you discovered once agreement had been reached that you could not afford the premium and the associated costs, which would include your own legal and valuation fees and the reasonable legal and valuation

Imagine a headlease of a block which consists of ground floor commercial premises, common parts, and 20 flats, 15 of which are held by qualifying tenants, four of which are occupied by assured shorthold tenants and one of which is a caretaker’s flat. The nominee purchaser is obliged to acquire the interest of the headlessee insofar as it extends to the 15 flats held by qualifying tenants. It is entitled to acquire the common parts, assuming that the acquisition of the same is reasonably necessary for pro

“The only way is up!” - that certainly seems to be the view of landlords seeking to claim development value as part of the compensation payable to them as part of a freehold purchase under the 1993 Act. As part of the sums payable under the 1993 Act, the landlord is entitled to claim in addition to what might traditionally be called the ‘term and reversion’ and any marriage value – something ‘extra,’ in respect of lost development value. Often the roof is an area where it is at least arguable in a bui

A lease extension which adds 90 years to your lease should be the most straightforward way to increase the term and protect the value of your flat which otherwise is a wasting asset. Over time, the premium payable to extend the lease will increase as the lease shortens. Unfortunately, many people only think of extending their lease when they are planning to sell their flat or, worse still, when their flat is under offer. Purchasers’ solicitors increasingly advise their clients to obtain a lease extension

Now the collective purchase of your freehold is complete; the hard work does not stop. Here is a list of post-enfranchisement action points:   a. Service charges – Have all service charges payable to the outgoing freeholder been cleared? Have arrangements for service charge funds to be transferred been made? b. Notifying all leaseholders – All leaseholders should be informed of the successful completion, whether or not they participated in the freehold purchase. c.Bank accounts – All bank accoun