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News on the Block and Brethertons LLP Solicitors have joined forces to provide a series of web based seminars (webinars). The topics for these webinars are the 'New Service Charge Rules', 'Right to Manage' and 'Enfranchisement in a nutshell'. Click here to download the pdf with more information on the webinar and details of how to get involved

[image1]Your home is your most valuable asset so how can you be sure, when it comes to getting it decorated, that it’s in the hands of professionals? To raise awareness of the professionalism of members of the Painting and Decorating Association, the PDA has a leaflet to highlight the value of selecting a member of the trade, entitled ‘In The Hands Of The Professionals.’ Guidance in the leaflet includes: • Be as clear as you can about what you want. A full and frank discussion before the work commences

Chainbow's Chairman and Chief Executive discusses the latest goings on in the world of property management... Just when you think all the scams and mischief that you can find have been found, something else from nowhere pops up! I feel quite naive now, because I suppose in the search for more money and ensuring as much as possible is extorted from people, it was logical that mortgagees would profiteer out of buildings insurance with flats. A little history lesson at this point. In 1998 the Council of Mort

Frustrated that the freeholder isn’t doing his job properly? Mary-Anne Bowring, creator of www.leaseholdersupport.co.uk explains how to apply for a Court Appointed Manager Is your Freeholder failing to keep the block in repair, charging you too much for too little, only interested in his ground rent and insurance commission? Typically there are three profiles of block that fall into this scenario, blocks where: • too many flats are owned by investors who show little real interest in the fabric and exte

Most leaseholders are aware they have the right to manage their block of flats but according to a recent survey the majority of leaseholders admitted they don’t know how to and were unaware of the benefits. Mary-Anne Bowring, creator of www.leaseholdersupport.co.uk takes us through each step to claim your right to self manage. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 provide the owners of leasehold properties with the right to manage their own property. It is no longer necessary to prove the freehol

The Right to Manage (RTM) is a powerful tool for leaseholders. It gives leaseholders the right to take over the management of their building including repairs, maintenance, services and the levying of service charges without any requirement to prove default by the Landlord or payment of compensation. A building is eligible if it contains two or more flats and at least two thirds of the flats are on long leases, but if there is a commercial element this must not exceed 25% of the floor area. The partic

Latest analysis is indicating that developers are responding to the need for more family homes, with the number of houses being built in the UK as compared to apartments increasing by 2% during the past 12 months.   The past four months have also seen the average plot size increasing, reversing the trend of the last year, with a 0.5% increase in plot size since March 2007. The analysis comes from Wolsey Securities whose finance is behind over 2,300 homes across the country, across 130 developments from Pe

by Yasmin Mistry of Brethertons solicitors The contents of the summary of rights and obligations that must accompany a demand for the payment of administration charge must also be legible in a typewritten or printed form of at lease 10 points but must instead contain the following: The title, “Administration Charges – Summary or Tenant’s Rights and Obligations”; and The following statement:(1) This summary, which briefly sets out your rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, must by l

This is the first Birmingham Midshires Buy to Let bi-annual Review. The Review covers property prices and rental values for Buy to Let (BTL) properties both at national and regional levels. The figures are calculated on a "standardised" basis so that price and rent movements are tracked on a like-for-like basis. This is the UK's only measure of the BTL market on this basis. The figures are based on the BTL lending of Birmingham Midshires, one of the UK's largest BTL lenders. Buy to let returns 13% over p

The Halifax Quarterly Regional House Price Index shows that the average selling price of a flat has risen by 232% since 1997 Quarter 2 from £64,876 to £215,439 in 2007 Quarter 2. The increase in the average price of a flat has outpaced the 216% increase for all residential properties over the past decade. Regionally, East Anglia has seen the sharpest increase in flat prices over the last ten years with a rise of 294% followed by the East Midlands (256%) and the South East (247%). The smallest increases

With sustainable living and energy in particular dominating the latest headlines can residents benefit from a sustainable energy supply from community services as well as ‘common sense’ measures such as energy efficient lighting and switching off appliances? What are the merits of community services with private billing? Community and district heating follow similar principles. A district heating system delivers heat energy to more than one building, usually for space heating and domestic hot water gener

Although every investment should be assessed on its own particular merits, there are some fundamental matters to be considered when deciding which is best – house or flat, writes Tony Booth. Flats are certainly much more popular with the mobile population of many inner city locations. Career orientated young professionals require the flexibility and ease provided by a flat. Some also enjoy the status symbol of chic and fashionable style living that a modern flat bestows on its occupier. Others just want