Featured Articles

Get the answers to your questions and stay up to date about apartment building management with our featured articles and NOTB guides, on topics such as service charges, right to manage, buying your freehold, major works, building insurance and other issues about blocks of flats.

Turn down the heat - Cillian Murphy can't stand being hyped as the latest Irish stud

By Ellen Tumposky “That's basically lazy journalism, if they say (I'm the) new Colin Farrell," says the 27-year-old actor, who starred in "28 Days Later" and in the ensemble comedy, "Intermission" and also had a lead role in the BBC drama series, "The Way We Live Now." He has recently won rave reviews on the Irish stage for playing the lead role in the Druid Theatre company's production of J.M. Synge's classic, "Playboy of the Western World," and soon will begin filming the new Batman movie, "Batman Beg

News On The Block Mar 2004

LUXURY APARTMENTS IN THE HEART OF ROYAL BERKSHIRE Bonhomie Court, by Delph Property Group, is a one-off scheme of luxury apartments surrounded by a moat and with a gated entrance - all within easy reach of London. These apartments (2 or 3 bedrooms) have all the cutting edge style of City schemes, but with stunning scenic views from every aspect. The scheme has imposing electric gates with a sweeping block paved driveway, surrounded by over 3.5 acres of ‘maintenance free’ beautifully landscaped gardens,

Long term fixed rate loans - Are they feasible for Landlords?

By Bob Lawless As an independent Mortgage Broker I work on behalf of my clients, not the lender. In this article I look at the costs of fixed rate loans compared to lower rate discounts. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, feels that borrowers should not be so conscious of short-term low, mortgage rates; but opt for long term fixed rates. What is Long Term? In financial services terms investments should be in place for at least the medium term which is, in my opinion, five years. This normally

News On The Block Feb 2004

‘SLIDING WALLS’ AT PARKSIDE, GREENWICH MILLENNIUM VILLAGE Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV), are once again offering buyers a unique opportunity for flexible living, with the latest phase Parkside. The one, two and three bedroom apartments at Parkside offer truly flexible living. With some apartments including sliding and folding walls, usually to the second bedroom, residents are able to have the option of increasing their living space or using the space as a separate guest room or study. ‘The Park

Help yourself to a mortgage

When clients want to arrange a mortgage loan they are often excited about the proposition and almost always in a hurry to get the loan in place. This article looks at how you can help yourself to smooth the process and ensure you do not suffer any more anxiety than necessary. Lets just put things in perspective first. You want to purchase a property – be that your dream home (eg an apartment, flat, house, boat (yes boat)) or for investment purposes and since you cannot afford to buy outright you need a l

Home Information Packs a waste of time?

By Des Taylor One of the most contentious matters in the Housing Bill is the proposal by the Government to “simplify” selling residential property (like flats) by proposing home information packs (HIPs). The Government is concerned to cut out the delays and prevent unnecessary failed transactions and appears to believe that the problem rests with the fact that crucial information affecting the decision to buy and sell becomes too late in the transaction, when everything has been negotiated and agreed. Th

The different ways decisions can be taken by your Residents Association Company

Although voting is not only an important issue, it can also lead to rows and prolonged discord, as a recent meeting of European Union leaders demonstrated back in December 2003. Discussions about the new European Constitution were hampered by attempts by Spain and Poland to maintain their voting influence as the new European states are admitted to membership in the coming years. Under the new voting proposals, the amount of votes available to be cast per country would be allocated according to populatio

Do you need a Tenant's Association?

A Tenant’s Association is a group of flat owners who have flats either on lease or tenancy from the same Landlord on similar terms which make provision for the payment of service charges. To ensure maximum effectiveness such an Association needs to be “recognised”. Once “recognised” then the Association can do certain things on behalf of the members such as asking for a summary of the costs incurred by the Landlord in connection with matters for which a service charge is being levied; inspect the releva

News On The Block Dec 2003

ROCHESTER ROW POLICE STATION SOLD TO FAIRPOINT PROPERTIES The Metropolitan Police Authority, advised by DTZ Residential, has sold the former Rochester Row Police Station, SW1 to specialist residential developer Fairpoint Properties Ltd, a joint venture between FairBriar PLC and CPL (UK) Ltd. The former Rochester Row Police Station, Magistrates Court and associated buildings in Vincent Square, London, SW1, are to be converted into luxury residential properties. The development will provide about 70 one, t

Boiling point: The wrong sort of heating can lead to serious loss

By Des Taylor An interesting case found its way to the Court of Appeal earlier this summer which perhaps contains a few lessons for the unwary. The Appellant was an entrepreneur involved in property development who bought a building and converted it into 13 self contained flats. The building had an existing central oil-fired boiler but the Appellant did not think that was feasible in the context of 13 individually owned flats and he wanted a boiler in each flat. He rejected 13 separate oil tanks for eac

Doors open at Albany House

CDC2020’s new collection of 14, two-bedroom apartments in Lovelace Road, one of Surbiton’s most established tree-lined avenues, is bringing real style to modern suburbia. With the official opening of the show apartment on 25th October and with only ten properties remaining, it is time to take a closer look behind the doors of Albany House. Esther Thompson, interior designer for Vogue Interiors who designed the show apartment says: “The main theme of the scheme focuses on a modern, fresh colour pallet, the

Pest Control - Do you smell a rat?

They say wherever you are in the UK, you are never more than 9 metres away from a rat. It was only when speaking with a pest control officer that the extent of the problem became clear - rats have inhabited every part of the capital. Rats have proliferated at an alarming rate in the last five years with the rat population increasing by 53 per cent. Global warming and this summer’s heat wave have caused rat problems to explode nationwide but especially in London. Experts estimate that there are now 60 mi

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