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QUESTION  When a leaseholder extends their lease, do they have to pay the landlord’s legal costs? ANSWER If you would just like the quick answer, yes – most of the time! As with anything like this, there can sometimes be more to it. By way of background, the starting point is leaseholders tend to have two options when they extend their lease. First, they can serve a notice claiming a lease extension, if the lease and the leaseholder are eligible. Second, they can approach their landlord, with a view to

A significant £10 million investment opportunity in south west London is being sold by Watling Real Estate. The newly built development of 20 self-contained apartments at 1-9 Sandycombe Road in the affluent suburb of Richmond is being offered freehold by Matthew Southall and Jamie Lamond in Watling Real Estate’s London office. Matthew Southall said: “This is  a completed development of apartments finished to a very high specification and we are anticipating strong interest due to the location and opportun

A mini parade of shops with an apartment above in north Birmingham producing rents of nearly £30,000 a year is on the market for offers based on £345,000. Top Midlands property agency Bond Wolfe is marketing the mixed-use property investment opportunity at 263, 265, 273A and Flat 285 on Beeches Road  in Perry Beeches, Great Barr. The current tenants include a beauty business in a 630 sq ft unit, a barber shop in a 442 sq ft unit, and a hot food takeaway in a 550 sq ft unit, with the three-bedroomed apartm

Cardinus Risk Management, a leading provider of property risk management software and services, announces a low-cost, alternative route to a compliant Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Walls (FRAEW) for low-rise buildings. The service has been introduced in response to the new requirements of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This legislation requires that where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises, the external walls, including cladding and balconies, are assessed to

Mojo Mortgages, a leading online mortgage broker, has conducted an in-depth analysis of their internal data to reveal how the average age of a first-time buyer can differ around the UK, as well as their deposit size.  They've also delved into this data further to predict when today's first-time buyers are expected to be mortgage-free.  Key statistics: The national average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 33 years, 8 months. Wales is home to the youngest average age for first-time

SNG (Sovereign Network Group), has started work on-site to meet its bold sustainability ambitions for its 84,000 existing homes. In partnership with Sero, the Cardiff-based retrofit specialists, the first stage of the programme will see work on nearly 1,000 homes across SNG’s portfolio, with the first installations taking place at properties in Chieveley, Berkshire and Droxford, Hampshire. To identify the improvements needed, homes were evaluated against the Homes and Place Standard, SNG’s innovative qual

CBRE’s UK Residential Capital Markets team has won the mandate to sell a portfolio of rental apartments in Manchester.  The portfolio comprises 163 apartments across four schemes. Three are in the city centre, including the Grade II listed Basil House, Portland Street; Salisbury House, Granby Row, and 51 King Street. The fourth, 341 Great Western Street, is in Rusholme. The apartments have a current occupancy level of 99 per cent and are already 90 per cent let for the 2024/2025 period.  A ground floor re

Jodie Fraser, CEO & Founder at Fraser Allen Estate Management is a seasoned expert in the field of block management, is proud to announce her podcast "Beyond Four Walls," a groundbreaking podcast series that highlights the invaluable contributions of female voices in the industry. This thought-provoking podcast featuring insightful interviews, expert advice, and captivating stories from renowned professionals, including Emily Gray, Shelley Jacobs, Lisa Walker, and Alice Cadfan-Lewis. With a commitment to

A property law specialist has warned the executors of wills involving rental properties that they could be personally liable for losses incurred during their administration of the estate, and says it is vital that such issues are handled carefully.    With a record number of landlords opening property companies in 2023*, buy-to-let properties have become a common feature of many people’s investment portfolio. Executors are now regularly called upon to deal with a rental property in an estate after someone

A national trade body is calling for more regulatory action to shield householders from the dangers of damp and mould in their homes. The Property Care Association says more needs to be done to ensure that ventilation systems operate effectively in protecting properties and residents from the unsightly and unhealthy problems caused by excess moisture indoors. Sarah Garry, Chief Executive of the PCA, said: “There’s a great deal of attention paid to factors such as vehicle emissions on air quality, but we w

ACTIVE BYSTANDER CONFERENCE - Sponsored by Fraser Allen Estate Management Occasionally, you may encounter situations that seem ''off''. This could include unsettling remarks by a friend or witnessing someone being harassed at a social gathering. This could also be a situation at work with a colleague or a client.  An investigation by UN Women UK (2022) found that 97% of women aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed, with a further 96% not reporting those situations because of the belief that it would not c

Native Residential, one of the UK’s largest third-party Build to Rent operators managing in excess of £5bn mixed-use and living assets, has partnered with MRI Software, selecting MRI HorizonTM and MRI Contract Intelligence.   Fuelled by high-profile client acquisitions and the expansion of its commercial and mixed-use operations, Native Residential is set to roll out the market-leading commercial property management and accounting platform across its diverse 6,000-unit living and 1mn sq. ft commercial por