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Electrical Safety Regulations

Electrical Safety Regulations to come into force

Subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament landlords and agents will need to ensure electrical installation inspections and testing are carried out for all new tenancies in England from 1 July 2020 or from 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies.
The Government has laid The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 meaning landlords must ensure every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person. The Regulations also state that a landlord is required to obtain a report of the results of the inspection and test, supply it to each tenant within 28 days and retain a copy until the next inspection is due.
Other details
Upon request, the report must be provided to the local housing authority within 7 days.
The private landlord must supply a copy of the last report to any new tenant before occupation, or any prospective tenant within 28 days of a request from the prospective tenant.
The Regulations require local housing authorities to enforce the rules and they have the power to arrange remedial action.
Proven breaches of the Regulations can result in the local housing authority imposing a financial penalty of up to £30,000.

 

Please feel free to give us a call on 020 3551 6141 or alternatively click on the link below for a further explanation:

https://www.arla.co.uk/news/january-2020/electrical-safety-regulations-to-come-into-force/

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Luxe Residential Christmas Opening hours

Please be advised that we will shut for Christmas from Monday 23rd December and open again Thursday 02nd January 2020

The emails and phone lines will be monitored so please still feel free to contact us on our main line 020 3551 6141

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the continued support and praise and we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a lovely New Year.

Love the Team at Luxe Property xx

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Oakdale Infant and Junior School South Woodford E18 1JX

Luxe Property are sponsoring Oakdale Infant and Junior School Christmas Fayre on Saturday 30th November 12 until 4

Both Luxe and Oakdale would be happy to see you there to support the local community.

The address for the Christmas Fayre is Oakdale Junior School, Oakdale Road, South Woodford, England, E18 1JX

 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas

 

 

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What to consider when choosing an estate agent to sell your property.

These points are taken from our customers and why they chose the Luxe Team.

  • Are they in the vicinity of where you wish to sell your home?
  • Are they honest about the price of your home? Many agents will offer you an above-market valuation just to bring you on with them. The disadvantage of this is that your property will not sell for months which can hinder your plans moving forward. If you are unsure and feel someone has undervalued your home compared to other agents, just ask for proof and agents like Luxe Residential will provide you with up to date market evidence. Just think, sell your home at a realistic price in a realistic time or be sold a dream and not move on? The choice is yours.
  • When is the agent willing to do viewings? Many agents will have fixed times of when they are willing to do viewings. This isn’t ideal as schedules of others can vary so the agent must adapt. This is why the Luxe team does not have any restrictions and will adapt to the customer.
  • Does the agent have contacts within the industry? This can be quite important for the seller as many times agents will have people waiting for an investment opportunity or just for their next home. Always ask the agent to explore this possibility.
  • What other services does the agent offer? If the agent has other services such as financial services this can be a huge advantage. You will then be able to fulfill all the goals of acquiring a new mortgage and sell your home in one location. Times saved and peace of mind.
  • Is the agent available to talk to or meet? This may sound silly but you will be surprised how often estate agents close during the working day and therefore become uncontactable. Always confirm opening hours and availability.
  • Are they professional and presentable? Imagine a scruffy rude agent showing your house to a prospective buyer. How would you feel being taken around a home by a person who isn’t professional? No matter how nice your home is, the agent can ruin the experience.
  • If an agent has many homes to sell doesn’t mean they are good at selling them. Many agents will sit on a lot of properties due to overpricing them in the first place. We know what comes next, a phone call to talk about reducing the price.
  • Does the agent have time for you? Many agents just want your property and off you go. The Luxe team will talk to you about how to maximise the potential of your home and advise you on how to make the property more appealing to the potential buyer. We will also be happy to answer any questions at any point instead of making you feel you are wasting our time.
  • Look at the office culture. Many agents have a lazy workforce or a team who is disconnected with the business they work for. The Luxe team are like a family and work alongside each other for a common goal, to make the customer happy.
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Is re-mortgaging an option?

Why you should re-mortgage

  • Your current deal is about to end.
  • You want a better rate.
  • Your home’s value has gone up…a lot.
  • You’re worried about interest rates going up.
  • You want to overpay & your lender won’t let you.
  • You want to switch from interest-only to repayment mortgage.
  • You want to borrow more.

Why you shouldn’t re-mortgage

  • Your debt amount is really small
  • Your early repayment charge is large.
  • Your circumstances have changed.
  • Your home’s value has dropped.
  • You have very little equity.
  • You’ve had credit problems since taking out your last mortgage.
  • You’re already at a great rate.

If you fit in any of the 2 lists above come and talk to the Luxe team to look at your options. It won’t hurt to talk and find out more.

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Are you overpaying for your mortgage and don’t know it?

As you may not be aware but Banks and Building societies have increased the difference between their fixed-rate mortgage deals and standard variable rate mortgages. This is affecting most long-term mortgage customers around the UK.

Why are they doing this? Well, the answer is simple, to boost their overall profit margins and they are taking advantage of borrowers who haven’t been able to shop around for a better alternative and think of just letting their mortgages roll over to the next “best thing”.

As we continue to see in many industries, new customers get the best rates and the existing customers are left with older often less value for money options. This is strife in mobile phone contracts and so on. It’s now become apparent that this is also the case for banks and mortgages.

The result of this is that the difference between rates on the market and the standard variable rate has increased by up to four times. This tactic is in place to target borrowers who are not shopping around for alternatives, either they don’t know that they can or just don’t have the time. On average the borrower can end up paying up to £6,000 moreover a 2-year period. This is just unacceptable especially in an environment where current interest rates are so low and customers are entitled to benefit from this but bank and building societies don’t want you to take advantage of this.

Many mortgages have an introductory offer in place much like any other contracts available in the market across numerous industries. This is to entice you into becoming their customers. However, it’s the faster service and knowledge available is where customers fall short and out of pocket. Once this intro offer comes to an end, they are rolled over to a variable rate deal where customers are a lot worst off.

Example:

  • Average SVR with 25% deposit is around 4.75%.
  • £150,000 home loan taken over 25 years means monthly repayments of £855.

However,

  • The same borrower to a top 1.49% 2-year fixed-rate deal, this would decrease to a monthly payment of £599.
  • That’s a huge saving of £256 per month!

Granted you can switch over at any given point once the introductory offer is over but this still means you will be overpaying for a period of time and possibly of not shopped around, not the best possible option for you.

Its never been so important to know the options that are available for you in the marketplace, this includes bank and of course other lending organisations who just as accredited and offer far better rates for a longer period of time.

The Luxe Financial Team can help you find the right mortgage by evaluating many lenders in the UK and help you to achieve the spare cash you may need for other projects etc.

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Broker or Lender? What’s the best option?

A mortgage broker has the ability to search the entire marketplace to look for the best possible solution. They are not tied down to anyone’s institution. Whereas a direct lender such as a bank will only offer what they have specifically and decide whether or not you qualify for their products.

You will have to individually contact multiple banks to get a good overview of what is available. However, you are still just touching the surface of the deals that are available for you.

If you think contacting various banks, making multiple appointments is not the way forward for you then an independent advisor like the Luxe team is your perfect solution.

A really good mortgage broker should be able to bring more information to the table than most banks, such as:

  • which lenders loan money in your area
  • which ones offer a specific type of mortgage that may appeal to you
  • which welcome or avoid applications on loans for certain types of homes such as co-ops, condos, or multi-family homes.

A mortgage broker is paid a fee based on the mortgage amount and this is paid either by you or the lender, depending on the terms agreed. Some lenders will also have a structure in place where they work specifically with mortgage brokers providing borrowers access to mortgages which they would not have heard about or come across online.

A further advantage is that rather than applying to each lender individually, which we all know can become very painstakingly long, you just need to fill out one application. Once you have made your selection, we will also work with you to progress your application.

The Luxe financial services team is specialist in this field and brings you independent advice about all of the options available to you in the market. So, don’t be toed down by a few options, look at them all and make a decision on what works for you.