Beat the Credit Crunch with Repaircare

Repaircare’s new service helps people save money during the current economic downturn. The ‘home repair service’ provides you with the opportunity to get domestic appliances repaired for a fixed fee, starting at just £70. It has been specifically developed to make getting a broken appliance repaired as simple as possible.

The service combines the convenience of being able to select a call out date and book the repair online 24/7 with fixed pricing that includes call out, evaluation, repair, safety check and parts, if required, up to the value of the price paid for the repair.

The new service aims to meet Britain’s increasing demand for household repairs and uses a network of 500 independent local service engineers to deliver the service throughout every city & town in England, Scotland and Wales covering most household brands.

Piggy says “Repairing old appliances is not only a fantastic way to save money it’s good for the environment too!  Compared to the average cost of a new cooker at £400 for instance this service represents excellent value for money.”

For more information and to book a repair visit the site below:

repaircare

The increasing cost of rent arrears.

Tenant eviction has always been the last port of call for landlords, not least because the process is extremely time consuming and costly.  However the situation is set to get worse as a steep rise in the number of current tenant evictions is causing a backlog at the courts, meaning it can take over two months just to get a hearing date.

Owing to the recession and increasing levels of redundancy and unemployment, many tenants are unable to pay their rent, leaving some landlords unable to pay their mortgage.  This leaves them with no choice but to commence eviction proceedings or face repossession.

Landlords financial problems don’t get a whole lot of media sympathy but the truth is that if the landlord goes bankrupt then all his properties may be repossessed which affects the good tenants as well as the bad.  Around 35,000 landlords were behind with mortgage payments in the first quarter of this year and at the moment tenants of repossessed landlords can be given as little as two weeks to get out.

Unfortunately with unemployment expected  predicted to hit three million next year, rental arrears are expected to go up too which means that the situation is unlikely to improve.

(Piggy says “From the tenants point of view there is a small ray of light at the end of this particular tunnel as the Government has recently announced that they will be changing the law so that tenants in danger of losing their homes when their landlords are repossessed will be given two months’ notice to quit.)

David Beckham can’t sell houses!

Can celebrity connections help sell a home in today’s troubled property market? Apparently not if you are  David Beckham .

In November last year a three bedroom Victorian terrace on Norman Road in Leytonstone, east London that used to be his childhood home was put on the market by a very optimistic local agent, who hoped to trade on the Beckham connection, for £850,000.  At least three times its likely value at the time.

At first the property’s owners, Samira and Sulman Ali, had no idea of its once famous inhabitant until local man Colin Evans, who was looking into the past lives of some of the area’s more famous residents, knocked on their door.

But their hopes of cashing in on the Beckham brand may have cost the Alis dear. For nearly six months the house remained unsold and was eventually put up for auction by Savills on May 11.  Unfortunately the lot failed to sell and as of today is vacant and still being advertised on the Savills site for just £220,000; £30,000 less than neighbouring houses were being sold for last year.

Could a Smart Meter save you money?

The Government vowed last week to introduce Smart Meters to every home in the UK by 2020.  These meters are aimed at allowing both suppliers and customers to monitor gas and electricity usage more accurately.  The Energy Saving Trust believes that by allowing the consumer to take better control of their energy usage they could end up saving 10% on their energy bills each year.

So what exactly is a smart meter?

The smart meter is a replacement for your current energy meter. After the initial installation, your energy supplier maintains a constant link to your smart meter, allowing them to monitor your gas and electricity usage very accurately.

The Apprentice – why Mona deserved to get fired.

I have to confess that I don’t usually watch the TV series “The Apprentice”.  I find Alan Sugar patronising and the apprentices almost universally, irritatingly immature. (Which maybe gives Sir Sugar a good excuse for his manner )

However, last night I watched with interest as the two teams were given the task of rebranding the seaside town of Margate.  I grew up there and have recently begun to invest in the area so I am familiar with the town.  What suprised me most was how little research either team did into the tremendous changes that have been happening in Margate and neither bothered to find out what the future plans are.

Both teams very quickly decided on a marketing strategy that they thought would work based entirely on their preconceptions and then looked for evidence to support this.  Even local girl Mona failed to step in with any real insights.  The result of this was that neither team came up with a truly creative or interesting campaign and even the winning team were criticised by Margate councillors for “missing a trick”.

Mona’s team lost because she didn’t use her local knowledge and contacts effectively to help the team build a relevant and effective campaign.  And that’s why she deserved to get fired!

Piggy says “What this  really shows is just how important it is to thoroughly research an area before deciding on a strategy that will work.  Making contacts and asking relevant questions are key.  This is as true for a property investor or new business start up as it is for a marketing/branding campaign.”

Shock News – first celebrity death from swine flu!

...and we all know who gave it to him!

FREE service helps protect you from Identity Theft

Identity theft tends to be overhyped, but it’s definitely over here and growing fast. Piggy has found a free service which offers advice on how to raise your defences against this fast growing crime using advice based on your lifestyle and where you live.

Most cost nothing, just small changes to your daily habits, and can significantly reduce the chances of falling victim.

Free Identity Theft check here

How will the Budget affect your business?

The Chancellor gave his Budget Report on 22 April 2009

Below are Piggy’s highlights for small business owners…..

The Business Payment Support Service which helps businesses that are having difficulty due to the existing economic conditions, has been extended with regard to corporation and income tax.

This number of small businesses who can return a simplified Three Line Tax Return has been increased. The Limit is being increased from the current amount of £30,000 for trading or self employment income and £15,000 for property income to permanently align it with the VAT registration threshold of £68,000 from the tax year 2009/10.

There is a new temporary rate of 40 per cent for capital allowances - first year allowance for expenditure on general plant and machinery.

The loss carry-back rules, which were extended in the Pre-Budget Report in November 2008, are to be extended for a further year for both limited companies and the self-employed.

VAT changes to modernise cross-border trading will be introduced over a three-year period from 1 January 2010.

The standard VAT rate will return to 17.5 per cent from 1 January 2010.

Corporation Tax rates for the financial year 2010-11 will remain unchanged with the main rate at 28 per cent and for the financial year 2009-10 the small companies rate will be 21 per cent.

Business owners who have earnings in excess of £150,000 (or employees in this wage bracket) will also need to be aware that there are changes to both the additional tax rate and the tax relief on pension contributions.

Read the report and further information on the HM Treasury website – Opens in a new window.

Fancy being Lord of the Manor?

Like most property investors I get regular newsletters from Rightmove and generally I have to admit they just go straight into my SPAM box. However this particular article tickled my fancy and I just had to draw it to your attention.

The village of Linkenholt is for sale – yes the whole village! All the land, 21 houses, a manor house, 2 blacksmiths and a shop. Sadly the 12th century church of St Peters is not included in the price which is a cool £25 million.

Now I haven’t run the figures to see whether this represents a good investment or not but it is certainly an unusual opportunity

http://www.uploadlibrary.com/rightmovenews/SeeMoreUK_newsletter/SeeMore_apr09/landing_page/village_for_sale.html?utm_source=uknewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Apr09

House Prices increase for the first time in 18 months

It looks like the early spring sunshine has begun to disperse some of the doom and gloom surrounding the UK property market    Average house prices increased in March for the first time since October 2007 bringing the cost up to £150, 946, an increase of 0.9%.

Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:  “Spring brought a surprise bounce to house prices in March. ……  However it will take time for these (measures taken by the Bank of England) to work through into the housing market before we can expect a sustained recovery in house prices.”
Piggy says “Mortgage approvals have also increased which is probably a fact of more significance to the average home buyer or property investor.(February saw the number of monthly approvals increase to 37,900, its highest level since May 2008.)  However most authorities agree that it is still too soon to say that the market has stabilised and lending criteria continue to be extremely strict.”