Notting Hill

Protected trees (TPOs)

These days, it can sometimes seem like trees have more rights than people. If you want to remove one, or even prune it and you live in a conservation area or the tree has a TPO (Tree Preservation Order) on it, you will have to ask for permission to carry out the work.

So what are TPOs and are they something you need to know about?

TPOs were first introduced in 1947 and are designed to protect trees that, in some way, provide a local amenity. They don’t have to be hugely special. For example, a tree could be given a TPO because they are a local landmark, are of a certain age or size, or simply because their removal would have a negative impact on the public’s enjoyment of the local environment. To give you an idea of how common they are, there are over 600 TPOs in just one London borough (Merton). And that’s excluding the thousands of trees in the vicinity that are protected by virtue of being in a conservation area.

The numbers are not surprising. It’s not difficult to get a TPO. You simply put in a request to your local authority and if they think you have a case, within twenty-four hours they will grant a temporary TPO. After that, they will consult with interested parties over whether the listing should become permanent. For this reason, when building work is about to take place, trees are often cut down by the owners/developers before any planning application is made. A last minute TPO instigated by an agitated neighbour could bring the entire project to a halt.

Once a TPO is in place, it is a criminal offence to do anything that may harm the tree, including lopping and felling it without express permission from the Local Authority, which may not always be forthcoming.

As Arborist Rick Meldon of R.Meldon Tree Services (www.rmeldonstreelife.co.uk) explains,

“The purpose of a TPO is to protect a tree, so that is Local Authority’s default position when dealing with any applications.”

However, you are likely to be given permission to prune a TPO tree by up to 20% and, under certain circumstances, you may be able to fell the tree. For example, if the tree is dead, dying or dangerous. The same applies if it is causing significant damage to buildings, ie to roof tiles, walls or if it is causing subsidence. There are also degrees of protection - for example an ancient oak on public land is likely to receive a far higher degree of protection than a relatively ordinary but large tree in someone’s back garden.

“And,” says Rick, “Local Authorities aren’t ogres, they will regularly offer you alternative suggestions if you cannot do exactly what you have requested.”

One oddity of the TPO rules is that if a TPO tree is in the way of an extension, there’s very little possibility of removing it. On the other hand, if you demolished the entire building and started again, you would have a far better chance, as new developments are looked upon more favourably. One thing that is very clear is that, when it comes to TPOs, you have no right to light. If the tree is completely overshadowing your house, it’s bad luck.

For those of you who decide to ignore all the official processes and just go ahead and cut down a TPO tree, there’s a good chance you’ll be reported and most commonly by a neighbour. It could lead to a fine of up to £20,000 or more. If the court deems that, as a result of removing the tree or trees, that you have benefitted by an uplift in value to your property, you could be fined by an equivalent amount.

Lichfield District Council is one of the few who publish their fines, which range from £16,000 for felling a TPO oak tree and damaging the roots of other TPO trees during construction works, to an £1,800 fine for the sub-standard pruning of a TPO tree and failing to serve a Notice of Intent to undertake the works.

If you want to do anything with a TPO tree, it’s best to first consult a professional like Rick Meldon. Applications take up to 8 weeks and if you are not successful, you can appeal to the Home Secretary. And if you are not sure whether a tree has a TPO on it, check it out with your local council.

Conservation area trees are far less controversial. You need to ask for permission before pruning or cutting down any tree whose stem diameter is at least 75mm, measured at 1.5m above the ground. The Council then has 6 weeks to either place a TPO on it, or if the tree is of no particular significance, allow you to get on with the work. The penalties for unauthorised work can be quite high – a few years back, a Norwich resident was handed a fine of £2,000 per tree for felling 11 trees without permission.

If you want to check if a tree has TPO, just use this link - https://www.gov.uk/apply-work-on-protected-tree

by adam

Keeping a cool head this summer

The sun has finally come out (for a while, anyway) and the temperature is rising. For most of us, it’s a truly joyous time of year – ice creams for the kids, cocktails in the garden and barbecues galore. For those whose homes get unbearably hot, however, it can be anything but – with energy-sapping days and sleepless nights. And it’s even more of an issue if you are working from home, as there is no escape.

There are some things you can do, though, to make your home a little more comfortable without having to go to the expense (and the running costs) of buying an air conditioner.

1) The best (and most obvious) course of action is to create some sort of through-draft. Ideally, that means opening windows on two different sides of a building. It’s not a disaster if all your windows are on the same side – just open up the windows in all the rooms and keep the doors open between them (wedge them open if necessary, as they often blow shut).

2) If you’ve got them, you should also open up any rooflights. Warm air rises, so it is an extremely effective way of allowing any built-up heat to escape.

3) Even if you have just one opening window, you can still point a fan at it and it will blow out some of the hot air and create something approaching a through breeze.

4) For those who have sash windows, try opening both the top and the bottom panels -the theory is that cool air enters at the bottom and exits via the top.

5) If your windows are south-facing, it’s best to keep curtains and blinds closed until the sun has moved away. At the same time, keep the windows open as they can still generate a breeze. If it is practical, you could also apply some solar control window film which is claimed to cut down heat gain by as much as 77%. Alternatively, you could fix some awnings to the outside of the windows.

6) One of the lesser-known hacks to a cooler home is to leave bowls of water around the house or even wet sheets - the evaporation process can cool the air.

7) House plants will do a similar job, as they will also release moisture into the air.

8) Fans are always useful but one of the cleverer hacks is to place a bowl of iced water in front of them, ensuring the air they blast around the room is super-chilled.

9) Household electrical equipment can contribute significantly to the problem as they often generate considerable amounts of heat. Avoid using tumble dryers, dishwashers and ovens. Dry your clothes outside and cook on the barbecue. And don’t forget to turn off lights, computers and TVs when you are not using them. Buying some low energy bulbs can also make a big difference, especially if you are replacing halogen ones, which are typically used in recess downlighters. They put out so much heat they will burn you if you touch them.

It's at night we suffer the most, so you’ll be glad to hear there are some excellent tips for keeping you cool in bed.

1) Before you go to bed, take a cold shower - it will bring your body temperature down at just the right moment.

2) Ditch the duvet and stick to sheets. And make sure those sheets are made from natural materials. There’s also a whole range of extras aimed at making your bed cooler, from special mattress toppers to heat controlling pillows. You can even buy a flexible silicone ice pack, which you slip into the bottom of your pillowcase.

3) For those on a budget, the freezer is your best friend. You can freeze anything from sheets to pyjamas and pillowcases. Just pop them into a sealable bag! Another great tip is to fill a hot water bottle and then freeze it.

If, after all that you’re still too hot, you’ll just have to admit defeat and buy yourself a portable air conditioner. Prices start from about £300-£400 but be warned, that's just the start of it, as they cost a fortune to run.

by adam

Buy-to-let in Notting Hill

Buy-to-let in Notting Hill

There are quite a few changes afoot in the rental sector at the moment. Rents are rising steadily - up by 0.8% in March and by 3.4% annually (source: Homelet). However, according to new research by Nationwide, the rental market might be about to get a major boost. 40% of the tenants they interviewed from the private rental sector are now considering moving home. That’s compared to 32% of homeowners with a mortgage, suggesting rental demand could soon surpass the unprecedented levels currently being experienced in the sales market.

At the same time, buy-to-let lender, Paragon, has revealed average yields on BTL properties had risen to 6% in the first three months of this year. That’s up 0.2% when compared to the final quarter of 2020, which could well encourage some further investment in BTL properties.

It’s not all good news for landlords, though, there is yet more legislation they now have to contend with. The government’s new ‘Breathing Space’ initiative kicked off on 4th May. The scheme aims to give those who have gotten into financial difficulties time to get advice and organise an action plan to deal with their debt/s. Charges, fees and interest on debts will then be frozen for up to 60 days. Landlords will be notified by The Insolvency Service if one of their tenants is put onto the scheme and, during that period, landlords will have to put any eviction proceedings on hold. Landlords must also now include details of the scheme in their documentation when they seeking to regain possession or the eviction could be rejected. Although the legislation is well-intended, the new scheme is likely to leave landlords having to deal with ever more paperwork and intractable rental arrears.

What may also soon have an effect on demand in both the sales and rental sectors is the government’s much heralded Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which kicked off last month. 95% mortgages had almost completely disappeared from the market as lenders tried to minimise their exposure to high value loans during the height of the pandemic. Many first-time buyers were effectively locked out of the sales marketunless they were able to raise at least a 10% deposit.

The scheme aims to give them a leg-up onto the property ladder. Under it, the government is guaranteeing lenders the proportion of the mortgage that’s over 80%. For a 95% mortgage, for example, that means they are guaranteeing 15% (5% is the deposit). Both first-time buyers and home movers are eligible. It’s exclusively for repayment mortgages of between 91% LTV and 95%LTV. Unlike some previous schemes, it can be used for the purchase of both new and existing homes.

Already, it has led to a large number of high street lenders launching new 95%LTV products. Amongst them are Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander. Rates are, typically, a little higher than they are for those with larger deposits, hovering around the 4% to 4.5% mark.

It’s too early to see how popular the scheme will be. If take-up is high, it could provide a significant boost to the sales marketbut at the same time, take some of the heat out of the rental market.

by adam

House makeover and it's value

Making the most of your makeover budget

It’s estimated that, as a result of lockdown, we are now sitting on a giant pile of money - £180bn, to be precise. That’s 10% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)! So, what are we going to do with it all? Having spent so much time in our homes, we now know their every lump, bump and defect and we have been going home improvement crazy. But if you’re planning on making some improvements, what is going to give you the best return for your money?

PropertyHeads has produced a home improvement calculator that will tell you exactly that. If you want maximum bang for your buck – it’s cavity wall insulation that you need to go for. It will produce a 715% return. That’s 7.15 x your original investment (typically, about £701). With our increasing awareness of our carbon footprint, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we value our home’s energy efficiency so highly. And, although some commentators are predicting the end for open plan living, the figures don’t agree. Knocking out walls to create more open plan living produces the second highest return on your investment, at 286.46%.

Strangely, fitting solar panels to your home produces the smallest return (0%). You would get your money back in terms of increased value. There’s no doubt, they will save you money on your energy bills, as well as making your home more attractive to buyers when compared to other, similar homes that don’t have them. The next smallest return is installing central heating (35.7%). That’s probably because we all now expect our houses to have central heating and for it to work. If not, it would, instead, reduce the value of a property.

Many of the biggest returns come from smaller works that cannot necessarily be expanded – ie. there’s a limit on the number of walls that will benefit from cavity insulation. So, if you want to maximise the value uplift rather than getting value for money, you may need to look at some larger scale projects, such as building an extension. It may only give you a mid-table return on your investment (133.61%) but it will give you the biggest value increase of all at £105,185.

One of the easiest wins is to create some offstreet parking. It is relatively inexpensive at £4,507 and won’t entail turning your house upside down while it's being done. Afterwards, it will then guarantee you a parking spot whenever you want one and should increase your home’s value by £19,546! If, on the other hand, you’re sick of staring at grubby old walls during lockdown, fret no more – because painting them will give you a 111.23% return on your investment.

If you live in any of our areas listed below, you are already likely to be a canny buyer, but please remember, these are average figures. They can only ever be used as a very rough guide and figures will vary considerably between one house and another.

#nottinghill

#bayswater

#kensington

#hollandpark

by adam

Market Update April

Because most of the indices are based on sold prices, they tend to lag at least 3 months behind Rightmove’s, which is based on current asking prices. As a result, so far only Rightmove’s shows the true effect of the stamp duty holiday extension. Their latest data reveals demand is now surging ahead of supply in many areas and is creating considerable upward pressure on prices.

Spring is already one of the busiest periods for sales, but this year, with pent-up demand from lockdown, the stamp duty holiday extension and confidence building on the back of the ongoing lifting of restrictions, it is likely to be busier than ever. The number of enquiries on Rightmove’s website is hitting record levels. Even the month before (February) enquiries were 34% higher than they were in February 2020, which was in itself already a busy period. Approximately two-thirds of the stock on agents’ books has now been sold (62%) and asking prices have risen by 0.8% during March.

Fortunately, all those who had been reluctant to sell during the height of the pandemic are now slowly coming back to the market. In February, new listings were down 20% compared to the same time last year but were only down by 5% in March.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Data explains:

“So many sales have been agreed in recent months that we now face a serious shortage of homes available for sale. There are lots of reasons why many homeowners have hesitated to come to market during the first two months of the year, but these do now seem to be dissipating. A recovery in fresh supply gives more choice to prospective buyers, many of whom are also potential sellers, which in turn encourages more of them to come to market.”

Bannister dismisses any concerns the market might overheat, saying rising supply will soon have a moderating effect and that price rises will also be,

“Tempered by the tighter lending criteria imposed by the Bank of England upon lenders following the Mortgage Market Review in 2014."

"Restrictions on borrowers’ income multiples alongside stress testing of future affordability were specifically designed to guard against the destructive booms and busts of the past, limiting buyer borrowing power and preventing excessive price movements. The current annual rate of house price increase stands at a historically modest rate of 2.7%, but we stand by our forecast for the year of 4% which we published in December.”

There were some positive signs in London, too. The pandemic had seen an exodus from the capital and falling prices but in March asking prices were up in two-thirds of London’s boroughs (+0.5%). The top performers continue to be the outer areas but the situation is expected to reverse as lockdown is eased and we return to our usual places of work. Research by by independent property analysts, LonRes, shows instructions in Homesite's’ areas of operation were up by 72% and transaction volumes by 40% during the first three months of 2021. During the same period, the number of properties going under offer was the highest since 2014.

Marcus Dixon, head of research at LonRes, commented:

“It was the market below £1m that saw the most significant annual increase in sales – unsurprising given this is where the biggest saving, as a proportion of total buying costs, was to be made.  But the top end of the market did well too.  Despite travel restrictions still being in place, limiting overseas buyer demand and the stamp duty holiday being of less financial importance we saw transactions rise in this market as well.  Transactions at the top end of the market were higher than both the 2020 and long run average in Q1.”

HOUSE PRICES AND STATISTICS

The fall in many of the monthly indices listed below are for completed sales and reflect the tail-off in activity as the original stamp duty holiday period approached its expected end in March.

Nationwide: Mar: Avge. price £232,134. Monthly change -0.2%. Annual change +5.7%
Halifax: Feb. Avge. price £251,697. Monthly change -0.1%. Annual change +5.2%
Land Registry: Jan: Avge. price £249,309. Monthly change -0.5%. Annual change +7.5%
Hometrack UK 20 City Index: Feb: Avge. price £264,200. Monthly change +0.2%. Annual change +3.6%
Rightmove: Mar: Avge. price £321,064. Monthly change +0.8%. Annual change +2.7% (asking prices on Rightmove)

by adam

Eco Home Innovations

Our increasing concerns over climate change has meant there is more research than ever being done on ways we can reduce our energy usage, especially in our homes. We all know about solar panels, heat-pumps and wind turbines, but what else is there out there? We take a look at some of the latest innovations coming our way.

Mixergy

This is a smart, app controlled hot water tank that only heats what you need, making it both quicker and more efficient than a conventional hot water tank. It can be used with most existing systems, including gas, electric or solar. The manufacturers claim it delivers hot water up to 5x faster and will save you 5%-20% on your hot water bills. As an added bonus, it will also tell you if there’s enough hot water left for a shower!

www.mixergy.co.uk

Themocill

Thermocill is an innovative new product that helps reduce heat loss through windows. It replaces any existing window sills that are located above radiators and directs the warm air towards the glazing.  This reduces both the amount of cold air coming into your house and the amount of warm air leaking out. It’s claimed you’ll use 14% less energy to heat a up a room and it will happen 19% faster. It should also substantially reduce condensation.

www.thermocill.com

Q-bot

If you’ve got one of the  estimated 8 million homes in the UK that have suspended wooden floors, then you could seriously improve your house’s thermal performance by using a Q-bot. A Q-bot is a robot that can be dropped under the floor where it will spray insulation onto the underside of the floor. Not only will it reduce your heating bill by up to 16%, it will also cut down on those unpleasant draughts.

q-bot.co

Magnetocaloric Refrigerators

Coming soon, this revolution in fridge technology uses magnets rather than the standard gas compression for cooling and will reduce your fridge’s energy consumption by over 25%. It also does away with fluorinated gas, which is used in most conventional cooling systems and is a powerful greenhouse gas. The same technology could be used for air conditioning, which consumes huge amounts of energy – approximately 10% of all global electricity.

Pee Power

Believe it or not, you can generate power from urine. It’s not some future concept, it’s available now and is already being used at Glastonbury. Here’s how it works - urine is passed through a series of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs). The microbes then feed on it, releasing electrons and generating electricity. No, I don’t understand it either, but before long, it might be coming to a toilet near you.

https://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/news.aspx?id=3790

Generating electricity from thin air

 Although this seems an even more unlikely source of electricity than urine, it’s generating a great deal of excitement. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a device that uses a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air. The technology, they say, could have significant implications for the future of renewable energy. Unlike solar power, Air-gen does not need either sunlight or wind and can even work indoors. Watch this space.

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-green-technology-electricity-thin-air.html

Thermoslate

For those who consider solar panels unsightly, there’s now a far less visually intrusive option - Thermoslate. Thermoslate uses the properties of natural slate to help convert the sun’s energy into hot water. The outer layer of the solar panels is made of natural slate, so it will blend perfectly with many of the UK’s traditional buildings.

https://www.cupapizarras.com/uk/thermoslate/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrsGCBhD1ARIsALILBYp2LlNHBaP9j-zymnkXyEKVT8oBWCslWfgC51vSONioo1c3RvJdmgkaArOvEALw_wcB

Battery technology

One of the main disadvantages of both wind and solar power is the unreliability of supply and the lack of decent storage solutions. Currently, most systems use lithium batteries, but their ability to store energy over prolonged periods is limited. There are, however, lots of new battery types being developed that could provide uninterrupted power from the wind and the sun.

Bladeless wind turbines

Vortex Bladeless may look uncomfortably phallic, but they are at the forefront of harnessing the power of the wind. Instead of using spinning blades to generate electricity, they vibrate. It means they are more-or-less silent, pose no threat to birds and wildlife and take up considerably less space. They may, however generate some smirks from your neighbours, as their odd shape has already led to them being dubbed ‘skybrators’.

https://vortexbladeless.com/

by adam

Are You Satisfied?

We may have the reputation of being a nation of grumblers, but what do we really think of our homes and the places where we live? Do we love them or hate them? And do we all think the same, from the young to the old? The rich to the poor?

Thankfully, those busy little bureaucrats down at the ONS (Office of National Statistics) have done a survey that tells us exactly what we think! And it makes for some interesting reading. So, let’s start with the areas in which we live. Do we really like them or are we just living there because it’s the best compromise we can afford? Surprisingly, it seems we may not be such a bunch of grumblers, after all, because 88% of us are at least reasonably satisfied with the location of our homes.

However, the biggest variation in overall contentedness is between the age groups. The least happy are those under 24 – although 82.9% are quite satisfied, just 46.7% are very satisfied. On the other hand 70.4% of those over 75 are likely to be very satisfied and a whopping 91.8% are at least fairly satisfied. It doesn’t make a lot of difference what sex we are, nor our income or ethnicity, which is good to know, because we do have a tendency to believe the lives of those richer than us are far better than our own. When it comes to dissatisfaction, however, money does count. 9.9% of those on the lowest incomes (£10,000 p.a. or less) are dissatisfied with their area compared to 3.8% for those earning over £50,000p.a. Ethnicity also appears to have an effect, but not a huge one. The average dissatisfaction levels for Caucasians are 6.5%, whereas the dissatisfaction rates for other ethnic groups are just in double figures.

And then there’s the question of whether the area we live in has got better or worse since we moved there? This time the roles are reversed, with the optimistic nature of the young shining through, because they have the highest percentage of people believing the area has improved (15.9%) and the lowest who thought the area had deteriorated (18.2%).

This compares to 24.6% of over 75 year olds who think the area is going down the plug hole and just 10.4% who believe it’s doing the opposite. The one thing most of us agree on is that it has stayed the same (+/- 65%) - and that’s across the board.

Then there’s our houses themselves. Surely we all want something a bit bigger, grander or maybe even just different? Well, I can tell you that, across all the age and ethnic groups, 89% of us are either satisfied or very satisfied with our accommodation. Now that doesn’t ring true when it comes to my household, because the size and location of the house is a regular topic of conversation. And, every time we get together with another family, they seem to be saying the same thing. However, that may be because we are relatively young and have children. The younger you are, the more likely you are to be pining for a new home. 75.3% of over 74 year olds are very satisfied, which is almost twice as many under 24 year olds (41.3%). But, it’s those households with children that are the least happy, because space is always at a premium - 8.2% are dissatisfied with their accommodation and 15.4% of single parents.

When the ONS combined our satisfaction levels for both housing and location, the average figure was 80.5%. Interestingly that figure has hardly changed in over 20 years, so the idea that our areas are going downhill may not be entirely accurate.

One thing’s for sure, though, Covid-19 has meant many homeowners are now looking for some more space. So, if you’d like a new home somewhere in Notting Hill all you need to do is give us a call.

by adam

Stamp duty to be extended

Stamp duty to be extended – more reasons to put your property on the market with Homesite

About 300,000 property purchases in England could benefit from a three-month extension in the stamp duty holiday, it has been estimated, as reports suggest the chancellor could be set to prolong the tax break in next week’s budget.

The tax saving - which cuts the bill entirely on properties costing between £125,000 and £500,000 and reduces it on homes costing more than that - was announced last summer and is due to end on 31 March.
However, Rishi Sunak is understood to have decided to extend it for three months in line with other measures to support the economy.

It is not clear if the extension would apply to all purchases, or would be on a tapered basis and apply just to those agreed before an earlier day, as lobbied for by some in the mortgage industry.

The rush to take advantage of the break, which amounts to a tax saving of £15,000, combined with lockdown restrictions across the country has led to delays and backlogs in the homebuying process, and calls for the deadline to be moved.
The property listing website Rightmove has estimated that if it is not changed, about 100,000 buyers who agreed a purchase in 2020 will have to pay the tax, which will add up to £15,000 to their costs.
It said that figure combined with sales that could be completed before a June deadline, could mean an additional 300,000 transactions escaped the tax, at a cost of £1.75bn to the Treasury.
In recent months the tax break seems to have led to a boom in transactions and prices, with official figures showing prices climbed by 8.5% in 2020.

The credit referencing agency Experian said there were 12% more applications in February than in the same period last year, even though the chance of completing before the March deadline is low.
Lisa Fretwell, Experian’s managing director of data services, said: “Extending the deadline will help ensure these people get their deals over the line and provide a welcome boost for the mortgage market.”
However some in the industry have said that the chancellor will just delay the inevitable “cliff edge” if he simply extends the holiday, and that a new hard deadline would mean buyers continuing to attempt to complete ate all costs.
Hedley Adcock, a director of property law firm Adcocks Solicitors, said buyers were “taking high-risk strategies to speed up the process”, such as skipping property searches and valuations.
“If an extension is announced next week, it is essential that a tapering-off period is also granted, such as a paperwork deadline,” he said.
“In other words, buyers who have either exchanged contracts but not completed, or those who can demonstrate they have started a transaction before the deadline and have incurred solicitor costs, for example.”
He added: “Our worry is that if the deadline is simply extended, we can expect to see buyers continue to take unnecessary risks to aid the moving process in a few months’ time.”

by adam