The Blog for Live simply, Property rentals, Landlords, Tenants and Lettings

Live Simply Update

2009-05-31T13:55:00.005+01:00

Recession recession recession, its all we hear at the moment. Unfortunately its a huge impact on most businesses. However it must be said that it is not all doom and gloom, some companies are doing well. Live Simply is just plodding along nicely. Admittedly we haven't continued our growth path as expected, but we haven't really taken too much of a hit either.

We believe that we will continue to offer a good alternative to the major players in the online rental Internet services category. In fact we have seen more activity from landlords and estate agents who take advantage of the opportunity to advertise property rentals for free on Live Simply.

In summary, we are quietly optimistic about the future growth of live simply and hope to continue to grow and improve as time passes.

Thank you for your continued support,

Live Simply

Flats to Rent in London

2008-08-17T14:41:00.005+01:00

London has a notorious reputation for being difficult to find quality properties to rent. This has recently been exasperated by the uncertainty that has surrounded the credit crunch.

When he credit crunch started rental prices surged leading many to believe that rental prices would hold strong throughout. Recent data however has suggested that prices of flats to rent in London is beginning to fall. The most expensive areas of the capital are being the worst hit. The prices of flats to rent in Kensington have seen drops of up to 20%.

This makes life difficult for those tenants who need to find somewhere to rent due to external circumstances as they could find themselves locked in at a higher rental price.

For those tenants who have the choice the best advice is to stick tight and wait to see what happens.

Landlords however are getting worried as their mortgages rise and their rental income looks likely to fall. This could see more properties up for sales as landlords struggle to make ends meet. This could cause their to be less rental property in the future meaning higher prices. However this would be offset by a rise in homeowners you would expect from a drop in house prices caused by a surge in supply.

All in all things look pretty turbulent, which is exciting for some and daunting for others. Then again finding a flat to rent in london has always been daunting!

Cost of London Property the Highest in Europe

2008-07-19T17:13:00.004+01:00

This is nothing knew, everyone knew this. However maybe you weren't aware by just how much!

The average cost of an apartment in London is now at a staggering £1,188,240. That is only for a 120 square foot apartment too. This provides and average price per square foot of £9,902.

The second highest prices in Europe, Paris, has a price per square foot of £6,947. The remaining capitals of Europe have prices at less than half of Europe at less than £4000 per square foot.

However this super high cost of living is resulting in low standards of living in the UK despite higher earnings. This has left the UK at the bottom of the standard of living list placing only above Ireland!

Live Simply Traffic up again!

2008-07-13T11:22:00.002+01:00

Live Simply traffic is steadily growing. The summer tends to be a much busier time for rentals than the winter months, however due to the credit crunch we were expecting much lower traffic levels. Of course traffic levels do not indicate whether or not these "browsers" are taking properties or just watching the market.

Up until this point rental prices have been holding out strong with people preferring to stay put than gamble on buying. However as the credit crunch carries on inevitably in the long term rental prices will follow the sales prices. The question is when and by how much.

Potentially this recent traffic surge could be the first glimpse of the bargain hunters coming out to see what's on offer with the falling rental prices. Alternatively this traffic surge could be due to the necessity of rental property regardless of market conditions. After all there is still a huge shortage of homes in London.

So this means that any short term falls in property and rental prices unless held down by a massive expansion in availability of homes will inevitably rise back to pre crunch levels sooner or later.

Falling Property Prices

2008-07-05T13:32:00.004+01:00

Britain has experienced its biggest and longest period of growth in the housing market however this is almost certainly about to change. Comparisons are being drawn with the early 1990's when the property prices flopped and this brought about a significant recession.

Activity in the services sector is now said to be at its lowest since October 2001. The UK economy now looks extremely vulnerable to falling housing wealth due to the collapse in mortgage finance, which in turn affects residential investment and property transactions.

This means that the outlook for house prices in the UK is not at all positive. The Bank of England on July 3rd reported on a survey of credit conditions stating that lenders intend to restrict new home loans even more over the next 3 months.

Everyone involved in property is going to be affected by a downturn. This includes everything from homeowners, estate agents, landlords and lawyers to builders and their workmen. This ensure that a property downturn will have wider effects.

Inflation is beginning to rise and the Bank of England is limited to what it can do. In fact despite the problems in the economy dues to rising inflation the Bank may have to increase interest rates. This combined with the decrease of consumers’ purchasing-power due to soaring oil, commodity and food prices, the housing crisis looks set to cause significant damage to the economy.

for the full unedited article visit http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11671702&CFID=12013919&CFTOKEN=25917904

Increase in Traffic

2008-07-05T13:23:00.003+01:00

Live Simply has seen a significant growth in traffic over the past few weeks. Alexa figures show a 35% growth over the last three month in page views which has resulted in an increase in reach of 28%. This means that Live Simply is receiving significantly increased web traffic.

Lets hope it continues!

New Domestic / Building / Cleaning Services section on the directory

2008-07-05T13:18:00.002+01:00

We have just recently added a several new categories on the Live Simply Directory .

The categories are all related to construction, building and property maintenance.

Take a look at Domestic / Building / Cleaning Service

Add Videos and Virtual Tours

2008-06-30T16:56:00.004+01:00

We now allow users to embed code for virtual tours, videos from online sites, audio commentaries, picture slideshows and any other relevant media to their rental property adverts.

Its simple and easy to use to find out more visit How to Optimise Your Property Rental Adverts using Videos and Virtual Tours on Live Simply

Advertise your business online

2008-06-30T16:45:00.002+01:00

The live simply directory offers an excellent way for you to advertise your business online. We offer specialist pages, banner adverts and plain text links. A plain text link is offered as a free advert as long as you offer a suitable reciprocal link back. The more beneficial and quality adverts can be obtained by contacting the live simply advertising team.

Upload Automatically

2008-06-30T16:39:00.002+01:00

We have just installed a new automatic way of adding properties to the website. Once set up your properties will always appear on Live simply as long as they are added to your systems or website.

This is particularly useful if you wish to advertise multiple properties and want to keep your adverts relevant and up to date.

to find out more visit http://www.livesimply.co.uk/LiveSimplyFeedGuidelines.php

Bayswater, Flats to rent in Bayswater

2007-10-31T18:04:00.000Z

Looking for flats to rent in Bayswater is a good plan. The location is just perfect. Bayswater is an affluent and wonderful area of west London in the City of Westminster. Perfectly situated being only located just 3 miles (4.8 km) from Charing Cross and bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens.

Bayswater is definitely one of London's most cosmopolitan areas. Architecturally, the biggest part of the area is made up of beautiful Georgian white stucco terraces and garden squares which nowadays ten to be divided up into plush flats. Rental prices range from very expensive apartments to small studio flats. In addition, There are also purpose built apartment blocks dating from around the inter-war period as well as more recent developments.

Queensway and Westbourne Grove are busy High Streets, with a very large number of restaurants offering a fantastic mix of tastes to suit every palate.

Find flats to rent in Bayswater

Baker Street, Flats to rent in Baker Street

2007-10-31T17:34:00.000Z

There are hundreds of flats to rent in Baker street and the Baker street Area. Prices of flats to rent in the Baker street area tend to vary from around £200 per week for a tiny studio to £5000+ for a luxury pad. Baker street benefits from being near to Regents Park, London Zoo, Madame Tussauds, Marylebone and Oxford street and Hyde park to the south. A major advantage of a flat in baker street is that you can walk to most place is central London. This is especially good for night owl who enjoy experiencing Londons vibrant pub and club scene.

In terms of all the flats to rent in London Flats to rent in baker street offer a quiet safe area in close proximity to an eclectic mix of central London.

View Larger Map

Baker St is in postcode areas NW1/W1 and is roughly the area around Baker street station, the street itself and the immediate surrounding area. Baker Street Station is the world's first underground station. The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221B Baker Street, an address that does not actually exist.

Find flats to rent in Baker street

Flats to rent in Acton

2007-10-31T13:21:00.000Z

Acton is an Old Anglo Saxon name which it is said comes from the ac which is an oak tree and tun which is a farm. Therefore Acton it is suggested means Oak Farm. Acton however is no longer the ancient village it once was and now has been completely absorbed by London.

The 'Mount' on Acton High Street has a weekly Farmers Market from 9 am to 1 pm every Saturday. On the market there is a choice of stalls selling a range of produce which includes organic & outdoor reared meat, game (when in season), dairy, fruit juice, freshly caught fish, plants, flowers, hand-made preserves, soft fruit & top fruit, herbs, free range eggs, bread and cakes from local bakeries and the freshest vegetables and salads.

View Larger Map

Live Simply offers a variety of flats to rent in Acton these tend to be more reasonably priced than flats in central London. The area benefits from good transport link into the centre and tends to be safer and cleaner. Acton is a nice place to live

Marble Arch

2007-10-22T17:17:00.000+01:00

Marble Arch is in a wonderful location right in the centre of London. The area, the tube station and the area itself all offer a wealth of diversity. Close to the wonderful shopping of Oxford street , the great open space of Hyde park and the wonderful restaurants of Edgeware.

Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument near Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. The Marble Arch underground Station and the Marble Arch itself are situated at the western end of Oxford Street.

View Larger Map

The nearest London Underground tube station is Marble Arch, which is on the Central Line.

The area around the arch forms a major road junction connecting Oxford Street to the east, Park Lane to the south, Bayswater Road to the west, and Edgware Road to the north-west. The short road to the north of the arch is also known as Marble Arch.

Find flats to rent in Marble Arch

Back online

2007-10-09T14:08:00.000+01:00

Sorry for taking the blog offline, we just had to sort out a few things. I will write soon.

Review!

2007-09-26T20:57:00.000+01:00

I submitted info about live Simply on the killer start ups and they just published it. So if you like the site give us a good review. I am really happy we got reviewed! yeah! lets just hope it helps more people find the site!

Take a look and give us a good score!!!

http://www.killerstartups.com/eCommerce/livesimply--Apartment-Rentals/

Things are looking good

2007-09-24T12:42:00.000+01:00

Loot.com Property Channel

Unique Users 75,239

Repeat Unique Users 39,209

Page Impressions 1,212,339

Pages per Visitor 8.50

Searches 37,108

Source: intelli-tracker.com May 2007

Livesimply.co.uk Property channel

Unique Users 35,502

Repeat Unique Users 26,882

Page Impressions 292,305

Pages per Visitor 9.01

Searches Information Not Currently Available

Source: Google Analytics September 2007

Jargon buster

Unique users- Number of different individuals who visit

a site within a specific time period.

Page impressions- The number of times a Web page is delivered and seen by a user.

Pages per visitor - The average number of web pages viewed by a unique user.

These figures are steps in the right direction. In some figures we are nearly half as popular as the loot.com property channel however our figures are based in September and loots figures are based in may so there are some flaws in comparison. Live simply seems to have a higher proportion of repeat unique visitors which suggests a more loyal user base. Loot.com figures suggest they get a lot of page impressions. However if you multiply the number of unique users by the number of pages per visitor you only get 639, 531 as opposed to the the quoted 1,212,339 . For Live Simply if you repeat the same calculation you get 319873 compared to our quoted 292,305 is someone fiddling the figures or am I missing something?

Landlord Responsibilities and requirements

2007-09-10T14:01:00.000+01:00

Here are some helpful bits of information which can help when renting out your property. This is also useful for tenants to make sure your landlords doing things properly. Some of these points are supported by law others are just good practise. This is not a substitute for proper legal advice and was not intended to be so. Therefore, if in need of legal advice contact a qualified lawyer.

Letting a Leasehold Property

You need to obtain approval from the freeholder to sublet. This ensures that the letting does not invalidate your leasehold agreement.

Letting a mortgaged Property

You will require the permission of the mortgage company to sublet the property. Remember it is your responsibility to obtain this permission in principal prior to you finding/securing tenants. In many instances mortgage interest rates will change. However, If the property has been purchased via a ‘buy to let’ mortgage this permission is not required.

Bills

A standard agreement does not include bills. Therefore, unless it is otherwise agreed the rental quoted to the prospective tenants will be exclusive of telephone, gas, electricity, council tax and water rates. However the landlord is responsible for other outgoings such as service charges, insurances etc.

Furnishings

Remember, TV, videos and DVD players or Hi-Fi equipment should only be left in the knowledge that you as a landlord will be responsible for any mechanical breakdown. It is sometimes beneficial to avoid leaving unnecessary ornamentation in the property. For example you probably should take with you or have removed any of your prized possessions, especially if they are valuable.

Professional Cleaning

Soft furnishings, carpets, floor surfaces, bedding and paintwork should all be professionally cleaned before the tenant moves in; special attention should be paid in the kitchen and bathroom to ensure that the property is rendered tenantable.

Service Contracts

It is advisable for you to take out service contracts on all the properties major appliances especially for central heating boilers and also where possible for major domestic appliances. All electrical appliances must be serviced and new appliances which are under guarantee should be tested and all plugs checked.

Smoke Alarms

As a minimum smoke alarms should be installed to each level of the property. These should be checked regularly to ensure that they are in working order. Additionally a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket should be installed at the property. Carbon Monoxide Detectors should also be installed at the property.

Keys

You should supply one set of keys to each tenants. As a landlord you should retain one full set for yourself. Please note that if you have special locks such as Banham, Ingersol or Chubb, please remember they can take some time to have cut. Therefore these should be done prior to the property being let.

Repairs

Under existing legislation you are responsible for all repairs to the property and contents except those caused by the tenants neglect or misuse. Should a repair be necessary you will need to instruct the relevant qualified contractor.

Landlord Visits

The landlord should carry out periodic checks to the property on a regular basis and note any items that they wish to address with the tenants. The landlord, in accordance with the agreement should notify the tenant by writing of these visits.

Provide a file of useful documents

It is always a good idea to furnish the in-going tenant with a list of useful information, preferably in file form. The information should include domestic appliances instructions, manuals and guarantees, the location of the main water stop cock and meters, alarm codes, refuse collection etc, this will genuinely help in getting the tenancy off to a smooth start.

Tax

You are liable for tax on rented income which is added as unearned income. There are a number of allowances you can claim; however you should seek advice from an accountant or the Inland Revenue.

Do nofollow links count?

2007-09-07T13:01:00.000+01:00

I was intrigued as to whether no follow links count. To the laymen a no follow link is a link from one website to another, however it tell the search engines no to use this link when decidig which website to put in their results.

Many people have argued that no follow links do count and have done various experiements to "prove" they count. I decided they all had one fatal flaw they all included the content within the age so it was impossible to work out if the content created the listing or the link.

Thats why i did an experiment I linked the word xffxgxgxfxfxdxd to http://www.livesimply.co.uk

Months later and still nothing the only page that comes up for the search term is the page I conducted the experiment from.

So in conclusion do no follow links count? No!

Take a look at my experiment and tell me what you think

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jamesr1ley

Avoid online scams

2007-09-03T12:02:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately there are some nasty people on the Internet. The main thing to remember is everyone is not who they say they are online. So be cautious at all times.

We have prepared an advice sheet at

http://livesimply.co.uk/scamwarning.php

I also found a really helpful website for a whole range of scams at

http://www.safefromscams.co.uk

Stay safe!

Homeless? property problems? Scared?

2007-09-01T00:01:00.000+01:00

Shelter is a charity which is dedicated to improving housing. They work to improve people's lives.

Their website is full of information which is really helpful. Their staff are kind and understanding and they can help.

http://www.shelter.org.uk

Need emotional support?

2007-08-31T23:56:00.000+01:00

if you need emotional help or support you can contact samaritans 24 hours a day and there will always be someone there to help. You can just talk about your problems and they will listen.

visit their website for more details

www.samaritans.org.uk

Are UK House prices going to crash?

2007-08-21T14:43:00.000+01:00

Apparently not! The mortgage lenders are arrogantly saying how the British system is too robust and well managed to fall into the problems experienced in America. The truth is though even if that is the case Britain has a lot of debt tied up in houses, and outside of houses too. People are listening to the new on TV and reading the papers and some will inevitably be scared of buying. People act in herds and if enough people are scared of buying it could cause the whole system to collapse.

The UK mortgage and debt markets are much more stable than the US, however the property prices are being precariously propped up by an ever weakening ability to make payments. Inflation made prices rise which put the squeeze on young mortgage payers.

The system is robust but it’s unrealistic to say it is infallible. If enough people get scared, a lot more people will follow and that is when we have a problem. A lot of people will be left with negative equity. Negative equity is where you owe more money for your house than what you can sell it for on the market.

Let’s hope for everyone’s sake this confidence lasts!

How do I get a cheap flat?

2007-08-21T11:31:00.000+01:00

There are 2 methods,

1.) Share a flat, since you can pick up rooms for around 120 even in Central London.

2.) Live further out of London

Option 2 is far superior in my opinion. Very few people realise travel costs are almost identical no matter where you live in London. Since a 1-4 travel card is only a few pounds more than a 1-2 it makes only a little difference. The savings you make on your property more than makes up for it. For example you could get a great flat for 150 rather than 220. Travel times if you live near an over ground line will be similar to living in zone 1 even if you live as far out as zone 4.

I cant reference the study because I forgot where I read it however it said that people who live in zone 4 are 30% happier than those in zone 3, those in zone 3 are 20% happier than those in zone 2 and those in zone 2 were 5-10% happier than those in zone 1.

Essentially the further you live out of London the happier you will be, as long as you live near good transport to work.

What percentage of salary should be used to rent a flat in London?

2007-08-21T11:02:00.000+01:00

London is expensive.

Renting a nice flat in a decent area in Central London is going to set you back at least £200. Spending 50% of your income on housing is normal when you are buying the property however when you are simply renting it is quite wasteful. Since that money is never going to come back to you. Ideally, strategically speaking, you should be saving a little more and spending as little as possible on your rental accommodation.

It is a lifestyle choice in essence. You can either spend now or save for later. Getting an expensive rental flat gives you a great place to live and a fantastic lifestyle. However can you afford to save for a deposit to buy a house, go on holiday or buy little extras? The responsible method is to go as cheap as possible, share if you can bear other people. Make sure you put the money away you save from your cheaper accommodation so you can use it later.

It’s getting harder and harder to buy a flat in London, needing more and more money just to get a deposit together. If you go for an expensive rental property now you could be delaying getting your own dream home.

Renting in general is wasteful. Buying is like a form of saving since your monthly repayments are stored in the value of your property and returned to you upon a sale. A rental property never pays you back.

However if you are only in London for a short period or just don’t want to rent never go above 60% of your salary. London is expensive and you need at least £50 + bills a week to survive.

Typical costs in London per week

· Food £40
· Bills £20
· Council Tax £35
· Travel £20
· Phone? Internet? Clothes? etc

So it is not advisable to spend more than 60% of your salary on your accommodation. Ideally try and spend 30%. The more disposable income you have, generally the more comfortable you will feel. Struggling for money each month is not pleasant.