Latest Property News | Cloud Estates

Details: Published: 22 June 2021; Hits: 1769

Are you applying to a university in Newcastle or looking for an alternative for the halls- type of living? We got you covered! It is typical for all freshers (aka first-year students) to live in a university's student accommodation and move to a private flat after the first year.

We in Cloud Estates offer excellent variety of rental flats in all around Newcastle to all students, young professionals and others.

University accommodation

These are an excellent option for first-year students and exchange students as you get to meet other students in the halls and make immediately new friends. The university accommodations are also located right at the centre of Newcastle. You will be close to the university, pubs and bars in addition to most of the other social events. Northumbria University offers hall-based living in Glenamara House, Lovaine Hall, Camden Court and Winn Studios and elsewhere, whereas Newcastle University has accommodations such as Castle Leazes, Kensington Terrace, Park View and Windsor Terrace. Whether you are accepted to either university, there will be accommodations available.

(photos from Newcastle University & Northumbria University webpages)

Private Letting

After the first year of university, most students move into rental flats into Newcastle City Centre, Sandyford, Jesmond, Quayside or Gateshead to live with their closest friends from the first year. These areas are excellent for students who wish to live close to universities and "action" but do not want to share their bathroom and kitchen with strangers anymore. These areas are only 1-2 metro strops away from Central Newcastle and are full of good coffee shops, restaurants, bars and activities. If you are interested in these areas, look out for flats from NE1, NE2, NE4 and NE8.

Professional Letting

Most postgraduate students and recently graduated individuals who wish to stay in Newcastle are often located in Heaton and Gosforth. These areas are further away from universities and City Centre and do not attract that many undergraduate students. These areas are quieter and therefore ideal for people who do not wish to live next to loud students. Getting to central Newcastle from these areas is relatively fast and easy as, for example, it takes only 5-10 minutes to travel from South Gosforth to Haymarket via metro.

Details: Published: 16 June 2021; Hits: 1729

There are several obligations for landlords that may take a lot of time and energy to get sorted before renting is possible. Therefore, we have created a short checklist of the critical things landlords must handle to rent out their property legally. Furthermore, landlords must stay up to date with all the new requirements to make sure they do not receive sanctions.

Landlords who have five or more people occupied in the property forming more than one household (and those five people share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen) require an HMO licence.

HMO landlords (letting to 3 or more people) require planning permission if there is a material change of use.

Landlords should keep the property safe from health-related issues such as bird nests in the attic or other pests. Also, the quality of the water, possible water damage in structures and in other ways unsafe structures might affect tenants’ safety.

Landlords should use secured tenant deposit by the scheme approved by the government to protect tenants right to get the full deposit returned if they have met the terms of your tenancy agreement, have not damaged the property and have paid the rent and bills on time.

Landlords are required to check whether the tenant has a right to rent in England. Landlord should check all tenants as it is against the law only to check people whom you think are not British citizens. Landlord must not discriminate against anyone because of where they are from.

Fire safety that includes fitting and testing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms is one of landlords' obligations. They also include following the fire safety regulations in relation to buildings’ safety and if the house has been adapted into flats.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required every time the property is rented and should include information about the property’s energy use and typical energy cost in addition to recommendations on how to reduce the use of energy and save money.

Providing a Gas Safety Certificate (CP 12) for your tenants should include the annual gas safety check. Furthermore, sharing the gas safety record with your tenants is also required. Lastly, as a landlord, maintain the gas pipework, appliances, chimneys and flues in safe condition with maintenance work.

Providing the tenant with a “How to rent” information sheet should be designed to help the tenant to understand what is required from them and their obligations and rights. This should include information about what the tenant should do before renting, how to behave in the property during the tenancy, what is going to happen after the tenancy agreement ends and what the tenant should do if something goes wrong with the flat.

Information about how the rent is reviewed and potentially increased overtime should be included in the tenancy agreement. It should contain information about when the rent is reviewed, how much the rent can increase and legal information and help tenants if they disagree.

Landlords should also have a strategy to solve potential disputes, such as legal action. Often, settling disputes can be sorted out by speaking with the tenant and coming to an agreement.

The financial responsibilities of a landlord include things such as paying income tax for the rental income.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the requirements? Do you feel like you do not have the time and energy to deal with these issues? And not to forget that these issues do not include marketing the property, using time on viewings and managing tenancy agreements.

We are here to help to let and manage your property! Cloud Estates provides experienced and professional services to maximise rental income and make letting your property hassle-free.

Call us today and book a free valuation of your property!

Details: Published: 03 June 2021; Hits: 1722

Cloud Estates uses Fixflo, which is a property management and repair platform that operates fully online. It helps to improve efficiency and maintain compliance with the regulations.
The system allows the tenants or occupiers to report issues online when they appear at any time of the day. When the occupier submits the required information about the case, the portal can provide an accurate quote. In addition, the portal informs the occupier if the issue is their responsibility to resolve and how to solve the problem. Furthermore, the portal is helping to prioritise the repair issues, and the automation helps save time with the most common tasks that arise.

Fixflo also helps to keep in touch with the tenant, provide better services to them, and save landlords’ time. In addition, planned maintenance makes the whole job more manageable and less devastating impact on residents. A minor issue can be fixed before something breaks, and therefore significant failure can be avoided.
Many landlords use their contractors who may seem cheaper at first, but in the long run, additional costs from things such as materials, delivery or disposal. With property management and repair platforms such as Fixflo, the complete repair and maintenance experience can be more straightforward, and the quote more accurate and might end up being more affordable to the landlord.

Do you need help with the maintenance of your property? Or do you want to hear more about how we in Cloud Estates use Fixflo?

Book a free valuation of your property today (no obligation), or give us a call – we are here to help you.

Details: Published: 26 May 2021; Hits: 1630

What is it?

Property inventory report compiles the information about the rental property condition before, during, and after the tenancy. The description of the condition is explained in writing, such as “good condition” or in photos such as possible cracks in the walls.

Why do I need it?

The property inventories are created to protect the landlord and the tenant from maintaining the transparency of the deposit payment returns. With the property inventories, both the landlord and tenant can view in what condition the property was before the tenancy agreement and after it so that the returned deposit sum is correct and in line with the possible damage of the property.

The property inventory report is also important in relation to meter readings so that the tenant will not be paying for someone else’s electricity or gas usage or that the correct utility numbers are reported to the landlord and they will not end up paying tenants’ gas or electricity.

Before, during and after the tenancy.

It is good to make a property inventory report right before the tenant moves in. The report should state clearly if there are any issues with the condition of the flat before the tenancy agreement starts. It is recommended that the tenant approves and signs the report as well.

Some landlords also conduct the property inventory reports during the tenancy agreement to check the property's condition. This makes it possible to compare it with the created “before” report. In this case, the landlord is required to give a notice 24 hours before entering the property.

Lastly, after the tenant has moved out, the landlord often conducts the report and compare the “before”, “during”, and “after” reports with each other to notice any new significant damage in the property. The landlord can prove whether the tenant has treated the property right and if the landlord should return the whole deposit sum. At the same time, with these reports, the tenant can prove if they have not done any damage to the property, and therefore, the landlord is required to return the entire deposit.