Mighty Newsletter - October

Mighty Newsletter - October


Welcome to our monthly newsletter!
Many thanks for your participation in the Giggles competition last month. Our team had a great time reading your funny and original comments!

Read on for a VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT and other useful information regarding Fire Safety advice, top tips on transforming your home and updates on Brexit and the property market.


<span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">Exciting news!!! </span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">Mighty House and Fisher Wrathall Commercial</span>

We are delighted to announce that Fisher Wrathall Commercial merged with Mighty House and Mighty Student Living on 30th June 2019. The combined businesses now offer sales and lettings across both residential and commercial properties, in addition to operating the student lettings and investments division, Mighty Student Living.
 
As a specialist property agent, we are now in the unique position of being able to offer potential clients and customers the full spectrum of property services, as we are the only local agent offering sales, lettings, investments and property refurbishments across the residential, commercial and student markets.

Click here to read <span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">Exciting news!!! </span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">Mighty House and Fisher Wrathall Commercial</span>.



RICS Fire Safety Guide

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has released a clear and impartial fire safety guide to highlight the responsibilities of landlords and tenants in keeping properties safe regardless of the type of home they live in.
Find the brief summary of the guide here or download the full report below...

Click here to read RICS Fire Safety Guide.



Britain's property market defying expectations in run-up to Brexit

Given the way in which Brexit has dominated many aspects of life in the United Kingdom, it’s difficult to recall a time when the country’s property market remained unaffected by 2016’s landmark vote. Whilst the nature of our departure later this month remains shrouded in uncertainty, the property market has been able to continue to function whilst offering positive conditions for buyers to invest and purchase property.

Buyer numbers remain healthy
The latest data provided by NAEA Propertymark points to a healthy of amount of summer activity in the market, with the number of prospective buyers rising to 37% in August according to the number of registered house hunters per branch.

“The summer months can often result in the market quietening down as families stop for their holidays, but our data has shown demand continually increasing over the warmer period and the number of sales agreed remaining high for the fourth month in a row,” offered NAEA Propertymark’s Chief Executive, Mark Hayward.

Mortgage approvals on the rise
UK Finance figures offered even more encouragement for the market, thanks to a rise in both purchasing and remortgaging figures during August. 85,391 mortgages were approved by high street banks, remortgage approvals went up 0.1% and purchases of homes saw an increase of 3.2%, all positive pieces of news for the market.

Average rent prices see another increase
The average monthly price to rent a property in the UK saw a 2.4% increase over August from the same point last year, meaning that rent prices are now at an all-time high of £970 per month. All 12 British regions showed an increase in rental values over the last twelve months, thanks to data provided by HomeLet.

First-time buyers keen to make their move
It’s not unreasonable to suggest that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit could have made a lot of first-time buyers wary of starting their property journey, but further statistics provided by UK Finance have suggested that this subsection of home purchasers is very much keen to get started in the market. The number of first-time buyer mortgages completed in July of this year was up 5.8% from the same point last year, offering further credence to the notion that buyers are keen to get on with their lives.

No one can quite predict where the country will find itself after October’s current Brexit deadline, but there’s enough encouragement in these recent updates to suggest that the market is heading towards the 31st of this month in a healthy state.



<span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">SALE AGREED IN UNDER 24 HOURS!</span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;"><br /></span>

Our Sales team has done an excellent job and found a buyer for this property in less than 24 hours!
  • Found your dream home and need to get yours on the market yesterday?
  • Looking for a motivated agent to sell your home?
  • We can help you out with: selling, letting, managing or investing in property!

Click here to read <span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;">SALE AGREED IN UNDER 24 HOURS!</span><span style="text-align: center; display: block; width: 100%;"><br /></span>.



TOP 8 Budget friendly ways to transform your home

A lot of homeowners tend to avoid transforming their home due to financial considerations. A successful high-impact transformation can be achieved with low-cost changes that will have a huge effect on your residence. Whether you are planning to upgrade your home for yourself or to attract potential new buyers or renters, these budget-friendly tips will inspire you.


Click here to read TOP 8 Budget friendly ways to transform your home.



House prices rise at fastest rate for 3 months

 Mortgage lender Nationwide has indicated that house prices in August rose at the fastest annual pace in three months, with prices rising 0.6% year-on-year. This upturn in pace is contributing to the widespread sentiment that the housing market is beginning to perform particularly strongly once more.

Supporting the figures from Nationwide, reallymoving.com have published their August monthly House Price Forecast which predicts continuing growth in prices across the United Kingdom.

According to the report: “Average values are set to rise by 1.5% over the next three months (August to October 2019), continuing their steady climb. Particularly strong growth in August will see prices increase by 3.2%, and whilst they’ll then dip by 1.4% in September, they will be up 3.1% annually – the largest annual increase since November 2018.”

CEO of reallymoving.com Rob Houghton has this to say on the current status of the property market;

“The outlook for the property market over the next three months is remarkably positive, considering the current political and economic context. The recent election of a new Prime Minister who is committed to leaving the EU on Halloween even if a deal isn’t reached could mean clouds are gathering on the horizon, but any impact on prices in the short term is likely to be mitigated by the urgency of home movers to complete deals in the next three months.”



RICS Fire Safety Guide

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has released a clear and impartial fire safety guide to highlight the responsibilities of landlords and tenants in keeping properties safe. This is a brief overview of RICS fire safety advice and statistical data. This guide is an essential read for landlords, homeowners and residential tenants.

Click here to read RICS Fire Safety Guide.



Getting your property ready for the colder weather

As the days get shorter and the temperatures start to drop, it’s hard to avoid the fact that winter is on its way. The colder weather can wreak havoc with your property, so we have put together some top tips to keep your property in tip-top shape throughout the cooler months.

Pipe dreams
As the temperatures drop, the water in your pipes can freeze causing them to burst and deal major damage to your home. In order to avoid this, keep an eye out for any gaps in external walls as the cold air could reach the pipes and encourage them to freeze over. Sealing over any gaps in external walls, as well as adding insulation around vulnerable pipes in areas such as the loft and garage could mitigate this problem. Further to staying vigilant to external wall gaps, keeping your heating on a low-level (around 4 degrees) - even when you’re away from your home - will maintain a consistent temperature around pipes, thereby avoiding the problem of pipes freezing over.

Boiler spoiler
When was the last time that you had your boiler checked? A poorly maintained boiler wastes energy and costs more to run, as well as running the risk of leaking carbon monoxide into your home. Having your boiler serviced will reap rewards in the long run, as well as giving you peace of mind in terms of safety and efficiency. Naturally, one of the key components of your boiler system are your radiators - a handy hint to maximise their efficiency is to put kitchen foil behind them for the heat to be reflected back into the room they are in.

Fill the gaps
Around a quarter of the heat lost from your home escapes through the loft, and therefore having good loft insulation is key to staying warm this winter. As well as the loft space, cavity wall insulation can make a real difference to keeping your home warm and energy bills low - with a typical saving of £145 per year saved on energy bills simply through having insulation installed. In terms of cost, there are a number of government grants and subsidy schemes available to help you with the initial outlay of insulating your home and staying warm this winter – so do your research and stay warm for less.

The big switch
If you feel that your winter energy bills are high despite your best efforts to prepare your home for the cold months then give your energy supplier a call and have a chat about being allocated a more cost-effective tariff. Remember that you will never experience a disruption in service if you decide to change suppliers, so feel free to shop around and find the best deal that works for you. You can use online comparison tools as well as literature direct from suppliers to find the most competitive energy rates and offers, so turn up that thermostat and get extra cosy!

Down the drain
As the leaves fall from the trees, drains and gutters can easily become blocked with debris, causing build-ups of water which could make its way into your home in the form of damp. As the temperature drops, these leaves are prone to freezing which can weigh down your guttering and damage external structures. Ensure that your drains and gutters are debris free by checking lower-level guttering on your property and clearing these out by hand as safely as possible - if the lower-levels are blocked then higher levels may also require a closer inspection.