Manufacturer’s parallel opening window vents feature at the Anna Freud Centre. Parallel opening window vents by leading manufacturer of architectural glazing systems Kawneer were specified for a mental health project that is arguably without parallel. Some 88 of Kawneer’s AA®100 SSG parallel opening vents were used as concealed windows, to
A new brick made from domestic plastic waste has been proven to provide 10 times better insulation than traditional bricks made from clay. Dr Karthikeyan Kandan, senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), has created a novel brick made entirely from upcycled plastic waste. Believed to
The achievement of Scotland’s five, geographically located hub , the partnerships set up six years ago to build new community facilities across Scotland, will be in the supporting the third annual Education Buildings Scotland 2019 Exhibition, Conference and Awards Dinner at Edinburgh’s EICC on 27-28 November. To date, the hubs have delivered
SNIPEF, the Scotland and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employer’s Federation, is supporting the launch of a new campaign to help keep customers’ tap water fresh by signing up qualified plumbers in Northern Ireland to a UK-wide plumbing register. Northern Ireland Water and WaterSafe, the UK-wide accreditation body for competent and qualified plumbers,
Many people will redecorate the rooms in their home every few years, but the staircase often is neglected and left untouched for many years. Most home have a staircase to get between floors but these can be made to be a great feature of your home. There are many
A new survey by online ironmongery supplier, IronmongeryDirect, has found that 52% of tradespeople have fallen victim to tool theft, with almost a quarter (21%) saying it’s happened to them more than once. The results of the survey, completed by 1,000 tradespeople, back up the reported 54% rise in tool
Will oversee 460 acres of prime development land in Ireland Led by experienced Irish management team, Eddie Byrne and Michael Hynes Assets will make Quintain the third largest residential developer in Ireland Quintain Limited has established a subsidiary in Ireland with plans to develop more than 9,000 new homes and
A PLAN for a major new distribution centre in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter can go ahead, city planning officials have signalled. Titanic Quarter Ltd’s proposal would see full demolition of the existing industrial building on the site next to Queens Road, replacing it with a modern and larger 100,000 sq ft
The growing shift to online shopping by consumers is behind many of the recent well-publicised closures on the high street. But the trend is also bolstering tender opportunities in the industrial sector as new logistics and warehouse construction keeps growing to meet demand for distribution space. A recent trading update
If you’re considering offering rent to own real estate to prospective tenants, or simply renting a house to tenants the traditional way, it’s important to be aware of what’s involved in being a property manager. As it can take up a lot of time, many homeowners choose to hire a
Manufacturer’s parallel opening window vents feature at the Anna Freud Centre. Parallel opening window vents by leading manufacturer of architectural glazing systems Kawneer were specified for a mental health project that is arguably without parallel. Some 88 of Kawneer’s AA®100 SSG parallel opening vents were used as concealed windows, to maintain the same aesthetic as the façade, within AA®100 mullion-drained curtain walling and AA®720 doors on the new £40 million London headquarters of the world-famous Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families. The Kawneer systems were specified by architects Penoyre & Prasad as they were a “cost-effective” solution to their needs and enabled them to use the same systems for all areas of curtain walling and rooflights. Architect Sam Frankland said: “We had an aspiration to create a very clean, paired-down façade that would give clear cohesion to the various buildings. Having scissor-action windows helped emphasise the planar quality when the windows are open.” The project has enabled the relocation of the mental healthcare charity to bring together its global expertise in practice, research and policy under one roof from its residential properties in Hampstead to a purpose-built facility near King’s Cross. This comprises a six-storey new-build and the refurbishment of a century-old former chocolate factory and warehouse. All of the Kawneer glazing systems feature a diagonal frit on the glass, with the Kawneer curtain walling featuring on the ground to top floors and the AA®100 SSG parallel-opening vents on all but the ground floor. The AA®720 doors feature on the main entrance and top floor which also features a roof terrace. Sam Frankland added: “We wanted to create spaces filled with light and views out over London so we opted for fully-glazed panels with a simple frit to give an element of privacy and a degree of visual interest to the façade.” The aluminium Kawneer systems were installed over eight months by a team of six from approved specialist sub-contractor/dealer JPJ Installations for main contractor Willmott Dixon. The charity that today bears the name of Sigmund Freud’s sixth and youngest child was first established almost 70 years ago and its approach, that every child and its family should be at the heart of the care they receive, working in partnership with professionals, has been reflected in Penoyre & Prasad’s design. This needed to be striking to reflect the charity’s aspirations to reflect its status as a world-renowned organisation working with eminent academic institutions as University College London and Yale. This itself presented a challenge, bringing together the multiple needs of the individual users of the building, from children and their families in need of support, to researchers, clinicians and internationally-renowned visiting academics attending symposia. At the front, in the space made vacant by the excavation of a former courtyard, is the new six-storey building housing shared conference facilities and the Pears Family School which is sponsored by the Anna Freud Centre. This caters for up to 48 youngsters who have been excluded from school or alternative education provision and helps them return to mainstream education. Penoyre & Prasad worked from the outset with the diagonal motif on the glazing on both the front and rear facades to inform both the transparent elevation and the precast cheeks of the building which they could do very little with as they were both party walls but which nevertheless replicate the diagonal fritting. The five-storey chocolate factory, parts of which had been used as offices since the 1990s, was converted into a combination of head office facilities and therapy, post-graduate teaching and research (part of which had been based at University College London) and break-out spaces for the Anna Freud Centre. Although not listed, heritage officers at Islington Council had still been anxious about how it would be developed. “The client was very keen to have as environmentally friendly a building as possible so aluminium seemed like the natural choice for the curtain wall system which has been used extensively to the east and west facades and as a large rooflight,” said Sam Frankland. Based on the established Kawneer AA®100 SSG POV system, the parallel opening design benefits from excellent ventilation characteristics combined with thermal performance. Increased air flow around the full perimeter of the window enables highly efficient natural ventilation while greatly reducing draughts as fresh air is drawn in the bottom of the window while warm, stale air is expelled via the top, creating full air circulation within a room. This efficient exchange of air can assist with Approved Document F compliance and can enable the window to meet the ventilation requirements of even the most demanding project.
A new brick made from domestic plastic waste has been proven to provide 10 times better insulation than traditional bricks made from clay. Dr Karthikeyan Kandan, senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), has created a novel brick made entirely from upcycled plastic waste. Believed to be the first of its kind, the brick is constructed using 3D printing and lattice architecture technologies, which involves criss-crossing strips of the plastic materials to form a grid or weave. The design is inspired by nature, after Dr Kandan examined the structure of the Baya weaver bird’s nest; renowned for its elaborately woven construction. “The Baya weaver bird’s nest’s ingenious construction gives it excellent thermal insulation and mechanical properties for inhabitation,” explained Dr Kandan. “Inside there is a central nesting chamber, which makes it the ideal micro-climate for inhabitation. By replicating this structure, we have manufactured a brick that improves energy efficiency of modern buildings and therefore can reduce carbon foot print.” Saad Alqahtani, a first-year PhD student at DMU, carried out controlled experiments on the plastic bricks, under joint supervision from Dr Kandan and Dr Farukh – also a senior lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the university. To test its thermal insulation characteristics, Saad placed the brick in a hot-box calorimeter – a piece of equipment used to measure the U-value of an object, which can be set up to simulate the regulatory standard for buildings. U-value is a measure of the flow of heat through an insulating or building material: the lower the U-value, the better the insulating ability. The results showed the new design delivered an impressive U-value of 0.25 Watts per Metre Kelvin (W/m²K). This is 10 times more effective than a clay brick, which delivers an average of 2.94 W/m²K. Traditionally, a range of building blocks are required to achieve the regulatory standard U-value, however, the newly designed plastic brick can achieve this on its own. “Our brick, made from all kinds of domestic plastic waste – from coffee cup lids to plastic bottles – exhibits a tremendous thermal envelope over conventional building materials,” said Dr Kandan. A building envelope refers to the exterior elements that protect the property and its inhabitants from the elements and also contributes to keeping the building structurally sound. “This provides significant potential to not only improve the energy efficiency of modern building, but also to conserve space and reduce dead-weight in multi-story buildings,” added Dr Kandan. Saad, who received a PhD scholarship from DMU to complete this work with Dr Kandan and Dr Farukh, said their brick could lead to a new era of energy-efficient construction while tackling the issue of plastic pollution at the same time. “Our work has demonstrated that 3D printed bricks made from household plastic waste are thermally far superior than the existing bricks made in the market,” he explained. “This breakthrough can literally help us build the future.” This project marks the second time this year that Dr Kandan has been recognised for his work to repurpose plastic waste. In August he made headlines when he created a prosthetic limb socket made from recycled plastic water bottles for amputee patients. Saad, who also completed his MSc at DMU, was invited to showcase their work at the prestigious 39th International Workshop on Computational Mechanics of Materials in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in September. “It was a great opportunity to meet industry experts and tell people about our work,” he said. “The next step is to get the brick into commercial production, which we hope to do by the end of the year.” Dr Kandan added: “It is fantastic to see one of our own PhD students taking the lead on this project and sharing our results on an international platform. “There is a constant drive for energy efficient building materials so it is very exciting to know that our brick can outperform the thermal insulation of standard building materials by an order of magnitude.”
The achievement of Scotland’s five, geographically located hub , the partnerships set up six years ago to build new community facilities across Scotland, will be in the supporting the third annual Education Buildings Scotland 2019 Exhibition, Conference and Awards Dinner at Edinburgh’s EICC on 27-28 November. To date, the hubs have delivered 115 education sector projects across the country with a value of £1.45 billion. The event, which brings together Scottish educational built environment and policy professionals, many of whom will be looking at adding new buildings, considering refurbishing existing buildings or wishing to know more about ongoing maintenance, will be able to meet all the hub CEOs and their colleagues who will be in attendance over the course of the two days. Scotland’s hubs are engaged currently on-site with educational projects £358m is a further £675m of projects in development across the country. John Swinney, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, who will be speaking at the conference has said: “This year’s theme for the 2019 Education Buildings Scotland conference is Scotland’s Learning Estate – Connecting People, Places and Learning and building on the success of previous events. “It is an opportunity for everyone involved in education to come together with those directly engaged in creating great buildings to discuss how the built environment can support the best possible educational outcomes for our children, young people wider communities.” Key figures from all hub will be in attendance from the start of the conference on Wednesday morning at stand F2 at the EICC. They will include the Chief Executive of hub West, Iain Marley, Chief Executive of hub South West, Michael McBrearty, Chief Executive of hub East Central, Gary Bushnell, and Chief Executive of hub South East and Executive Chairman of hub North, Paul McGirk. A series of hub projects have been nominated for awards, the winners of which will be announced at the Wednesday night Dinner. The Scottish Government is the Event’s Partner and its official supporters are Morrison Construction, Portakabin, hub Scotland, Velux, RIAS, Architecture Design Scotland, the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) and the Scottish Futures Trust. Attendance at the conference is complimentary for those directly employed in years, schools, colleges, universities, national and local government other public services in Scotland. Delegate rates will apply for everyone else wishing to attend.
SNIPEF, the Scotland and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employer’s Federation, is supporting the launch of a new campaign to help keep customers’ tap water fresh by signing up qualified plumbers in Northern Ireland to a UK-wide plumbing register. Northern Ireland Water and WaterSafe, the UK-wide accreditation body for competent and qualified plumbers, want to tackle the poor plumbing in the home or workplace which can create such problems as strange taste, discolouration, and leaks, by signing up all of the Province’s plumbers to its WaterSafe register. Legally speaking, when water leaves Northern Ireland Water’s mains and enters the pipes supplying a property it becomes the owner’s responsibility to keep it safe and free from contamination. By working together with skilled professionals, however, many of these issues can be avoided altogether or rapidly resolved. Plumbers on the register are fully trained in the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland 2009), designed to keep water safe, and not waste it, as well as being appropriately insured with a customer redress scheme in place. In addition, plumbers on the WaterSafe register can self-notify their work to Northern Ireland Water – and issue a certificate stating that the plumbing work complies with the regulations, which protects customers from any legal comeback. Fiona Hodgson, CEO of SNIPEF said, “As an approved WaterSafe scheme provider SNIPEF is all about promoting high standards, quality work, professionalism and regulation in the industry. “We want to ensure that only qualified professionals can carry out plumbing and heating work so that the water is kept safe. Being WaterSafe registered is a way to do this and we encourage qualified Northern Irish operatives to join the register by contacting SNIPEF.” Becoming a SNIPEF member allows qualified plumbers to become WaterSafe registered for no extra cost. Other benefits from becoming a SNIPEF member include access to specialist advice, industry discounts, free listing on its Need a Plumber website and much more. Julie Spinks, director of WaterSafe, said: “Being a member of WaterSafe is a great way for competent plumbers to provide immediate reassurance to their customers that they are qualified to do the job and keep their drinking water safe. “WaterSafe is supported by all the water companies in the UK, as well as the water industry regulator, the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Membership comes with many benefits and we urge plumbers who are proud of their work and want to find out more about joining, or taking the final training steps to join, to get in touch today. Members of WaterSafe will benefit from; free promotion and branding, customer reassurance and a direct link to Northern Ireland Water. To join WaterSafe, plumbers must be qualified, have a water regulations certificate, and be a member of an existing approved contractors’ scheme. In Northern Ireland this can be the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation or the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering. Once a member of one of these schemes, plumbers can join WaterSafe for free. Plumbers interested in finding out more can visit watersafe.org.uk/howtojoin or call 0333 207 9030. For more information on a SNIPEF membership call 0131 556 0600 option 1.
Many people will redecorate the rooms in their home every few years, but the staircase often is neglected and left untouched for many years. Most home have a staircase to get between floors but these can be made to be a great feature of your home. There are many materials that you can use with wood being the most traditional material used. One of the latest trends in staircase design is to combine wood with glass to create stunning staircase designs. Glass combined with oak offers beauty and simplicity which brings a touch of class to the staircase. Combining glass balustrades with solid oak handrails create a timeless look and brings traditional carpentry in to the 21st century and makes the staircase the focal point of the property. A bespoke staircase has the potential to transform your home and by using glass and wood you can create a feeling of light and space and is becoming increasingly popular nowadays. One of the best finishes involves the use of American white oak with glass balustrades to create a light and airy feel which combines the beauty of the wood with glass to form a stunning staircase design to forms the centre piece of your home. One of the leading staircase design and installation companies in the world is Jarrods Staircases and Carpentry who are specialists in bespoke wood, metal and glass staircases. They create every staircase from scratch which means every staircase they design is bespoke and designed to perfectly fit your home in a style that suits your lifestyle and your budget. Glass Staircases Glass staircases let light flood into dark hallways and breathe life into enclosed spaces. A bespoke glass staircase is one of the most popular products that are available in the staircase market place. You can replace a regular balustrade with a glass balustrade to increase the elegance of your stairs and transfer your home with a modern glass staircase. Glass staircases let light pour into your home and give the illusion of more space in your home. Oak Staircases Oak is a great wood for staircase construction and looks very high class when installed and designed properly. You also have a great range of options with oak, you can have an all oak staircase or you can combine oak with glass to create the perfect staircase design for your home. You can even have spiral staircase made of oak to add the x factor to your home. Metal Staircases Steel is another great material you can use for your staircase to create a stunning design. Steel can also be combined with Oak or glass to create a stunning looking staircase which is both strong and good looking. Iron can also be used for staircases and you can create fantastic looking staircases and it can also be combined with both wood and glass. Floating staircases Self-supporting or floating staircases can give a dramatic look to your home and your visitors will be amazed when they enter your home. Floating stairs can be made out of wood, glass and metal or a combination of all if required. Glass balustrades combined with wooden stair treads can create a breath-taking look. What ever type of staircase you prefer there is a great choice available on the market place and there is something available for everyone’s tastes and budget.
A new survey by online ironmongery supplier, IronmongeryDirect, has found that 52% of tradespeople have fallen victim to tool theft, with almost a quarter (21%) saying it’s happened to them more than once. The results of the survey, completed by 1,000 tradespeople, back up the reported 54% rise in tool thefts in the last two years* – with even a quarter of those who haven’t been a victim reporting that they know someone who has. Each theft is reported to cost a tradesperson on average £1,200**, which equates to typically more than a week’s pay. Commenting on the survey results, Marco Verdonkschot, Managing Director of IronmongeryDirect, said: “It is worrying to see that across the industry tool theft numbers are continuing to rise, especially during the dark winter months. “There are a number of simple steps tradespeople can take to increase their van security such as parking against a wall in a well-lit area when out on a job, installing a van safe or taking their tools inside overnight. To tighten up security even further, van lock protection plates, dashcams or CCTV systems can be fantastic deterrents for would-be thieves.” For more survey results, please visit www.ironmongerydirect.com/landing/trade-barometer. IronmongeryDirect has over 18,000 products available and in stock. Orders can be placed as late as 8pm for next day delivery from Sunday through to Friday and by 4pm on Saturdays. Free, no quibble returns are available on all products. For more information, visit IronmongeryDirect.com or call their team of specialist advisors on 0800 168 28 28.
Will oversee 460 acres of prime development land in Ireland Led by experienced Irish management team, Eddie Byrne and Michael Hynes Assets will make Quintain the third largest residential developer in Ireland Quintain Limited has established a subsidiary in Ireland with plans to develop more than 9,000 new homes and 600,000 sq. ft of commercial space. The newly incorporated business, known as Quintain Ireland, will be responsible for the residential development of over 460 acres of prime assets in Ireland at Adamstown, Clonburris, Portmarnock, and Cherrywood. All these sites are owned by affiliates of Lone Star Funds and will be managed directly by Quintain. The business will launch with an experienced 12-person team focused solely on Ireland, jointly led by Eddie Byrne and Michael Hynes. The Quintain team in Ireland is expected to grow to over 25 next year and will manage a range of local construction partners. The Irish team will be fully integrated with the wider London-based team. Quintain will be resourced to replicate in Ireland the parent company’s strong record of delivery in London. The existing Irish portfolio, covering over 460 acres, will make Quintain the third largest residential developer in the country. Adamstown can accommodate approximately 5,000 homes across 220 acres of land, with further land at the neighbouring Clonburris site, to build approximately 350 houses; the recently acquired Cherrywood site is 120 acres and has an expected capacity of 3,000 homes; and the 87 acres in Portmarnock has the potential for 1,000 homes. The company intends to utilise its extensive experience to deliver market leading developments on its existing portfolio with a strong appetite to expand its portfolio of future development projects. The decision to expand into Ireland follows the increase in demand for housing, especially in the Greater Dublin area, as more people move to take advantage of the strong economy and job opportunities. James Saunders, Chief Executive of Quintain Limited, said: “Quintain has been actively looking at new opportunities to expand its business for some time and I am therefore extremely proud to announce our expansion into Ireland, with a huge commitment to take on the delivery of more than 9,000 homes across four sites spanning 460 acres in Greater Dublin. We have an established team on the ground in Ireland led by Eddie Byrne and Michael Hynes, who have over 40 years’ experience in the Irish and international property market. When you mix this local expertise with Quintain’s track record in taking forward major mixed-use development schemes, I am confident we will turn these sites into exemplary new places. Alongside our Irish business, we remain focussed on continuing to invest and build out our flagship Wembley Park development in London and have further appetite to secure more development opportunities in the UK and Ireland.” Eddie Byrne, Joint Managing Partner of Quintain Ireland, said: “We are excited to launch this new venture, with the potential to deliver more than 9,000 new homes in the Greater Dublin area, where there is a pressing need for increased housing supply. Quintain Ireland will combine the knowledge of our team on the ground with the wealth of expertise of our parent company in delivering major residential projects. In 2020 we expect to more than double the size of our team in Ireland and expand our development pipeline.” Quintain is a vertically integrated developer, operator and owner of residential and mixed-use assets; best known for the ongoing transformation of Wembley Park in north London. The 85-acre site surrounding Wembley Stadium has become one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe with over £2bn invested to date and another £1bn expected by 2022. Quintain first acquired a stake at Wembley Park in 2002. The development is already home to 3,500 residents with another 3,100 homes currently under construction and the project is expected to be fully built out by 2027. Previously Quintain owned the Greenwich Peninsula redevelopment around the 02 Arena in South-East London obtaining planning permission to deliver 10,000 new homes.
A PLAN for a major new distribution centre in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter can go ahead, city planning officials have signalled. Titanic Quarter Ltd’s proposal would see full demolition of the existing industrial building on the site next to Queens Road, replacing it with a modern and larger 100,000 sq ft facility. Industry monitor Construction Information Services estimates the value of the project at just under £6 million. Most of the development (86,100 sq ft) will be dedicated to the new distribution warehouse, with another 7,000 sq ft set aside for a van storage centre. In a report prepared for Belfast City Council’s planning committee monthly meeting on Tuesday, 560 parking spaces will be provided on site. A total of 318 spaces will be specifically for delivery vans, with 161 set aside for drivers. Another 81 are earmarked for staff and visitors. That report recommends approval for the project. Titanic Quarter Ltd is a company set up to develop 161.5 acres within the Titanic Quarter ultimately owned by landlord Belfast Harbour Commissioners. It is one of a group of companies that makes up Titanic Property Development Ltd. The group has overseen around £425m of development projects to date, comprising around 1.5 million square feet. Its directors have valued the development land at £25.9m. The latest major development includes Olympic House on Queens Road. Enabling works on the £26.5m office building began in June. The most recent accounts for Titanic Property Development Ltd show it turned a pre-tax profit of £4.9m in the 12 months to December 31 2018, down on a pre-tax profit of £6.2m from 2017. Titanic Property Development Ltd’s ultimate controlling parties are the Entice Limited Partnership, owned by Irish businessman Dermot Desmond and Dockside Investments, which is owned by the family of Irish property developer Pat Doherty. The report states that both parent parties have confirmed they will not seek repayment of £26.3m of existing loans for the foreseeable future. Shareholder loans are subordinated to Danske Bank and Bottin Investments, which is also owned by Dermot Desmond. In 2017, Mr Desmond injected an additional £29m into the company. The Titanic group of companies also refinanced £75m worth of loans with Danske bank the same year.
The growing shift to online shopping by consumers is behind many of the recent well-publicised closures on the high street. But the trend is also bolstering tender opportunities in the industrial sector as new logistics and warehouse construction keeps growing to meet demand for distribution space. A recent trading update from Segro, one of the largest owners of logistics warehouses, suggests activity and tender opportunities in the sector remain brisk. The firm has seen a strong start to 2018 having secured a record £27 million of new rent in the first quarter and with occupational demand encouraging across all its markets, particularly driven by the growth of online retailing. Segro completed 146,500 sq m of new industrial construction projects in the first quarter. Moreover, the volume of new space either approved or with building projects under development across the group, stood at 1 million sq m at the end of March, up from 693, 900 sq m at the start of the year. Indeed, Glenigan’s Construction market analysis shows tenders are currently being invited on a £10 million Segro industrial building project in Newham, covering 4795 sqm and with work set to start in late 2018. £350 million development cap-ex Today, Segro’s development pipeline includes new pre-lets totalling 490,000 sq m, of which 270,000 sq m is to online retailers. At one key site, SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway, the pre-lets include 122,000 sq m to a major online retailer and 60,000 sq m to a third-party logistics provider. Overall, Segro expects its development capital expenditure to exceed £350 million for 2018. Elsewhere, the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow Airport is likely to boost construction tender leads in the industrial sector further, as the growth of air cargo creates extra demand for warehouse space in the area. Segro, which owns significant portfolio around Heathrow, is well-placed to benefit. The potential for construction projects for the internet shopping sector has also been highlighted by the recent surge in the share price of Ocado, the pioneer in grocery deliveries, which is set to join the FTSE 100 this month. The outlook for the group which has a major facility at Andover and is set to open a new one at Erith in coming months, has brightened recently helped by a series of international partnerships. Tender opportunities Meanwhile, the outlook for tender opportunities across the industrial sector remains promising. Glenigan Construction market analysis shows that the value of underlying industrial construction starts rose by 19% last year and were up by 1% in the four months to April this year, compared to the period last year. The regional picture varies but activity looks particularly strong in key regions such as the East of England (where the value of starts is up 95% in January-April), London (up 24%) and the West Midlands (up 52%). A mark of confidence in the sector in the East of England is the start of construction work in recent weeks on two speculative logistics units covering 350,000 sq ft which are being developed by Jaynic at Suffolk Park, near Bury St Edmunds. Readie Construction is expected to complete the scheme by next November.
If you’re considering offering rent to own real estate to prospective tenants, or simply renting a house to tenants the traditional way, it’s important to be aware of what’s involved in being a property manager. As it can take up a lot of time, many homeowners choose to hire a property manager to handle the job for them, which may be charged at a flat fee or a percentage of the rent, typically between 4% and 12% of the gross monthly rent. A property manager does it all when it comes to managing a property, just some of the many responsibilities he or she takes care of includes the following. Assessing the Property and Recommending Rent Rates The property manager will ask the homeowner questions in order to recommend the rent price and search for the right tenant. They’ll determine whether the home needs any repairs or upgrades, if pets will be accepted or if there are any other criteria that the right tenant needs to meet. Marketing the Home Once the home is ready for tenants to move in, the property manager will take high-quality pictures and then start marketing it to find the best possible fit in the shortest amount of time. They’ll do a lot more than simply post the rental on Craigslist – they’ll generate leads through a variety of methods, including social media and other advertising, in a way that makes the home sound the most appealing. Tenant Screening One of the most difficult aspects of finding reliable tenants is tenant screening. The manager will handle all calls, emails, and applications, perform a range of background checks like rental history, employment, credit, and criminal lists while also making sure everything is conducted in compliance with fair housing and discrimination laws to protect the owner from any housing discrimination claims. They’ll also have to give prospective tenants a walkthrough of the property. Collecting Security Deposits and Rent Once the property manager finds the right applicant, they’ll recommend the prospective tenant to the homeowner for approval. Once approved they’ll collect the security deposit and hold it in an escrow account so that the funds won’t be co-mingled. They’ll also collect the rent, including both the first and last month’s rent if applicable. When the tenant moves in, the property manager will continue to collect the rent, handle any late payments and other potential financial problems, such as communicating with the tenant if the rent is overdue. Some property managers can help homeowners get their rent payments faster by allowing tenants to pay online and then transferring those funds into their bank accounts. Maintenance and Repairs The property manager is usually responsible for maintenance and repairs. The homeowner may provide money that can be used for emergencies like a broken refrigerator which is held in a maintenance reserve fund. In some cases they may take care of things like lawn mowing and leaf removal is the tenant isn’t designated to take care of those issues. Evictions and Move-Outs If the tenant fails to pay rent or breaks other rules, regulations or laws, the property manager will handle the eviction process, as well as ensure the policy is clearly stated in the rental agreement. When tenants move out, they’ll handle the walkthrough and determine which if any repairs are needed that go beyond normal wear and tear. They’ll be responsible for ensuring the repairs are fixed and everything is clean for the next tenant.