Why is PAT Testing important?

Here's a great article written by Mick Jackson of MJ PAT Testing in St Albans as to why PAT testing of appliances is relevant and important for Landlords.

"I know it’s not the sexiest of subjects and eyes tend to glaze over at the mere mention of Portable Appliance Testing (PAT), but read on, you may save yourself some money and maybe more!

Firstly let me put things straight, PAT is NOT a legal requirement for anyone. It never has been nor is it likely to be.  Secondly its does not have to be carried out every year, both of these things have been put out by the more unscrupulous companies out there touting for your business.

So what is the point in having PAT carried out in the first place? 

There are many rules and regulations that say you are required to maintain electrical appliances under your control to ensure a safe environment. None of the regulations give you guidance as to how you manage this. This is where PAT comes in. It is a standard of inspection and testing of appliances that meets all the requirements of these regulations and allows you to know that, at the time of testing, you are complying with the law. You, as the ‘duty holder’, are responsible for the maintenance of electrical appliances.

The National Landlords Association recommends that PAT testing is carried each time a tenancy changes OR every two to three years. Houses of Multiple Occupation are slightly different and the Local Authority will probably request that you have PAT testing carried out every year in common areas.

The latest H&S guidance note (107) relating to PAT is available on the Health and Safety website. 

Alternatively please visit the faq’s section of my website www.mjpat.co.uk  for more information or call me on 07795185619 for free no obligation advice."

Another record price for Harpenden

Talking of property currently on the market, we've just seen the most expensive house in St Albans be overtaken by a new listing on Marshal's Drive, and now Harpenden has been put firmly on the map with a £7million property at Annables Lane. 7 bedrooms, 8 reception rooms, a conservatory, a swimming pool and four of the bedrooms appear to have en-suite facilities.

You could sleep in a different room every night (just so you don't get bored), then go for a morning swim and enjoy your orange juice in the conservatory before taking a turn around the impressive and spacious grounds. A perfect lifestyle choice!

The property is currently listed with Hamptons International in St Albans, and John Curtis (in association with Hamptons Intl) in Harpenden.

Interestingly, a Hamptons International branch has recently been involved in a massive landmark case involving The Property Ombudsman, The Advertising Standards Authority and The Competition Markets Authority for being instrumental in a price fixing cartel along with two other agents and a newspaper, restricting competition and distorting consumer choice. The senior management deny knowledge of the price fixing strategy as you can see from the article, however all firms have been heavily fined as a result and the incident has triggered a wider investigation into estate agency as a whole. I suppose there is some solace in the approx. £105,000 client fee (and approx. £21,000 client VAT bill) from selling Annables Lane which will go some way to cover the £775,000 fine.

It's also interesting to note that new portal On The Market has been rumoured to be a target for the CMA under this investigation since it acts in a cartel-like fashion in the view of many agents. The reasoning behind this is that On The Market is an 'agent owned' portal rather than an independent third party company. When joining, agents were forced to part ways with either Rightmove or Zoopla since On The Market insisted on agents only using one other portal as a condition of membership. Some have viewed this and other behaviours as anti-competitive, however the CMA have made no comment on whether this is to be investigated. Speculation on this is high and it will be interesting to see where it goes.

But back to the point, this property is absolutely lovely and will make a beautiful home for somebody who has done very well for themselves - and why not enjoy that wealth by buying a beautiful home nestled in the British countryside. Contact our friends at John Curtis in Harpenden or the team at Hamptons International in St Albans to arrange a viewing.

Are Harpenden Hotels a thing of the past?

In recent years Harpenden has changed. We've seen progress in the form of newer upgrades to schools, supermarkets and the town centre, the opening of new businesses serving a more discerning customer base and the influx of money from London with people abandoning the capital for life in a more quiet place that is better suited to raising families than cocktail parties and the buzz of city life.

With this change has come a greater demand for housing which most notably saw the closing of the Glen Eagle Hotel to the north of the high street which has now been rebuilt by Jarvis as luxury apartments selling for roughly £1.5m each. Then we saw the closing of the Harpenden House Hotel on Walkers Road at the South end of town. It slowly dawned on the local population that we actually didn't have any hotels, unless we wanted to part with £2145 for a weekend stay in the Mansion Suites at Luton Hoo Hotel.

What options, therefore, are the discerning travellers and families of local people to do when they wish to stay in Harpenden and experience the local area face-to-face?

Enter the serviced apartment - a recent boom in serviced apartments offered by local entrepreneurs such as Harpenden House Serviced Apartments and H-STAR are proving extremely popular.

Local estate agents Hawk & Chadwick have turned their hand to securing bookings for the apartment owners;

"With no hotels in Harpenden, serviced apartments are the only option for people travelling for business or leisure purposes from further afield" says Leia Pearce, co-owner and Marketing Director for the company. "The rates are often better than those on offer from local B&B's and they give guests the autonomy to come and go as they please, but they retain the full laundry and towel service provided at a hotel - it really is the best of both worlds"

Could we see more serviced apartments cropping up in the town over the coming months? There's certainly a market for it and Harpenden House show no signs of slowing down to wait for others to enter the market, with a selection of three apartments already available and one more currently being refurbished as we speak.

"The apartments work better for us due to the flexibility" says Tony, the owner of Harpenden House "we provide a high quality luxury service that local people need at a very reasonable price - we find that we're undercutting local B&B's by a good margin".

Sarah and John, the owners of H-STAR Serviced Apartments are trying a different approach, with just one apartment available to let in a brand new block, they've found that it's offering them a better deal on their investment than offering a six month or twelve month tenancy. All landlords want to see a healthy bottom line, and letting their property as a serviced apartment offers them a great return as well as a huge degree of flexibility if they did later decide to take on a long term tenant.

To make a booking for H-STAR or any of the apartments discussed in this article, visit the Hawk & Chadwick Serviced Apartments page.

Best Buy at £2m+ in Harpenden

It's been a little while since I posted - I've been pretty busy!  But never mind, here's something to get us going again.  I had a browse through some local listings and I saw this excellent property. If you're looking to buy in the £2m - £3m bracket then I would say this is the pick of the bunch available at the moment.

It's on at £2.5m and comes with a huge array of outbuildings, plus in my humble opinion it's the most attractive house on the market at that price.

Internally the decor is opulent and comfortable with plenty of space for the whole family.  If you like land, this one is also a winner as it comes with stables and paddocks in addition to the beautiful gardens.  Just 5 minutes from Harpenden and 10 minutes from St Albans by car, you could much worse!

Get in touch with our friends over at Strutt & Parker to arrange a viewing - Sandra Knapman is the lead agent on this property.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51545465.html?premiumA=true