Everyone is after losing a few pounds these days - not least Mrs Jackson, sharing my midday constitutional of tea and cakes is begining to take its toll. (Don't tell her I said that will you...). However the easiest way to lose a few £'s when investing is to not take care of the simplest of tasks.
It's worth knowing a few items that will reduce your costs in the early stages of your new property, and I'm talking utility and council tax bills here. Although once you rent out your property your tenants will take care of virtually every bill, at least while you are getting the property ready or waiting for tenants, you can keep the bills to a minimum.
At various property investment seminars that I have given, I mention that you may be able to get the seller to agree to give you access to the property between exchange and completion, in which case it's not an issue, but in many cases you will not have this luxury.
It is important to inform your utility companies straight away if your property is vacant, particularly if your property is still rates based (i.e. not on a meter). And of course in any case as soon as you complete, you should take meter readings (where available) and inform all of the suppliers what those readings are.
At the same time, you should tell the utility company that the property is vacant and UNFURNISHED (this is very important), pending refurbishment. Some utility companies and the council (for council tax), may even send an inspector just to check that it really IS unfurnished. It's important to do this straight away, as especially in the case of the council, they will not allow you to backdate the 'refurbishment' or 'unoccupied' status if you forget to tell them.
By the way, if the inspector comes over and sees even a few boxes, even if you're using the place as storage, they'll classify it as 'furnished' and you'll still get charged the full rate. On the same day, do ask all the utility companies to change any pre-payment meters to account meters. There's nothing more annoying during a refurbishment than for your contractors to 'run out of electricity', or for you to pay off previous occupiers meter debts.
Also, it's a good idea to have water meters installed if they haven't been already. as all this takes ages for the utility companies to organise, it's a good idea to get that sorted straight away. Of course, as soon as the property is furnished and rented, all the utility companies and the council then need to be informed again of the chance of status, and you should take readings from all the meters again, as you only want to pay for the period before your tenants came in.
By remembering these simple tasks it's easy enough to save the pounds and spend them on something worthwhile - maybe even an upper floor renovation for Mrs Jackson ;-)
See you all soon,
Mr Jackson.
Monday, 26 May 2008
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
An Isolated Paradise
I know of many people who enjoy living in rural isolation, in and around Moray, strangely enough many of them live alone. However, I also know of a similar number of people who despise it.
Though however remote in the local area, more often than not, there's nearly always a neighbouring house, a shop, a pub or if you're lucky a tea room within a 20 mile radius.
On my recent trip to California I was fortunate enough to meet with Roger Lextrait who lived practically alone, and was fortunate enough to call a small island in the South Pacific atoll of Palmyra his home for eight years.
Each day he woke promptly at 5AM, to the calling of a hundred thousand birds. Nowhere else on the planet do these creatures gather in such numbers. After fixing himself a Palmyra Cocktail (1 part Rum, 1 part Red Wine, 1 part Tang), he called up his radio contacts in Tahiti and Honolulu.
A shower on the beach in his makeshift bathing system and he was ready for the day. The bath and latrine systems Roger built are still used today by the current research teams that visit the atoll for brief expeditions.
Roger had a variety of things to keep him busy. Not least of which were his 3 dogs TouTou, Blackie, and Padou. He trained them to hunt sharks, helping to keep the predators population under control (How you do this wasn't explained - I just gave him a knowing nod and smile, as if this was an everyday occurence - I couldn't imagine Copernicus doing this...). Always near were his 2 cats Tiger and DouDouche, and the 2 birds he raised from hatchlings, lovingly named Felix and Oscar.
Experience made him an excellent fisherman, using only a diving knife, fishing net, and spear gun. This was dangerous work as the reef contained a number of less than friendly creatures. Roger had his share of run-ins with everything from sharks to stingrays, but never suffered any serious injuries.
Singing, playing his guitar, and drumming on an old wheel barrel helped him pass the time and keep the loneliness at bay. Despite his best efforts, Roger still described experiencing intense feelings of depression and despair. “It (Palmyra) is so secluded, so isolate,” he says.
A bit like Tomintoul, but without the sunshine and sharks perhaps......?
I hope to invite Roger to stop with me in Moray next year, I will of course let you have his well travelled comments and observations about the area.
Aloha,
Mr Jackson.
Though however remote in the local area, more often than not, there's nearly always a neighbouring house, a shop, a pub or if you're lucky a tea room within a 20 mile radius.
On my recent trip to California I was fortunate enough to meet with Roger Lextrait who lived practically alone, and was fortunate enough to call a small island in the South Pacific atoll of Palmyra his home for eight years.
Each day he woke promptly at 5AM, to the calling of a hundred thousand birds. Nowhere else on the planet do these creatures gather in such numbers. After fixing himself a Palmyra Cocktail (1 part Rum, 1 part Red Wine, 1 part Tang), he called up his radio contacts in Tahiti and Honolulu.
A shower on the beach in his makeshift bathing system and he was ready for the day. The bath and latrine systems Roger built are still used today by the current research teams that visit the atoll for brief expeditions.
Roger had a variety of things to keep him busy. Not least of which were his 3 dogs TouTou, Blackie, and Padou. He trained them to hunt sharks, helping to keep the predators population under control (How you do this wasn't explained - I just gave him a knowing nod and smile, as if this was an everyday occurence - I couldn't imagine Copernicus doing this...). Always near were his 2 cats Tiger and DouDouche, and the 2 birds he raised from hatchlings, lovingly named Felix and Oscar.
Experience made him an excellent fisherman, using only a diving knife, fishing net, and spear gun. This was dangerous work as the reef contained a number of less than friendly creatures. Roger had his share of run-ins with everything from sharks to stingrays, but never suffered any serious injuries.
Singing, playing his guitar, and drumming on an old wheel barrel helped him pass the time and keep the loneliness at bay. Despite his best efforts, Roger still described experiencing intense feelings of depression and despair. “It (Palmyra) is so secluded, so isolate,” he says.
A bit like Tomintoul, but without the sunshine and sharks perhaps......?
I hope to invite Roger to stop with me in Moray next year, I will of course let you have his well travelled comments and observations about the area.
Aloha,
Mr Jackson.
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