According to this article the number of people advertising for a lodger has risen by 27% in the first two weeks of the year. According to Spareroom.co.uk the rise is down to people looking to raise extra income because they have over stretched financially after the Christmas period. The group have said that they saw a record number of people advertising for lodgers during 2009 and that it expects the trend to continue this year. With the average weekly rent costing £87 it seems like a good way to bring in some extra cash if you have a big enough house to be able to do it.

If you are a landlord and are currently struggling to manage your rental properties yourself then you might want to look into using a property management company like Real Property Management. They specialise in the management of single family homes, apartment buildings and homeowners associations. They offer services such as tenant placement, credit and criminal background screening, accounting, project management, collections, evictions and maintenance services so they can basically do all of the hard work for you. In addition all of their property maintenance is done by their own people so you don’t have to pay overinflated charges and they have a 24 hour emergency service which is available seven days a week. If you want to see how they help you, you can contact a representative through the website. 

New guidelines are being brought in to give tenants and home owners who use lettings agencies more protection. The Association of Residential Lettings Agents is introducing a licensing scheme for its UK members and a code of practice for lettings agents. Under the new rules licensed agents will need to hold a professional qualification related to lettings, take part in continuing professional development, have professional indemnity insurance, have plans in place to protect any money they are holding for clients and have an independent audit carried out on clients funds. This would mean that if the licensed agent went out of business any money it owed to its clients would be protected.

In an unusual incentive a Spanish property company is offering customers a free divorce lawyer when they purchase a new home. The offer is open to couples who buy one of their three bedroom houses priced at 68,000 Euros. The company Geimsa realtors are hoping to cash in on those people who are delaying divorce proceedings because they cannot afford to set up a new home in the current difficult economic climate. The same company is also offering brand new apartments for 100,000 Euros which includes an all expenses paid wedding. In other schemes around 30 estate agents in Spain are offering discounts of up to 40 per cent for buyers who are going through a divorce or separation. Some deals also include a years free mortgage.

The government is looking at introducing a rent first buy later scheme to inject some new life into the housing market. Under the scheme people with household earnings under £60,000would be able to rent a property at a discounted rate for two or three years. They would then have the option to buy part of it. The government hopes that the scheme will benefit 75,000 first time buyer households to get on the property ladder.

Ministers are looking at cutting stamp duty in an effort to boost the housing market. Under the plan first time buyers could be offered stamp duty "holidays" and other home buyers could have tax rates reduced. Ministers are also looking at the possibility of raising the price bands at which stamp duty is charged. Currently stamp duty in charges at 1% on homes between £125,001 to £250,000, 3% between £250,001 and £500,000 and 4% over £500,000. As a result homebuyers have paid a record amount of stamp duty over the last 10 years according to official figures. I certainly think the price bands need looking at, you can't buy much for less than £125,000 these days, perhaps a shed somewhere and for first time buyers finding that extra cash just to line the governments pockets can be really hard.

Santander have brought Alliance and Leicester for £1.26bn, less than half the UK lender's value at the end of last year. The banks had held talks about a possible deal last December when Santander was prepared to pay nearly 700p a share for the bank. Since then Alliance and Leicester's share price has dropped due to recent market turmoil. Santander will combine Alliance and Leicester with Abbey which it purchased in 2004. It also plans to inject £1bn of capital into Alliance and Leicester to cover rising bad debts and further treasury write downs.

Tesco is currently having talks about selling its property website. The website was launched in June last year with a view to undercutting traditional home sellers. At the time some estate agents took legal action to stop properties they were marketing appearing on Tesco's website. Now one of those who originally criticised the website are having talks regarding buying the business. Spicerhaart is the UK's largest independently owned estate agency network. They would own and operate the business with Tesco marketing it.

I was looking around at garage flooring and found this website called cayguygarage.com that has a range of floor tiles and other flooring solutions. They have a good range of grated garage flooring that is perfect for workshops and garages. It is slip resistant when wet and not affected by hot tyres. It also comes with a 12 year warranty and free delivery within the US.

If you are looking to arrange a mortgage you might want to have a look at Irish Mortgage Brokers. They are a Mortgage Broker that claims to focus on their customers best interests. All of their mortgage brokers hold either a Mortgage Diploma, a Law Degree of a Qualified Financial Advisor Diploma. They cover a range of different mortgage products so whether you are an investor or a first time buyer they should be able to find the mortgage that is best for you.

I found this website that offers discount designer upholstery fabric. They search worldwide for some of the more unusual fabrics and trims and make them available for you on their website. Their range includes hand embroidered silk from the far east and velvet from Belgium. Some of their range is usually only available to designers so you are sure to find something special. They also have a weekly specials section where you can pick up a bargain at a reduced price. They currently ship within the US at a cost of $3.99 per item. Orders usually arrive within 4 to 7 business days.

I was thinking of redecorating the upstairs bathroom and came across this website that sells a wide range of Bathroom Accessories & Suites. I found a nice whirlpool bath and shower tower that has an eight jet whirlpool system and a bath filling system. They also have a good range of kitchen units and appliances including integrated units for fitted kitchens. They offer same day despatch on most items if you place your order before 2pm and orders of £50 or more qualify for free delivery within the UK. They can also ship some items outside the UK at an additional cost.

If you are looking for a new house you might want to try this website that specialises in North Fork real estate. They can help you, whether you are buying a property or selling your home. If you are buying a property you can fill in the form on the website and an agent will help you find your dream home. If you are selling they can help you find an agent, find an office or even help with looking for land. The website also has some useful information for sellers including the latest mortgage rates and some real estate resources.

We live in a university town so there is usually quite a high demand for properties to let. Despite that I have noticed that recently there seems to be a lot of empty properties and that the market seems to be flooded with properties to let in our area. Just around the corner from where we live, for example four larges houses have just been renovated and converted for letting. They have now been empty for quite some time and it seems the landlord can’t find any tenants. I'm assuming the properties were purchased with buy to let mortgages It makes me wonder whether the bottom has dropped out of the buy to let market. Perhaps, I’m wrong but number of the properties to let in the newspaper currently seems to be unusually high.

Travelodge is offering rewards to members of the public that suggest new sites for development. To suggest a site you can visit their website and fill in a form with your contact details and your proposed location. If your tip results in a new opening they will then pay you £500 per bedroom up to a maximum payout of £150,000.

Tesco has had to suspend its property sales after the Office of Fair Trading ruled it was acting as an estate agent and would need to abide by the relevant laws. The site was launched in July and offered customers the chance to sell their home for £199. They have offered a full refund to all their customers and are now considering launching a full online estate agency in the future.

In the latest news surrounding Northern Rock it has announced a cut back on the range of mortgage products they will offer. Two thirds of its mortgage product range is going to be axed in what seems to be a major product overhaul. This change is unlikely to affect the banks risk profile because it is still prepared to lend up to 125% of a properties value, something which is the root cause of its present problems. Despite the changes rates on their fixed rate and variable mortgages are likely to remain unchanged.

If you are looking to buy North Cyprus Property, you might want to try Wellington Estate Ltd. They only build on land that they own outright meaning you can buy with complete confidence. You can also meet with them in the UK so you can examine all the paperwork at home. If you want to move quickly they have properties that are already completed, so you can move in straight away. They also offer a white goods package where they will furnish your home for you.