As with all parts of our lives these days, apps are now playing a greater and more sophisticated role in the life of the homeowner and new home buyer.
Here are a few of our favourites property apps for your mobile gadgets;
Designed to enable agents or landlords to agree a cloud-based inventory when letting a property. This takes the potential for confusion and costly disputes over that missing vacuum cleaner at the end of a tenancy! You can even print and sign the finished inventory and keep a copy each.
Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
Inventory Pro - Free from iTunes with a £4.99 charge for each report.
Imfuna Inventory - Free from iTunes with a single inspections or reports from £1.
A popular social platform that has long been considered a fantastic way to be inspired by other people’s taste and ingenuity. It’s free to use and a real bonus for those looking for ideas for that funky new pergola, kitchen garden or home extension.
Pinterest - iPhone, iPad and Google / Android. Free.
Like Pin It but property specific. Again, this app is a great way to glean inspiration. Several Hollywood stars are rumoured to use the app - so why not join the jet set (on your ipad at least!). Click on the furnishings and fixtures to locate suppliers who will help you find the best price and place to buy.
Remodelista - iPhone & iPad, £1.99 from iTunes
A little less chic but still cool. Crown’s Colour Match app is designed to help you colour match paints from their range. Helps to take the guesswork out of decorating and reduce the number of times you have to repaint the walls! Simply take photos of furnishings, carpets and other items and the app suggests colour matches to suit your space!
Crown Colour Match - iPhone. Free from iTunes
A great way to start the tenant screening process. Checks certain ‘blacklists’ and checks whether a potential tenant has ever been evicted. Helps to take some of the risk out of letting your home to a stranger.
Legal 4 Landlords - iPhone. Free from iTunes
Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
A simple to use app that enables you to plan your improvements before you start! Once you’ve decided what to do, simply click the 3D mode to walk through your planned new look. Saves time and money and helps you get a better idea of the end result before you open a tin of paint!
Sweet Home 3D - iPhone and iPad, £4.99 from iTunes
These three apps are a MUST for the home buyer looking for the perfect place. Online advertising through the big three providers is now a critical part of home sales and these apps are now so sophisticated that you can do most of your home hunting from the sofa! You can even set up email notifications for specific criteria and set search areas by radius or a red line around a map. Arrange viewings with the click of a button. What’s not to like.
Rightmove | Zoopla | PrimeLocation - All main platforms. Free to download.
The chancellor will deliver her second budget this autumn. Due to slow economic growth and high inflation, the government need to manage a £40 billion shortfall in public finances. There have already been reports about changes to taxes including income tax and capital gains tax.
3 days ago
The chancellor has advised that landlords could have another tax to pay this autumn as the Treasury decide whether to extend national insurance contributions to rental income.
According to a report in the Guardian, senior ministers have asked Treasury officials to look into a “proportional” property tax to see how it would work as an alternative to the existing stamp duty land tax on owner-occupied homes.
More than a quarter of UK adults in long-term relationships (26%) have reported that despite living together, they keep their finances separate from one another.
There has been a rise in both rent and mortgage costs over the last three years, with renters seeing a greater increase in their monthly payments than those with a mortgaged property.
26 days ago
The new Delayed Start Mortgage launched by Skipton Building Society allows first time buyers to postpone the first three mortgage payments. This product has been designed to help soften the blow of moving in costs for first time buyers.
28 days ago
Mortgage lenders are starting to recognise their “Green” responsibilities when it comes to the different products they offer.
A recent study by Boon Brokers where 1,000 people who had used an estate agent over the last year were surveyed, showed that a whopping 52% said they were pressured into using the estate agents’ in-house mortgage broker.