They’ve asked us to draw a map of our local area, be it home or work, indicating all the corners, bars, parks, features and characters that are important to us, then photograph your work and send it to tips@londonist.com, or upload it to Flickr and tag it Londonist. They’ll show the best ones on their site.

If your map is of Pimlico, and shows the location of Pimlico Flats, then e-mail it to me (click the envelope on the left) and I will publish it on this site.

This is what I did, but I am sure that you can do better.

Map of Pimlico

Map of Pimlico (Detailed)

London Eye 10th Birthday

Today Tuesday 9th March the London Eye will be celebrating its tenth birthday as London’s most iconic landmark with an exciting onsite birthday party. From 7pm onwards, all visitors to the Eye will enjoy an impressive light show and anyone who books a flight during that that time will also receive a free glass of Pommery Champagne to enjoy as they take in the lit up views of London’s evening skyline.

Tomorrow and every week with Giraffe’s ‘Wake Up Wednesdays’ all you need to do is pop in, say hello to the barista and order your free coffee (cappucino, latte, americano or teapigs herbal teas), say thanks then be on your merry way sipping a cup of the finest coffee around. Note – no payment step, order and go. The place is Giraffe Restaurant:

120 Wilton Road
SW1V 1JZ

Between 08:00 and 10:30 every wednesday until weds 16th June

Free Coffee

Richard Greenland

Last week I showed you how to deal with unwanted Artex. This week I’ll discuss strategies for getting and retaining good tradesmen.

I can get an electrician or plumber at very short notice, for several reasons. The first rule for keeping good people coming back is really very simple, but it’s amazing how many people fail to follow it. What is it? PAY ON TIME! Nothing annoys tradespeople more than having to chase their money, so never let them do it. Always pay on the dot unless agreed otherwise. On occasion it might be possible to arrange credit, but this has to be pre-agreed before the work starts.

The second thing, again very obvious but it’s surprising how many clients fail to do it, is to be respectful. Don’t just tell people when they get things wrong. Tell them when they get things right! They need to know so they know how to get it right next time. Also, most people enjoy being thanked, so it gives them an incentive to keep trying. And if they enjoy working for you they are more likely to come back.

Martyn my electrician

The third thing is to create decent working conditions. This means dry, not unduly cold or dark, having a laborour to tidy up if necessary, and little things like enough tea cups, milk sugar and tea. It’s easy to overlook the importance of little things like this. Once I had three scaffolders arrive on site, and with everyone else present we didn’t have enough cups. Also one of them drank coffee, not tea. So I went off to buy more mugs and coffee. Scaffolders are a breed apart and not used to random acts of kindness. They were so appreciative I got an extra hoist and ladders FOC and the scaffold exactly as I wanted it.  Vanessa Warwick wrote an excellent blog about this sort of thing on propertytribes. Even roughty-tufty builder boys aren’t immune to this.

Fourthly recommend good people on. If they see you as a potential source of other work, they will want to invest in keeping you happy.

Lastly, when you have good team, keep using them. Admittedly there is a danger that people get complacent if they think they are guaranteed your work forever. I have an advantage with my background that I know roughly what most things should cost, so if I suspect anyone is overcharging I’ll get another couple of quotes in just to be sure. Even if someone else is a bit cheaper, if there wasn’t much difference I’d still go with the people I know and trust rather than someone who was an unknown quantity.

I’ll discuss problem roofs next week, in particular flat roofs, which as many a landlord has found to his/ her cost, are prone to leaks.

Image via Wikipedia

If our tenants are to be believed, a bit of garden or outside space is high on the want list when renting. Upad-registered tenants said a picture of the garden was the second most important thing they wanted to see in an advert (top of the list was the living room). But gardening in a rented property can be a challenge. If the average tenant moves on after just 17 months (or 11 months in London), that’s hardly enough time to grow some mustard and cress on a flannel, never mind create a lush green outdoor space.

If you’re a tenant on a budget or a landlord trying to quickly spruce up the outside of a property before you show it, what do you do? Follow our top tips and you won’t go far wrong.

• Consider what you want to use the outside for. Be realistic and honest with yourself, especially about how much time will be spent on maintenance. If what you really want is somewhere to flop with a glass of wine at the end of a long day at work, then don’t create a high-maintenance space with lots of plants that need constant attention.
• Start with the furniture. If you’re going to want to lounge or eat outside, get your furniture first, especially if space is limited. Then you know how much space you have to play with for plants.
• Create instant colour. Use cheaper bedding plants to create instant gardens for very little money (yes, you can nick an idea or two from the local council!). Use beds or pots full of similar plants for stylish blocks of colour – or let things run riot with mixtures, which tend to be even cheaper.
• Invest in pots. Large plants in big, colourful pots can move house with you, so even if you do change property every year, you needn’t leave your garden behind.
• Grow edibles. You don’t need an allotment to grow your own dinner. Pots of herbs around a kitchen door make a beautiful, scented garden in a matter of weeks. But you needn’t stop there: lettuce grow in pots and cherry tomatoes make superb hanging baskets. If you have a little more room, beans will grow up canes planted in a pot and root vegetables can even be grown in well-cleaned dustbins.

James Davis - Upad

A guest post by James Davis, the CEO of Upad.co.uk, the UK’s leading online lettings agent. Upad lists your rental property on 100+ sites and portals – including Rightmove – for just £59: tenant guaranteed. Follow the Upad blog and on Twitter for rental industry news and tips for landlords on making the most of your properties

Map of Pimlico

Map of Pimlico (Detailed)

Affordable Art Fair

Melbourne, New York, Bristol, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Milan, Brussels ……… but next week and weekend Affordable Art comes to Pimlico (Battersea Park) and you can furnish your rented flat with excellent works from the Affordable Art Fair! 120 galleries offer a stunning array of contemporary art from just £50 up to £3,000, from the hottest young talent to firmly established household names – so you are bound to find something you love whether you’re an experienced collector or simply looking for a masterpiece for the mantelpiece.

Their formula is simple: a relaxed, unstuffy environment and lots of good quality contemporary art. The price ceiling of £3,000 and the compulsory labelling of all artwork ensures you know what you can and can’t afford, and the huge array of paintings, sculpture, photography and prints means there is something to suit every taste.

But AAF isn’t just about buying art, the Education Programme offers a whole host of different activities, all of which are fun, informative and, free. Based around the theme ‘Park Life’, everything from drypoint printmaking to participating in a collaborative wall art project is on offer, along with the ever-popular Kids’ Activity Packs. For those who prefer to listen there are usually talks on collecting art and printmaking, and the Contemporary Art Society are running a Resource Centre where you can pick their brains about everything from art collecting to artistic techniques, along with a series of informal talks, which include a tour of the fair. Children can be kept entertained with the Kids’ Activity Packs and under 10s can be left at the free crèche.

Affordable Art Fair

Adult weekday                  £10
Adult weekend                  £12
Concessions weekday         £8
Concessions weekend         £10
Children under 16               Free

Emma Fletcher

It’s a Monday morning in January and I’m waiting for an estate agent to arrive to show me around a 3 bedroom flat in a leafy part of Central London. On first impressions I’m feeling positive; the road is in a great location and the private entrance looks good. Once we go inside I’m impressed by the large drawing room, and a kitchen bigger than any of the last 10 places I’ve viewed. I’m not so impressed by the more than slightly dated bathroom and the garden that looks like it hasn’t been lucky enough to be visited by a gardener in a few years. Out comes my camera, and my notepad.

Sadly I’m not looking for myself, but on behalf of a client with a lack of time and a long list of requirements that need to be fulfilled. I search for properties for my clients, email them detailed property summaries of what’s available and view the places they pick out. I even take my own set of ‘candid’ photographs of each property which I then send through to my client as soon as I leave the front door. It appeals as my clients cut out the long hours of viewing properties that would never make it to their short list and are just left with things that really match their requirements. It’s perfect for the person who doesn’t want their limited spare time on a Saturday spent visiting a list of properties as long as their arm!

What can be the problems of searching for property on behalf of someone else? A client that has an unrealistic view of what is available can be difficult, along with a budget that is too low to come up with what they have in mind (although I’d like to, I can’t perform miracles). It’s also important to get into the mindset of the client; what we might like personally can be a million miles away from the preferences of a client.

Searching for property is greatly rewarding and one of the favourite parts of my job. I enjoy finding out exactly what’s on the market, viewing some wonderful properties in London, and reporting back to my clients. The best part though is when a client calls to say that they’re going to rent something I have found. Then the work starts organising their move…..

Image via Wikipedia

A Carmarthenshire landlord has been fined £2,000 for failing to comply with the terms of an improvement notice served on his HMO. After several complaints from tenants, council environmental health officers carried out a full inspection of the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. They found numerous problems with the accommodation, including issues with fire safety, damp, mould growth, issues with heating and food safety.

The landlord was then served with an improvement notice ordering him to bring the property up to scratch. He failed to comply with this and the work was not completed.

Balasubramanian Pulendrathasan was convicted at Llanelli Magistrates Court in his absence of an offence contrary to Section 30 of the Housing Act 2004. He was fined £2,000 and order to pay costs of £1,160.

Councillor Hugh Evans said that the landlord “showed a total disregard for the local authority and for the health safety and wellbeing of his tenants.”

We’ve heard a lot about HMOs this week, with John Healey’s proposals to “tackle concerns” about them. There’s a whole other blog post on the “war on landlords” coming up shortly, but this story just shows how unnecessary that war is. The legislation to tackle “rogue landlords” is there already. Those who don’t maintain their properties to a decent standard, those who don’t look after their tenants propery, those who damage the industry for the rest of us – there are ways of dealing with them, as this case has shown. We don’t need more legislation – we need better enforcement.

Via Residential Landlord http://www.residentiallandlord.co.uk/news2151.html

James Davis - Upad

A guest post by James Davis, the CEO of Upad.co.uk, the UK’s leading online lettings agent. Upad lists your rental property on 100+ sites and portals – including Rightmove – for just £59: tenant guaranteed. Follow the Upad blog and on Twitter for rental industry news and tips for landlords on making the most of your properties

Image via Wikipedia

What references will my landlord want?

Before you move into a new property, it’s almost certain that your landlord will want some form of reference to check that you’re who you say you are , and that you’re not going to move in and immediately stop paying rent.

If you’re prepared for this and  have your referees primed,  you’ll stand a better chance of moving into your desirable property sooner rather than never. Let’s take a look at what you’re likely to be asked for.

Proof of ID

This is basic but essential. Have a passport or driving licence, plus a utility bill or bank statement to prove your current address. Make copies that you can give to your landlord: it shows you’re organised and business-like – and will definitely help you stand out as a prospective great tenant!

Employers’ reference

This is the other essential. Your landlord will want to know that you can afford the rent (i.e. you’re being paid enough) and that you have a stable job that you’re not about to lose.

Do your homework. Know who in your organisation should be contacted, and tell them you’ll be needing a reference shortly. Or better still, ask them to write you an open reference confirming your employment status and salary. You can still expect your landlord to contact your employer to verify it, but it might save a day or two if you need to move in quickly.

Previous landlord

Your previous landlord can – I hope – confirm that you pay your rent on time and haven’t trashed the place. The problem here is likely to come if the reason that you’re moving is that your current landlord is a shark who never completes repairs, or they’re uncontactable. You might consider offering your last-but-one landlord as a referee (best to ask them first) instead – though of course you’ll need to explain to your new landlord why you’re doing this.

Financial checks

If your prospective landlord wants a bank reference, be prepared for some delays

banks take a long time to complete references, and are understandably vague

Have 6 months of bank statements handy if you need to prove your financial status.

Expect credit checks – if there are problems, admit them up front and explain them. It’s better to say “I had a business that went under; I’m sorting things out”, than hope no one notices a CCJ or three.

Guarantors

In some circumstances, landlords may prefer to have a guarantor rather than a reference. A guarantor is someone who signs to say that they will pay your rent if you don’t: often a parent if you’re in student accommodation, for example. I know some landlords of HMOs who say they will only deal with guarantors: they typically rent to people who have little employment or renting history, and to have someone with their own home stand surety is, they say, easier.

Whatever references your landlord asks for, be open with them if you can’t provide them. It’s much better to be honest and offer an alternative than have a friend pretend to be your boss. Most landlords have taken plenty of references in the past and will see through that in minutes – meaning you’ve lost the property you wanted.

James Davis - Upad

A guest post by James Davis, the CEO of Upad.co.uk, the UK’s leading online lettings agent. Upad lists your rental property on 100+ sites and portals – including Rightmove – for just £59: tenant guaranteed. Follow the Upad blog and on Twitter for rental industry news and tips for landlords on making the most of your properties

Richard Greenland

Last week I gave some tips for durable and easy decorating. This week I’ll look at how to deal with unwanted Artex permanently.

Artex was popular in the ‘80s as a decorative surface dressing to walls and ceilings, and, along with woodchip wallpaper, as a dodge to cover up uneven surfaces. Hence removing it may open its own can of worms. If you are sure that the surface underneath is flat, it can often be steamed off with a wallpaper steamer. Be careful though, as some of the older stuff can contain asbestos fibres as a binder. Some types of later non-asbestos Artex use mica instead, which looks like small metallic flakes. But this still isn’t a complete guarantee that it’s asbestos-free. It’s therefore a very bad idea to sand it back unless you’re sure!

Unfortunately if you just plaster over Artex, even with PVA adhesive, the plaster won’t stick reliably and it may peel away in future.

artex ceiling

A better alternative is to cover it with sheets of plasterboard screwed to the ceiling joists or wall timbers beneath, then skim with plaster. If it’s on a solid wall and there’s no timber to screw to, the best alternative may still be to steam or hack it off and re-plaster. Another alternative is to cover the wall in 2” x 1” battens with the centres 400mm apart, and to plasterboard over them, but this is very labour-intensive. Quicker is to ‘dot and dab’ plasterboard over the offending Artex. Hack off small patches, prime the bare patches with PVA, and use dabs of plasterboard adhesive (a plaster-based mix) on the bare bits to attach sheets of plasterboard to get a flat surface.

Next week I’m going to discuss strategies to get and retain good tradesmen. This is essential if you have multiple rental properties, or if like me you are involved in developing flats.