Coronavirus information update for landlords in the Barbican, Clerkenwell and Islington.

The situation and advice available following the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak is continually changing.

At AW Childs we are doing all we can to keep landlords and tenants in Barbican, Clerkenwell and Islington as up to date as possible.

And we are here to help you and our community in any way we can.

Since our last update, the Prime Minister has effectively put large sections of society on lockdown to reduce the spread of the disease and support the NHS who are in the frontline of tackling Covid-19.

This has and will have a massive impact on the rental property industry.

But we’re doing all we can to stay on top of the emerging information and guidelines.

Government Help for Landlords and Tenants

The Government has announced a package of measures to protect renters and landlords affected by the outbreak.

A statement from the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick, said: “This means no renter in either social or private accommodation will be forced out of their home during this challenging time.

“Emergency legislation is being brought forward so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict tenants for at least three months. As a result of these measures, no renters in private or social accommodation needs to be concerned about the threat of eviction.

“Recognising the additional pressures, the virus may put on landlords, we have confirmed that the three-month mortgage payment holiday will be extended to landlords whose tenants are experiencing financial difficulties due to coronavirus.

“This will alleviate the pressure on landlords, who will be concerned about meeting mortgage payments themselves, and will mean no unnecessary stress is put on their tenants as a result.

“At the end of this period, landlords and tenants will be expected to work together to establish an affordable repayment plan, taking into account tenants’ circumstances.”

In addition to that information, we’ve compiled six links below to information you might find useful – simply copy and paste them into your internet browser. These links are accurate as of Wednesday 25 March– 7 am.

The Government’s rental announcement in full.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/complete-ban-on-evictions-and-additional-protection-for-renters

Gas Safety

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/

A Good Article on Legal Implications

https://blog.goodlord.co/legal-ramifications-for-lettings-of-coronavirus-qa-with-das-legal

Self-Employment & Universal Credit

https://www.gov.uk/self-employment-and-universal-credit

Employment & Support Allowance

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance

Emergency Funding

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/emergency-funding.aspx

Call Us

For up to the minute news, to ask us any questions, or to simply have a chat and air what’s on your mind, please call us on 020 3693 944 – we’re here to help.

We would also like to thank our landlords and tenants for their co-operation, understanding and for creating a sense of togetherness during this challenging period.

And finally, we salute the selfless staff of our NHS, our emergency services and retail workers who are keeping the country running.

In this two-minute read, we discover five ways to keep calm during these uncertain times.

Well it’s fair to say that none of us have ever lived through such uncertain times.

The Coronavirus outbreak has caused global uncertainty, panic and anxiety.

It would be disingenuous of us if we said that as a local business impacted by this, we weren’t worried. We all are. It’s a natural response to extraordinary events.

But there are positives. For every panic buying report, there are plenty more incidents of kindness, generosity and community spirit.

And heroes are coming to the fore.

The outstanding work of the NHS staff, retail workers and our emergency services across London is something we all respect and appreciate at AW Childs.

Their selfless actions help bring some reassurance to our current lives and below are five ways, recommended by the NHS on how we can all reduce our anxiety levels.

1)            Keep a diary of your thoughts and what is making you feel anxious.

2)            To avoid feelings of being overwhelmed, set specific ‘worry time’ in the day to go over what’s on your mind.

3)            Shift your focus. The outbreak has seen a significant rise in meditation apps.  There are also plenty of free resources on the internet to help learn more about mindfulness and useful breathing techniques.

4)            Challenge your thoughts. By asking ourselves ‘is what I’m thinking helpful?’ you can start challenging your ideas and coming up with new solutions.

5)            Talking helps. We’re all in this together so call a friend or loved one and have a chat with them about what’s on your mind. Chances are they have the same concerns.

To find out more about what the NHS has to say on this subject, please visit:

https://tinyurl.com/rmkfxaw

As an independent local business, we’re doing all we can to help people in the Barbican get through these challenging times, and we will get through this together.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive, and if you know someone who might benefit from the information in this article, please share it with them.

Homeschooling ideas and free resources for families in the Barbican.

In this 90 second read we share a useful list of free internet resources which might prove VERY useful as parents and carers in the Barbican start homeschooling.

Out of all this uncertainty and anxiety has come plenty of positives.

The news yesterday that schools in the U.K. were to shut for the foreseeable future was met with a wave of companies and organisations offering up learning resources for free.

For every instance of selfishness, there’s been plenty more stories of community spirit and kindness.

Here’s a list of some websites people have been generously sharing which will keep the younger members of our community in the Barbican entertained, interested and motivated. Useful for adults too.

Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org

Especially useful for maths and computing for all ages but other subjects at Secondary level. Note this uses the U.S. grade system, but it’s mostly common material.

BBC Learning

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/

This site is old and no longer updated and yet there’s so much still available, from language learning to BBC Bitesize for revision. No T.V. licence required except for content on BBC iPlayer.

Futurelearn

https://www.futurelearn.com

Free to access 100s of courses, only pay to upgrade if you need a certificate in your name (own account from age 14+ but younger learners can use a parent account).

Seneca

https://www.senecalearning.com

For those revising at GCSE or A level. Tons of free revision content. Paid access to higher level material.

Openlearn

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/

Free taster courses aimed at those considering Open University but everyone can access it. Adult level, but some e.g. nature and environment courses could well be of interest to young people.

Blockly

https://blockly.games

Learn computer programming skills – fun and free.

Scratch

https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/games/

Creative computer programming

Ted Ed

https://ed.ted.com

All sorts of engaging educational videos

National Geographic Kids

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/

Activities and quizzes for younger kids.

Duolingo

https://www.duolingo.com

Learn languages for free. Web or app.

Mystery Science

https://mysteryscience.com

Free science lessons

The Kids Should See This

The Kid Should See This – Smart videos for curious minds of all ages

Wide range of cool educational videos

Crash Course

https://thecrashcourse.com

YouTube videos on many subjects

Crash Course Kids

https://m.youtube.com/user/crashcoursekids

As above for a younger audience

Crest Awards

https://www.crestawards.org

Science awards you can complete from home.

iDEA Awards

https://idea.org.uk

Digital enterprise award scheme you can complete online.

Paw Print Badges

https://www.pawprintbadges.co.uk

Free challenge packs and other downloads. Many activities can be completed indoors. Badges cost but are optional.

Tinkercad

https://www.tinkercad.com

All kinds of making.

Prodigy Maths

https://www.prodigygame.com

Is in U.S. grades, but good for U.K. Primary age.

Cbeebies Radio

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio

Listening activities for the younger ones.

Nature Detectives

https://naturedetectives.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetect…/

A lot of these can be done in a garden, or if you can get to a remote forest location!

British Council

https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find

Resources for English language learning

Oxford Owl for Home

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/

Lots of free resources for Primary age

Big History Project

https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home

Aimed at Secondary age. Multi disciplinary activities.

Geography Games

https://world-geography-games.com/world.html

Geography gaming!

Blue Peter Badges

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/about-blue-peter-badges

If you have a stamp and a nearby post box.

The Artful Parent

https://www.facebook.com/artfulparent/

Good, free art activities

Red Ted Art

https://www.redtedart.com

Easy arts and crafts for little ones

The Imagination Tree

https://theimaginationtree.com

Creative art and craft activities for the very youngest.

Toy Theater

Education Games

Educational online games

D.K. Find Out

https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/…

Activities and quizzes

Twinkl

https://www.twinkl.co.uk

This is more for printouts, and usually at a fee, but they are offering a month of free access to parents in the event of school closures.

Thanks to everyone in the Barbican and the U.K., and indeed the World, who has shared useful information such as this.

At AW Childs, we are doing all we can to support the community in these testing times. If we can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.

A two-minute summary of the budget for people in the Barbican and City of London

The new Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his budget earlier.

From a property perspective, a lot of his thunder was stolen by the big news which broke around five hours earlier.

An announcement from the Bank of England (BoE) introduced an emergency cut in interest rates to bolster the economy in the ongoing fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

The BoE reduced rates from 0.75% to 0.25%, taking borrowing costs back down to the lowest level in history.

This should make it cheaper and easier to get a mortgage. And could help maintain and protect the positive momentum in the housing market in The City of London and Barbican since the election in December.

A little surprisingly there was nothing in this budget on help First Time Buyers and not a whisper about the preciously discussed Mansion Tax.

The Coronavirus Budget

The budget’s initial focus was quite rightly trying to protect the people of the UK against the health and financial impact of the Coronavirus with a £30billion fund to fight the disease and its fallout.

There was nothing on the Stamp Duty front apart from a two per cent surcharge on the purchase of UK investment properties by non-resident overseas buyers. This is set to begin in April 2021.

A potential knock-on effect could be less foreign investors creating an opportunity for first-time buyers and smaller domestic landlords. But that, like a lot of things, remains to be seen.

21^st Century Planning

There was also a welcome £650m commitment made to provide more than 6000 homes for homeless people and rough sleepers.

Additionally, the Chancellor promised to bring the UK’s planning system ‘into the 21^st century’, and there will be an additional £1 billion allocated for the removal of unsafe cladding from residential buildings taller than 18 metres.

Sunak, who has only been in the job a month, announced a freeze on the duties on fuel and alcoholic drinks including cider, whisky, wine and beer.

One of the biggest cheers he received all afternoon was when he declared that £500m a year would be assigned to fixing 50 million potholes across the UK. We’ll drink to that.

To find out more information about what the budget could mean to you and the Barbican property market, get in touch with us or ask us a question on social media.

What Home in Islington Do You Remember the Most?

Two years ago, this week, one of the world’s brightest minds passed away on 14 March 2018.

Professor Stephen Hawking was a genius and his best-selling book A Brief History of Time introduced readers to scientific theories that he, thankfully for most of us, simplified.

At AW Childs we can’t share our knowledge on the Big Bang or Black Holes, but we can remember Professor Hawking by taking you on A Brief History of Homes.

From Mammoths to Mosaics

In the Ice Age, early humans lived in caves. That progressed to dwellings covered with mammoth skins and supported by mammoth bones.

By around 4000 BC people had ‘upgraded’ to huts made from stone with primitive versions of thatched roofs.

Fast forward to Ancient Rome, where we see the rise, literally, of apartments. Poor Romans lived in blocks up to five stories high, which were often badly built with roofs that regularly caved in.

In Britain, during the Roman days, wealthy people built homes inspired by villas in Rome featuring pillars, mosaics and even a first foray into central heating.

Middle Ages to the 1800s

In the Middle Ages, a typical British home had no windows, had a space for livestock and pillows were a luxury for the rich with peasants making do with resting their heads on wooden logs.

The 19^th century is recognised as a time when housing for poor people in Britain was particularly dreadful.

But those who were wealthy lived in Victorian houses, some of which we still live in today. Those homes were built during the reign of Queen Victoria between 1837-1901.

20^th Century and Beyond

It’s in the 20^th century where we see the introduction of the type of homes, we recognise mostly in Islington today.

In 1900 about 90 per cent of the population rented their homes.

A rise in semi-detached, terraced and bungalow properties changed the landscape of Britain during the 20^th century.

Both World Wars sparked building booms to house homecoming soldiers (WW1) and to replace areas which were severely hit by aerial bombings (WW2).

In the early 1950s, indoor toilets were still a rarity and seen as a luxury in most households.

The 1960s saw a surge in the number of tower blocks being built.

2030 onwards

While there’s been little change in the way homes look since the middle of the 20^th century, futurologists are predicting that homes will become smaller, ran by technology and more sustainably built than ever before.

We hope you enjoyed our very brief history of homes.

The homes we tend to remember most are the ones filled with memories.

The places we grew up in, where our children took their first steps, where we fell in love and where we feel most settled.

At AW Childs, we feel privileged in playing a role in helping people find homes they remember forever.

We’d love to know what’s the most memorable place you’ve ever called home and why?

In this 2-minute read, we discover one of the World’s most expensive palaces and why people in Islington prefer their own simpler home comforts.

Close your eyes and imagine the palace of your dreams.

On second thoughts, don’t close your eyes because you won’t be able to read the rest of this article.

That’s better.

Right then, when you think of palaces the one which springs to mind for many people in the UK, and indeed the World, is Buckingham Palace.

Truly a place fit for a Queen. And here’s why.

Queen Elizabeth’s London home is worth between £1billion and £2 billion depending on what internet source you look at.

Quite a difference in opinion but one thing is for sure, and that’s with the following features and benefits Buckingham Palace is up there with the most desirable residences in the World.

The palace has 775 rooms. That includes 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 78 bathrooms and 19 staterooms.

And if that wasn’t enough to gain a Royal seal of approval it also boasts a cinema, swimming pool, post office, police station, clinic and even a cash machine.

The latter, we find a little ironic as we’ve always been led to believe the Queen doesn’t carry cash.

But according to a survey carried out last year among 2000 homeowners across the UK, you don’t need gold plated taps to make a home comfortable.

The survey, carried out by a hotel company, listed 50 things people said were truly home comforts.

And in our experience in Islington, the findings ring true.

Here are the top ten.

1 – Your bed

2 – A proper night’s sleep

3 – Home-cooked food

4 – Comfortable sofa

5 – Family around you

6 – Your favourite film or TV programme

7 – A cup of tea

8 – Getting into your comfy clothes

9 – Your own toilet

10 – Laptop/tablet/computer

We’d probably add reliable, fast broadband to the list.

What would you add?

We love helping people in Islington find homes where they feel at their best.

So, if you are thinking of buying, selling, renting or letting, get in touch with us.

While we can’t promise you a palace, we will do all we can to treat you royally.

Thanks for reading.

DIY Trouble? Leave it to the experts in Exmouth market EC1R

In this 2 minute read, we will discover some DIY Disasters and why it pays to use professionals.

The Do it Yourself industry in the UK is valued at around £7billion a year.

But according to a survey from consumer champion Which? DIYers are worth considerably more to tradespeople who are called in to rectify and repair some of the calamities left behind by household ‘Have a go’ heroes.

Check out these horror shows as reported by Which? Trusted Traders.

Plumbing the Depths

‘Many people try and fit their bathroom suite and then wonder why the water isn’t draining away. It’s usually down to poorly installed pipework or no fall/drop on the wastewaterpipe. The worst I came across was an incorrectly fitted soil pipe which caused the bathroom to stink to high heaven. It ended up being costly for the homeowner.”

Boiler Madness

“We were called into a property where the customer complained his new boiler was leaking and he could smell gas. He admitted he had installed it himself, which was illegal because he was not Gas Safe registered. There were several potentially fatal errors he’d made such as pipes not being fitted correctly and the boiler being too close to the ceiling. Thankfully we were able to rectify his errors quickly and make the boiler safe for him and his young family.”

Not such Bright Sparks

‘The worst DIY I have seen was a 1.5mm lighting cable that had been used for a ring circuit in a house when it should have been 2.5mm. A cable like this on a 32Amp circuit breaker is likely to fail or melt under a high load or fault condition before the circuit breaker trips out, putting the whole house and anyone in it in danger.’

Call in the Experts

There are certain jobs around the home when calling in an expert is, without doubt, the best way forward.

It’s the same when you’re selling a property. There’s a lot more to successfully selling your home than meets the eye.Doing it ‘on the cheap’ can prove a nightmare at best and a disaster at worst.

At AWChilds we’ve 20 years’ experience of helping people in Exmouth market sell and buy homes successfully. It’s what we do — day in, day out.

And as local property experts, we can also put you in touch with trusted tradespeople who can do your job properly. Feel free to get in touch, and we will be delighted to introduce you to them.

New Property In Westminster’s Historic Ashley Gardens

Some property buyers are looking for a home with more than a little wow factor. Our new instruction, at London’s stunning Ashley Gardens, more than fits that bill. Based in the heart of London’s exclusive and historic Westminster, this home is distinctive, to say the least. Located within a short walk of Westminster Cathedral, the building shares the same design cues and brickwork as its illustrious and iconic neighbour. Ashley Gardens is situated next to Morpeth Mansions, the former home of illustrious characters such as Lloyd George and, most famously, Winston Churchill.

The Property

We are delighted to offer for sale this contemporary architect designed two double bedrooms, two-bathroom apartment located in the prestigious Ashley Gardens.

The property benefits from – high ceilings and sash windows – and the modern needs of a home. The design makes optimal use of the provided space, with neat design features and a vast array of built-in cupboards.

The property has been created with little expense spared, with hardwood flooring throughout (apart from the tiled bathroom) and neutral décor.

There is an open plan kitchen/living room with a modern, well thought out kitchen, which provides ample storage options, and everything that an amateur chef could need. The room benefits from well-placed sash windows which provide welcome natural light.

There is a master bedroom with ensuite and a smaller bedroom that will easily accommodate additional guests. As well as the ensuite in the master bedroom, there is also a separate bathroom complete with shower and WC.

All in all, this is a well thought out apartment that optimally uses its space. The modern feel is complemented by the apartment’s period features, and the amazing location means that this home will not be around for long!
Amenities
Located in Westminster, the property is surrounded by numerous travel and entertainment options. The property has several underground and overground stations within walking distance, not to mention the bus links. There are also historic monuments galore, many of which will be on your doorstep, including Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. There is easy access to other fantastic local amenities such as amazing schools (the property is a short walk to Westminster School) and an array of gyms, there are also a surprising number of supermarkets located close by, including a large Sainsbury’s that is 10 minutes away. Like to eat out? There are numerous highly regarded restaurants located close by, including Michelin starred A. Wong and the ever-popular pizzeria Franco Manca. The area’s amenities mean it is incredibly vibrant while still managing to maintain a sense of historic importance as the focal point of Britain, as it has been for centuries.

While the local amenities are great, what about the amenities that come with the property itself? Well, for starters, there is a 24-hour porter, a modern video-phone entry system, a lift and even an estate manager to help to deal with problems quickly and efficiently. There is also a communal hot water system, the cost of which is included within the annual service charge for the property. As well as benefiting from this communal hot water supply, you will also benefit from some of the lowest council tax rates in the country.

If you wish to find out more about this distinguished apartment, call AW Childs today.