Blog
Things worth knowing.
Short, practical pieces for everyone this sector touches: tenants, house-hunters, agencies, landlords and builders. No sales pitch, and nothing you need our software to act on.
Seven Checks Before You Travel to a Viewing
A listing that will waste your Saturday usually says so before you spend a shilling on transport. Here is what to look at, in the order it takes you five minutes to check.
Catching Arrears Early Beats Chasing Them Late
A tenant one month behind usually pays. A tenant five months behind usually leaves. The difference between the two is almost never the tenant. It's how long it took anyone to notice.
Before You Pay a Deposit on a New Place
The riskiest ten minutes in house-hunting are the ones between deciding and paying. Five checks, none of which take long, and all of which are awkward to do afterwards.
How to View a Property Safely
Viewing a house means meeting a stranger at an empty address, often alone. A few habits make that ordinary rather than risky, and none of them cost anything.
How to Read a Metered Water or Power Bill
A metered charge is four numbers: previous reading, current reading, the difference, and the rate. If your bill doesn't show all four, you cannot check it, and neither can the person who sent it.
Variations: The Quietest Way to Lose Control of a Budget
No single change breaks a build's budget. Fourteen of them, none written down, agreed verbally on site by whoever was standing there, is how it goes.