Helping Innovate Property (HIP) – Blog, Housing Market News and Articles

Property snagging is a term that may not be familiar to many prospective homebuyers, yet it is a critical step in ensuring the quality and safety of a new home. In the UK, where the housing market continues to evolve and new build homes are becoming increasingly popular, understanding the importance and process of property snagging is essential. This blog post delves into what property snagging entails, why it is important, and how homebuyers can effectively manage this process to safeguard their investment.

The Mayor of London has an ambitious target to make London a zero carbon city by 2030. One of the ways to meet this goal is to decarbonise all of London’s 3.5 million homes by upgrading and retrofitting – improving existing homes for high energy efficiency.

The London Assembly Housing Committee has been investigating the operational, financial and physical challenges of retrofitting in London. The Committee has also investigated the energy efficiency initiatives already established by the Mayor.

Most people prefer to work with a fresh canvas. Imagine painting your masterpieces on someone else’s painting. This is probably why brownfield sites are not the most desirable land to start building projects on, commercial or residential. Greenfield sites are a clean slate, previously unbuilt upon and typically are cheaper and easier sites for construction, but as the countryside in the UK rapidly disappears and the population increases, it is time for developers to start re-considering brownfield land.

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Are you in the preparatory stages of a new build? Maybe you’re ready to bring in an electrical contractor but are worried about how they’ll fare coming up against Part L of the Building Regs? In this article, I’ll be covering how to choose an electrical contractor for a new build that will be required to pass an air permeability test.

What is Part L

In 2006 the government passed Part L of the Building Regs setting the standards for air permeability in certain new builds and extensions in the UK. The Regulation is concerned with the conservation of fuel and power through limiting heat gains and losses via the building’s fabric. Split into 4 parts the documents lay out guidelines for both new and existing buildings.
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M&G Real Estate, one of the UK’s largest property investors, has announced that it will install the UK’s largest shopping centre solar panel system on the roof of The Galleries shopping centre in Washington, Tyne and Wear.

The system will comprise 1,317 individual photovoltaic panels, covering an area of 41,000 sq ft – equivalent to a professional football pitch – on an otherwise unused part of the centre. New technology to save 165 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually

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Caroline Lucas, the Green Party’s MP for Brighton Pavilion, will vote against the Housing and Planning Bill later today.

Lucas, who tabled a reasoned amendment to the Bill at Second Reading, has labelled the legislation as ‘another nail in the coffin for British social housing’. She will speak later today at a rally organised by Defend Council Housing.

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The Help to Buy scheme is a new government initiative designed to help first time buyers and existing homeowners move up the property ladder. It is one way the government is trying to boost the economy after the recession and get homeowners moving again. This blog looks into the details of the scheme and how you may be affected by where you live in the country.

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Searching for a property can be one of the most exciting yet overwhelming times in your life, with numerous different estate agents, auctions, online websites and new property developments, where do you start? Well, firstly, before you even start the search for a property, you’ll need to establish exactly what you’re looking for, as it is easy to get carried away once you start to look. Have a specific criteria in mind, such as three bedrooms, a garage and a large garden, alongside your maximum budget.

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When doing any work on a property, from a large project to a minor modification, ensuring the work adheres to planning permission should be top of the priorities list. If not it could cause a major headache.

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As Home Counties go, Kent is definitely one of the prettier ones and is often referred to as the Garden of England – with good reason. The coastline is absolutely stunning and it’s the ideal place to live if you and your family are fans of long walks in the countryside, cycling or horse riding. Wherever you live in the county, you’re never too far from a green field or some woodland where you can go tramping about at the weekend to get some fresh air and exercise.

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The government’s shared ownership scheme is in place for those who want to buy a property of their own, but just can’t afford to. In these schemes, people are offered the chance to buy a share of their home, paying rent on the share that is leftover.

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