Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Is your home ready for winter?

Make sure your home winter-proofed
Make sure your home winter-proofed

Before winter sets in, property managers at Strutt & Parker are urging landlords and tenants to check their properties over and make sure they are in good shape.

Rachel Tilley, a lettings negotiator at the firm’s Banchory office, recommends that people should begin winter-proofing their properties now to avoid damage or bigger and more expensive problems later especially as things are only likely to get worse as the colder months draw closer.

Burst and frozen pipes, damage to oil tanks, structural damage from severe temperatures or winter storms and malfunctioning heating and hot water systems are just a few problems commonly reported to us which could often be avoided if sensible steps are taken in preparation.

Rachel Tilley, Strutt & Parker
Rachel Tilley, Strutt & Parker

 

Rachel said: “Prevention is better than curing with property repairs and some conscientious tenants get in touch as soon as a problem is noticed.

“This allows us to nip the problem in the bud, but many tenants only contact us when there is an emergency, which often leads to more costly and disruptive repairs”.

Rachel recommends carrying out a few simple tasks now to help winter-guard your home.

  • Arrange for the boiler or electric heaters to be serviced and tested.
  • Insulate unprotected pipes.
  • Clear leaves and debris from gutters and downpipes.
  • Bleeding any radiators if necessary.
  • Sweep chimneys.

Repair any loose or missing pointing and rendering on walls as this could allow water into joints which may cause more damage should it freeze.

  • Check for loose or slipped roof tiles.
  • Oil window and door locks to prevent them from seizing.
  • Check that the home insurance policy is up to date.

Depending on the quality of your tenancy agreement, many of these checks should become a tenant’s responsibility however, you may wish to enquire whether your tenant is complying with their obligations.

iStock_000017728308_Large

Rachel added: “If your property becomes empty during the winter then we recommend that you inspect it regularly and ensure that the cold water mains are turned off to minimise possible damage from burst pipes and leave the heating on low.

“It is also vital that insurers are informed that the property is vacant which will prevent any claim being rejected if there is any damage over the winter months.”

Should you have any concerns in relation to the quality of your lease agreement or if you are managing your own property, contact Rachel for advice on 01330 824888.