Oxford University broke up on the 30th November, this along with the effect of the Brookes and Oxford student Unions combined efforts to encourage students to wait until February, has resulted in a small reduction in the normal hype, especially amongst the first year students. We predict this year there will be a second rush from mid-January through to early February as Oxford University students return and Brookes first years try to get a house tied down.

What a year it has been for College and County. The past 12 months have seen us welcome many new landlords, grow the College and County team and clear up at the ‘Sunday Times Letting Agent of the Year Awards’ (our triple gold win).

Looking forward into 2013 we want to encourage suggestions and feedback on your experiences dealing with College and County, Please do contact any member of the team to discuss any issues or observations this can be in confidence or an informal chat on the phone. Your feedback will be used to help improve quality of service we offer to all our clients, ideas and suggestions will be well received to help us continue to exceed expectations.

From everyone at College and County I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and look forward to creating a successful 2013 together.

Below are listed the office opening hours over the Christmas/New year period.

Christmas Eve Open 9am – 2pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Thursday 27th December Open 10am – 4pm
Friday 28th December Open 10am – 4pm
Saturday 29th December Closed
Sunday 30th December Closed
Monday 31st December Open 10am – 4pm
Tuesday 1st January Closed
Wednesday 2nd January Open (Back to Normal)
Our 24/7 Emergency maintenance reporting line will continue as normal

Whilst we would very much like to be proactive on dealing with this, it’s possible that we have to intervene reactively depending how the situation pans out over the next few days.

We think the critical time will be the next 48 hours and the water is anticipated to remain high over the weekend.

If you have any concerns about your property please contact us at the office and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

We have been paying close attention on the following to provide us with up to date information

Weather forecast

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2640729

The Oxford Mail website is providing a live flood update blog

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/

The Oxford City Council Website, has a lot of information about flood precautions, advice on where the council are distributing sand bags and up to date information about the flooding, including road and school closures

http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decN/newsarticle.htm?newsarticle_itemid=50914

The College and County employees chose their favourite 6 entries and then the voting was left to the students, this received a huge response and some proactive marketing by those chosen as finalists… the winning photo receiving over 300 votes.

The winners are a group of girls who have just moved into a 6 bedroom property on the Cowley Road in Oxford “Can’t believe we won, we are all very excited, it’s the perfect prize for students”.

The association of residential letting agents has told its members. “Landlords in university towns must be prepared for the potential effects of the increasing financial burden being placed upon students, there will be less overall demand, therefore in some areas there will be less competition for properties, meaning a more proactive approach is required to secure tenants. Secondly, with student budgets coming under increasing pressures, value for money will be more important than ever before.”

But the question is how will Oxford be affected? A study by SKOPE, a research body based at Oxford and Cardiff universities, suggests that the recent increase in tuition fees has encouraged greater numbers of students to apply to ‘elite’ universities. The paper argues that this is due to a determination among pupils to get better perceived value for money in higher education. Oxford University claims to have seen no real effect this year as a result of the tuition fee increases a spokesperson for the University confirmed “Applications to Oxford have remained steady at just over 17,000 over each of the last three admissions rounds, and I believe Cambridge has seen a similar pattern.”

Oxford Brookes does claim to have seen a reduction in application and this year for the first time in 6 years they have offered places through clearing, however due to the popularity of the university as a second choice and the competition for clearing places intake to the university has still increased despite the fewer applications.

So as far as the demand as a direct result of tuition fees effecting the market I think the impact will for the time being be minimal. Only time will tell if other factors effect demand it is likely that students may decide to study closer to home so they can save on living expenses and with the large amount of permitted student development that has popped up over the past year more students may remain in university accommodation/ serviced apartments reducing demand on HMO houses to the student market.

So far from a letting point of view demand for HMO’s in Oxford has been higher than ever this year. The combined effect of the cap on the number of permitted HMO’s in prime locations brought in by the Article 4 directive and landlords deciding to let to family to avoid HMO licencing fees has seen the biggest shortage in housing stock we have ever witnessed.

Despite this reassuring news there are still a number of houses offered to students and sharers that remain empty. Over the past few years the average standard of accommodation in this market has improved dramatically as landlords realise that the greatest returns comes from offering high quality housing as the achievable rents have seen huge growth with many tenants now happy to pay over £500pcm. Landlords must ensure continued inward investment in their property to remain competitive and be careful not get left behind in this ever developing market.

These awards are widely recognised as the most sought-after and difficult to win. Peter Knight, Chairman of the event organisers commented. “Landlords and tenants can be confident that the agents displaying this awards medal represent the very best of the best. Whilst there has been much talk of the need to establish minimum standards for lettings agents, I am delighted that these awards can shine a light on those firms that are exceeding standards at every level within an increasingly competitive industry.”

The judging process included a written submission, telephone interview and secret shoppers the judges commented on how impressed they are with College and County performance…

GOLD – Best Single Office Central Lettings Agency
“seeking to exceed clients’ expectations, particularly when it comes to being ethical, which is clearly a recipe for success given that it has not lost a client in 11 years.”

GOLD – Best Student Lettings Agency UK
“a highly impressive, student-centric agency most deserving of this award win.”

GOLD – Best Innovation UK
“College & County was the clear winner of this award category, with innovation at the core of every inch of this lettings business”

The awards were presented by Olympian Sir Matthew Pinsent, who has a fair few gold awards himself.

Every day we strive to exceed expectations and this is the result, the staff team are all very proud. We are all looking forward to another successful year building on this fantastic result.

The main concern is foreign objects and food getting stuck in them. However, it is important to constantly be aware of this information when renting a property. The reason being is that there is an increased risk of a blocked drain occurring, and if the tenant causes the drain blockage, then tenant will responsible for paying the bill on the repair.

Basically, avoid putting waste from cooking down the drain. For example, hot fat from cooking, as when the fat drops in temperature it becomes hard and can close off any water exiting the property. Food should be placed in the bin or disposed off appropriately and not forced down the drain as well. Even if it is only a small amount, over time the waste can build up and cause a blockage.

In addition with your loo, tenants should avoid the disposal of kitchen paper towels, wipes or any other foreign objects, other than toilet paper or human waste, at all times. Small quantities of loo paper is designed to disintegrate/break up and exit into the sewer, where other objects are not.

Our top tips are:

Regularly check manholes and drain covers to see if drain’s are running freely, if not this could be the start of a drain blocking and could become completely blocked in the near future.

Do not put cooking fats, oils or any greasy materials down sinks or plugholes.  Fats and oils congeal in the drain reducing the pipes diameter and flow rate and will ultimately lead to a blocked drain if not cleared.

Do not flush nappies, cotton buds, sanitary towels, kitchen towels, serviettes or baby wipes down toilets as this will block the drain.

Only use recommended amounts of washing powder for that load as washing powder will solidify in the drain and cause it to block.

Don’t leave food waste on plates and cutlery when washing up or when loading the dishwasher. This will be flushed into drains causing a build up and ultimately a blocked drain.

Clear waste over drain guards covering gullys and drain aways, preventing leaves and garden materials falling in and causing blockages.

Ensure guttering and down pipes are kept clear of debris including leaves. This will cause a blockage if washed into the drain.

For more information please check out the link below:

Link: http://dyno.home-maintenance.info/drains/prevent-blockages/

Your local authority are responsible for collecting your rubbish.

If you have lived in your property for some time now, you will probably be aware of the day on which your rubbish is collected. The Oxford City Council website has useful information relating to the rubbish collection:

The day on which your rubbish is collected – http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decER/Refuse_collection_days_occw.htm

What rubbish you should put into which bin -http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decER/Whatgoesintoeachcontainer.htm

What to do if your rubbish collection is missed – http://selfservice.oxford.gov.uk/selfservice/form.aspx?form=Report_Missed_Bin

Mixing the rubbish – by putting the incorrect item in the incorrect bin – is known as contamination by the local authority and the refuse collectors will not collect any receptacle which contains the incorrect item, even if it is just one item placed in the wrong container.

You should also be aware that the refuse collectors will not take items which have not been placed inside the bin, with the lid shut.

For properties in the Oxford area which are governed by Oxford City Council, the authority are stepping up patrols in the area and are being much more stringent on occupants where rubbish has not been correctly left out for collection.  Where the officers find rubbish at the property, which is excessive, not properly bagged, or has been left in an untidy condition, they will take action against the occupants, which could include a financial prosecution.

Further information relating to the manner in which the rubbish should be left out for collection can be found using this link – http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decER/Excess_Rubbish_occw.htm

Lots of people share rented property and most are successful and run smoothly. However sometimes it doesn’t work. We have compiled a short list of questions that may help you in selecting your fellow tenants:

* How well do you know this person? Remember you will be sharing a home with them for at least six months.

* Do you trust them? Remember they will have access to all of your belongings whilst you are not there.

* Do they have similar standards of cleanliness to you?

* Do they have any irritating habits which you might find infuriating after a while?

* Are you certain they will be able to afford their share of the rent? Remember you will be signing a joint and several agreeement which means you will be legally liable for their share of the rent if they don’t pay it.

* Are they committed to staying for the length of the tenancy? You will be signing for a fixed term tenancy and you will not be able to just walk away. Legally you will still be liable for the rent until the end date of the tenancy.

Only ever share with people you really trust. If you are not sure, don’t do it.