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Your previous tenants moved out and your new tenants are still living out their notice period with their old landlord. It’s rare that dates line up exactly, so it’s inevitable that your property will be vacant for brief periods of time. Mothballing your buy to let property is a real opportunity to get it in great shape for the next tenants and even improve its rental value.

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So how do you maintain your property if it falls empty? Here are a few handy tips.

1. Take Meter Readings

Don’t be liable for your tenants’ bills – as soon as they move out take gas, electric and water readings and contact the utility providers. When new tenants move in take them again so you’re only liable for any usage that’s occurred whilst the property is vacant. Unplug all appliances and make sure the heating (in summer) and hot water are switched off to minimise unwanted bills. If it’s winter, leave the heating on low to minimise the risk of burst pipes.

2. Fix It Up

It’s unlikely your property will be in mint condition, and you may have been planning to redecorate. Take the opportunity to make sure everything is in good order – from painting that wall to changing the washer on that leaky tap. Maintaining property when you have the opportunity can save problems once new tenants have moved in.

3. Review Your Options

If your property looks like it’s going to be vacant for a while, now is a good time to review your options, particularly in terms of property management. If you have flats to rent in Gloucester, say, then try contacting an agent like T G R E S Gloucester who will provide a full range of property management services.

4. Sweat the Small Stuff

First impressions count. Change those dud lightbulbs. Make sure the bins are emptied and cleaned out. Mow the lawn and give the place a good spring clean. Review your rental agreements and your rights and responsibilities. Or make sure you have competent property management service who can deal with all this for you.

5 Don’t Be A Crime Magnet

Check all locks are in good working order and remove any valuables. If crime is an issue, set up timer switches for lights to give the appearance that the property is occupied.

Maintaining your garden can seem like a troublesome task at times. All of those weeds that need pulled out can be enough to give anyone a headache. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be as hard as you might think. Here are some easy garden maintenance tips that can transform your garden in no time:

1. Trim by Hand

When we say trim by hand, we don’t mean for you to fetch a pair of sharp scissors and begin chopping the grass one by one! Instead, we are simply referring to Hand propelled Petrol Lawn mowers. These devices are easy to use and provide fast and effective results. The best quality of their kind can be found on http://www.chiffchaffoutdoor.com/tiger-tm4016hp-40cm-16-hand-propelled-petrol-lawn-mower.html.

2. Healthy Grass

You can reduce the presence of weeds in your garden by making sure that your grass is happy and healthy. As mentioned above, keeping it trimmed and proper is a definite way to help control weeds. If you find that the weeds in your garden seem to be more stubborn than usual, you may consider using weed killer.

3. Fish Ponds

According to RHS, if you have a fish pond in your garden, you should perhaps consider changing it to a bog instead. The reason for this is because fish ponds can suffer from algae problems and blanket weed, which may require added attention.

4. De-Clutter

If your garden is quite cluttered with various objects such as tools, toys and other things, you should take some time to de-clutter the mess. You may need to consider getting a shed put into your garden to provide additional storage space.

5. Cedar and Cypress Mulch

When it comes to mulching, it is best to top dress it with either cedar or cypress mulch. According to Family Handyman, this is the best method to much a bigger area because it will instantly replenish the look of old mulch, improving the appearance of your garden almost instantly.

6. Personalise Garden Furniture

If you have old garden furniture that looks a bit rough around the edges, save money by painting it with outdoor paint for wood and furniture. This not only saves you money from having to buy brand new furniture, but it also adds a personal touch to your garden, allowing you to take creative control over how you want your garden furniture to look.

Starting a new business can be a stressful time. Perhaps you just finished massage therapy school, and sure, you secured a quality location and the proper equipment for your new massage therapy business, but now where is all the additional start-up cash for marketing, accounting, and various other business needs going to come from? Thankfully, free products and services currently available on the internet have rendered many of these cash woes a thing of the past. Investigate the below online management resources that are free for businesses, and perhaps you can alleviate much of the extra stress inherent in starting a new massage therapy business. (more…)

In a world where publishing has always been driven by a few big firms that decide what will see the light of day and what will remain forever in obscurity, times are changing and one small Canadian free book publisher may be the torch to light the way for millions of aspiring authors. (more…)

Every business has its peak seasons throughout the year when its products or services are more popular than usual; naturally this leads to quieter months where business doesn’t boom quite so much.

For the majority of businesses, except those that cater specifically to the summer holidays, summer can be a slow season. And while many businesses can benefit from a surge in spending over the Christmas months, others may experience a lull as money is carefully allocated in preparation of the festive period, or spent elsewhere.

Navigating seasonal fluctuations and allowing your company to remain profitable during off-seasons can be a challenge. The key to doing so successfully involves knowing your business and its processes well; understanding your customers and the factors that cause them to reduce spending at certain times of the year; and developing smart practices that will help you to sustain a season-proof business. A good place to start is with your website.

Sophisticated tools like Google Analytics enable business owners to measure engagement in a way that is not possible in a physical environment. Google Analytics can provide you with a clearer picture of seasonal engagement by showing fluctuations in site visits and conversions over the course of the entire year. This data can then be compared to that of previous years in order to identify annualpatterns.

If you discover any slopes in your volume of visitors or conversions that appear to be reoccurring on a seasonal basis, maybe it’s time to start thinking of ways to encourage engagement during those off-seasons.

Get started by doing some research into local events that are due to take place throughout the year, and think about the ways you could incorporate them into your marketing strategy. You could even use larger, global events like the Olympics to your advantage by linking the theme to one of your promotions. It’s a good idea to plan this out at the beginning of the year to give yourself enough time to get prepared, and set the wheels turning on your content strategy.

The next step is getting this in front of your customers. An important part of this is having a website that can be easily updated whenever need be. You should be able to feature (and update) seasonal offers on your homepage, and you may also want to create dedicated service pages optimised with content and keywords targeted to that specific event or occasion. These pages need to be published a few months in advance to ensure they get indexed by Google and start ranking for any seasonal keywords that you use. If you run a blog on your website, you should also plan seasonal posts into your schedule, using the keywords that you expect to generate the most traffic.

So that you can make these updates yourself (instead of paying a fee to your web company each time you have a new seasonal feature to upload), think about investing in a CMS (content management system) that allows you to do so. MA Design, Cheltenham web designers, suggest opting for an open-source CMS system like DNN or WordPress; they generally receive more updates, come with thousands of additional plug-ins and design/layout options, and are known for being extremely proactive when it comes to site security.

Having the best tools in place; probably the most up to date desktop computers in an organization renders it more effective and more productive leading to appreciation in the rate of income revenues, profits and customer satisfaction.  Every business owner wants to harness their profit margins to a maximum potential; however, some do not know the secrets to achieving overall client retention. (more…)

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and it is no wonder that brides and grooms are turning to the genius of technology to make their day even more special. There are so many advancements in the field of technology every year that each new wedding season brings with it more possibilities. The most obvious tech to employ at your wedding is sophisticated photography and exciting lighting, but there are also other innovative ideas.

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Wearable technology

Wearable technology is getting more popular at weddings as a way to track your movements and your heartrate throughout your big day. Fitness tech can track every moment and you can look back at the analysis and remember exactly what was happening at those moments of peak activity! It is also possible to capture intimate footage from a wearable camera attached to the bridal bouquet or a piece of clothing, such as a tie, to ensure up-close video footage of your special moments.

3D printing

Printing is not only for the wedding invitations. 3D printing can be used to create stunning decorations, including wedding cake toppers, and can be used to replicate the figures of your guests so that you can recreate the exact reception using printed shapes. Special 3D printers can also make food into intricate shapes, such as floral designs using mashed potato or chocolate.

Photography drones

Some brides and grooms are looking to capture their perfect moments using drones instead of real photographers. These drones can fly high to get aerial footage and you could even use a drone to carry your rings to the altar! Although fetching and carrying might be easy for drones, photography might be a touch too far considering the skill needed to capture an emotional picture. Hiring an experienced Bournemouth wedding photographer such as N Rutter Bournemouth wedding photographer will ensure your photos have the human touch that no drone can replicate!

Live streaming by robot

For friends and family who are unable to attend in person, you can live stream your wedding around the world using the latest technology. Someone can stream the ceremony from their tablet or you could even hire a robot to do the job. Robots can also be used for other tasks, such as serving drinks.

There is some good news in Britain’s hospitality sector, as new figures reveal that its workers are paid 27p more than the National Living Wage on average, at £7.47 an hour. The research was carried out by Fourth Software, and shows that hourly sales in the industry have continued to rise by 10pc over the past 2 years, but the percentage of revenue that pays salaries has only risen by 0.6pc.

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The pub sector is the highest performing, which saw its sales per hour grow by 13pc and its costs reduced by 1pc. This compares to the restaurant industry, where hourly sales rose by 5pc, with a cost base increase of 0.6pc.

Good wages for good staff

The authors said that, with the exception of the pub industry, the hospitality sector was working hard to pay premium wages that were above the National Living Wage, in a bid to offer excellent service through high quality staffing. They pointed to the pub industry as being particularly interesting for its recent advancements in cost management through rota software, flexible shifts and a large number of young staff.

Whether perfecting a post mix machine recipe from https://empireuk.com/post-mix-products/post-mix-carbonated-soft-drinks/ or learning how to wait silver service, this legion of workers is crucial to the success of the hospitality industry.

Challenges ahead

However, figures from CGA Peach have found that 65pc of hospitality industry leaders think the government’s target of implementing a £9 per hour living wage by 2020 is simply unfeasible, particularly as calculations suggest that real pay could rise to as much as £9.45 by this point. This is combined with a range of challenges for the industry that will include increasing wage competition from the retail sector, a shortage of chefs, Brexit-related uncertainty and living wage rises for the under 24s. This means that those operating in the industry will need to focus on operational efficiencies.

However, there may be gender issues too for the hospitality industry to review, with male staff being paid £7.53 on average for this year, compared to women at £7.40. This is particularly notable in the restaurants industry and may be attributed to more men working in the kitchen, where they are paid more, to compensate for the lack of tips that serving staff earn in front of house.