Cheryl – Dedicated Property Manager

Cheryl is one of our dedicated Property Manager’s; spending her time looking after her sites, residents and owners, as well as forming a key member of our team

Cheryl helps KT Management in the service provided to residents and owners; ensure all the communal areas are clean and tidy whilst being maintained to a good standard, helping to keep the estate a nice place to live and visit. Here at KT Management we like to keep it straightforward, whilst adhering to the obligations in the Leases/Transfers

Communal grounds – Looking good even in the rain!

Budgeting Management

Budgeting is one of the key services that KT Management offer – service charge budgets are prepared using our special formula, designed to enable us to set each element of the budget to a reasonable level with anticipated costs in mind.

Cashflow Management

In turn, budgeting assists KT Management to manage their clients cashflow.

Cashflow is a fundamental element for an effectively managed site. It enables KT Management to ensure contractors are paid on time for the service they provide, whilst working with clients and their financial circumstances, allowing you to manage your money and plan your next holiday.

Cashflow Management

A is for ARMA, otherwise known as the Association of Residential Managing Agents.

ARMA was founded in 1991 to bring together professionals involved in private residential block management. They…

• Set high standards in residential block management
• Require their members to meet those standards
• Provide technical advice and guidance to their members
• Produce information and advice notes for leaseholders
• Run training courses on the leasehold system
• Promote professionalism in property management
• Campaign for improvements in relevant legislation and policy

In 2014 ARMA introduced ARMA-Q, which is a self-regulatory regime for its members. KT Management is proud to say we are ARMA accredited.

For more information visit www.arma.org.uk

Did you know…

Tips and facts about recycling over the festive period!

During the festive period, many of us are guilty for using almost anything that’s disposable. From wrapping paper to paper plates, napkins, plastic cutlery and even disposable table cloths!

But what happens when it’s all over? Where does all this stuff go? Well the majority of it ends up in landfill… here are a few Christmas waste facts to put it into perspective!

• 74 million mince pies are thrown away every year
  
• The wrapping paper we throw away is enough to stretch around the world nine times!
• The card packaging that gets thrown away is enough to cover Big Ben 260,000 times!
• 13,350 tonnes of glass waste is thrown away each Christmas, if this was recycled instead it would save the CO2 equivalent of taking 1,300 cars off the road for a year!
• 1 billion Christmas cards could end up in the bin after December 25th!

Now that’s a lot of waste! Here are some tips on how you can recycle your waste this Christmas!

• Before recycling, remove any sticky tape and decorations such as ribbons and bows as these cannot be recycled!
• Try using gift bags instead of paper! As you can reuse them again next year and save on paper!
• Instead of throwing food in the bin, chuck it in your compost bin if you have one! Add fruit and vegetable scraps, potato peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells and flowers to your compost heap this Christmas. But don’t put meat such as ham or turkey in there as this will attract larger pests such as rats and foxes
• Use the un-recyclable parts of cards and wrapping paper (metallic and glitter paper cannot be recycled!) and cut them up and to make new cards or gift tags out of them for next year!
• Christmas trees are a little tricky, but most council-run tips and shred used Christmas trees to make chippings that are used in public parks. Otherwise, see if your local council do a collection service. You could even strip the branches yourself and use the pine needles as unique potpourri!

For extra information on recycling Christmas waste have a look at the link below!

https://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-christmas

Otherwise contact your local council if you’re unsure as to what you can and can’t put in your recycling bins!

If you want to know more about our commitments click here

Image from www.Recyclenow.com

Control and prevent damp… Condensation is your enemy! Here’s how to reduce it!

One of the most common causes of damp – is;

Poor ventilation!

However, it may be caused by other factors… such as poor insulation, the use of bottled gas fires and paraffin heaters – which can bring large amounts of water vapour into the air. Leaving empty homes closed up and unheated also attracts damp.

But you can avoid this by;

– Properly ventilating your home by ensuring that air bricks are not papered over internally or being blocked up outside. A simple look around should determine whether this is the problem and can be easily resolved by fitting a decorative grill!

-Giving your home the proper insulation it needs by injecting cavity wall insulation or using thin polystyrene lining that can be put up like wallpaper and then papered over! Preventing the walls from going cold and stops condensation forming is key!

-Extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom can also increase ventilation and lessen excess moisture. Dehumidifiers can also be used if you want to go that extra mile during the winter months!

-Try to air your clothes outside after washing… as this stops any excess moisture from being trapped when you air them inside!

-When cooking food make sure you open a window and keep the kitchen door closed, the moisture from your steaming pots can build up moisture in cooler rooms causing condensation when it touches a cold window for example! The same goes for taking a shower and putting the kettle on… so keep your doors closed and windows open!

Tips on keeping warm this winter……

How to save on heating bills!

With the temperatures dropping, everyone immediately turns the thermostat up, but that means higher bills…

To avoid sky high heating bills this winter here are some simple no cost to low cost tips and tricks to help keep your home warm:

• Move furniture away from vents to help heat circulate the room
• If you have a ceiling fan, set the rotation to a clockwise direction to help push heat down from the ceiling
• Roll up a towel to use as a make shift draught excluder and place at the bottom of doors and by windows to keep drafts at bay – other homemade draft excluders can be- an old pair of tights stuffed with old socks or newspaper, you can also use old trousers and sew up the legs, old curtains – the possibilities are endless… and cheap!
• Close the door in the room you’re in to trap in the heat and close doors to unused rooms. Think of all that wasted heat that’s travelling through those empty rooms… it just doesn’t make sense! Use your head and keep those doors shut!
• Purchase weather strips and use them on your windows; they seal in the heat and stop air escaping. These are fairly cheap to buy and easy to apply, making them cost efficient and effective at keeping those bills low…
• Keep your radiators clear; don’t block them with furniture as it will absorb the heat. So yes that may mean moving your favourite chair from in front of the radiator as really it was stealing all that radiator heat!
• Set a timer for your heating to come on when you’re in the house and to go off when you’re out or when you go to bed – it’s not necessarily true that you should keep it on all day – especially when nobody is at home. Think of the money you could be saving!
• Invest in some thick curtains and they trap in the heat, but make sure to open them during the day to let the sunlight in –  use as much as all of that natural heat from the sun! then close them once dusk hits to make sure that your home retains as much heat as possible.

Hedgehog Awareness Week – 30th April to 6th May 2017.

Each year the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk) organise an awareness week to highlight the problems hedgehogs face and how we can help.

What you can do:

• Hedgehogs need at least 13 x 13cm gap to access and exit your gardens via boundary fences and walls .
• Before burning rubbish, always check what is in there.
• If you use netting, make sure it is at an appropriate level so it doesn’t trap hedgehogs.
• If you have a compost heap, check the heap before using a folk.
• Stop using pesticides and poisons, as this effects more than their intended targets.
• If you have holes and drains, make sure they are covered
• For those of you who have ponds/pools, make sure there are access/exit routes for all wildlife.

If you want to find out more visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk)

The Housing Minister Gavin Barwell has introduced tougher measures for local authorities against rogue landlords. As a result they now have a tool to crack down on rogue landlords who neglect their responsibilities.

Councils now have the power to fine landlords up to £30,000. Instead of prosecution for the variety of housing offences committed. The fines will probably be used by councils for the purpose of housing enforcement in the private sector.

Housing Minister Gavin Barwell said:

“These measures will give councils the additional powers they need to tackle poor quality rental homes in their area.

“By driving out of business those rogue landlords that continue to flout the rules.We can raise standards, improve affordability and give tenants the protections they need.”

For information about the Housing Minister, see the below link by The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2016/jul/19/a-quick-guide-to-new-housing-and-planning-minister-gavin-barwell

Theresa May has now formally triggered Article 50 and the countdown to leave the EU has started.

Parliament has introduced a new piece of Smoke Alarm Legislation regarding smoke and CO2 alarms in rental properties.

This means, that all landlords are required by 1st October 2015 to ensure that their rental properties comply with the new legislation, which is…

• All rental properties are required to have a fitted smoke alarm, that works on each floor.
• Where a rental property has a solid fuel burning appliance (eg coal or wood) then the property must have a CO2 alarm fitted.
• At the start of each tenancy these alarms are to be tested and let in working condition.

If landlords do not adhere to the new Smoke Alarm Legislation update the local housing authority will issue them remedial notices. Civil penalties of up to £5,000 may be charged if the landlord continues to ignore the new legislation.