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We’re All Going On A Stamp Duty Holiday!

Confused about the new Stamp Duty holiday announcement? Check out our simplified 2 minute guide!

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp duty is simply a tax paid by people buying properties. The amount of tax is based upon the purchase price of the property. In England and Northern Ireland buyers pay Stamp Duty, and there there are different schemes for Scotland and Wales.

The amount of tax you pay depends on the purchase price of the property and whether you are buying it as your main home, or an additional property, buy-to-let etc.

What’s Changed?

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced changes to Stamp Duty on 8th July meaning any buyer purchasing a primary residential property will pay no stamp duty on the first £500,000. This means the most property buyers will benefit from some whopping savings!

So, getting down to the nitty gritty of it: on a property purchase over the £500,000 threshold, buyers will pay a 5% Stamp Duty but only on the portion from £500,001 to £925,000. Then it’s 10% on the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million and 12% on any portion over £1.5 million.

Some Examples

If you are buying your main home for £500,000 you would have paid £15,000 in Stamp Duty. Now you pay nothing.

If you are buying your main home for £750,000 you would have paid £27,500. Now you pay £12,500.

Second homes

There’s been a lot of confusion about purchasing a second home but we can confirm that there are large savings to be made here too. The higher additional rates remain, with a 3% higher rate on top of the new revised rates.

So, if you are purchasing a holiday home up to the threshold value of £500,000, you will pay 3% Stamp Duty.  If it’s over the threshold of £500,000 you’ll pay 8% on the portion from £500,001 to £925,000, 13% on the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million, and 15% on the remaining portion over £1.5 million.

Visit gov.uk for more information

Why have the Government made these changes?

This move by the Government will keep the post lock-down property market momentum going strong and help the broader economy.

This is because when people move, they often spend thousands of pounds doing up their new home to suit their lifestyle and tastes. Think about it: when you move home, you often spend money on new carpets, curtains, kitchen units, and even new furnishings etc.

So when does all this end?

From 1 April 2021, the Stamp Duty holiday ends and the old regulations will revert to what they were before these temporary changes were announced, unless the Government decide otherwise, of course. We can live in hope!

Our thoughts on it all

The change means now is a great time to put your property on the market as we’re expecting a surge of buyers looking to make their move while they can save a large chunk of hard earned cash.

We’re primed and ready to take your calls and answer any questions you have around the new Stamp Duty changes. So, if you are thinking of buying or selling in 2020 the time’s never been better thanks to this news!

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The Crediton Post Lockdown Property Market

So, what have we learned in the first month?

From talking to a lot of other estate agents and our from own findings, it might surprise you to learn that new enquiries from homebuyers, tenants, landlords and home sellers have been at record levels since lockdown was lifted from the property market in mid-May.

There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, we had the pent-up demand for Crediton property from the Boris Bounce in January and February. Next, many Crediton people were planning to move this spring yet were prevented doing so because of lockdown, and finally, surprisingly, an advance wave of home movers seeking to bring their Crediton moving plans forward because of a fear of a second Covid-19 wave later in the year.

So, what does all that look like and how does it compare to the last 12/18 months?

Data from Yomdel, the live chat and telephone answering service for a quarter of UK estate and letting agents, is able to track objective and more current information from across the UK on what is really happening. Each week, they are dealing with thousands of enquiries including:

  • Seller enquiries (i.e. house sellers looking to put their property on the market)
  • Buyer enquiries (i.e. people looking to view a property on the market with the intention of buying it)
  • Landlords enquiries (i.e. landlords looking for tenants for their rental property)
  • Tenant enquiries (i.e. people looking to view a property on the market with the intention of renting it)

They have created a rolling weekly average of those enquiries for the whole of the UK for the 62 weeks before the country went into lockdown. Then they compared that 62 week average with specific time frames, namely the 10 weeks of the run up to the General Election, the 8 weeks of Post Boris Bounce in January and February 2020, the weeks of lockdown in March, April and early May and then finally, from mid-May, the post lockdown.

You might ask why tracking estate and letting agency enquiries is so important?

Enquiries in letting and estate agencies are the beating heart of the property market – they are the ECG machine of the estate and letting agency. Of course, house price data has its place and is lauded by the national press as the bellwether of the property market, yet it takes 6 to 9 months for the effects of what is happening today to show in those house price indexes, whilst these enquiries are what is happening now.

Have a look at the data in the graph and table, it can be seen in the 8 weeks up to the General Election, every metric was down. Next, the post Boris Bounce saw house seller and house buyer leads increase yet note how low tenant enquiries were (hardly any change from the run up to the election), everything dipped during lockdown as expected, yet look at all the metrics post lockdown … amazing! (e.g. if a number in the graph/table below is say -25%, that means its 25% below the rolling 62 week average, yet if it were +20%, then that would mean it would be 20% more than the rolling 62 week average)

The numbers speak for themselves!

So, what is happening in the Crediton and mid Devon property market? Well, there is plenty of activity, yet that doesn’t mean everything is back to normal. Enquiries are an important metric, yet another way to judge the health of the property market is to look at the number of property transactions (i.e. people moving).

Now the Land Registry data isn’t quite as exhilarating, yet it is less volatile. Nationally, it shows that property transactions were at their lowest level since its records began in April 2005. The seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential property transactions in April and May 2020 was 90,210, 53.4% lower than the 193,500 transactions of April and May 2019. Again though, this was because of the restrictions on moving during Covid-19. The stats for Crediton are still to be released, yet rest assured I will share them in due course. But of course, Land Registry figures are somewhat out of date as they are based on completions not agreed sales, so don’t reflect what’s actually happening on the ground right here right now.

So looking again at what is happening now:

24 Crediton and mid Devon village properties have come onto the property market in the last 14 days alone, and some 29 properties in the same area were sold subject to contract. From our Helmores office we’ve agreed 42 property sales in the whole of June which is above where we would normally be by about 20%.

So, what of the future of the post-lockdown Crediton housing market? While a stern recession seems fairly likely, a housing market crash most definitely not. Many newspapers are predicting property values to fall in 2020, then rise reticently from the ashes in 2021, but so far there are no signs of any falls – quite the opposite. The fact is, nobody knows!

The property market is driven a lot by sentiment. Buying a home is not like buying stocks and shares – it’s a home to live in … and those Crediton landlords who are looking for an investment opportunity, often let their heart rule the head (again sentiment) when investing in property.

Property always has, and always will be, a long-term investment. Many of you Crediton people reading this, especially potential first time buyers, have been putting off buying your first home because of Brexit, now its Covid-19, and in a few years, it will be something else. There will always be ‘something else’… and you could get to your 50’s and 60’s, still renting, waiting for the ‘next thing’ to pass before you buy … and end up buying nothing.

Nobody knows what the months or years ahead will bring … yet what I do know is, people will always need a place to live. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Tell us what your experiences are as a Crediton landlord or homeowner, tenant or buyer so we can all learn from each other.

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Five good news stories from the world of property

feelgood friday Helmores

It’s a Feelgood Friday Property Special this week! Check out our 2 minute read of good news property stories from around the globe:

Micro homes for rough sleepers

Six “micro homes” have been built on church land in Cambridge as part of an innovative project to help the homeless.

As well as getting a roof over their heads, rough sleepers who move into the self-contained pods will receive counselling and support.

The micro-homes, which are easy to relocate, will stay on their present site for three years.

After this time, they could be moved to a new location. Let’s hope we see more being done to help the homeless.

Eggs-citing design

Architects have designed a floating chicken farm. Yes, really. The three-storey creation will nestle on a concrete pontoon in a Rotterdam waterway, in The Netherlands. It will house 7,000 hens, an egg processing plant, and a cress farm.

So, what do the neighbours think?

As the chicken farm will go next to an existing floating dairy, we don’t expect them to have any beef with the plans.

Market rebounds

New figures from the Zoopla Property Index show house prices are on an upward trajectory.

Zoopla found house prices were up 2.4% year on year in May. It also predicts property prices in the next quarter will grow by between 2 and 3%.

Coastal dreams

New research from Rightmove shows that Whitby in Yorkshire is the most in-demand seaside location in the UK – up in popularity by almost 5% in a year. The figures are based on inquiries for properties available for sale in the area.

Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, was second, followed by Troon in Ayrshire, Scotland.

The most expensive seaside destination though remains Sandbanks, in Poole, where the average cost of a home is £1,243,364.

Back to business

Another positive sign that we’re all getting back to normal is that the Scottish housing market will reopen for business next week. Lettings and estate agents can open their doors from Monday (June 29). Viewings can also take place as long as social distancing measures are observed.

This follows the partial reopening of the housing market in Wales. Viewings can now take place at unoccupied Welsh properties. House moves can also go ahead providing the property has been vacant for 72 hours.

The world of property is emerging strongly after the lockdown, which is good news for anyone looking for a new home.

We want the people of mid Devon to know that we are optimistic about the future and determined to continue to serve our community. Whatever your property needs are, we’re here to help 🙂

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Enjoy another weekly dose of positive news in Crediton!

Fluffy retriever

It’s Friday AGAIN! Where is the time going? Here’s our regular two-minute dose of good news to lift your mood this Feelgood Friday!

Canine companions

A yellow Labrador called K9 Raider is in the running to be named America’s top dog. K9 Raider is a Courtroom Therapy Dog who sits with young victims of serious crime when they give evidence. He provides a calming presence during what can be a traumatic experience. Another frontrunner in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards 2020 is Dolly Pawton, a Labrador who can detect when her owner’s blood pressure or heart rate drop and raise the alarm. Then there’s MacKenzie, a Chihuahua born with a cleft palate who now spends her time cuddling up to young, abandoned animals at a New York shelter.

Cycling surge

The number of Brits cycling has skyrocketed. New official figures reveal a 100% increase in people cycling on weekdays and a whopping 200% rise on weekends during lockdown. The trend has been welcomed by environmentalists, fitness campaigners and bike shops – where sales have gone through the roof. Such is the demand that bike stocks are running low, prompting some to say, “bikes are the new toilet paper”. Not one of our favourite expressions, but we know what they mean.

Toy story

You could be forgiven for thinking the nation’s little people have spent the whole of lockdown glued to screens. But new market analysis from a data collection company called NPD shows strong demand in recent months for old fashioned toys. Demand for puzzles and jigsaws rose by 43%. Meanwhile, outdoor toys, like sandpits and waterslides, were a hit in May when the glorious sunny weather arrived, prompting a 31% spike in sales. Building sets like Lego increased by 17%. (Figures cover January 1 to May 23 this year, compared to the same period in 2019).

Ingenious invention

Two resourceful brothers have invented a mobile handwashing unit to help stop the spread of Covid-19 in Ghana. Richard Kwarteng Aning and his brother Jude Osei built the Solar Wash from an old barrel and items bought at their local market. The nifty solar-powered basin has a sensor-triggered soap dispenser (so no need to touch anything) and an alarm to ensure you wash your hands for 25 seconds before rinsing. Solar Wash units will be rolled out to communities in Ghanaian cities so people with limited access to freshwater can keep their hands clean.

We want our community in Crediton and villages across mid Devon to know we are here to help you as life slowly gets back to normal.

We wish you all a safe, happy, and enjoyable weekend!

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It’s Feelgood Friday time again!

feelgood friday

Gosh, it’s that time of the week again! Here’s we go with another two-minute dose of darn good news to get you smiling!

All we need is radio Ga Ga!

While some sectors have struggled in the pandemic, radio has enjoyed a resurgence. The BBC has recorded an 18% increase in listeners during the pandemic. Meanwhile, many of the nation’s 300 community stations have also thrived, with people seeking out local news and the chance to interact with their community while in lockdown.

When I’m Cleaning Windows

A mystery man in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, has washed the windows of some 700 properties – for free! The Eastern Daily Press reports that the window cleaner, known only as “Scott”, wants to do his bit to aid the recovery of the local economy. He hopes that by keeping the area spic and span small business can “bounce back quickly when this is all over”.

Wooop to our volunteers!

This week is Volunteers’ Week, a chance to celebrate the 20 million people in the UK who give up their time to help others. This year has been particularly challenging for volunteers due to lockdown and social distancing rules, but that hasn’t stopped them doing good work. Volunteers at London’s Slipstreamers Cycling Club, for example, have devised a range of virtual spinning workouts to keep their young charges active until they can get back out on the track again. Then, of course, there are the tens of thousands of NHS volunteers who have helped alleviate pressure on our health service. You’re all heroes.

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours

It’s official: Pemberton Road in Winstanley, Wigan, has the UK’s nicest neighbours. This week it was named Britain’s Friendliest Street in an online poll. Despite being a long and busy thoroughfare, Pemberton Road has bucket-loads of community spirit. During the lockdown, residents pulled together to ensure anyone who was self-isolating was kept stocked up on essentials. The road also has its own quiz master, who organises regular brain teasers to keep people occupied, and a videographer, who compiled a video of neighbours dancing to the Madness song Our House to keep spirits up.

Crafty Kids!

Two young brothers in Derby have made more than 100 cushions for key workers. Ronnie and Reggie Cockroft, aged ten and seven, wanted to do something special for NHS staff and supermarket workers who have been putting in long hours during the pandemic. Their mission is made even more special because Reggie was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy. The boys’ family credit the NHS with saving Reggie’s life.

We want our community in Crediton  to know we are here to help you as we were in the past, as we are in the present and as we will be in the future.

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Revealed – The healthiest and wealthiest place in your Devon Home

Helmores Kitchen

In this 60 second Fast Thursday read we look at some simple ways you can turn what you do indoors into protecting your immune system when you are outdoors.

On average there’s one room in peoples’ homes across Devon which is more valuable than others.

And that’s your Kitchen. Kitchens are often the room in a home that people spend the most money on. The good news is it’s a wise investment in more ways than one.

A well designed, smart looking and functional kitchen will add value to your property – potentially thousands of pounds. More importantly, it’s also the place where you can add value and quality to your life by preparing food which will boost your immune system.

We’ve all been advised recently about the importance of a robust immune system. Below are three simple ways you can boost your immunity as recommended by the NHS:

Fantastic Five – Yes, as many of us know, getting your five a day of fruit and veg is a cornerstone of better health.

Sugar Slowdown – Fancy a sugary treat? Reach for an orange or some dried sweet fruits like cranberries or mango instead of the biscuit tin.

Hygiene Heaven – A clean kitchen not only looks great, but it’s a great way of reducing germs that can attack immune systems.

And any health-conscious kitchen should be stocked with immune-boosting foods such as these recommended by the NHS.

Broccoli – Watermelon – Yoghurt – Wild Mushrooms – Citrus Fruits – Garlic and Bell Peppers.

 Have you learned some new healthy recipes during lockdown? We’d love you to share your delicious dishes with our community in Crediton!

Thanks for reading, and we hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy, happy, and safe.

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It’s Feelgood Friday!

its feelgood friday helmores

Good news is coming in from different sections of our everyday lives!

As we enter a different phase in life under lockdown, we’re starting to feel more positive about the future and here’s why:

Health

Public health officials in England have approved a test to see whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past. This may well be rolled out UK wide. It spots antibodies in people who could now have some level of immunity.

Sport

Football fans will be pleased to know the German Bundesliga is restarting this weekend with games in closed stadiums. We’re waiting on news from the UK’s football and other sporting authorities.

Environment

A group of volunteers have been isolating themselves in Scotland to save more than 100,000 native trees from being lost. They are from a charity, Trees for Life, which had its work planting new trees to restore the Caledonian Forest to its ancient glory, threatened by the outbreak. Thanks to the volunteers, the essential work needed is still being done. Tree – mendous. (sorry, couldn’t resist it).

Community

We’re proud to be a part of a group of agents across the UK who donate to national and global community causes every month via something called The Karma Club. It is organised by estate agency industry supplier the Estate Agent Content Club. So far, we’ve played our part in donations to care homes, food banks and youth groups during the outbreak.

Kindness

Flying the flag, literally, to bring a smile to people’s faces is artist Julian Wood. Julian has created small fabric flags bearing messages of kindness and hope, and he has left them in public places around Bristol to cheer people up. The messages include ‘You’re sweet’ ‘Thank you NHS’ and ‘You look great.’

We want our community in mid Devon to know we are there for them during these surreal times. Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe, stay sensible and be kind to each other!

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Our Stay Safe Policy

the property market is open for business helmores

We’re so excited about the prospect of being able to help you find your dream home BUT the safety of you, our colleagues, and our clients is our utmost priority, so it’s really important that you read and understand our stay safe policy:

For viewings, the government are advising that you should view properties “virtually” in the first instance, and then only physically view properties that you have a strong interest in. This will help reduce the number of properties you need to visit before finding your new home. Many of our sale properties already have interactive virtual tours and we’re working hard to ensure all properties will have this facility as soon as possible.

In addition to this we recommend that you use Google Maps and Street View to check out the location of any property before you make a viewing appointment. It’s great fun scoping out different areas!

We will do everything possible to make your viewing enjoyable and informative, whilst keeping you and us as safe as possible.

Viewings

  • Please provide and wear your own face mask and gloves.
  • If you are exempt from wearing a mask you MUST inform us when you call to arrange a viewing – not on the viewing itself.
  • Viewing times will be limited in order for us to have time to ensure surfaces such as door handles, worktops, cupboard doors etc are cleaned.
  • Please only one person or a couple from the same household on a viewing at any time.
  • Please wash your hands before you leave your home and ensure that during the viewing you don’t touch any surfaces.
  • Please follow social distancing rules and keep at least 2m distance from our team member.
  • Please ensure you have viewed the interactive virtual tour or video on our website beforehand.
  • Ideally you should at least have your own property on the market, sale agreed or sold. If you need to sell a property but you’re not on the market, we’d love to speak with you about this!
  • If you arrive early at a property viewing, please wait outside for our team member to arrive.
  • If you or any of your household have symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate please don’t ask us to arrange any physical viewings – although we’d still love to chat with you over the phone and keep in contact with you for when you have fully recovered.

Visitors to our Offices

  • Our offices are open on an appointment only basis, and only if a visit is absolutely necessary (eg collecting keys etc). Most interactions can be done over the phone or email.
  • If you or any of your household have symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate please stay at home. We’d love to chat to you over the phone though!
  • Please call or email us to fix an appointment to visit us 01363 777999 or [email protected]
  • Only one visitor to enter at a time (two people from the same household may enter).
  • All visitors MUST wear a facemask
  • If the front office space is already occupied please wait outside for them to leave.
  • Please follow social distancing rules and keep at least 2m distance from our team member, keeping behind the hatched floor tape.
  • If handing over paperwork or keys please place on the desk at the front of the office.
  • We will sanitise keys with an antibacterial wipe or spray prior to hand over.
  • We are aiming to be a paperless office so documents or property details will be emailed as a PDF document to minimise contamination risk
  • Please use the hand sanitiser by the front door when you enter our building.
  • Please use your own pen to sign paperwork.

Finally, if you need any help with ANYTHING property related we’d love to hear from you – no question is too silly or too small! Just pick up the phone or drop us an email 01363 777999 or [email protected]

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It’s a Feelgood Friday in Crediton and a VE Day Special

feelgood friday ve day

It’s our seventh Feelgood Friday since lockdown, and it’s a very special one as we mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. A 3-minute read.

We’ve renamed this week’s Feelgood Friday to Thankful Friday as we celebrate the service, sacrifice and strength of the heroes who made VE Day possible 75 years ago. And what better way to honour them and say thanks to them, than by having a safe, fun-filled day. Below we’ve found five ways you can mark the historic day and make it one to remember.

1) Take part in two-minute silence – At 11 am today, a national two-minute silence will be held to remember the sacrifice of those from the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond, who fought in the war.

2) Pack a Picnic – We can’t have the street parties that many had planned, but we can have a picnic in our gardens, balconies or even in our homes. It’ll be good to forget about you know what for a while.

3) Do a Victory Roll – This might not work for people with shorter hair, but if your mane is long enough (and that now applies to many of us), you can create the iconic hairstyle which was popular in the 1940s. It is named after the daredevil roll that RAF pilots made following a victory in the skies.

4) Listen to the Queen’s speech – Get in front of the TV for a pre-recorded speech by the Queen. It will be broadcast at 9 pm, which is a tip of the hat to history, as that was the time her father, King George VI, spoke to the nation via radio on May 8, 1945.

5) Join the singalong – Just after the Queen’s speech the nation is being asked to join in a mass singalong with 103-year-old forces sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn who will be leading a rousing rendition of ‘We’ll Meet Again.’ What a way to finish a memorable day.

The internet is full of useful free resources like colouring sheets for kids so the younger ones can get involved too. One thing that life under lockdown and this awful disease has highlighted is the value of everyday heroes.

Not Youtubers, footballers or celebrities but nurses, doctors, care, home workers, delivery drivers, shop workers and many others putting themselves in the front line against our generation’s biggest fight – The Coronavirus.

And those heroic men and women of more than 75 years ago showed us the way to survive and then thrive through the hardest of hard times.

Many hailed from Crediton, and we are all forever in their debt.

From all of us at Helmores, we’d like to wish you a very safe and happy VE Day.

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10.3% of Crediton Workers Worked from Home Before Covid-19

Crediton workers working from home

I wonder How Many More do Now?

Amongst warnings from the Government that some lockdown constraints could stay in place into 2021, businesses are dealing with an unexpected cultural shift in how many of us do our work. Talking to many Crediton workers working from home for many it has been a pleasant success.

Working from home does have some negatives though. I have found myself still working at 8pm/9pm and beyond as I have forgotten to clock out and whilst many people might think working from home means doing less work, more often than not, the reverse is true for industrious and hardworking employees. When you don’t have that break of the commute to the office, the workday can blend into one’s home life. Talking of commuting, the average British worker has a daily commute of 11.9 miles, whilst locally…

The average daily commute for a Crediton worker is 8.9 miles

At least working from home, the commute is only to the dining room table or spare bedroom. Speaking to some friends of mine that are new to working from home, they said to me that they can feel out of the office-loop as they miss the ‘water-cooler’ moments or spur-of-the-moment brainstorming session over a brew, it’s tough to reproduce that from home.

Don’t forget to get into your garden (if you have one), stretch those legs. Ensure you are taking advantage of the daily exercise allowance. I see so many people walking around our neighbourhood daily who I haven’t seen before. Let’s hope they keep up the habit once lockdown is removed. You have to admit, it’s quite nice especially as there are far less cars on the road.

Crediton workers commute 28,330 miles a day to work

That’s an eighth of the way to the moon – every day!

Some people find it difficult to adjust to working from home and feel guilty if they don’t reply to co-workers emails or phone calls straight away. My friends stated that they didn’t want their team-mates to wonder if they were taking it easy rather than pulling their weight. The best advice I can give from working with my team, is to over communicate, and I suggested (as I do to you) to tell their bosses and colleagues what they are doing and share their accomplishments using those video conferencing software packages.

The really hard part is having a dedicated space in your home.  Attempt to set up a workspace and make it out of bounds to the rest of your household while you are working (although that is very difficult when you have children or your partner is having to work from home as well). Is there anything worse than being on an important call to your boss or a client, only to have a delivery driver knocking on the door or having your kids and dogs yelling and barking in the background? It’s a balancing act!

Interestingly, looking at the stats and this internment in Crediton people’s homes could be a catalyst for people wanting to move home later in the year be it for rent or for sale, thus giving a vital boost to the Crediton property market. Would it surprise you that…

834 Crediton households are either at full capacity

or officially overcrowded?

The definition of full capacity is when the household has enough bedrooms for the occupants. The definition is set out in ‘The Allocations Code of Guidance’, which recommends that the ‘bedroom standard‘ is adopted as a minimum measure of overcrowding.

This means one bedroom should be provided for

  • each adult couple.
  • any other adult aged 21 or over.
  • two adolescents of the same sex aged 10 to 20.
  • two children regardless of sex under the age of 10

That means 23.9% of Crediton households do not have a spare bedroom for their occupants to work from (compared to the national average of 16.64% of household).

Even worse, I suspect there are many Crediton families with two teenage boys or two teenage girls, and guidance is suggesting they can share a bedroom – do they live in the real world? This means there are probably even more Crediton households that are at full capacity or even more overcrowded than the stats suggest, meaning plenty of people will be working from dining room tables (if they have a dining room that is) and quite probably the kitchen table … a recipe for even more people wanting to move home later in the year.

So, I don’t know how many Crediton people are working from home, yet looking at the newspapers the consensus is that it has at least doubled. For all the reasons mentioned in this article, this looks like we could have a pressure cooker scenario of demand for Crediton property once the restrictions have been fully lifted.

Meanwhile, a message to all you new homeworkers in Crediton. Working from home is a tough one. The best advice I can give is to change your way of thinking.  I know many friends who are missing their offices right now, yet is office-working really so great? Consider the relentless risk of disturbance when you are trying to finish that important project, the recirculated air conditioning with its germs, the shortage of quiet meeting rooms and as I have already mentioned before, the drawn-out and expensive commute.

Try breaking the cycle of thinking that being at work – time is productive and not being at work – time is only leisure. The new way of thinking that accepts the concessions of home-working and discards the traditional 20th Century conventions of office working. Yes, the downside is that as humans we are very sociable creatures and we acutely feel the need to be in face to face contact with each other often, meaning lockdown is quite tough for many of us. Yet, if we are able to connect the positive prospects for the future working and the situation that Covid-19 offers us, then together as a society we should be able to find the right balance between working from home and coming together. In the meantime, be considerate of each other and keep safe we are all in this together and we will all overcome this together.

If you found this article interesting check this out: https://helmores.com/five-ways-technology-could-transform-your-home-after-the-lockdown/