Whether a property is your home or your place of business, it’s important that you keep it in good condition so that it is not only a nice place to spend time, but so that it also retains its value.
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Keeping Up Appearances
The first impression anyone will have of your property will be of the external view, therefore ensure that it is always well painted and maintained. In addition, if there is a garden or grounds, they should be well tended and kept looking neat and tidy.
Your attention should then turn to the interior and here the watchwords are similar. Your home or business needs to be clean, safe, well maintained and decorated and items like the boiler, electrics and heating should be serviced regularly to ensure that they are safe.
Keeping Costs Low
Of course all maintenance takes time and money and if it is for our home then we are happy to pay the price, because we have much more emotionally invested in it.
If it is a business environment however, we may not want to invest resources on the continual upkeep that will be required. One alternative can be to choose the serviced office route, such as those offered by Skyline Offices. When you choose a serviced office you don’t need to worry about any facilities or property management and even your equipment is provided. Because contracts are flexible you can easily move to a different sized office or a different location, should your needs change.
Probably the biggest benefit offered by serviced offices with regard to creating the right impression, is that you gain access to very smart offices and facilities that are in highly sought-after areas of a city. These are locations that you might not otherwise be able to afford, especially if you had to take into account the upkeep of a whole building.
More Than One Property
If people have to commute long distances for work, one of the solutions they have found is to purchase a second home, usually an apartment, close to their work. They then stay in town during the week and travel home for a long weekend to spend time with the family. This is ideal on one hand because you can retain your quality of life and if you have children settled in schools for example, you don’t have to uproot them.
The downside is that you have the expense of owning two properties, or at least renting a second one, which then lies empty for at least two days a week and for longer periods duringyour 5 weeks annual holidays from work. This can cause issues because you simply don’t have the time to maintain the upkeep of the property and it is lying empty for a large percentage of the time, which can be a security risk.
The solution is serviced apartments, which are available in a wide variety of cities where rent or house prices can be very high, such as the area surrounding Cambridge dubbed Silicon Fen, where Signet Apartments are based.
Serviced apartments create a great impression, even if you want to invite friends over for dinner or business colleagues for meetings and networking, but you don’t have any of the responsibility for upkeep. They are fully serviced, have parking, high speed internet access and of course you are only paying for the time that you are there. Their advantage over staying in a hotel for the same period is that the cost is lower and you have much more space to relax in. This is especially true if you are staying a week at a time, as they provide you with more of a home from home feel, but with none of the responsibilities.
Choosing Wisely
It is very possible to make your property create a good impression even on a limited budget, as long as you are willing to do some of the work yourself and to keep on top of maintenance issues.
However, what is also apparent is that there are other options. In today’s fast paced environment where contracts, jobs and locations are often fluid, it can be a wise decision to opt for shorter term contracts on living or business space, and therefore retain flexibility in your life.
