Zoomf Blog - UK Property Blog.

In the good old days, you could let your children play outside all evening, you’d dress up (and save up) to go to the cinema, Pluto was a planet and curry came in one flavour and was bought in a can. But times change and as it’s only penny sweets that seem immune to inflation, it is unsurprising that family spending habits have changed over the years too.

The BBC have done an interesting analysis on the subject looking back over the past 50 years. The NHS will be pleased to hear that the proportion of family spending on tobacco has fallen from 6% in 1957 to a healthier 1% in 2006. But it’s a very different case when it comes to property, the share of family spending on housing (including mortgage interest payments or rent) has more than doubled since 1957. Where we once spent 33% of our money on food and 9% on housing, in 2006 we cut back to only 15% on food (half of which was on meals out and take-aways) but a much higher 19% was allocated to housing. If we include council tax, home insurance and the odd bit of DIY then this figure rises again to 22%.

It will be interesting to see how this proportion of spending changes in the future, and it would have been nice to see how these figures change across different socio-economic groups. But they are some pretty darn interesting stats nevertheless.

One thing that the research did pick up, is that we are in fact no happier than we were a few decades ago even though our living standards have more than doubled. No matter how nice a house we have, or how big a plasma screen we have or even how nice the organic vegetable delivery box is, some economists will argue that we cannot make ourselves happier once our basic needs have been satisfied.

I would like to disagree as I’m fairly happy and I firmly believe that buying a new pair of shoes can add to one’s happiness.

To quote David Bowie…

“I’m happy, hope you’re happy too”

This is just a quick reminder to the estate agents reading that it really is worth registering with Zoomf so that we have your contact details down correctly. It takes a matter of seconds to fill in the online registration form and once you’ve done it you can ensure that email leads are sent to the right place.

Agents that aren’t registered may find their email leads going to their generic contact address e.g info@theestateagent.com. Emails that end up in these inboxes can sometimes be overlooked, so specifiy where you want your leads sent and you’ll never have to miss out on an interested buyer again! Yay!

This service is, of course, free, and it’s just to make our communications run a little smoother. You can register your details here. Sixty savvy agents have already done so this month, and have told us they’ve been very pleased they did so

A report in the Telegraph, about a survey by Halifax Home Insurance, which was blogged about on FSBO, which you’re now reading about here on Zoomf (blimey) has found that by 2020 the humble dining room will have disappeared from British homes.

Just this year over half a million of us will be demolishing our dining rooms, in most instances to make one larger living space. I guess this is understandable, open-plan living is highly desirable and, with many of us eating our dinner on our laps in front of the TV, the idea of a whole room just for dining when the in-laws are over seems wasteful.

And it’s not just the traditional dining room that we’re saying goodbye to, 170,000 utility rooms are likely to be incorporated into kitchens, 125,000 studies are being knocked through to make bigger bedrooms and 190,000 lounges are losing their walls to make a bigger living area.

But before anyone gets hammer happy around the home, it’s worth noting that this type of work should not be done yourself. One in five homeowners knocked through one of their walls last year, but if you don’t seek advice from the council, or damage a weight bearing wall, then you will in turn be damaging your chances of selling the property in the future. A big open plan lounge may appeal to potential buyers, but a collapsed ceiling? Not so much.

Technorati Tags: Property, Real Estate, Home building, Conversions

Sharing a house, an apartment, a dorm, a prison cell or anything that can be defined as a living space can often prove ‘interesting’. If you’ve ever had someone to call ‘roomie’ then it is likely they will fall into one of the following categories…

The “I’m in a very difficult place right now” housemate…
This person has always just been fired, failed an exam, broken up with their partner or realized they’re ugly. They slam doors, eat all the chocolate and use up all the tissues crying into the early hours of the morning. No words will comfort them, they need to be left alone. The good news is that when you tell them to move the hell out of your apartment you will be giving them something to cry about, and this person will relish in the opportunity. See it as your good deed for the day.

The “I put a label on it, that makes it mine” housemate…
This person is a control freak. They keep stationary shops in business as they cover all of their possessions in fluorescent post-its bearing their name. They make it very clear that you can’t borrow/use/eat their stuff, but you probably won’t care because these persnickety types only drink soya milk and have yoga DVDs anyway. Aggravate them by acting as care free as possible, and constantly letting them know that they are welcome to borrow/use/eat any of your stuff.

The “I expect you to remember the names of all the girls I’m sleeping with” housemate…
This person is a jerk. Not only are they constantly reminding you of how much more action they’re getting than you, you get to listen to it all night through your paper thin walls. Then of course you have to sweet talk with the latest victim, remember their name and interests, and keep up the act that they’re the only girl in his life. Keeping up with all the lies will hurt your brain, and you will always be expected to make breakfast for the girl whilst he moves on to the next catch. In other words, you are Chandler, he is Joey.

The “I’ll wash up all of my dishes but yours are staying in the sink” housemate…
This person is always trying to prove a point. They would rather spend ages at the sink trying to work out which was the fork they used and clean only this than just getting on and doing the whole lot. Only a fool would leave anything left in the sink once they’ve bothered to don rubber gloves, but this person is a fool. If you can be bothered, annoy them by tidying up all your stuff all the time. Then they don’t have anything on you. Then they are nothing.

The “I choose to study at ridiculous times and you will respect that” housemate…
This person is always playing music when you are trying to study, and expects you to be quiet when they knuckle down at 10pm on a Friday night. This person poses a serious threat to your health, they don’t allow you to study (induces stress), they don’t allow you to relax (induces stress). Punch them in the face (induces pain).

The “I’m in charge of all the bills” housemate…
This person seems like they’re doing you a favour, they put all the bills in their name and say they will take care of everything. Really this person has a master plan to be in superior control and to use this as an excuse to never do anything else around the place.
You: “Can you clear up that dead body in the bathroom?”
Them: “I sort out the telephone bill. You do it.”
The only way to prevent this from happening is to share responsibility from the start, boring perhaps but it will work.

The “I think it would be great if my boyfriend/girlfriend moved in” housemate…
This person is actually an amazing housemate. They are fun to live with, like the same movies as you and always make you breakfast when you’re hungover. Then they go and hook up with someone, this is kind of annoying but as long as they remain your BFF in the house you don’t really care. Then they ask if their new found love can move in, you are crushed. You’re a gooseberry, you’re in the way and eventually you mean nothing to this person. Move out. Move on.

The ‘good all rounder’ housemate…
This person is a rare find, sometimes you think you’re living with this person but in time they turn out to be the ‘I think it would be great if my boyfriend/girlfriend moved in” housemate. This person is on your wavelength, knows when to give you space and knows when to be around, they are always up for a marathon sitting of 24 and they don’t have any weird habits, friends, or pets. If you live with this person, go and show them some love.

Who do you live with? Anyone missed off the list?

Technorati Tags: House sharing, housemates, room mates