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🏚️ Meet the people making £££ by spotting empty homes 💷 £50 from GFY + 🔮 Property Boom Prediction

🏚️ Meet the people making £££ by spotting empty homes 💷 £50 from GFY + 🔮 Property Boom Prediction

The 99 - 18th November 2024

November 18, 2024

Good afternoon and welcome to The 99: the home of financial news and insights made simple. You can count on accessible, trustworthy, and unbiased news insights every Monday.

Every week we share an Explainer; a guide to a specific topic in bite-sized and actionable steps. Scroll to the bottom for the November Explainer.

Alice

£84,000

How much the average house price will rise by across the next 5 years, according to Savills. The estate agency said prices will jump by 23.4%. The average price of a property in the UK now sits at £293,000, an £8,000 increase compared to last year.

This London Pub Is Charging An Extra £2 Per Pint After 10 pm

Imagine this: You’re at a central London pub, enjoying your evening. The clock strikes 10pm, and suddenly, your pint costs £2 more.

That’s what’s happening at O’Neill’s on Wardour Street in Soho.

Before 10pm, a pint of Brewdog IPA costs £7.40 - extortionate as it is. After 10pm? It jumps to £9.40.

A bottle of Bud goes from £6.06 to £8.05.

Even water isn’t safe— the price rises from £2.15 to £3.15.

This isn’t the first time dynamic pricing has been used in the hospitality industry. Last year, a different pub group introduced 20p surcharges at Slug & Lettuce bars during peak hours.

Why Dynamic Pricing? ↕️

🚨

O’Neill’s claims this is in response to police and council requests to reflect “late-night market” pricing, but Westminster Council denies demanding such price hikes, claiming it only asked for extra security and plastic glasses after 10pm.

🧹

The pub group that owns Slug & Lettuce said that their higher prices are to cover costs like extra staff and cleaning during peak times.

Other Examples of Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing (or surge pricing) isn’t new. It’s everywhere—sometimes so subtle you don’t realise it.

🛫 Flights and Hotels 🛌

Prices go up the busier a route or location gets.

📦 Amazon 📦

Product prices can change every 10 minutes based on demand and algorithmic decisions.

🎟️ Concert Tickets 🎟️

Oasis fans were fuming when tickets for their 2025 reunion tour skyrocketed from £135 to £355 in their baskets before they could check out.

🍔 Fast Food 🍔

US Wendy’s is testing dynamic pricing for its menus starting in 2025. AI will adjust costs based on demand, time of day, or even what’s popular that week.

Should pubs use dynamic pricing?

Are Cashback & Reward Cards Worth the Annual Fee?

They promise perks, but there’s often an annual fee. Here’s a closer look to help you decide whether it’s worth paying for those benefits—or sticking to a fee-free alternative.

What Is An Annual Fee?

💳 It’s a flat, yearly charge for owning a credit card.

Not all CC’s have them, but when they do, they can vary widely, from £1 to £695/year.

👍 Why the fee? Card issuers justify it by bundling in features like loyalty points, cashback, travel benefits, and exclusive rewards.

🗓️ The fee is often due when you sign up, and then annually on your account’s anniversary.

⏭️ Some cards spread fees monthly, or even waive the first year’s fee to sweeten the deal.

A Recent News Story

Which? crunched the numbers and worked out how much you’d need to spend on the most popular rewards/cashback cards to see any return.

Amex Cashback Credit Card (£25): Not worth it. The free Everyday version provides better cashback up to spending of £1000/month, especially with its introductory offer.

Amex Preferred Gold Rewards Credit Card (£195): Worth it in the first year (which is free) for the high rate of points. Beyond year one, the fee may not justify continued use unless you put all your big purchases on it.

Barclaycard Avios Plus (£240): Worth it for frequent flyers with significant spending. The fee-free version is better for people spending less than £500 each month.

British Airways Amex Premium Card (£300): Rarely worth it. The free version offers similar rewards and value, and still comes with the same companion voucher spending threshold of £15,000.

Overall, Which? found that premium/reward credit cards with an annual fee are rarely worth it for most average users. Fee-free cards often offer more value without the financial commitment or necessary mental gymnastics.

When Is Paying an Annual Fee Worth It?

1. If It Suits Your Pre-Existing Lifestyle & Spending Habits

🛫 Premium cards often bundle a variety of perks, like cashback or points on specific spending categories. There are travel benefits, such as lounge access, free checked baggage, or rental car insurance.

If you naturally use these perks—say, you travel frequently or spend heavily in certain categories—the value of the perks can easily surpass the annual fee.

Example:

Annual fees of less than £100 often pay for themselves with just 1–2 travel trips, and the Amex Blue Cash Preferred® Card makes spending on groceries benefit you - earn 6% cashback on groceries (up to £6,000/year) at a £95 fee.

2. If You Have A Large Purchase Already Planned

Many premium cards offer attractive welcome bonuses, like large sums of points or cashback if you meet a specific spending target within a few months.

These are good if you have a big purchase you have in mind and can afford upfront, but make sure to cancel them in subsequent years if you can.

Example:

90,000 bonus miles on one card offsets its £525/year fee if you spend £5,000 in 3 months.

3. To Build Credit

Some CC providers won’t accept applications for fee-free cards from people with poor credit scores and limited credit history. Often they will only offer ones with a yearly fee so that some of their risk is covered.

Do not apply for a credit card (especially if you have a low credit score), without using an eligibility checker first. Applying for a credit card can impact your score, particularly if you’re declined, whereas an eligibility checker won’t harm your score.

Using a CC well can be a chance to add positive credit activity to your credit reports. Over time, successfully building your credit could help you qualify for a no-annual-fee card or one with rewards that exceed its cost.

The only sensible way to use a credit card that charges an interest rate is to pay off your credit card balance in full each month.

Check The Fine Print

The benefits often come with restrictions, such as monthly limits or eligibility only for specific services. Avoid cards where the benefits feel too complex or hard to redeem. A card should work for you—not the other way around.

What perks matter most to you?

Meet The People Making £££ By Reporting Derelict

The Big Picture

There are over 400,000 empty properties in the UK, according to the government.

The total worth of homes sitting unused and derelict amounts to £465 billion.

You can report derelict buildings to your local council via the GOV.UK website. The council will then try to identify the owner and possibly use enforcement powers.

But there are also private companies who will pay the general public for data on derelict buildings.

Meet A Super Spotter

Roy Faulkes, a retired policeman from Derbyshire, has made nearly £3,000 by spotting abandoned homes in his area.

He saw a social media ad for a company that rewards people for reporting empty homes.

After sending in his first “spot,” he got a £20 voucher. 18 months later, the company purchased the house he reported, and Roy received a payout of £2,350—1% of the property’s purchase price.

Since then, Roy has reported 25 more properties, earning another £500 in vouchers.

How Does It Work?

Step 1: Report It 👀

Find an abandoned property that fits YouSpotProperty’s criteria. They also accept reports for MOT garage-style space and empty plots of land.
Submit it online, and if it qualifies, you’ll get a £20 Amazon or M&S voucher.

Step 2: The Big Reward 💰

If the company buys the property, you get 1% of the purchase price—up to £10,000.
On average, they pay out 7 of these 1% rewards every month.

Step 3: Community Benefits 🫶

They’ll also donate £500 to a local charity for every property they purchase.
The house gets refurbished, sold, and returned to use.

Roy’s Tips for Spotting Abandoned Homes

Unkempt gardens: Overgrown weeds, especially buddleia, are a dead giveaway.

Boarded-up windows: Broken glass or flaking paint are telltale signs.

No bins on bin day: If the bins aren’t out, chances are no one’s living there.

Look everywhere: Even expensive neighbourhoods have abandoned properties—and higher house values mean higher payouts.

But make sure to keep yourself safe. Don’t enter the property, just observe from a safe distance. There’s no harm done if you report a home that isn’t abandoned.

What Is a Pension Megafund & Why Are We Talking About Them?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has proposed a major shake-up to UK pensions in her Mansion House speech.

Wait - What Is the Mansion House Speech?

The Mansion House speech is an annual address - held at Mansion House, delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, typically used to outline the government’s economic priorities and provide a glimpse into future regulatory changes.

What Did the Chancellor Propose?

➕ Right now, the UK’s pension system is a bit all over the place. There are 86 council pension schemes and loads of smaller private workplace pensions, each doing its own thing.

🔂 This can be expensive to run and is not always the most efficient. The idea behind 'megafunds’ is to combine all these smaller pots into a few much bigger ones.

🤲 For local government pensions (LGPS), the plan is to merge those 86 schemes into just 8 giant funds, worth an average of £50 billion each by 2030.

🗄️ Reeves also plans to merge smaller defined contribution schemes from private businesses across the UK into larger pools worth between £25 billion and £50 billion.

🤑 Why? Because bigger funds can save money on admin and invest in larger, more exciting projects like infrastructure or tech start-ups.

Why Does the Government Want Megafunds?

Right now, the UK’s pension fund market is what experts call “fragmented”—basically, lots of small funds with duplicate costs. Reeves wants us to follow the lead of countries like Canada and Australia, where bigger funds have successfully invested in everything from skyscrapers to global tech giants.

The government is hoping to:

Unlock £80 billion to invest in infrastructure and new businesses.
Free up over £20 billion to boost local communities and public services.
Make pensions cheaper to run by cutting out the faff of managing loads of small schemes.

It could be a win-win: savers could benefit from bigger investment returns, while the country gets a much-needed economic boost.

Will This Affect Your Pension?

If You’re in a Local Government Pension Scheme

These pensions are based on your salary and how long you’ve worked. The amount you’ll get when you retire doesn’t depend on how well the fund performs so you won’t be impacted.

If You’re in a Defined Contribution scheme (most private sector employer pensions)

Things could change a little. If your pension gets moved into a megafund, the company managing it might be different. This could also mean changes to:

The default investment fund—where your money goes if you haven’t chosen your own investments.
The range of investment options available to you.

If the investments in the new megafund perform poorly, it could affect the size of your pension pot when you retire. So, it’ll be important to keep an eye on any changes to ensure your savings are in good hands.

You’ve Got Time

Don’t expect changes to happen right away. There will be a series of consultations, and the final report is due to be published in the spring.

November Explainer:

Growing Your Income

The Secrets of People Who Get

Paid Their Worth

This week’s explainer features expert advice from headhunter and executive career expert Fern Freeman. In this mini-guide, she shares practical strategies to help you confidently negotiate your salary, secure promotions, and ensure you're paid what you deserve.

Fern Freeman is the Founder and Managing Director of Search With Purpose, a boutique executive search and talent advisory firm specialising in sustainability and ESG leadership roles across corporates, investors, and professional services.

Fern established Search With Purpose in 2019, after working for two of the UK's leading executive search firms, Spencer Stuart and Blackwood Group, where she completed countless C-level and C-1 level searches for FTSE 100 companies, privately owned corporates and private equity firms.

🤔 Know Your Market Rate 🤔

Thwas mentioned in is and total compensation the Week 2 explainer but to recap…It's helpful to understand the market rate for your role. Recruiters can be your best friend here - if they know their market they will be able to tell you the average and the maximum pay for your role at other companies. Go into salary negotiations armed with these data points and use these as your benchmark.

➕ Your Total Compensation 🟰 Think of your total compensation package, not just your base salary. Depending on your role and sector, bonus, share awards, pension contributions, private health insurance, travel allowance and other perks can make up a large proportion of your total compensation. Try and put a monetary value to each of these and work out your total package. Then use this figure when thinking how much you are paid.

🤝 Negotiate From Day 1 🤝

If you are offered a role, always negotiate the pay. If they like you enough to offer you the role out of everyone they've seen, the likelihood is they are willing to flex their offer a bit to secure you. Think of the offer as the opening offer, rather than a ‘take it or leave it’. Even if they can't flex on the base salary (although this should be the first thing you ask for), can they increase your pension contributions, offer you a sign-on bonus or increase your holiday allowance? This is where your total compensation model comes into play. Anything additional you can get all adds into your pot.

🧑‍ Advice For Freelancers 🧑

To freelancers out there - please don't be shy about charging for your time, skills and expertise! Be clear about your fees and the value that you bring. Clients may ask for a discount, but you don't have to say yes. And if you do agree to reduce your fees, try and negotiate it as a introductory offer, or secure a defined length of work. As a very basic rule of thumb a freelancer should charge 130-150% of what a full time employee in that role is paid, as a minimum, to make up for the fact you don’t get paid sick leave, parental leave, pension contributions, etc.

⏰ Be strategic about how long you stay

There are no hard and fast rules about tenure in a job, it all depends on the situation. On average, I'd say people stay in a role for 3-4 years, but this varies a bit depending on career stage, specialism and sector. In general, I think you should either be learning or earning in a role and if neither of these feel true it's time to move.

It's all about the story you tell around a move. If you've made a mistake in taking a role and you just know quickly it's not right, it's better to get out quickly and learn from the experience. You can tell future potential employers that you learnt what you need and want from a role, from the experience.

If it's less than a year in a role, you need to be able to explain why you moved on so quickly. And if this happens twice you need a really good story.

🪜 Promotion = Payrise

A promotion should always come with a pay rise. If your skills and experience are being recognised, your pay should reflect this. Ideally, this would happen immediately, but in practice, this isn’t always possible. If it isn’t, agree a date for a pay review after a few months of being in the new role. If all is going well, you should be able to negotiate your pay at this point. And if it's a flat no, ask yourself if you're happy that the value you add is being fairly rewarded.

The GFY “Pay Me” forum offers a dedicated space for people in similar fields to talk real numbers. Use this as your place to ask for advice on pay, share numbers (the more the better) and offer support.

Sources/Read More:

This London Pub Is Charging An Extra £2 Per Pint After 10pm

Are Cashback & Reward Cards Worth the Annual Fee?

Meet The People Making Thousands By Reporting Empty Homes

Baby Formula Market Under Fire