Written By Em

Em

Em Morley

First-time buyer sales in six-year high

Published On: November 30, 2015 at 11:17 am

Author:

Categories: Property News

Tags: ,,,

A new report from the National Landlords Association of Estate Agents has revealed that the average number of sales made to first time buyers increased for the second consecutive month.

In fact, last month’s rise brought totals to their highest level in over six years.

Increases

During October, there was an average of nine sales secured per estate agent branch, with 31% of these sales made to first-time buyers. This was a rise from the 29% recorded in September. In August, just 20% of these transactions were to first-time purchasers.

‘It’s really promising that, for the second month running, the number of sales being made to FTBs has risen,’ noted Mark Hayward, managing director of the National Association of Estate Agents. ‘Competitive mortgage products and the increasing pressure of an interest rate rise could be encouraging first steppers to take the plunge, as well as the dwindling supply of rental housing stock-putting pressure on renters to buy.’[1]

Seasonal Shift

The supply of available housing rose in October before the traditional Christmas slowdown. The number of properties available to purchase per branch rose by 16% from 37 in September to 43 in October. However, demand for property dipped slightly from an average of 342 house-hunters per branch in September, to 336 last month.

First-time buyer sales in six-year high

First-time buyer sales in six-year high

Hayward noted, ‘although it is great to see supply growing and demand falling-albeit by just two per cent, we cannot rest in knowledge that the housing market is on the road to recovery. What we’re seeing is a seasonal uplift. Those selling their homes are keen to push through sales before Christmas, hence the uplift in properties entering the market-but with the average sale taking between nine and twelve weeks, it’s unlikely transaction will be pushed through before Christmas now. Buyers are holding off until January to kick off the New Year with a house-hunt.[1]

‘The only way we can attempt to repair the market is simply by building more houses. Osborne’s pledge last week to build 200,000 new and affordable starter homes-with a discount for those under the age of 40-and his promises to offer loans to small builders, reform the planning system and re-designate commercial land to build new homes are all a step in the right direction. But until it’s all put into motion and we see the walls of new properties going up, we’re not holding our breath,’ he concluded.[1]

[1]http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/ftb-sales-at-six-year-high.html

 

 

Possession Delays Caused by Call Centres, Claims Landlord Action

Published On: November 30, 2015 at 10:19 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,

A year ago, tenant eviction specialist Landlord Action reported that possession claims were being delayed by under-resourced county courts. Twelve months later, it says that the issue has not improved and is worsened by temporary staff running call centres.

Possession Delays Caused by Call Centres, Claims Landlord Action

Possession Delays Caused by Call Centres, Claims Landlord Action

It warns other practitioners: “If you want an answer quickly, be prepared to chase.”

The firm has an appointed member of staff to follow up any claims made to the courts. This way, Landlord Action continues to provide an efficient service, despite the delays in the system.

However, it found that due to court closures, some county courts are operating call centres with temporary staff that have little or no experience. These teams are processing claims and correspondence.

Julie Herbert, Head of Legal at Landlord Action, was informed that in one particular call centre, there were just six people dealing with 55 different courts.

Herbert states: “It is evident that those at the call centre are not qualified to be able to differentiate between correspondence that can sit on a file, and correspondence that needs the urgent attention of a judge in order for a case to progress. We have had numerous incidents where court staff appear to be opening post, filing it and doing little about it, adding to the problem even further.”

The company fears that with further planned court closures and the introduction of the Deregulation Act 2015, there may be a rush of more “defended, contentious cases” jamming the system and causing even longer delays.

Herbert suggests: “When correspondence is received by the court, it needs to be looked at by someone who is capable of deciding whether the item of correspondence requires any action. If they are going to close courts, they need to transfer some of those qualified members of staff to these call centres.

“Alternatively, train up more qualified staff so that they have a legal understanding of each item of correspondence which the court receives. It can then be processed, saving numerous calls from practitioners chasing them up.”

Herbert believes that many applications by tenants have “no merit”. However, office staff are processing some applications, with the hearings being planned weeks after a possession order has been granted, meaning further losses for landlords and putting pressure on court resources.

Herbert adds: “If judges actually got to see these applications in the first instance, decisions could be made on most without the need for a hearing.”

Landlord Action advises other practitioners that are awaiting a reply from the courts to make regular chase up calls.

Herbert concludes: “If told that it is in the system, push to know exactly when the file was or will be referred to a judge, as well as asking what timeframes are in place for when you can hear back from the court and take a name. It is important to follow up your conversation with the court by email, as this also provides evidence for you to show your client that you are being proactive.”

Are you currently trying to gain possession of your property? And have you faced difficulty?

Does Your Insurance Fit Your Needs?

Published On: November 29, 2015 at 11:03 am

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,,,

Have you got your hands on this month’s At Home magazine?

Sarah Beeny’s Homes and Property issue gives you 185 original updates for every room of your property, easy ideas for your bathroom and help in buying a property.

If you flip to page 58, you’ll be met with a very important question: “Does your insurance fit your needs?”

Does Your Insurance Fit Your Needs?

Does Your Insurance Fit Your Needs?

Just Landlords has compiled details of landlord insurance policies, explaining the differences and what to look out for – as the article states, “Not all landlord insurance policies are the same.”

Operations Director at the firm, Amy Harrad, answers frequently asked questions on landlord insurance, from what is unauthorised alteration to what does rent guarantee cover?

She explains the importance of understanding different tenant types and why insurers will ask you this, the difference between malicious damage and malicious damage by a tenant and what happens when the tenant steals from you.

Just Landlords’ building insurance policies provide 33 essential covers for landlords, helping you get back on your feet if anything goes wrong. Defaqto rated its policies 5 Star.

If you would like to find out more about Just Landlords, its policies and rent guarantee cover, take a look at www.justlandlords.co.uk.

Autumn Statement: The industry reacts

Published On: November 29, 2015 at 10:02 am

Author:

Categories: Finance News

Tags: ,,,,

The Autumn Statement and Spending Review saw Chancellor Osborne pile more financial misery on buy-to-let landlords. Mr Osborne announced that the government is to raise stamp duty on buy-to-let properties and second homes by 3%.

These alterations are planned to come into force in April 2016.

Reaction

Understandably, there has been a heated reaction to the news across the industry.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the National Landlords Association, believes, ‘the Chancellor’s political intention is crystal clear, he wants to choke off future investment in private properties to rent.’ [1]

‘If it’s the Chancellor’s intention to completely eradicate buy-to-let in the UK then it’s a mystery to us why he doesn’t just come out and say so,’ he added.[1]

Paul Smee, Director General at CML said, ‘additional stamp duty on buy-to-let transactions come hot on the heels of the forthcoming tax changes to landlords already announced. The Government will need to keep a careful eye on the cumulative effects; with the private rented sector housing around a fifth of the population, we do need to avoid unintended consequences.’[1]

Catastrophic

David Cox, managing director of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) described the increases as, ‘catastrophic news for the private rental sector ,’ considering the, ‘recent changes to mortgage interest tax relief and the annual wear and tear allowance.’ He feels that, ‘increasing tax for landlords will increase rents and reduce property standards for tenants.’[1]

Cox fears that, ‘to make owning a BTL property financially viable, landlords will need to pass on the increased stamp-duty costs to tenants, who will in turn see less spent on maintaining their property and of course see increased rents.’[1]

Autumn Statement: The industry reacts

Autumn Statement: The industry reacts

He also believes that the changes, will, ‘deter new landlords from entering the market, pushing the gap between dwindling supply of available property and growing demand even further apart.’[1]

Stuart Law, CEO at Assetz for Investors, said, ‘the buy-to let investor should not be blamed for house price rises, rather this is down to the chronic shortage of housebuilding in this country which is compounded by population growth. We would therefore advise caution against penalising this group of investors when actually other policy areas hold the key to unlock the solution.’[1]

Blow

Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com simply said, ‘ouch.’ He did go on to say that the changes in stamp duty were, ‘another blow to landlords, so soon after the cut in mortgage interest tax relief.’ He also described George Osborne as, ‘enemy No1 for the buy-to-let sector.’[1]

‘Hopefully, this hasn’t sounded the death knell for buy-to-let,’ he added.[1]

Jonathan Hopper, managing director of buying agents Garrington Property Finders noted that, ‘landlords are under attack again,’ calling the move, ‘Osborne’s buy-to-let double whammy.’ He believes buy-to-let landlords are, ‘going to get sledge-hammered with a bigger stamp duty tax bill.’[1]

He went on to ask, ‘why does Osborne have such a grudge against the buy-to-let sector?’[1]

A question that will continue to provoke debate, methinks.

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/hero/btl-and-second-homes-to-be-hit-by-3-rise-in-stamp-duty.html

 

Alarming number of tenants don’t trust agents

Published On: November 28, 2015 at 4:38 pm

Author:

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: ,,

Concerning statistics from a recent investigation have indicated that a large number of tenants do not trust letting agents to protect their assets.

According to a survey by The Tenant’s Voice, the UK’s biggest online tenant portal, a very large 47% of tenants have stated that they are not comfortable in letting agents deal with their interests.[1]

Just as much of a concern was that 52% of people surveyed said that they felt letting agents do the absolute minimum to provide necessary services. 28% said that letting agents do not provide an adequate amount of care.[1]

Alarming

The survey, of 1,100 tenants, revealed that almost two-thirds (64%) would prefer to rent directly from a private landlord. Further alarming statistics from the survey included 32% of tenants revealing that they had not even heard of the main letting agent schemes founded to protect vulnerable renters. 27% said that they were unsure how to recognise an established letting agent.[1]

Alarming number of tenants don't trust agents

Alarming number of tenants don’t trust agents

 

The Ombudsman Services were found to have the strongest awareness of tenants with 21%, while the National Approved Letting Scheme had the least with 3%. More of a concern was that only 12% of tenants had heard of ARLA and only 9% had knowledge of RICS.[1]

Take Notice

More positively, 73% of respondents to the survey had the opinion that the correct letting agent could improve the overall renting experience. Founder of The Tenants’ Voice, Glenn Nickols, believes that the main feature, ‘clearly lacking in the relationship between tenants and letting agents is trust.’ He went on to say that as the number of renters continues to grow,’ the fact that nearly half do not feel like their interests are being protected by agents should make the industry sit up.’[1]

Nickols also feels that, ‘more needs to be done to drive awareness of the various schemes that exist to protect tenants’ interests.’ He thinks that, ‘many tenants are having to find their way in the dark and the industry often appears happy for them to do so.’[1]

 

[1-6] http://www.readyrentals.co.uk/news/article/1447/letting-agents-letting-tenants-down-according-to-survey

 

 

London Tenants Need to Earn Over £21k Just to Cover Rent

Published On: November 28, 2015 at 2:22 pm

Author:

Categories: Finance News

Tags: ,,,,

Tenants in London need to earn over £21,000 per year just to cover the rent, according to new research.

The average rent price in the capital grew to £1,467 a month in October, up from £1,402 in June, says the Rentify Property Index. This is more than a £21,000 annual salary, which provides an income of £1,447 per month after tax.

The study revealed that rents in London increased by 4.67% since June, with the greatest rises recorded in Greenwich.

Rents in Greenwich increased by £340 per month, followed by a rise of £210 a month in Brent and £197 per month in Newham.

Most expensive London boroughs to rent in

Position

 Borough

Average rent per month
1 Westminster £2,182
2 City of London £2,149
3 Kensington and Chelsea £2,030
4 Camden £1,836
5 Hammersmith & Fulham £1,776
London Tenants Need to Earn Over £21k Just to Cover Rent

London Tenants Need to Earn Over £21k Just to Cover Rent

Could these price rises be the result of the announcement that buy-to-let landlords will see their mortgage interest tax relief cut?

Earlier this year, Chancellor George Osborne revealed that this change would be gradually introduced from April 2017. By reducing the amount of tax relief that landlords can claim, investors could lose thousands of pounds per year.

Chief Executive of Rentify, George Spencer, says: “The high cost of rent in central London is continuing to drive people away to outer boroughs in search of affordable housing. This however, means that these so-called cheaper locations are seeing a remarkable rise in rent due to their popularity. They are hot on the heels with central London due to strong demands.

“Furthermore, the recent buy-to-let tax hike introduced by the Chancellor will further constrain supply as less people invest in property to rent, making life increasingly hard for Londoners.”1 

Rents dropped in areas such as Wandsworth, by £33 per month, and Kingston-upon-Thames, by £90 a month.

Cheapest London boroughs to rent in

Position

 Borough

Average rent per month
1 Bexley £1,064
2 Croydon £1,114
3 Sutton £1,118
4 Waltham Forest £1,146
5 Barking and Dagenham £1,192

1 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-3333353/Tenants-London-need-earn-salary-21k-just-cover-rents-s-not-including-bills.html