Guardian Money Editor Roasted On Twitter
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Feathers have certainly been flying on Twitter following our article yesterday featuring an Appalled Landlords rebuttal of claims of 1,400% BTL returns suggested by Patrick Collinson “Guardian of Housing Ignorance“, who has since copped for a roasting on Twitter from angered landlords.
If you use Twitter you can re-tweet or join the discussion via the interactive embedded Twitter links below.
Exaggerating the success of businesses is done to whip up jealousy against ‘capitalists.’ It’s very destructive. @pcollinson
— Rosalind Beck (@RosalindBeck) August 21, 2017
Collinson is well known in the property community as a half wit peddling a political agenda without ever resorting to any actual facts.
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
He also wants landlords out of the market but complains bitterly when the homeless figures go up as a result! And then blames landlords!
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
Really, you couldn’t make up his idiocy or hypocrisy. Where does he think the evicted tenants will go when LLs have to sell? He doesn’t say.
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
He also wants landlords out of the market but complains bitterly when the homeless figures go up as a result! And then blames landlords!
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
Maybe he thinks homeless tenants will miraculously find deposits and qualify for mortgages to buy?
— The Landlords Union (@Property118) August 21, 2017
Probably can’t reconcile the idea of properties being boarded up and laying empty whilst development stops in it’s tracks without landlords
— The Landlords Union (@Property118) August 21, 2017
Does he not realise that new blocks don’t get built in the first place without investor money? You’d think someone like him would know that.
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
The thought of properties laying empty and less development might be too much for his tiny brain to comprehend whilst homelessness rises
— Mark Alexander (@iAmALandlord) August 21, 2017
That’s right, because being made homeless automatically qualifies you for a mortgage under these new, stricter lending rules.
— TheLandlordWhisperer (@landlordwhisprr) August 21, 2017
And you never ever get CCJs as a result of being evicted. Never. It's an automatic win for every tenant. Sec 24 helps with this no end!
“Those drawing on wealth or income from additional properties are disproportionately rich and wealthy”
The Resolution Foundation, a Tory think tank with former cabinet minister and Conservative lord David Willetts as executive chair, has published an article concluding that “those drawing on wealth or income from additional properties are disproportionately rich and wealthy.”
Click here to read the full article.
The article states there is a case for further action beyond Stamp Duty surcharges for second homes and Section 24 mortgage interest relief reductions, because “the younger generations are failing to accumulate wealth at anything like the rate of their predecessors.”
They advocate:
- Greater regulation of the PRS
- Increased security of tenure for tenants
- Further taxation on very affluent people
- Implementing the White Paper commitment to tackle empty homes
“These are options and challenges our Intergenerational Commission will continue to explore, because from the perspective of many of Britain’s real ordinary folk who still desire to own their home but find doing so increasingly out of reach, one house would be enough.”
Their policies are based on the rise of second and multiple property owners against the decline of main residence home owners in the last 15 years.
The figures cited are that the share of British adults in families with any property wealth fell 8%, whilst the share with multiple property wealth increased by 30%.
However, they admit that when looking at property wealth trends they have not even taken into account the net wealth after finance!
The report said: “Disregarding mortgage debt (because of difficulties in identifying which properties mortgages are secured against), the assets held in second or additional properties had a gross value of £760 billion in 2012-14 (adjusted to 2017 prices) – that’s 15% of the £5.2 trillion held in gross property wealth overall. This equates to an average of £150,000 per adult with multiple sources of property wealth, a 20% increase since 2000-02. With average net total wealth just over £200,000 in 2012-14, and typical (median) wealth just £84,000, owning multiple properties clearly represents a huge wealth boost.”
This report is looking at the symptoms of the disease and not the disease which is quite simply a failure of supply to keep up with demand increasing prices beyond wage inflation. Economics 101 surely?
There has been a total failure by government in the last 20 years to build or help create the environment to build, enough properties year on year to the point where we are now.
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Tenant threatening to sue!! Help!
In 2015 I rented my property to a family friend who came to me this year explaining about damp and mould. I went to check and my Tenant was telling the truth it was had. It was a reoccurring issue in the property.
Due to personal financial problems I was unable to have all the work done at one time, but did begin to have the issues dealt with.
After some time I realised that realistically the property was going to be a constant financial drain and that selling it may be a better idea.
August 12 of this year I wrote a note to my Tenant asking her and her family to leave the property in 4 weeks so I could commence the repairs that needed doing. As her father (the joint Tenant) is a family friend I handed it to her get it signed and dated and explained that I wished to sell the property after repairing it.
Anyway yesterday the Tenant came to my property posting a letter, upon reading it I found out that she planned to sue me for an illegal eviction notice.
Apparently it has to be done on a section 21 form or section 8, that she planned to sue me for planning to illegally evict her. For breach of contract (the tenancy agreement) which states I must repair all damages to the structure if not caused by the Tenant, for renting a property that I knew had previous Damp problems, for the damages caused to her property as a direct result of the damp within the property, for stress and worry caused as a direct result of me asking them to move in 4 weeks.
She actually put at the bottom of the note that trying to illegally evict someone can actually carry a prison sentence of up to two years.
My Tenant must be kidding right?
Surely she has no case for any of this?
I agree there was a damp and black mould issue, but she repainted with an anti mould additive.
And she was a family friend!
Thank
Neel
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House prices climbing “out of reach”…
House Price Index:
The average house has increased in price in the UK by £10,000 over the past year, that’s according to official figures just released, and estate agents are warning that the affordability of houses in the UK is putting home purchases beyond reach for many people.
In June this year the average property price was £223,257, compared with £214,000 in June a year earlier, that according to the latest figures just released by the Office for National Statistics.
Taken on a month-by-month basis, house prices were up nearly £2000 on average, though the speed of growth has marginally slowed. Prices increased by 4.9pc in the year to June 2017, compared to 5pc in the year to May, and the ONS figures show growth had stayed flat in 2017 at around 5pc.
Chief executive of London-based estate agent Haart Paul Smith told the Daily Telegraph, that these price rises have caused a 20pc dip in first-time buyer registrations in its branches in the past year:
“Along with consumer price hikes and falling wage growth, unaffordability is reaching crisis point,” he said.
The East of England showed the biggest increase where average prices climbed 7.2pc to £286,623 and there was almost the same growth, of 7.1pc, in the East Midlands.
North East prices saw the smallest annual growth at 2.5pc, while prices in London were up 2.9pc over the year. On a monthly basis, the average London house price fell by 0.7pc in June, to £481,556.
The UK recently published House Price Index shows house price changes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The latest available June data shows:
- an annual price increase of 4.9% which takes the average property value in the UK to £223,257
- house prices have risen by 0.8% since May 2017
- the monthly index figure for the UK was 117.1
- in England, an annual price increase of 5.2% which takes the average property value to £240,325. Monthly house prices have risen by 0.8% since May 2017
- in Wales, an annual price increase of 3.6% which takes the average property value to £151,672. Monthly house prices have risen by 2.9% since May 2017
- in London shows an annual price increase of 2.9% which takes the average property value to £481,556. Monthly house prices have fallen by 0.7% since May 2017
The regional data indicates that:
- the East of England experienced the greatest increase in average property price over the last 12 months, with a movement of 7.2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber experienced the greatest monthly price growth with an increase of 2.2%
- the North East saw the lowest annual price growth with an increase of 2.5%
- London saw the most significant monthly price fall of 0.7%
The UK Property Transaction statistics showed that in June 2017 the number of seasonally adjusted property transactions completed in the UK with a value of £40,000 or above increased by 1% compared with June 2016. Comparing June 2017 with May 2017, property transactions fell by 3.3%. See the economic statement.
Sales during April 2017, the most up-to-date HM Land Registry figures available, show that:
- the number of completed house sales in England rose by 1.6% to 53,410 compared with 52,590 in April 2016
- the number of completed house sales in Wales rose by 9.9% to 3,101 compared with 2,822 in April 2016
- the number of completed house sales in London rose by 1.3% to 5,823 compared with 5,746 in April 2016
- there were 510 repossession sales in England in April 2017
- there were 52 repossession sales in Wales in April 2017
- the lowest number of repossession sales in England and Wales in April 2017 was in the East of England
To get the full report click here
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – House prices climbing “out of reach”… | LandlordZONE.
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Six ways to use property data to earn more from property
I have been asked by the founder of PropertyData.co.uk to review his latest online software for property people.
I think he deserves more than just my opinion though, so I have promised him that I will ask thousands of landlords to review it – you are one of them, I hope you will help.
Please take a look via the link below …
My first impression was that the software must have cost a fortune to develop and had institutional backing. Apparently not though. Its designer, a chap called Michael Dent, is a life-long software developer and created this software in his own spare time – IMPRESSIVE!
This is what he says about it …….
For years, institutional landlords have used data analysis of the property market to fine-tune their property investment decision-making to maximise profit.
There are now tools available for smaller landlords to make property investment decisions backed by real-time market data, boosting your property returns for a fraction of the money that the big landlords spend.
Here are six ways you can use PropertyData throughout the property investing lifecycle:
1. Pinpoint rental yield hotspots
Rental yield is a key metric for an investment property, and good yield data has historically been hard to come by. PropertyData tracks the top rental yield hotspots in the UK in real-time, with several local areas currently capable of achieving rental yields of over 10%.
2. Analyse the local market
It’s surely true that there’s no replacement for property local knowledge, but PropertyData can help you understand any urban area in the UK from a quantitative perspective. You can define a custom area and then see real-time house prices and rental yields, along with historical capital growth, market composition and local demographic information.
3. Comparables analysis
Many landlords will recognise the experience of sifting through Rightmove or Zoopla to identify comparable properties for valuations. PropertyData makes this easier and faster – jump from local area analytics into individual property fact sheets to fgure out whether a property is fairly priced.
4. Compare areas side-by-side
You can save mulitple areas side-by-side in PropertyData to compare key property market statistics, such as rental yields, average prices and 3-year historical capital growth. As well as reviewing possible investment areas, this tool is great for monitoring how your existing investments are faring.
5. Find investment properties fast
PropertyData’s property finder is the easiest and faster way to find investment property, returning instantly available investment properties that match your budget, location and size criteria, looking only in the areas offering the strongest rental yields.
6. Rent benchmarking
For your current properties, maximising your return-of-investment means ensuring you are charging and appropriate and competitive rent to minimise void periods and make the best monthly return. PropertyData analyses the local rental market dynamics, benchmarking your property against similar properties locally.
PropertyData subscriptions start at £6/month with a 14-day free trial.
Find out more at https://propertydata.co.uk
REVIEWS
Please, please, PLEASE post your review of this software in the comments below and share this article if you think this software could prove useful for other property people.
Michael will be signed up to receive comment notifications so he will be reading what you have to say and available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to add constructive suggestions too, I’d really like to help this guy out. This is NOT a sponsored article, Michael is just a regular business member.
The post Six ways to use property data to earn more from property appeared first on Property118.
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HMRC refunds £127m on Stamp Duty surcharge
HMRC has refunded £127m in Stamp Duty for second home owners since the 3% surcharge was introduced in April last year.
The average refund over 10,700 property purchases was roughly £11,869.
Currently if you purchase your new main residence, but have not yet sold your old one you will have to pay the 3% surcharge on Stamp Duty for second homes. However, if you then sell your old main residence property within 3 years the surcharge will be refunded regardless of how many other properties you may own.
Where it is complicated to understand is in the event of one partner in a joint purchase already owning a property and the other party being a first time buyer, or if you already own a BTL and not a main residence and then buy one. The rule of thumb is that if the purchasers together end up with more than one property then the additional surcharge will be payable. Please see diagram below, but ignore the 18month refund term as it is now 3 years.
£80m of the refunds were paid back in the 2016/17 tax year and so far a further £47m this year. In total HMRC received £8.6 billion in Stamp Duty Revenue last year of which £1.7 billion was from the surcharge for second homes.
The original Government consultation document on the Stamp Duty surcharge is a great resource to use with many different examples of when the charge will apply and we have used it many times to help answer readers questions so please do check out it out by clicking on >> Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on purchases of additional residential properties
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Tenants will suffer as supply of rental homes dwindles…
Private rented sector (PRS) tenants as facing a shortage of suitable rental property, just at a time when demand for renting is increasing.
According to a recent survey of almost 3,000 landlords carried out by the Residential Landlords’ Association (RLA), 22 per cent of landlords are planning to sell at least one of their properties over the next year. It is thought that this follows from the introduction of new tax rules for buy-to-let landlords, which started to kick-in from April this year.
Data published by the RLA from their latest quarterly research report shows that 33 per cent of landlords have seen an increase in demand for homes to rent over the past three years. It also shows that around 18 per cent of those surveyed are still planning to buy additional properties to let.
But this is where the tax measures are filtering through to tenants: faced by an imbalance in the supply and demand for rental properties, 47 per cent of landlords indicated that they expected to increase rents over the next year.
35 per cent indicated that the changes to mortgage interest relief, which will see landlords taxed on their turnover rather than their profit, unlike all other UK businesses, was the main reason why rents might increase.
Commenting on the findings, RLA Chairman, Alan Ward, said:
“As demand continues to increase for homes to rent, punitive tax changes are discouraging investment by the majority of good landlords who want to provide accommodation.
“Whilst efforts by the Government to support institutional investment in the sector are welcome, this will remain a drop in the ocean.
“To meet demand, we need pro-growth taxation that actively supports and encourages the majority of landlords who are individuals providing good housing, to invest in the new homes to rent we so desperately need.”
Teso-isation of Renting?
The government’s apparent drive to address the imbalance in housing supply and demand with more institutional investment, at the expense of the individual or small-scale landlord, would seem to go against the current trend: pushing back against big corporates, while backing small-scale, local independent businesses.
But, when it comes to private renting, everybody seems to want to kick the landlord, the small, independent providers. Have the rogue landlords and the bragging so-called multi-millionaire buy-to-let portfolio landlords, got the profession into such a bind that all landlords are now paying the price for this?
It would certainly seem that the rogues in the industry, constantly focussed on by the media, even though they represent a small fraction of the industry, has done the industry as a whole no good whatsoever. Couple this with the public’s view that buy-to-let landlording is the path to easy riches, and you have a perfect storm brewing against responsible small business landlords.
The government, councils and social housing providers are all getting in on the act of backing big developers and institutional investment, encouraging them into the rental housing market. Increasingly, there are moves to provide new-build housing at market rents, either directly, or through companies, or in partnership with banks and pension funds, egged on by government incentives.
This would seem like a neat solution for government: drive out the troublesome small guys by flooding the market with multi-occupied blocks of rental housing, and as long as the media focus remains on the rogues in the industry, there will be little public sympathy.
All this, including the myth that renting out property is a way to easy riches, ignores the fact that small-scale landlording is hard work.
“The independent private landlord will continue to be crucial to meeting housing need, particularly for those shut out of owner occupation and high-end rentals.
“So, it’s time to re-evaluate the private rental market, to bring the same caution to big development as we do with retail, and celebrate the small independents who can be the heroes of the housing crisis,” says the RLA.
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Tenants will suffer as supply of rental homes dwindles… | LandlordZONE.
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RLA call for credit referencing agencies to include rental payments
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) have today called for credit referencing agencies, such as Experian and Equifax, to include rental payment history when calculating the credit rating of tenants.
This would seem only fair when the penalty for landlords and home owners for even one month of missed mortgage payment can be so severe when applying for a new loan or mortgage.
However, the practicalities of this are very difficult, because a tenancy agreement is not considered a consumer loan meaning there is currently no authority to collect this information, who would collect it and how can you be sure it is accurate.
The RLA conducted a survey of 3000 Landlords showing 61% would be in favour of rental payments being included in a credit score. This would obviously assist landlords for any reference assessment in taking on a new tenant.
Therefore the RLA is writing to the government requesting cooperation with the industry to consider how rental payment history could be included when calculating credit scores.
Alan Ward, RLA’s Chairman, said: “With many tenants wanting to buy a house of their own, it is absurd rent payment is not routinely included when undertaking credit checks for mortgage applications.
“Moving to such a scheme would help not just tenants, but also landlords by giving them a clearer sense of whether a prospective tenant has historically paid their rent in full and on time.”
Experian themselves have recently suggested a similar idea so watch this space although, government appetite for anything that may help landlords or in anyway disadvantage renters from getting on the property ladder will be low while chasing popular opinion in a hung Parliament.
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Buying freehold for our 2 bed semi
I’m looking to purchase the freehold from Simarc for our 2 bed semi house once we’ve lived here for two years. We pay £40 per year ground rent.
By the time we look to purchase, there will be c960 years left on the lease.
Has anyone any experience in buying the freehold from a leaseholder? Do they all calculate costs in a similar way? What sort of fee should I be prepared for?
Finally, is there anyway around the £96+VAT admin fee JUST to get a quote from them? This seems excessive!
Many thanks
Kevin
The post Buying freehold for our 2 bed semi appeared first on Property118.
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Hampshire Landlord Jailed for Tax Fraud
A landlord from Church Crookham, Richard Fuller, 53, has been jailed for more than two years after he failed to declare capital gains on the sale of properties in the Aldershot area.
Fuller, of Bowenhurst Road, avoided paying £157,725 in Capital Gains Tax by failing to declare capital gains from the sale of his rental properties. He was given a prison sentence of two years and three months.
Fuller was arrested at Gatwick Airport in October 2014 after returning from holiday in Turkey. This followed an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) which revealed that between 2006 and 2013, he did not declare capital gains made from selling properties in the Aldershot area.
In court Fuller was found guilty of two counts of cheating the public revenue and three counts of fraud by false representation on July 14 (2017), and was jailed at Winchester Crown Court on Friday (August 11).
Sentencing Fuller, Judge Andrew Barnett said:
“The jury found you guilty of dishonesty. This is a serious matter, you deliberately failed to pay your capital gains tax over several years.”
The evasion was uncovered as part of HMRC’s crackdown on property tax evasion, the property taskforce campaign, and was subsequently referred for criminal investigation. Following the sentencing, confiscation will be sought to recover the proceeds of Fuller’s crimes.
Assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, Richard Wilkinson, had said:
“Fuller thought he was above the law and decided not to declare or pay the tax due from the sale of some of his property portfolio.
“It is simply not acceptable to steal from UK taxpayers.
“HMRC will continue to pursue those who attempt to hide their gains on assets, their income, and investigate those who attack the tax system.”
©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Hampshire Landlord Jailed for Tax Fraud | LandlordZONE.
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