Our Sunseeker Day On Malta’s Sam K

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Sam K, a 30 meter Sunseeker Motor-yacht, is being pitched as the leader in its class for Mediterranean charters.

Some business friends and I took a walk around Portomaso Marina earlier this week, where Sam K is moored

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Latest off-plan development opportunity in Nottingham

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PIP is delighted to present our investors with this amazing opportunity to invest in Nottingham. This early-bird, off plan investment opportunity is ideally positioned close to the city centre of Nottingham and is made up of luxury one-bed apartments. We have managed to secure our clients the best units for the fantastic price of £104,995, 

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New online system for landlords to receive direct payments from UC tenants

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Since 3rd October 2018, working alongside The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Caridon Landlord Solutions has been piloting a new online system to allow rent payments, from tenants in receipt of Universal Credit, to be paid directly to Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords. 

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Land for the Many but Rentals for the Few

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The Land for the Many report for the Labour Party was released on 4 June. Click here

George Monbiot was the editor and there were six other authors.  One of them, Beth Stratford,  wrote an article about it in CityMetric.

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Consumers more optimistic about their finances going forward…

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Consumer Confidence:

Household confidence levels about their personal finances is
in more positive territory, that’s according to the latest GfK consumer
confidence index. Given that Brexit uncertainty continues to weigh on consumer confidence,
this data provides consolation for landlords, in that tenants’ rent paying
ability remains stable.

The international consulting and forecasting organisation, Growth
from Knowledge (GfK), produces a regular consumer confidence index which shows
a rise from -13 to -10 in when the results to May were published.  This shows the first index figure rise since February,
but though this is a hopeful sign, the index is still stuck in negative
territory, as it has been since 2016.

Consumer sentiment, as GfK says, is a critical barometer of
economic output as around 66% (two-thirds) of GDP depends on consumer spending.
Britain is a service based economy, so when consumer confidence levels trend downwards,
this considerably dampens the Britain’s overall economic demand, having a
negative impact on economic growth.

Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK, has said:

“Consumer confidence has held steady this month [May 2019] at
minus -13, despite political chaos and ensuing uncertainty as we try to find
our rightful place within Europe. Against a backdrop of stable inflation and a
robust labour market, where wages continue to grow more quickly than prices,
confidence has remained negative but fairly stable since the Referendum.

“However, while UK consumers report a small increase in
optimism for their personal financial situation for the coming year, the index
is being dragged down by our nagging fears for the general economy. Things
might change when people feel the current crisis has passed but what sort of
resolution can consumers reasonably contemplate just now? Or are consumers
rightly sensing a bumpier economic climate for post-Brexit Britain?�

The GFK consumer confidence index is commissioned by the
European (EU) Commission and is considered to be a key economic indicator; it
is also respected and monitored closely by the Bank of England.

When households are feeling less pessimistic across almost
all categories, as this latest survey indicates, people on balance feel that
Britain’s economic fortunes will improve in the coming year, a conclusion which
is five points higher than the previous month’s result.

That consumers are adjusting to the Brexit deadlock situation,
responding positively to higher wages and low unemployment has also been
acknowledged by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Its own consumer
confidence index for May, hit a year-long high.

Business confidence, on the other hand, has been going in
the other direction, with Lloyds Banking Group’s monthly business barometer
showing overall business confidence falling for the first time over the last 3
months.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Consumers more optimistic about their finances going forward… | LandlordZONE.

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Landlord Action recovers £16,000 from rogue letting agent!

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The
new series of Channel 5’s ‘Nightmare Tenants Slum Landlords’ has launched
featuring cases handled by eviction specialists Landlord Action. In the second
episode, due to air on Monday 10th June, 9pm, founder of Landlord Action, Paul
Shamplina, helps two landlords track down £16,000 they’re owed by rogue letting
agent Lang and Ward.

The
latest series once again delves into the dark side of Britain’s overheating
rental market. Gaining unique access into the lives of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have
nots’ of Generation Rent.  The eight
episodes follow the work of a letting agent trying to keep a roof over their tenants’
heads, and cameras are on the frontline with housing teams as they try to
protect vulnerable tenants living in squalor and dangerous conditions. Conversely,
the series also witnesses eviction experts, including Landlord Action, helping
frantic landlords who can’t get their tenants to pay – or move out.

One
particularly unique case will be shown on Monday 10^th June. Married
landlords, Monwara and Mohammed, hired East London letting agent Lang and Ward
to manage their property, only to then discover they had been pocketing their
tenant’s rent. With a new company name above the door, familiar employees
claiming ignorance and a violent confrontation, the landlords are left out in
the cold. But maybe the doorstep isn’t in vain, a few minutes later the landlords
receive a call from the letting agent, and eviction expert Paul Shamplina attempts
to chase down the £16,000 the landlords are owed.

Paul comments: “If ever people needed to
understand the significance of using a letting agent which has Client Money
Protection, this is it. Ironically, these rogues, Lang and Ward, attempted to
join our sister company, Client
Money Protect, but were refused membership as they had doctored and
falsified their bank statements. Now that CMP is mandatory for all letting
agents, greater protection for landlords’ rents and tenants’ deposits is in
place. In this case, Monwara and Mohammed were extremely lucky to be able to collect
their stolen rent back, but unfortunately many other landlords who contacted us
were not so lucky as the business closed down. I only hope that Trading Standards
takes significant enforcement action and get some sort of justice for those who
have lost money. “Some letting agents will
find the market more challenging now that the Tenant Fees Ban is in place so,
while I would always recommend landlords use a letting agent to fully manage
their property, it is imperative they carry out thorough due diligence on their
prospective agent first. This includes ensuring they are a member of a redress
scheme and have CMP.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord Action recovers £16,000 from rogue letting agent! | LandlordZONE.

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New online Universal Credit system

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Universal Credit:

This is an update on the new online system for landlords to receive direct payments from tenants on Universal Credit

Since 3^rd October 2018, working alongside The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Caridon Landlord Solutions has been piloting a new online system to allow rent payments, from tenants in receipt of Universal Credit, to be paid directly to Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords. 

The pilot of the new system, which will replace the two existing UC47 forms, has been successful, cutting the processing time down from in excess of three weeks to just two hours in some cases.  DWP aims to launch the online system before the end of the year, although a date has not yet been confirmed.

Using the current system, PRS landlords who wish to apply for an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) to have the housing element of Universal Credit paid directly to them, have to download and fill out the UC47 form from GOV.UK.

According to Caridon Landlord Solutions, which provides specialist advice on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit to private landlords, letting agencies and housing associations, the existing UC47 has caused a whole host of problems, subsequently discouraging landlords from letting to tenants in receipt of Universal Credit and similarly making it difficult for tenants to keep hold of homes they wish to stay in.

“This current system can be complicated as there are two types of UC47 forms.  The first is the secure form, which can only be submitted by post or via email.  However, to submit by email, landlords must have a secure email address recognised by DWP, including gsi or gov.uk owing to the fact the form requests personal details such as a tenants’ National Insurance number and the landlord’s bank details.

“This helps to ensure that all parties comply with data sharing regulations as set out under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The none secure form can still be submitted via email, however, the process can sometimes be slower as the claimant’s case manager has to contact the landlord to request bank details, because due to the non-secure data certain types of personal information cannot be submitted in this way .

“Caridon believes that the paper forms are taking weeks to be processed, sometimes getting lost along the way and all the while rent arrears are mounting up. We have been working closely with DWP, not only to get payments made directly to landlords where necessary, but also to speed up the process so that landlords have greater confidence in the systemâ€� says Managing Director of Caridon Landlord Solutions, Sherrelle Collman.

As well as supporting landlords in cases of non-payment of rent, the UC47 is also used for historical debt collection where a tenant has fallen into eight weeks or more of arrears and the landlord wishes to apply for third party deductions. 

In cases such as these, DWP takes a small percentage of the claimant’s personal allowance and gives it to the landlord towards the rent arrears. 

Sherrelle adds: â€œWe have been working with DWP to develop an agile online system, making suggestions for adjustments to ensure it is as user friendly and efficient as possible.  Landlords are now receiving confirmation of direct payments within 48 hours which is such an incredible improvement.â€�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – New online Universal Credit system | LandlordZONE.

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Tenant’s damaged electrical goods uninsured

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I have just had a major flood in my downstairs flat, my insurance has agreed to pay for new kitchen bathroom with no problem, but contents are not covered.

However, the disabled tenant has had all his electrical goods destroyed (this was a major flood raining in flat) he is not insured.

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Rapid eviction from residential property – Webinar

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The Sheriffs office is running the webinar “Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property.”

This webinar is for landlords, legal professionals and property agents and will run through the eviction process for residential tenants.

Date and Time: Wed

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Regulatory body for new builds?

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Having purchased a number of new builds over the last few years I’ve had a massive wake up call over the standards that we are forced to accept – with what I consider shoddy work is apparently classed as ‘within tolerance’

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