Average house price inflation cools 0.5% as Stamp Duty holiday incentive eases

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The latest Halifax House Price Index reports annual price inflation of 8.8% compared to 9.6% in May and the average UK property price now stands at £260,358.

Regions and nations house prices:

Whilst the two Midlands regions and Greater London saw slightly slower annual price gains compared to May

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EXCLUSIVE: How landlord duo in next Nightmare Tenants TV show faced horror hoarder

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The extraordinary story behind a landlord couple featured on the next episode of Channel 5 TV show Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlord has been exclusively revealed to LandlordZONE.

They are Lynda Lampert and her husband Barry who are friends of evictions expert Paul Shamplina, who is also one of the show’s stars.

During the programme he helps the Lamperts regain possession of a room within an HMO in Luton that is part of their portfolio.

The couple are shown trying to evict their tenant who was several thousand pounds in arrears and is a known extreme hoarder, making the property a fire hazard.

“They have been good, professional landlords for many years but sadly Barry had a stroke recently despite being fit as a fiddle over the years and a keen sportsman,” says Paul.

“He’s now reliant on full-time care which means the couple’s living expenses are higher than before – which made the arrears that had been piling up harder to bear.”

During the episode Paul helps the couple evict the tenant via a Section 21 notice.

Fire hazard

Although the arrears were significant, it was the fire hazard created by the hoarded goods within his room and the threat that posed to other tenants in the property that worried the Lamperts most.

“Lynda had tried to get the council to intervene and help the tenant, who clearly had mental health issues,” says Paul. “But to no avail.”

“This eviction, which was defended by the tenant despite the arrears, is a good example of how, if Section 21 notice evictions are abolished without Section 8 clauses being modified adequately, will be much harder in future.

“For example, as in this case, a mandatory ground for eviction should be a tenant not giving access to their landlord or agent.”

The episode, which was all filmed before the Coronavirus pandemic struck, is being aired at 10pm on Thursday 8^th July 2021 on Channel 5. Watch it live or via catch-up.

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TECH: New app launches that puts landlords’ portfolios in their pockets

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iPhone-using landlords now have the chance to carry their portfolios in their pockets with the launch of a new app.

Online portfolio management platform Lendlord has launched its IOS app to give users the same experience as the website from their smartphone, following the launch of the Android app last year.

Lendlord lets landlords manage and track their portfolio’s data and optimise its performance by giving them a safe and secure place in the cloud where they can put all of the information they need to manage their investments.

Rental app-titude.

The app helps them manage their tenants and tenancies, track monthly income and expenses, understand their financing options and evaluate and analyse potential new property acquisitions.

All new enhancements to the platform will be automatically added to the app.

Aviram Shahar, co-founder and CEO (pictured), says that since its launch Lendlord has helped thousands of portfolio landlords to track the performance of their portfolios and improve their bottom line as a result.

He adds: “We are very excited to launch our new IOS app, which puts the full functionality of the Lendlord platform at landlords’ fingertips. It’s a great advantage for landlords who can now literally carry their portfolio in their pocket.”

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If you own a second or holiday home Wales is coming for you

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The Welsh Government has announced a new plan they say has ‘fairness at its heart’ to ensure everyone in Wales can have access to good quality, affordable housing.

The three-pronged plan will focus on: – Support – addressing affordability and availability of housing

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Danny Butcher: MP calls for servicemen to be warned over ‘get rich quick’ property schemes

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Danny Butcher, the former soldier who committed suicide after attending a property investment training academy, has been mentioned in Parliament as part of a push to help ex-service personnel avoid get-rich-quick schemes.

Nick Fletcher MP (pictured) spoke about his death while urging the Minister for Veteran Affairs to ensure ex-service personnel had guidance on how to avoid unscrupulous money-making schemes and were fully integrated into civilian life once discharged.

Danny, 37, became depressed after trying to clear his debts by enrolling on a £13,000 course run by Property Investors in 2019.

Fletcher told the Commons how the on-line money-making scheme had plunged Danny into debt.

“He was, by all accounts, an outstanding member of society. He had toured overseas during his time in the British army and was mentioned by his commanding officer in Despatches.

“Yet after leaving the armed forces, he was lured in by a property scheme that offered those involved to get rich quickly.”

He asked: “What steps is the department taking to ensure all those departing the forces have adequate financial literacy skills so they know how to spend their money wisely and become integrated fully in civilian life?”

Minister Leo Docherty replied that his thoughts were with the family of Danny Butcher.

Absolute tragedy

He added: “Every veteran’s suicide is an absolute tragedy, and we must seek to learn lessons from this. We are working to ensure that all service leavers have adequate financial educational awareness…specifically with regard to debt, household financial management and mortgages.”

Disgruntled property training course attendees are gearing up to bring a group action against Samuel Leeds.

Jarmans Solicitors is set to pursue the action on behalf of dozens of former trainees of the evangelical-style guru, who claims that his investor clients can make their fortunes after attending courses.

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Welsh government to wage new war on holiday lets

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Holiday lets and second home owners in Wales are to pay higher taxes under ambitious plans being drawn up by the country’s government.

It has set its sights on the unfairness of the housing sector and wants owners to make a fairer contribution to the communities where they own property.

It also wants to set up a registration scheme for all holiday accommodation and has promised to engage with stakeholders on the shape of the model, including both the registration and inspection arrangements.

A consultation on changes to local taxes to manage the impact of second homes and self-catered accommodation will start during the summer, with a pilot area set to trial and evaluate these new measures before wider rollout.

Last year, Wales became the only country in the UK to give local authorities the power to charge 100% council tax increase on second homes.

In the Senedd later today, Minister for Climate Change Julie James (pictured, below) will set out a three-pronged approach to address the impact of second home ownership on communities.

She says the continuing rise of house prices mean people, especially younger generations, can no longer afford to live in the communities they have grown up in.

“A high concentration of second homes or holiday lets can have a very detrimental impact on small communities, and in some areas could compromise the Welsh language being spoken at a community level,” adds James.

“The urgency and gravity of this situation calls for further intervention, which means real and ambitious actions are delivered at pace, to inject fairness back into the housing system.”

A Welsh Language Community Housing Plan, to protect the particular interests of Welsh language communities, will also be published for consultation in the autumn.

Read more about holiday lets in Wales.

Watch the statement by Julie James after 1.30pm today (6th July 2021)

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A kinder way to deal with tenants who are not paying rent

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When faced with non-paying tenants, most landlords tend to think of eviction.  However, this is a dreadful solution just now:

For landlords, it means a stressful and often expensive court claim, which could take up to a year or more to complete

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Live-in Landlord Tax – personal use adjustments?

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I am a live-in Landlord and the property is a licensed HMO. I rent out 5 bedrooms and have 1 for myself.

Does anybody have any idea how much personal use adjustments I should make for tax purposes.

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‘Get rich slow’: Landlord who went from one to 430 properties in 13 years

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A background in wealth management and time spent running a betting syndicate has given Adam Lawrence the know-how to grow a seriously impressive property portfolio.

Adam only started out in 2008 as an accidental landlord but decided to get more seriously involved after discovering the value of networking and joint ventures.

These proved successful but when he wasn’t getting the expected uplifts on re-evaluation, Adam signed up for an MBA with the aim of looking at property trading with a more business mindset.

“I’ve carried on partnering with people who have expertise or a wider business with other things to offer,” Adam tells LandlordZONE.

This was certainly true when he wanted to learn letting agency best practice, so trained with ex-ARLA president Sally Lawson before setting up an estate management vehicle doing the tech side and bought into a couple of existing letting businesses.

Adam also now owns investment companies and asset management companies and is the co-founder of the Partners in Property network.

Solihull start

As he’s grown his business, the 430-strong portfolio has spread from his home town of Solihull to across the UK, with a focus on the Midlands and the North.

He employs staff to help with the day-to-day business; half the portfolio is managed from Solihull and the other half is managed by agents.

While he started out buying from agents and at auction, more recently he’s dealt directly with vendors. He’s currently converting an HSBC bank “trying to bring a nice building back to life” and working with social housing providers with the aim of making a profit in this sector – and trying to do good as well.

Adam explains that his strategy has always been about managing risk. He adds: “It’s good to have other sources of income and other trading businesses when you’re a landlord. There’s no silver bullet – property is definitely a ‘get rich slow’ sector.”

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Tenants and landlords being duped by sophisticated new property scams – warning

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Scammers are duping prospective tenants by advertising homes that aren’t theirs and pocketing thousands in rent and deposits.

The criminals take photos of empty properties while pretending to be an interested buyer or use pictures from websites, complete a title deed search at the Land Registry to glean all the details and then set up a fake email account purporting to be the owner or landlord.

They then list the property on social media sites such as Facebook marketplace or on Gumtree and encourage gullible tenants to complete an online tenancy agreement before taking thousands of pounds in rent and deposits.

Martin & Co in Bournemouth reports that it’s a growing and worrying problem in its area where some would-be tenants have even been threatened with court action by these fraudsters if they don’t pay.

Duped

Director Philip Skorochod tells LandlordZONE that sometimes tenants have given notice and turned up at the new property they’ve agreed to rent with furniture and children in tow to discover they’ve been duped, effectively becoming homeless.

Some of these criminals are breaking into properties and changing the locks while others simply collect the first payments from several tenants and disappear.

In one instance, the agent found two men illegally living in a property that was for sale, resulting in a costly eviction process for the landlord who had to fork out £5,000 to clear up the mess.

Skorochod says he’s tried to get the police involved but they have refused, labelling it a civil matter.

“We’ve heard of about 40 cases like this recently and it’s probably going on elsewhere in the UK,” he adds. “Lettings agents have to comply with 173 laws and regulations but sites like Facebook and Gumtree don’t.”

Gumtree responds

A spokeswoman from Gumtree says anyone who thinks they may have come across a scam should report it immediately via the ‘Report this ad’ button.

Action could include removing adverts and blocking offending users.

She adds: “We require that property ads on our site comply with government regulations for property advertising.

“We also list safety advice for prospective tenants on our website, which recommends that all potential tenants check the relevant paperwork, ask to see proof of ownership, and ensure a tenancy agreement is in place before paying deposits or holding fees.”

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