The Ukraine Crisis and Its Affects On UK Property Prices

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The Ongoing Ukraine Crisis has changed the property investment market. It’s important to know how this will affect UK Property Prices now and in the future, so you can be savvy with your money.

Join me for this month’s property market update as I will provide my best recommendations for the future of Property Investment.

View Full Article: The Ukraine Crisis and Its Affects On UK Property Prices

Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

You may have read the recent article about why a private Landlord with a portfolio of 200+ buy-to-lets would choose to sell his properties for 80-90% of the market value. Now it’s time to hear from him in his own words.

When Alasdair decided it was the right time to scale back from his full-time business of being a private landlord, he tried to sell his properties for 100% of the market value through traditional estate agents and treaty sales.

But through experience he realised that the higher price he thought he was getting took far longer, increasing the amount of time that the properties stood empty before, during and after a sale, ultimately costing him more than accepting a sale at 80 – 90% of their value which only took 28 days. That’s when he turned to Landlord Sales Agency.

“Having 200+ property portfolio can sound very exotic and what have you but in reality it’s all-consuming,” he says.

“So we’ve got to a point now where we think it’s time to downsize.”

Alasdair is not alone. Across the UK landlords are looking to sell their portfolios in full, so they can cash in and retire.

With taxes, new regulations, and an uncertain economy, prices may never be this high again. The window to sell is closing, the time to act is now, and the team at Landlord Sales Agency have proven they can get the job done.

Watch Alistair talk more about why he sold up

CONTACT LANDLORD SALES AGENCY TODAY

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container .wpforms-submit, body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak button.wpforms-page-button {
font-weight: bold;background-color:#04abed ; border-width: 0px; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container .wpforms-submit:hover, body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak button.wpforms-page-button:hover {
background-color:#ed1c2a; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container,body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak .wpforms-pagebreak-left{
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=text],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=email],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=tel],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=url],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=password],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=number]
{
background-color:#d3d3d3 ; border-width: 1px; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field .wpforms-field-row
{
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field textarea {
background-color:#d3d3d3 ; border-width: 1px;
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field label.wpforms-field-label {
font-weight: bold;color:#000000 ; }

/* Styling for Tablets */
@media only screen and (max-width: 800px) and (min-width:481px) {

}

@media only screen and (max-width: 480px){

}
/*Option to add custom CSS */

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Phone *

Please give us details of how we can help and the properties in questions* *

Submit

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially? | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially?

BLOG: Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

You may have read the recent article about why a private Landlord with a portfolio of 200+ buy-to-lets would choose to sell his properties for 80-90% of the market value. Now it’s time to hear from him in his own words.

When Alasdair decided it was the right time to scale back from his full-time business of being a private landlord, he tried to sell his properties for 100% of the market value through traditional estate agents and treaty sales.

But through experience he realised that the higher price he thought he was getting took far longer, increasing the amount of time that the properties stood empty before, during and after a sale, ultimately costing him more than accepting a sale at 80 – 90% of their value which only took 28 days. That’s when he turned to Landlord Sales Agency.

“Having 200+ property portfolio can sound very exotic and what have you but in reality it’s all-consuming,” he says.

“So we’ve got to a point now where we think it’s time to downsize.”

Alasdair is not alone. Across the UK landlords are looking to sell their portfolios in full, so they can cash in and retire.

With taxes, new regulations, and an uncertain economy, prices may never be this high again. The window to sell is closing, the time to act is now, and the team at Landlord Sales Agency have proven they can get the job done.

Watch Duncan talk more about why he sold up

CONTACT LANDLORD SALES AGENCY TODAY

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container .wpforms-submit, body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak button.wpforms-page-button {
font-weight: bold;background-color:#04abed ; border-width: 0px; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container .wpforms-submit:hover, body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak button.wpforms-page-button:hover {
background-color:#ed1c2a; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-submit-container,body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-field-pagebreak .wpforms-pagebreak-left{
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=text],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=email],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=tel],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=url],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=password],
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field input[type=number]
{
background-color:#d3d3d3 ; border-width: 1px; }
body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field .wpforms-field-row
{
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field textarea {
background-color:#d3d3d3 ; border-width: 1px;
}

body #wpforms-258808 .wpforms-form .wpforms-field label.wpforms-field-label {
font-weight: bold;color:#000000 ; }

/* Styling for Tablets */
@media only screen and (max-width: 800px) and (min-width:481px) {

}

@media only screen and (max-width: 480px){

}
/*Option to add custom CSS */

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Phone *

Please give us details of how we can help and the properties in questions* *

Submit

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BLOG: Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially? | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: BLOG: Can selling property at 80 or 90% of its market value ever make sense financially?

OPINION: Ministers, be careful what you wish for

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Some six or so years ago George Osborne, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer made a clear, politically-led move to reign in the growth of the buy-to-let market.

Two key decisions were made which have had significant consequences for the private rental sector (PRS), not least for many landlords and their service providers.

Over a four year period from 2017 onwards, private landlords with property in their personal name saw a gradual annual reduction in their ability to offset against tax the interest on their mortgage finance costs.

The second decision by Osborne was to increase by 3% the stamp duty payable by anyone purchasing an ‘additional’ residential property.

The impact of these measures has been exactly as Osborne and his government advisors at the Treasury intended: to gradually reduce the attractiveness of buy-to-let investment.

Pro-tenant lobbing

This is of course what the pro-tenant lobbying groups, Generation Rent and Shelter wanted but as some more experienced commentators forecast back in 2016 accurately predicted: ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Capital Economics, a respected consultancy, recently produced a report for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) which highlights a reduction in the number of rental properties now available to let.

Many reading this column will themselves be aware of the increasingly acute shortage of rental accommodation in many UK regions alongside rising rental price inflation.

Across the Irish Sea, a similar initiative to the section 24 tax imposed here in the UK by Osborne, was introduced some years ago to limit the offset of mortgage interest against rental income and was imposed on Irish landlords.

But it was subsequently repealed by the Irish government as an acute shortage of rental accommodation gradually emerged, just as is occurring here on the UK mainland.

What did Osborne and his UK government think back then would happen if the supply of rented accommodation was gradually restricted?

Any student of economics at GCSE level would confirm that when demand increases and supply is choked off, inevitably prices will rise and that is exactly what has been occurring in the last 18 months.

BTR solution?

For some, the concept of new purpose-built rental accommodation would provide the supply-side solution.

I recall myself attending an event in Westminster organised by the British Property Federation some years ago where Brandon Lewis, then the Housing Minister, spoke glowingly about the forecast growth of the Build to Rent sector (BTR) and how it would be the future of the PRS.

To date after some seventeen years of gestation and billions of pounds of investment and government financial incentives some 70,785 units are now completed, according to the BPF website.

Capital Economics found that if owner-occupation and social housing continue at their ten-year average rate of growth, then the private rented sector supply would have to increase by 227,000 per year to hit government targets. It also noted that “even if the other [housing] tenures doubled their rate of growth, 105,000 homes for private rental would be needed each year, which is well above current rates of (supply) growth.”

As we regularly report in our upcoming developments section in Property Investor News magazine the pipeline of Build to Rent units is increasing but it is woefully short of providing the numbers of rental homes needed to meet government targets.

And unfortunately for those on low to middle incomes, a substantial majority of rents paid by tenants in the large scale BTR blocks are in the top quartile of rents paid.

This should not be any great surprise given the rising cost of land with planning approval and now of course with build cost inflation rampant, the providers of BTR units find themselves with a product which is increasingly priced out of the reach of many prospective tenants.

The key question of course is, will this government as was the case in Ireland, belatedly recognise the folly of the decisions made by Osborne and reverse the taxation policies he brought in?

The author: Richard Bowser is the editor and founder of the monthly print magazine Property Investor News, which he launched back in 2002. He is an experienced private landlord and long term property investor with a diverse portfolio in London and the north east of England.

He can be contacted via www.property-investor-news.com

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – OPINION: Ministers, be careful what you wish for | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: OPINION: Ministers, be careful what you wish for

Testimonial from Landlord who sold 200+ portfolio and how it made financial sense

admin    Uncategorized     agents

You may have read the recent article on why a private Landlord with a portfolio of 200+ Buy-to-Lets would choose to sell his properties for 80-90% of the market value. Now it’s time to hear from him in his own words.

View Full Article: Testimonial from Landlord who sold 200+ portfolio and how it made financial sense

Eviction drama highlights huge challenge for temporary accommodation landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

A landlord who houses homeless people in serviced accommodation is having to foot the bill to evict a difficult tenant after the council stopped paying his rent.

Duncan Belton provides about 70 units – nearly half to local authorities across six different council areas – housing tenants including those fleeing domestic violence and newly released from prison.

Councils pay him a daily rate while they look for a more permanent place for the ‘guests’, who don’t have tenancy agreements.

One tenant, who has mental health issues and is prone to violence, is living in a property he operates in Aycliffe Village, County Durham (pictured).

After the ‘guest’ refused to accept any of the properties Durham County Council offered him, it stopped paying his bill last November and has now asked the landlord to remove him. Belton has lost about £7,000 in rent and is annoyed to have been given the task.

Squatting

“He’s basically squatting so I’ve had to get Landlord Action to start eviction proceedings – but why is it up to me to get him out?” Belton tells LandlordZONE. “The council have at least said they’ll provide evidence in court, but I’m hoping they’ll pay my costs.”

Lynn Hall, Durham County Council’s housing solutions manager, tells LandlordZONE that as it doesn’t own the property and is “not party to any implied agreements made directly between the landlord and the occupant”, it can’t take legal action.

She says: “However, we are in contact with the accommodation provider and have offered our support with any reasonable court costs associated with their own enforcement action.”

Read more: how to handle the evictions process.

The difficult tenant has tracked Belton down on Facebook and messaged him, asking to meet using menacing language.

However, he’s used to dealing with the more colourful side of life; last weekend, the police were called out to another tenant in the block, which resulted in a scuffle and arrest.

Belton adds: “It can be challenging and properties often get left in a state. I know this particular tenant is now damaging the walls, but it doesn’t put me off.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Eviction drama highlights huge challenge for temporary accommodation landlords | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Eviction drama highlights huge challenge for temporary accommodation landlords

Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The Welsh Government is to bring in its promised local tax rules for holiday lets to address the problem of unaffordable housing.

Self-catering accommodation in hotspots such as Tenby (pictured) currently pays rates rather than council tax when available to let for at least 140 days, and ‘actually’ let for at least 70 days.

From next April, these thresholds will increase to being available to let for at least 252 days and ‘actually’ let for at least 182 days in any 12-month period, to prove that they are being let regularly and making a substantial contribution to the local economy.

Second homes

The government has also announced that the maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties will be increased to 300%, also effective from April next year.

Sian Gwenllian, the designed Member of the Senedd on the policy who represents Plaid Cymru (pictured) says these changes will make a difference, enabling councils to respond to their local circumstances, and will start to close the loophole in the current law.

“It’s a first, but important, step on a journey towards a new housing system that ensures that people have the right to live in their community,” she adds.

Gwenllian says that it is committed to introducing a package of measures to tackle the injustices in the housing market. “Second homes are a symptom of a wider problem – a market that treats property, not as a home, but as a way of making a profit.

By working across the parties in the Senedd, we will introduce more measures, as soon as we can, to make house prices and rents genuinely affordable for people.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Wales clamps down on holiday lets with draconian new council tax rules

LATEST: Average property increased in value by £44,138 during pandemic

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The value of a typical property has soared by £44,138 since February 2020 – although analysts predict that domestic and global pressures will dampen future growth.

Nationwide reports that a combination of robust demand and limited stock has kept upward pressure on prices, increasing annual UK house price growth to 12.6% last month.

Chief economist Robert Gardner (pictured) believes the market’s continued buoyancy is a little surprising, given the mounting pressure on household budgets from rising inflation and since borrowing costs have started to move up from all-time lows.

“The economic outlook is particularly uncertain at present,” says Gardner.

“Nevertheless, it is likely that the housing market will slow in the quarters ahead. Indeed, there is scope for inflation to rise even further as events in Ukraine threaten to send global energy prices even higher.

“Assuming that labour market conditions remain strong, the Bank of England is also likely to raise interest rates, which will exert a further drag on the market if this feeds through to mortgage rates.”

Muted

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, believes there won’t be a return to more muted house price growth until supply picks up, but says there are signs of that gradually happening.

He adds: “While demand has been unrelenting over the last several months, higher levels of market valuations requested by prospective sellers since the start of the year indicate that supply will pick up, particularly as the spring market arrives.

“We would therefore expect price growth to return to single digits later this year. Meanwhile mortgage rates will inevitably rise and higher inflation, accelerated by the effects of the Ukraine conflict, will start to put downwards pressure on demand and house prices.”

Read the Nationwide report in full.

Read more about the housing market.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Average property increased in value by £44,138 during pandemic | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: LATEST: Average property increased in value by £44,138 during pandemic

More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Solicitors are reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from leaseholders about taking over their freeholder’s management functions under The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, better known as ‘Right to Manage’ or RTM claims.

The claim is made by legal firm Blacks Solicitors whose Partner Anushka Nicholas (pictured) says advice is needed in several areas including, prior to the commencement of a RTM claim, because some groups face difficulties in acquiring up-to-date management information from the freeholder, much of which is essential to taking responsibility for the property.

“Leaseholders have become more aware of their rights since the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to leasehold law were announced in July 2020,” she says.

“As a consequence, more leaseholders are exploring the possibilities of RTM in an effort to take more control over the management of their flats.

“RTM claims are a no-fault right, meaning that they are not reliant on proving bad management by the landlord.

“Assuming the leaseholders fulfil the criteria and follow the statutory procedure, there is a very limited scope for landlords to object to a RTM claim or obstruct the process.”

Here Nicholas outlines some of the key information landlords should know before embarking with other leaseholders on the RTM route.

Who can do it

Qualifying leaseholders must hold a lease of more than 21 years in term, and two or more flats within the property must be held by these tenants.

The participating leaseholders must be those of flats comprising not less than 50% of the total number of flats, and the property itself must be a self-contained building or part of a building. 

How it starts

Leaseholders action the claim by incorporating a RTM Company which is limited by guarantee with a prescribed constitution, and the RTM Company then serves the notice on the landlord and management company.

No qualifying leaseholder can be excluded from the RTM company, and a notice of invitation to participate must be served on all of them.

Things to remember

Service of a claim notice activates a statutory timetable, and the landlord has the option to serve a counter notice (admitting or disputing the claim) by the date specified in the claim notice (not less than one month after service of the claim notice).

If the landlord fails to do this, the right will be deemed admitted.

Also, if a landlord serves a counter-notice disputing the RTM claim, the RTM Company must within two months of the counter-notice apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a determination.

The acquisition date for a RTM claim, where it is admitted and not disputed, is at least three months after the date for service of the counter-notice.

After service of the claim notice, the RTM company can serve an information notice on the landlord requiring delivery of any management information which is vital for the property’s management functions. From the acquisition date, the landlord is also entitled to become a member of the RTM Company.

More information from Blacks Solicitors.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review

‘More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review’

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Solicitors are reporting a rise in the number of enquiries from leaseholders about taking over their freeholder’s management functions under The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, better known as ‘Right to Manage’ or RTM claims.

The claim is made by legal firm Blacks Solicitors whose Partner Anushka Nicholas (pictured) says advice is needed in several areas including, prior to the commencement of a RTM claim, because some groups face difficulties in acquiring up-to-date management information from the freeholder, much of which is essential to taking responsibility for the property.

“Leaseholders have become more aware of their rights since the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to leasehold law were announced in July 2020,” she says.

“As a consequence, more leaseholders are exploring the possibilities of RTM in an effort to take more control over the management of their flats.

“RTM claims are a no-fault right, meaning that they are not reliant on proving bad management by the landlord.

“Assuming the leaseholders fulfil the criteria and follow the statutory procedure, there is a very limited scope for landlords to object to a RTM claim or obstruct the process.”

Here Nicholas outlines some of the key information landlords should know before embarking with other leaseholders on the RTM route.

Who can do it

Qualifying leaseholders must hold a lease of more than 21 years in term, and two or more flats within the property must be held by these tenants.

The participating leaseholders must be those of flats comprising not less than 50% of the total number of flats, and the property itself must be a self-contained building or part of a building. 

How it starts

Leaseholders action the claim by incorporating a RTM Company which is limited by guarantee with a prescribed constitution, and the RTM Company then serves the notice on the landlord and management company.

No qualifying leaseholder can be excluded from the RTM company, and a notice of invitation to participate must be served on all of them.

Things to remember

Service of a claim notice activates a statutory timetable, and the landlord has the option to serve a counter notice (admitting or disputing the claim) by the date specified in the claim notice (not less than one month after service of the claim notice).

If the landlord fails to do this, the right will be deemed admitted.

Also, if a landlord serves a counter-notice disputing the RTM claim, the RTM Company must within two months of the counter-notice apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a determination.

The acquisition date for a RTM claim, where it is admitted and not disputed, is at least three months after the date for service of the counter-notice.

After service of the claim notice, the RTM company can serve an information notice on the landlord requiring delivery of any management information which is vital for the property’s management functions. From the acquisition date, the landlord is also entitled to become a member of the RTM Company.

More information from Blacks Solicitors.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ‘More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review’ | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: ‘More leaseholders seeking ‘right to manage’ after Law Commission review’