Brighton takes a big step towards rent controls with Secretary of State request

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Brighton and Hove’s Green Party is pushing for rent controls in the city where it’s now the most expensive place to rent outside the capital.

The Green-controlled council, with Labour’s blessing locally, has agreed to write to Michael Gove asking for the go-ahead to introduce controls, or at least to run a pilot testing its impact.

The authority also promised to engage with groups and renters in the city to work on a wider campaign for rent controls, as well as to calculate and publish a living rent for Brighton and Hove based on 30% of median income.

Green councillor Martin Osborne (pictured) says the government’s approach to housing doesn’t give him much confidence that it will respond but has vowed that his party will keep up the pressure. 

Own plans

“We may not get powers to act from government, but we are developing our own plans within our remit,” he says. “We are looking on developing an ethical lettings agency and a Good Landlord scheme. But if we are ever to address the real housing crisis we need significant action from Number 10.”

A recent study by cost-of-living database Numbeo found that Brighton and Hove is the second most expensive city for renters in the UK after London, with tenants needing to spend an average of £1,403 a month.

“Those living and renting in the city have limited spending power,” adds Osborne. “It becomes impossible to save for a deposit; sooner or later renters are forced to move away from the city and often away from their families and friends. Transience and an exodus of families has an impact on everything from community cohesion to school funding.”

Bristol Council and London councils including Brent, Tower Hamlets and Haringey, as well as London Mayor Sadiq Khan, are all campaigning for rent controls.

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The 3 most important things landlords should do when selling rental properties

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The current economic situation has landlords across the UK making the decision to sell their whole property portfolios, or at the very least, downsize. With property market risks, rising interest rates, Section 24 legislations and refurb costs overtaking rent, it seems that the golden era of buy-to-lets is well and truly over.

But with many of us having medium to large-size portfolios full of tenants, what’s the best way to go about this? How do you deal with so many tenants when considering a sale? And what’s the best solution to selling your tenanted buy-to-let portfolio in one go for those of us who want to “stop the financial rot” as fast as possible?

Here at Landlord Sales Agency, we’ve compiled 3 things that all landlords should do to make sure that your buy-to-lets are sold as fast, for the best price, with no issues:

1. Don’t evict your tenants

Contrary to popular belief, the best way to sell a buy-to-let doesn’t require you to evict your tenants. And with eviction notices allowing even longer wait times for tenants to remain in situ, there’s a good reason you’ll want to sell with them still in the property. At Landlord Sales Agency, we have a database of over 30,000 private buyers and investors who are happy to take on whole portfolios with tenants still in the property. This vastly reduces selling time – from what could be a year or more to evict, to just one week, with the new owners happy to take on all your tenants.

2. Pick the right time to sell

It might be tempting to hold on to your rental properties to see if the landlord sector takes a U-turn and helps alleviate our financial burdens, but clinging on to a golden era of the property rental market will inevitably end up costing you more. Experts and associations alike are all in agreement that now is the best time to sell your buy-to-lets, before the market drops. The faster you get started, the faster the properties can be on the market and sold. Unlike estate agents or traditional auctions, at Landlord Sales Agency we have buyers ready and waiting to buy from the moment you contact us. We’re so efficient, most of our portfolios sell in just 28 days or less, and for a whopping 85% – 90% of the market value. A huge bang for your buck from a company who’ll take the whole portfolio off your hands in less than a month. Cash in the bank. No issues.

3. Choose a portfolio exit specialist to get the best price for your portfolio

As frustrating as it can be to want to just “get rid” of the ball and chain of your portfolios, taking the time to find the best people to sell might be obvious, but it’s crucial. There are many companies out there who offer help to landlords, but when you’ve been in the industry for a while, you’ll want the best.

At Landlord Sales Agency, we’re a company run by landlords for landlords. We know first-hand exactly what it takes to get the job done, and for the highest possible price.

Put simply, with us, you won’t even have to worry about the 3 most important things you need to do to sell, we’ll take it all off your hands and solve all your issues in one go:

• We have a database of over 30,000 buyers/investors and we send off-market alerts to those buyers to get properties sold quickest
• We also have vast and strong B2B relationships with other companies who specialise in purchasing portfolios and HMO’s/blocks of flats – this minimises the need for viewings. Many buy without searches or surveys
• We run a modern auction to create competition between our investor database and new buyers and investors we source from Rightmove and Zoopla. We run a bidding war to get the best price in an average of just 28 days
• All purchasers pay 1% deposits (and sometimes buyers fees) and are chain-free and sign agreements to complete in 56 days. This is compared to traditional auctions that charge 10% deposits and have 14-28 day completions. The result is the smaller deposit and slightly longer timescale for completion means our auction achieves the same 95% completion rate as traditional auctions but often at much higher prices as it opens up the auction to those purchasing with finance
• Our company’s culture is driven from the top-down to achieve the best price and fastest completion for sellers, along with the problem solving and drive to overcome every obstacle to get properties over the line. Every single issue is solved, even tenant issues, by working with incredible partners to overcome any barriers that stand in the way.

Here at Landlord Sales Agency, we’re experts in selling portfolios, no matter what the property, in a matter of weeks and even days. Be it as a job-lot, or to several of our many eager buyers ready on our books, we’re getting whole portfolios sold faster than anyone else, and for higher prices than anyone else. What’s more, all you need to do is contact us, and our team of experts will do all the rest.

It’s a bold statement, but it’s exactly what we’ve been doing for hundreds of landlords throughout the UK and we’ve got the reviews to prove it. Be it tenant issues, mortgages, access issues, absolutely nothing is standing in our way from getting landlords like you the highest prices in record times.

So contact us today, and let’s get it done. There’s no doubt about it, there’s never been a better time to sell up and cash in your buy-to-let portfolios than right now.

Contact Landlord Sales Agency:

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Majestic margins? Rents and values surge near Elizabeth Line stations

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Properties around stations on the new Elizabeth line have seen a huge surge in value and rents, according to new Rightmove research.

It reveals that Maryland Station in Newham, which serves commuters near well-connected Stratford, has seen the biggest jump in asking prices, more than doubling from £233,480 to £486,235 compared to ten years ago. The average London property has increased by 55% in the same time.

Twyford, at the end of the western section of the line and the next stop along from better-connected Reading, has seen the biggest jump in the number of buyers contacting estate agents, more than tripling compared to ten years ago (+245%).

It’s a similar story for renters, with Southall seeing the biggest increase in the number of prospective tenants contacting letting agents, more than quadrupling (+372%). Asking rents have increased the most in Slough (+44%) and Burnham (+43%).

Staggering

Custom House, one of the new stations built for the Elizabeth Line, with significantly lower travel times into central London, has seen competition increase by a staggering 33 times (+3,270%) compared to ten years ago.

Tim Bannister (pictured), Rightmove’s director of property science, says many of those areas near stations that are now either better connected, or have seen their journey times into central London significantly slashed, have received a lot of new attention from buyers and renters.

He adds: “Areas further out from central London which have lower asking prices or rents, but are now more easily commutable will be attractive to new buyers and tenants in search of somewhere affordable to live near the capital.

“Not only this, but new working from home patterns will have many people weighing up whether they are prepared to commute from further away if they need to do so less often.”

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British Land returns to profit after three years of substantial losses

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The British Land Co PLC is a real estate (REIT) investment trust owning, managing and developing a portfolio of properties across the United Kingdom.

Specialising in offices, retail and leisure, its strategy now is to leverage its core strengths in property development, active management and re-purposing assets to focus on its two key themes: Campuses – Retail & Fulfilment.

Campus Development is the current term used to describe developments that contains a number of buildings with supporting ancillary uses, operated as a total integrated package with facilities including outdoor space, parking, access, building design, landscaping and design aesthetics.

The company sees its campuses as differentiators, providing high quality, sustainable space, benefiting from “excellent transport connections, an engaging public realm and an authentic sense of community.” The firm’s bets on office-led campuses on the one hand, and retail parks and logistics on the other appear to be paying off for BL.

Employers are increasingly using office space to attract and retain key talent, says the company, so buildings that promote health and productivity are an important part of this approach. BL’s developments and refurbishments aim to incorporate wellbeing principles by design. These include a focus on active design and air quality – a recognition that businesses need to use space efficiently, to balance the need for a personal and collaborative workspace.

BL is also looking beyond its campuses, it says, to invest in local communities with events and activities designed to bring people together and enliven space for everyone who uses it.

Its three London campuses, Broadgate, Regent’s Place and Paddington Central are located in some of London’s growing neighbourhoods and account for around 70.0% of the REIT’s property portfolio. These are well-connected with transport hubs, high build-quality environments aimed at creating work innovation, collaboration and creativity.

Encouraging signs

The return to profit of such a high profile component of the UK commercial property industry, in retail, office and leisure represents a sure sign of optimism, sorely needed as the economy is being battered by a number of headwinds: continuing supply chain and labour shortages, inflation reaching nearly 10%, and significant signs of a slowdown, if not recession.

So far the commercial property market has shown significant signs of recovery following on from the depths of the pandemic lockdowns, as the firm reports a pre-tax profit of £958 million from a loss of GBP1.05 billion last year, and a portfolio recently valued at nearly £7 billion.

BL CEO Simon Carter has said:

“Operationally, our leasing volumes across Campuses and Retail & Fulfilment were the highest in ten years and were ahead of estimated rental value. In London, demand continues to gravitate towards the best, most sustainable space where our Campuses are at a distinct advantage.”

Our “Higher land values mean that returns from London development are more insulated to cost inflation than development in other parts of the country and we anticipate being able to achieve the modest increase in rents needed to offset any further cost inflation above our base case.” he says.

Whilst Retail leasing volumes were strong, the company has prioritised having strong occupancy rates at the expense of rent levels, which were 21% below previous passing rent.

Looking ahead, British Land expects strong demand for its Campus developments to continue, and thinks that “overall market trends are positive.” Construction cost inflation is likely to be between 8% and 10% this year, but BL expects this to moderate to 4% to 5% over the next 18 months.

Further West End developments…

Meanwhile, further welcome signs of optimism return to the London scene: two leading retail and leisure landlords are threatening to create a West End giant, with the proposed merger of Shaftesbury and Capital Counties Properties (Capco).

The two landlords have confirmed they are in merger talks in a deal that would not only bolster their shareholders, the two companies would dominate the hospitality centre at the heart of London.

However, initial reaction from the stock market was negative, with Capco shares down 8 per cent before recovering to 3 per cent down on day one. Shaftesbury’s shares likewise fell 5.5 per cent before recovering to just 2.5 per cent down.

If the merger goes through it will give shareholders in both companies an opportunity to own shares in a much bigger real estate investment trust (REIT), and given the outsider (foreign) interest in companies like this, it could be highly beneficial.

A Stifel analyst, John Cahill says, “If you are bigger, it’s harder for people to take you out because there’s strength in numbers. That said, with some of the overseas capital, their pockets are so deep that they could even take over the expanded company.”

The merged company would have greater cash reserves, giving it the opportunity to expand further and faster. According to Investors Chronicle their latest results show that the two companies have a combined £530mn in cash and cash equivalents in their coffers, yet this firepower might not get them very far in the West End real estate market.

“Assets in the West End don’t come to the market very often, And if they do, there are a lot of people who are prepared to pay very high prices,” says Mr Cahill.

If the deal goes ahead there will be moves for steady hands at the top: Shaftesbury chief executive Brian Bickell is to retire on completion of the deal, while executive directors Simon Quayle and Tom Welton, who have also been with the company for over 30 years, would leave the business.

Despite the similarity between the two companies as West End landlords, Mr Cahill does not believe that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be against it. “The CMA could get involved. But actually, when you look at what they own, the only overlap is in Covent Garden. The rest of the assets, although they are near each other, don’t particularly overlap. If it did get referred to the CMA, I think ultimately it would be approved.”

[Image – Regent’s Place, London]

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – British Land returns to profit after three years of substantial losses | LandlordZONE.

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The 3 most important things landlords should do when selling rental properties

admin    Uncategorized     agents

The current economic situation has landlords across the UK making the decision to sell their whole property portfolios, or at the very least, downsize. With property market risks, rising interest rates, Section 24 legislations and refurb costs overtaking rent, it seems that the golden era of buy-to-lets is well and truly over.

View Full Article: The 3 most important things landlords should do when selling rental properties

NEW: Shelter claims more landlords ‘kicking out’ tenants via no- fault evictions

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Shelter has published its interpretation of the latest Government landlord possession statistics, claiming they show the courts have seen a 41% rise in Section 21 notice eviction notices as more landlords ‘kick out’ their tenants.

The organisation says the claim, which is based on data covering the first three months of 2022 vs the same period of 2020 before the pandemic hit, shows landlords are turning to no-fault evictions in ‘soaring’ numbers, or approximately 6,000 Section 21 evictions in England during the period.

The figures also show that evictions of all types increased by 32% to 18,626 during the period compared to the previous quarter in 2021. Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction notices mean that landlords do not have to give a reason for the eviction and renters can be given eight weeks’ notice.

Shelter is calling on the government to urgently bring forward legislation that will scrap Section 21 no-fault evictions to give renters greater security in their homes during a time of uncertainty – something Ministers have promised to include within the looming Renters Reform Bill.

Polly Neate (pictured), Chief Executive of Shelter, says: “It’s alarming that as the living cost crisis rages more landlords are kicking tenants out of their homes. These are real people whose lives are being turned upside down and simply cannot afford to lose their homes right now.

“While scrapping Section 21 evictions alone won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis for renters, it will at least give them some much-needed security in their homes.”

But Paul Shamplina (pictured), founder of Landlord Action, says the figures quoted by Shelter ‘need clarifying on several fronts’.

“If the government’s quarterly figures continue like this throughout 2022 then some 24,000 evictions will take place using a Section 21 notice, approximately 5,000 more than 2019 and, if you compared the two quarterly periods year-on-year, some 41% more, as Shelter point out,” he says.

“But the trend since 2015 has been downwards when 34,000 Section 21 evictions took place.

“After that, changes to the eviction rules greatly diminished S21 evictions as new rules over gas safety certificates and other mandatory tenancy requirements kicked in.

Read more: How to handle the eviction process.

“But the rise that Shelter now refers to is not because landlords want to suddenly evict tenants unnecessarily, but because either Covid has delayed possession actions [for tenants who have stopped paying the rent] or the government’s tax and regulatory changes have driven more of them to quit the sector, and they want to sell up.

“Remember, many are using Section 21 notices to achieve this, rather than the more complicated Section 8 route.”
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Spiralling finance costs in turbulent times?

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I’m looking to remortgage and fix for 5 years but I’ve found that 4 of my properties are being classed as commercial which is dictating higher interest rates and ‘setup fees’.

The four freehold properties each contain two self-contained flats and lenders are treating them as ‘Multi-Unit Blocks’ which is commercial lending.

View Full Article: Spiralling finance costs in turbulent times?