MORTGAGE SHOCK: Bank of England hikes base rate by 0.5% to 4%

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The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the 10th consecutive time as it battles inflation – a move likely to hit thousands of investors with variable rate mortgages and those forced to renew fixed-rate deals.

The base rate has gone up by half a percent to 4%, the highest since autumn 2008, as the Bank failed to apply a smaller increase in response to the weakening UK housing market.

Yesterday, Nationwide reported that house prices have fallen for the fifth month in a row, with the average property now worth £258,297, almost £4,000 less than in December.

Rates raised

The Bank has been raising rates successively for more than a year. In December 2021 the base rate stood at just 0.1% as policymakers tried to encourage consumer spending after Covid slowed the economy.

It is now hoped that the peak in interest rates is imminent. In its latest assessment of the economy, the Bank says the UK is set to enter recession this year but that this will be shorter than previously thought. It expects the economy to fall slightly in 2023 as energy costs and other prices continue to ease.

Landlords with interest-only loans face a restricted choice when refinancing because rental income, even with rent rises, might no longer meet the lender’s required interest coverage.

A recent survey of 1,001 landlords by bridging loan broker, Finbri, found that 52% of landlords are looking to increase rents if the base rate increases to 4.5%. 

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, says despite the challenge of higher mortgage payments, due to the demand for homes continuing to outweigh the number of available properties, this is fuelling a more stable market. He adds: “With banks stress testing people’s finances for many years, arrears and repossessions aren’t drastically increasing and we are therefore seeing a levelling out of the market and a return to more normal levels of housing transactions.”

Reaction

Samuel Mather Holgate of Mathew and Murray Financial

“It’s no surprise the Bank of England pursued this ridiculous policy. They are inflicting pain on a population reeling from higher taxes, sky high inflation and already high rates,” he says.

“Inflation will fall off once the energy figures have been in the numbers for a year, so will be back to target in a few months. It’s absurd that they are hiking rates only to slash them again in a few months’ time.

“The consequences of this will be felt by the most vulnerable the hardest. A blinkered decision by the Bank.”

Simon Gammon, Managing Partner at Knight Frank Finance, he says:

“Today’s hike was baked into fixed rate mortgages, so we don’t expect much movement during the days ahead. Fixed rate mortgages are now as cheap as they are going to be for some time, or at the very least are close to bottoming out. While rates are significantly higher than they were twelve months ago, buyers are adjusting to the ‘new normal’ and activity levels have recovered during the relative stability of January. 

“Before Thursday’s decision, the best five year fixed products could be found as low as 4.19%, while the best trackers sat at around 3.94%.

“Tracker rates will now rise and we now expect many five year fixed rate products to be cheaper than tracker products for the first time since the mini-budget.

“Many buyers have been waiting on penalty-free tracker products for fixed rates to fall. This could be the moment that we see large numbers opt to switch to fixed products, because it’s unlikely that we’ll see rates fall much further.” 

View Full Article: MORTGAGE SHOCK: Bank of England hikes base rate by 0.5% to 4%

Estate Agent will not refund reservation deposit?

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Hello, I paid a reservation deposit of £1,000 for BTL property for it to be taken off the market.

I commenced all legal work and applied for a mortgage with the first lender and they down valued the property by about £10,000.

View Full Article: Estate Agent will not refund reservation deposit?

Yields remain stable, but rent rises highly likely

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More landlords will decide to raise rents in 2023 because profitability has taken a hit, according to a report.

Foundation Home Loans says that larger landlords are 20% more likely than smaller landlords to put up rents in the first six months of 2023 after profits fell between the third and final quarter of 2022.

View Full Article: Yields remain stable, but rent rises highly likely

Landlords are taking action as tax bills and refurb costs rise above rent yields

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The festive period is over, and as we enter the second month of 2023, the year has well and truly begun. For many landlords, 2022 was a mixture of tough decisions, calls to action, and the realisation of a potentially rocky road ahead. After years of profitable property portfolios, landlords started to feel the pinch.

The situation was exasperated by a hike in interest rates, an economic downturn, and in the last few months of the year many LandlordZONE landlords made the decision that the best course of action was to sell their portfolios and exit the market.

But for those that made it through to January, the questions remain: should I be thinking of selling? Is it too late? Is selling better than holding on to my buy-to-lets?

To answer this, it’s time to realistically take stock of what the current situation for many of us might be:

1. Tax bills haven’t gone away, and in January they need paying
2. Many landlords are still unable to get round to sorting out their empty properties and refurbs
3. There’s less cash in pot due to rate rises, so even if you don’t sell all your properties, selling some properties to raise funds is a sensible option
4. Tenants are in arrears and many are paying low rents with some skipping December rents to pay for Christmas, having a huge effect on landlords
5. There’s another rate rise due in February, so landlords need to act fast.

For many of the “golden era” landlords, it’s clear that we need to take action, but luckily there’s still time to exit completely or sell partially to raise the finance you need to weather the storm. In fact, it makes sense that so many landlords have decided to sell most of their portfolio but keep collecting rental income on just their top few profitable properties.

Whichever category you fall into, there’s no doubt that standard Estate Agents simply won’t cut it. By the time they sell, if they sell, the situation is likely to have got a lot worse and house prices will undoubtedly have dropped further. So if now is the best time to sell, where do you turn?

Landlord Sales Agency, a company created by landlords for landlords, are industry experts in selling tenanted properties – whether it’s with tenants in situ, or if you need help making sure they’re out.

Our database of over 30,000 private buyers and our extensive buyers network means we’re able to sell your properties in weeks rather than months. Most of our properties sell in less than 28 days.

No matter what condition, our “formula-one” team will work around the clock to solve every single issue your portfolio might have.

What’s more, for such a fast sale, landlords don’t have to worry about compromising on the sale price. We typically achieve 85% of the market value, and for that we cover all the costs, solve all your property and tenant issues and take away all the hassle that comes with selling the portfolio.

This makes complete financial sense when compared to estate agents who might get you 100% but with large fees on top, plus a much lower price if they’re only able to sell months down the line and therefore at a much lower price. It’s better to take 85% of a high price now, than 100% of a lower price with fees on top. We’re also completely transparent, so you know exactly what we’re making.

In fact, we’re so confident in our ability to sell your properties fast and for the highest price that in some cases we can even help with cash advances.

You simply have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s time to let go of the stress, let the experts take over, and get you set up in the strongest financial position possible for the year ahead.

Contact Landlord Sales Agency:

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View Full Article: Landlords are taking action as tax bills and refurb costs rise above rent yields

Tenant refuses to leave from property I was sold as vacant possession!

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Hello everyone, I’m looking for advice as to what to do in a very difficult situation I’ve landed in.

I bought a property at auction with the seller stating the tenant had been served a section 21 notice and would be gone prior to completion

View Full Article: Tenant refuses to leave from property I was sold as vacant possession!

Landlord to pay tenants £10,000 after losing RRO legal appeal

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A landlord has been hit with a £9,880 rent repayment order after failing to convince a tribunal that his tenants’ application was not legal.

Gopiraj Krishnasamy admitted that he had held a selective licence which limited occupation to five people from one household but hadn’t applied for the necessary additional licence after renting the property in Barking Road, London, to tenants from more than one household.

He told a First Tier Property Tribunal that he ceased to commit an offence on 12th May 2021 when he made a statutory notification to Newham Council, arguing that the three tenants had until 12th May 2022 to submit their application, which wasn’t made until July 2022 and was thereby out of time.

But he had served a Section 21 notice on 9^th May 2021 which meant the property was still an unlicensed HMO.

Proper notification

The tribunal ruled that at the date of service, no Section 21 notice could be given in relation to the property meaning that it was not a proper notification.

Krishnasamy owns and lets out six properties and is a director of a company that owns and lets out one other property which has an HMO licence.

It heard that he uses professional managers and is also a member of a landlord organisation.

The tribunal ruled that the length of the offence was of concern as it stretched over 22 months from August 2019 to July 2021.

Despite this, it considered that the property was in good order and was in a fire-safe condition, so set the RRO at 50% of the £19,760 rent claimed between July 2020 and July 2021, along with fees of £300.

View Full Article: Landlord to pay tenants £10,000 after losing RRO legal appeal

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on hold, again!

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If you were due to submit a self-assessment tax return and pay your dues by yesterday’s deadline and you missed it you should do so now without delay, otherwise you will face a penalty. Anyone with rental income must submit a self-assessment income tax return, completing the property income section.

Making Tax Digital Delay

HMRC says that after discussions with the various professional bodies involved, software providers and tax accountants it has now confirmed that MTD for Income Tax will be delayed by a further two years, until April 2026.

However, there are still some important changes for all business and landlords, read on…

Making tax digital (MTD) for income tax self-assessment was originally planned to commence in 2018 but Covid and other delays put this deadline back to 2023, and then it became 2024. However, it was announced just before Christmas that the new system of submitting digital information quarterly to HMRC has been delayed yet again!

The start date will now be dependent on the gross business receipts of individuals. The new target is for self-employed business people and landlords, those with gross annual receipts above £50,000 will need to enter the MTD for income tax from 6 April 2026. Those with gross annual receipts between £30,000 and £50,000 will be included from 6 April 2027.

So good news for those small-scale landlords with rental incomes at the lower end of the scale: it looks like the original £10,000 threshold has now been scrapped and raised to those with annual gross receipts above £30,000, it’s under review but it would appear that the government may have finally bowed to pressure and increased the starting threshold from the £10,000 figure, which would have brought into the MTD regime a lot of private landlords.

The changes in brief:

The two-year delay is also accompanied by other changes. The new implementation plan for MTD for income tax after April 2026 is as follows:

– Minimum income reporting threshold increased to £50,000, from the initial threshold of £10,000

– Those with business income above £30,000 will join MTD in April 2027

– Those with income below £30,000 may not be required to enter MTD, though this is to be reviewed.

MTD, the plan

Originally intended to increase efficiency for businesses and HMRC, going digital would mean eventually cutting down on administrative time and cutting out fraud, the scheme was first floated as an idea in 2015.

It requires completing a quarterly return to HMRC rather than the present system of annual reporting for self-assessment tax returns. MTD would represent a major change in the way income tax self reporting is handled in the UK, necessitating the development and use of compatible commercially available software.

The system would provide an estimated tax calculation based on the information provided to HMRC, to help taxpayers budget for tax. At the end of the year, any additional or non-business information can be added and a finalised tax calculation made. MTD therefore replaces the annual Self-Assessment tax return as we know it.

Benefits of digital

Business and landlord taxpayers are therefore being advised that switching to a digital system using appropriate and compatible software, regardless of your level of gross income, is still a good idea.

The new business Tax Year Basis to go ahead

Change is still coming for all businesses and landlords because although the start of MTD for income tax has been delayed until 2026 at the earliest, the start date of the new regime for taxing the profits of unincorporated businesses on a Tax Year Basis is not being delayed. This transition is to take with effect from the tax year to 5 April 2024.

This will be a major change for those smaller unincorporated businesses that prepare their accounts to any date other than the normal tax year, 5 April or 31 March. From 6 April 2024 all such businesses will have to calculate their taxable profits from 6 April to 5 April each year, regardless of their normal accounting year end date.

For example, for a sole trader or partnership making up its accounts to 31 December each year, their 2024/25 profits would have to be calculated as 9/12ths of their profits for the year ended 31 December 2024 plus 3/12ths of their profits for the year ended 31 December 2025.

This will mean doing an estimate of profits for the later period (3/12ths) with a subsequent amendment once the actual final figures are available. It is for this reason many businesses would benefit from changing their accounting date and also going digital.

There’s a change in the way that profits are to be taxed for the 2023/24 tax year. The upcoming tax year will be a “transitional year” with some complicated HMRC rules for calculating business profits. For many businesses the change could result in a higher tax bill initially, affecting short term cash flow.

So, although MTD for income tax will apply only to the self-employed and landlords initially, the tax year basis changes will soon apply to all unincorporated businesses, including partnerships and LLPs, and those with profits of less than £50,000.

Speak to your accountant in good time.

View Full Article: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on hold, again!

House prices continue to fall – Nationwide

admin    Uncategorized     agents

House prices have now fallen for the fifth consecutive month, Nationwide says.

Its latest house price index reveals that in January, the average house price fell 0.6% from December to £258,297.

And annual house price growth continues to slow –

View Full Article: House prices continue to fall – Nationwide

Manchester Council are profiteering at 200% Council Tax charge

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Well, it seems the war on landlords continues and all morality from the Government and city councils is lost. Please see the link to the latest consultation on Council Tax for Manchester.

As per usual for the Government and city councils

View Full Article: Manchester Council are profiteering at 200% Council Tax charge

Who are the best UK Property Educators?

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I don’t have a lot of money but I am passionate about property investment, development, flipping etc. and want to learn the following wealth-building techniques from the best of the best:-

1. How to source and package viable property projects with a view to selling those deals on to other investors
2. How to put joint venture deals together
3. How to attract investors
4. How to identify viable residential to commercial development opportunities
5. How to make the most of networking events
6. Affiliate marketing opportunities associated with property networking

Some people have told me that I’m wasting my time

View Full Article: Who are the best UK Property Educators?