Buy-to-let blockbuster? Letting agent turns her hand to writing landlord book

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An estate agent has used lockdown to fulfil her ambition to write and publish a self-help guide for landlords.

Samantha Bateman, owner of Belvoir Portsmouth, mined her 18 years’ experiences in the rental industry to pen ‘Landlords, what’s holding you back?’ in just three months.

In her book, she introduces readers to the Landlord & Investor Success System designed to help them make the most profit and avoid the pitfalls.

Bateman suggests looking at re-mortgaging as a quick way to save hundreds of pounds, while also advising investors that tenants are happy to pay more for a property with gadgets and systems installed; forking out can result in maximum rent and a better chance of turning the property into a profitable investment, she advises.

Dramatic changes

“Over the past 20 years the rental market has changed dramatically,” says Bateman. “For every property that a landlord owns or manages they need to be thinking about how they can maximise the profit on their investment.”

She has included personal experiences, including when a rental property was turned into a drug den, and another which suffered a fire.

“These stories helped me to explain to landlords how to deal with challenges and avoid them in the future,” she adds.

Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves says the title should prove extremely useful for landlords. “It demonstrates Samantha’s unique ability to help landlords achieve fantastic results in what is a fast-changing industry,” says Gonsalves.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested in property to read this book, which is a valuable resource for professional and personal growth.”

‘Landlords, what’s holding you back?’ is available to buy on Amazon.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-let blockbuster? Letting agent turns her hand to writing landlord book | LandlordZONE.

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Beware attempted ‘property hijackings’ by criminal tenants, landlords are warned

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Landlords have been warned of a growing trend in ‘property hijackings’ where a tenant steals the property owner’s identity and sells the home using fake documents.

Fraudsters take on the landlord’s name by Deed Poll, which they find on the tenancy agreement, then a solicitor starts the conveyancing process, when it is difficult to spot any discrepancies.

If the transaction goes through, their ill-gotten gains are usually swiftly transferred to an overseas bank account and impossible to retrieve.

Hijackings first hit the headlines just five months ago when a vicar living outside the UK and renting out his former family home in Luton returned to find the property had been sold for £131,000 to a young couple by his former tenant.

Marc von Grundherr (pictured), director at London agent Benham and Reeves, says landlords are particularly vulnerable as they let an individual live in their property who they don’t know personally.

“Our referencing company tells us they see at least two applicants a week supplying false information but they have robust systems in place to spot fake documents,” he says.

While the situation can be resolved with the Law Society or by the lawyers’ insurers and the property owner will immediately get their property back, the stress, hassle and legal costs are enormous, he tells LandlordZONE: “If someone steals a property, landlords would miss out on the rent which, for someone who is relying on it to pay a mortgage or for care, is absolutely huge.”

Prevent hijackings

To prevent hijackings, landlords can register an anti-fraud restriction on their property with HM Land Registry, meaning that any application to register a sale or mortgage must be certified by a solicitor.

Landlords can also sign up to the Land Registry’s free property monitoring service to get an email alert if anyone applies to change the register. 

Von Grundherr advises landlords that accurate tenant referencing is essential and suggests regularly checking their own credit rating.

He adds: “When a tenant signs a rental agreement, a couple of weeks later, check they have actually moved into the property. But even if they have moved in, carry out regular inspections.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Beware attempted ‘property hijackings’ by criminal tenants, landlords are warned | LandlordZONE.

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Bank Base Rate increased by a cautious quarter to 0.75%

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The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 8-1 to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 0.75%. Only one Dove this time preferred to maintain Bank Rate at 0.5%, but there were no Hawks looking to increase the rate by 0.5%.

View Full Article: Bank Base Rate increased by a cautious quarter to 0.75%

REVEALED: Surge in no-win, no-fee legal firms urging tenants to take their landlords to court over deposits

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A leading housing law expert has urged private landlords to ensure that their tenants’ deposits are properly protected via one of the government’s approved schemes after witnessing a surge in no-win, no-fee solicitors entering the private rental sector.

Julie Ford (pictured), who runs landlord services firm Gothard Rowe, says she’s seen a rise in the number of adverts on social media from ‘ambulance chasing’ legal firms urging tenants to check whether their landlord has protected their deposit, promising ‘thousands of pounds’ in potential recompense.

This is because, under the Housing Act 2004, tenants can be due up to three times their original deposit in compensation if the money has not been protected properly and due process followed.

But Ford says this is only the maximum, and that the vast majority of landlords who have breached the regulations will only have to pay 1x times the deposit and not three for a first-time breach.

“Many of these legal firms also ramp up their costs, often without proof of how they arrived at the final bill, and try to put this through the court too,” she says.

“I’ve handled other cases where these firms have put through costs and claims totalling up to £20,000, and in one case £32,000 but in these cases, the landlords ended up paying a fraction of that.

“We had one landlord who faced a £10,500 claim but we settled before the court hearing for £650.”

Claims surge

Most experts agree that this surge in claim activity around deposits and other housing issues such as property disrepair has been prompted by Covid as general legal firms have seen other work dry up during the lockdowns and they have turned to the housing sector to generate revenue.

“They thought deposits and other housing matters were a lucrative and easy new income stream – but housing law is complicated and time-consuming and they often don’t have the expertise in their field that you need,” adds Ford.

“For example, sometimes they don’t realise the significant amount of paperwork that is required for a tenant to make a claim against a landlord.

“I’ve also seen several of these firms using techniques banned by the SRA’s Code of Conduct – for example not passing on ‘offers to settle’ from landlords to their tenant clients in the hope of getting a higher settlement in court.

Essex case

Her comments follow a recent case covered by LandlordZONE of an Essex landlord who faces a £10,000 fine and costs bill after it turned out that her letting agent had protected her former tenant’s deposit six months after they moved in, way over the 30-day minimum period.

The tenant then took her to court via a no-win, no-fee legal firm, having been promised three times their original deposit as an award, or around £5,000.

Read more: Have you protected your tenant's deposit properly?

Ford has now taken up the case and says she expects to dramatically reduce the likely fine and costs claim bill at a hearing this week.

But she urges landlords to know their basics particularly when it comes to deposits regardless of whether they use a letting agency or not.

“It can be stressful and time-consuming to fend off these claims and the letters these legal firms send out are usually very aggressive, so getting the deposit paperwork completed properly in the first place is a better option,” she says.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – REVEALED: Surge in no-win, no-fee legal firms urging tenants to take their landlords to court over deposits | LandlordZONE.

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Our solicitor says don’t buy it – Step away?

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Hi, my partner and I are trying to buy a whole house that has a self-contained basement flat included. We have found out this basement flat has a mortgage on it in the name of the seller’s business. (No tenants)

The lease on the house above is owned by him and his wife

View Full Article: Our solicitor says don’t buy it – Step away?

Do tenants prefer BTR developments? Report reveals all including Covid problems

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The second and third lockdowns caused the build-to-rent (BTR) sector to see dips in ratings as tenants grew frustrated about closed facilities, new research reveals.

HomeViews’ Build to Rent report – a survey of two-thirds of BTR developments in the UK – found that some residents viewed the facilities closed during lockdown as being included in the rent and when they were not available, felt a reduction in the rent should have been given.

And although these developments are increasing in popularity, not everyone would recommend their landlord to friends and family, with the lowest percentage score (89%) awarded by the 35-44 group.

One older resident complained: “Not a community for professionals as it was sold as. Students continue to move in and are the majority in this building.”

Strengthened

However, the sector’s value proposition has strengthened in the last year, according to the residential review platform’s findings, which reports that 85% of all reviewers gave their facilities a four or five out of five.

A concierge, communal indoor space, bike storage and gym were all deemed must-haves, while parcel rooms and delivery solutions were also a very popular service.

Tenants saw value in facilities, additional services and having amenities such as Wi-Fi included in the bills, while they also liked being able to use apps to quickly report issues online.

Residents rated regional BTR developments higher than London schemes across every review category, with Greater Manchester revealed to be a particular hotspot.

Hannah Marsh (pictured), HomeViews co-founder and chief partnerships officer, says: “While there might be more work to be done with prospective residents, those already living in BTR developments increasingly understand and value the experience being provided.

“In the past year, the value rating for BTR saw the most significant increase of any HomeViews category.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Do tenants prefer BTR developments? Report reveals all including Covid problems | LandlordZONE.

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Commercial Tenant and Insurance Claim?

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Our tenant had an attempted burglary and the shop door needs to be replaced but has to be made to fit as it is not a standard size. We as the owners of the property will probably have to go through the insurance to cover this.

View Full Article: Commercial Tenant and Insurance Claim?

ITV Tonight show to probe evictions by private landlords tomorrow at 8.30pm

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Leading evictions expert Paul Shamplina is to feature on tomorrow evening’s ITV Tonight programme whose reporter Daniel Hewitt has spent weeks looking into the post-pandemic rise in evictions.

Hewitt was recently lauded for his six-month investigation into terrible housing conditions within the social sector aired last September including, in particular, a now-infamous block in Croydon where tenants lived among flooded floors and mould.

Hewitt’s new programme will investigate how, with millions in the UK renting privately from a landlord but with Covid bans on evictions at an end, there are warnings that a ‘new wave of evictions could be imminent.

The programme will also look at claims made by housing campaigners that ‘thousands are living with the threat of losing their homes’.

The ITV political reporter and his film crew visited the offices of Landlord Action recently (pictured, below) to interview the company’s founder Paul Shamplina to get his views on subjects such as banning Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

Paul Shamplina also provides an exclusive insight into evictions and arrears by showing viewers the real-life eviction process as well as exposing the different elements that are causing the volume of possession claims to increase.

“Possession claims for 2021 stood at approximately 40,000, but with current challenges such as the rise in the cost of living, increased rents, shortage of stock and changes to the housing benefit system, I predict this figure will at least double and we will see 80,000 plus claims issued for 2022,” says Shamplina.

“Social housing providers are also starting to issues claims again after two years holding off evicting tenants, so numbers are going to be pushed right up.

“The Tonight programme really portrays the level of claims we’re seeing right now, provides the reality of how both landlords and tenants alike are struggling and looks at what the government can do to help with this tougher economy in 2022 and beyond.”

Losing Your Home – The True Cost is on at 8.30pm on ITV tomorrow, 17^th March. It can be watched on catchup afterwards.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ITV Tonight show to probe evictions by private landlords tomorrow at 8.30pm | LandlordZONE.

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NIC class 2+4 mandatory or not – Unanswered question?

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This financial year 20/21 my wife and I retired and I have decided to do our own tax returns.

We have 2 rental properties, the last purchased 10 or so years ago.

From the gov.uk website I believe we do not constitute a business

View Full Article: NIC class 2+4 mandatory or not – Unanswered question?

Belvoir adds ‘discerningly different’ brand to franchise portfolio

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In keeping with its multi-brand acquisition growth strategy, the Belvoir Group has confirmed the acquisition of estate agency business Mr and Mrs Clarke.

Mr and Mrs Clarke, which was founded in 2015, currently operates a national network of licensed partners who work on a self-employed basis, offering a bespoke estate agency service.

With a wide national presence, key areas currently include Warwickshire and the Midlands, South Wales and North London, with business ambition to notably expand their current reach.

Speaking of Belvoir’s latest acquisition, CEO Dorian Gonsalves (pictured) said: “We are delighted to welcome the Mr and Mrs Clarke network into the Group.

“This acquisition once again demonstrates Belvoir’s commitment to delivering on its strategic objective of investing in successful businesses that align with our multi-brand franchise model and provide scope for further growth by becoming part of the Belvoir Group.

“Since founding their business in 2015, co-founders Alex and Paul Clarke have successfully created an award-winning company with a very different and exciting approach that includes outstanding attention to detail, innovative Instagram-style photography and property staging to enhance the sales process.

“Importantly, Mr and Mrs Clarke will bring a very different kind of business model to the other brands currently within the Belvoir Group.

“This is a brokerage style self-employed model that will enable Belvoir to further diversify, by providing an alternative route into estate agency for potential business owners who prefer a relatively low-cost entry into the market, with the possibility of converting their efforts into high turnover.

“I can confirm that the Mr and Mrs Clarke brand will remain intact, and there is a three-year incentivized earn out period.

“Mr and Mrs Clarke’s existing partner support team will be greatly enhanced by all the additional support on offer from Belvoir’s Central Office.

“Belvoir will also be looking at providing new opportunities to potential partners, including business loans, property lettings and financial services, which will greatly benefit existing and new partnerships.

“This is a very exciting acquisition, and we are confident that the association with Belvoir will result in massive business growth for the brand.”

Natural step

Paul Clarke, co-founder of Mr and Mrs Clarke (main picture), said: “The CEO of the Belvoir Group Dorian Gonsalves understood our vision from the word go and the acquisition was a natural step for us in the next stage of our evolution. The opportunities that this acquisition gives our partners, and the overall business direction, are extremely exciting – we’re thrilled too to be a ‘first’ for the Belvoir Group.

“The brokerage style business model is one which is making waves in the UK, especially in our new flexible working era, and we strongly feel that it will only become more popular.

“We’re very much looking forward to starting this new chapter in partnership with a Group that is so experienced in estate agency, lettings, franchising and financial services and will be grabbing the opportunity with both hands to exceed our plans for further, national business growth.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Belvoir adds ‘discerningly different’ brand to franchise portfolio | LandlordZONE.

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