Is becoming a property investor easier and more attractive post COVID?

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Total Landlord Mortgages investigates the impact COVID-19 has had on the buy to let market and explains why now, with restrictions easing and life returning somewhat to ‘normal’, is a good time to invest.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have hit the economy hard, but the buy to let market continues to boom. In 2021, more property investors than ever have formed companies to purchase buy to let homes and rents are primed to rise beyond expectations.

Companies House figures reveal that almost 42,000 companies were incorporated by landlords last year – a 23 per cent increase compared to 2019.

That takes the number of buy to let companies to a record total of 228,743, with almost half of these based in London and the South East.

Meanwhile, letting agent trade body, Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) says 60 per cent of landlords increased their rent prices in March 2021. This is due to the fact that there are fewer properties available to rent but a growing number of tenants looking for a place to live.

So, with demand for rental properties outstripping supply and buy to let continuing to boom, is becoming a property investor easier and more attractive post-COVID?

As the nation emerges from lockdown and prepares for life after the pandemic, we asked Total Landlord Mortgages Principal, Daniel Lee, the frequently asked property investment questions.

Will buy to let mortgage interest rates rise?

Bank of England interest rates have stayed at a historic low of 0.1 per cent since March 2020 and are likely to stay at this rate for some time. The low interest rates were introduced during COVID-19 to encourage the economy to grow and are expected to remain as we come out of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Will there be a property crash?

“This reminds me of a talk I went to around seven years ago with the leaders of the banking industry; one of them said that if there is an economic crash or the stock markets crash you will not see the Government stepping in to stimulate or prop up the economy.

However, if there is a chance the housing market will crash the Government will always make moves to strengthen and support this sector, which is exactly what happened in 2020 when the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday was introduced for first-time buyers and movers.”

Daniel Lee, Total Landlord Mortgages

Has COVID-19 changed the rental market?

Bricks and mortar have never been more important. For the majority, the house you live in has also now become the place you work and socialise from.

Because of the lockdowns and social distancing restrictions enforced by COVID-19, more people are working remotely from home than ever before and space for a home office has become a priority to tenants.

The need for this extra space is something potential landlords are looking for in their new rental properties as they look to make them more attractive to  prospective tenants.

As well as office space, the pandemic has also made tenants appreciate outside areas and private gardens. Tenants are now increasingly looking for homes with a garden or outside area to relax and socialise in, whereas this may not have been a priority previously. A KFH study showed that 58 per cent of tenants say access to private outdoor space is paramount, and Ome’s rental market predictions highlights the shift out of cities to meet tenants’ increased requirement for outdoor space.

Are staycations attractive for holiday let investors?

Holiday home sales in the South West, Wales and the Lake District are booming as holidaymakers opt for UK breaks over international holidays due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to lender Hodge Bank.

Buyers are paying an average £401,000 for their holiday home, with the number of loan applications doubling in North Wales around the Lleyn Peninsula and Snowdonia.

Typically, the yield from a short term holiday home let is higher than that of a similar buy to let home, and the tax breaks are more attractive than those of other property investments.

For landlords looking for insurance to cover a holiday let, Hamilton Fraser Total Landlord Insurance offers a tailored UK home insurance policy as part of their landlord insurance offering, that provides comprehensive cover for holiday homes, whether they are for family use or let on short term rental agreements.

Are rents likely to continue to rise?

The latest official data from the Office for National Statistics shows that rents have increased on average 1.4 per cent year-on-year each month since January 2020 and a staggering 10.2 percent in the last six years (since 2015). Meanwhile, letting agents report that the supply of rental property has fallen for four months in a row, yet tenant demand is rising, which supports the reason for the increase in rent costs.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) echoes this analysis, forecasting a three per cent rise in rents across the country excluding London, where they are expected to fall flat. This is likely to be because with more people working from home, the need to live in London has decreased.

The balance of supply and demand is tilting towards landlords and is likely to result in rents rising until the market adjusts again.

Are landlord mortgages easy to get?

Lenders still have an appetite for buy to let mortgages and the good news is that some are easing borrowing rules for landlords.

Total Landlord Mortgages can share some exciting news that helps borrowers who may have struggled to find a loan before. Find out more here.

Our lenders are now offering mortgages for individuals and companies that cover the following:

• Buy to let with just 100 per cent rental multiples
• Residential property, including ex-local authority homes; semi-commercial units; multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFB) and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) above commercial premises
• Second homes, including AirBnB rentals and holiday lets
• First time landlords
• Foreign nationals
• Expats
• Borrowers with poor credit histories
• Loans for partnerships, trusts, limited companies and offshore companies

Total Landlord Mortgages can also help landlords transferring property from individual holdings to companies for zero consideration.

This should interest landlords looking to change their business status for tax purposes who are worried about the implications of stamp duty and capital gains tax when making the transfer.

Call Total Landlord Mortgages today on 033 224 8918 for advice and guidance to finding the right financial solution for you. Or alternatively request a call back for a mortgage quote here.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Is becoming a property investor easier and more attractive post COVID? | LandlordZONE.

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Stairlift request by individual in a block

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We own an apartment with a share of the freehold in North London. The block has 9 flats and we are on the top floor. Over the past few weeks another owner has made a request to the block management company that they require a stairlift for easier access.

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WARNING: Landlord reveals how he was tricked by sub-letting scammer and is now homeless

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A landlord is fighting to remove tenants from his property after he was tricked into allowing it to be turned into an illegal HMO.

Jackson Annor signed a six-month contract in September 2017, believing his three-bedroom flat in Ilford was going to be used as accommodation for company directors as part of a rent guarantee scheme.

But due to legal wranglings and Covid delays he is still trying to gain possession three years later and is owed more than £14,000 in unpaid rent.

Annor signed the contract with Luis Felipe Limongi Tilleira who, he has since discovered, was among a group hit with fines and costs totalling around £79,000 in 2016 after they rented out properties using fake names and businesses in Newham.

It was estimated that the group was receiving an income of more than £1.25m from their network of properties.

Just a trick

He tells LandlordZONE: “I didn’t do proper due diligence as the Open Rent check was inconclusive but by that time he had given me a £2,400 deposit. It was just a trick.

“I found to my horror that he was using the property as an illegal five-bedroom HMO without my consent, while the business was not registered with trading standards, the property ombudsman or the property redress scheme.”

Redbridge Council complained that the flat was overcrowded and noisy, and made allegations of drug dealing. Annor served a notice to quit in 2018 but Limongi refused to hand over the property. After two hearings, the court has finally granted a possession order ordering Limongi to produce the keys, but he still hasn’t done so.

“The judge didn’t grant me the money I’m owed and I doubt I’ll ever get it but I just want my property back now,” adds Annor. “I’m completely devastated. I have fallen on hard-times, I’m homeless and unable to pay the mortgage on the property which he benefits from.”

LandlordZONE has approached Limongi for a comment.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – WARNING: Landlord reveals how he was tricked by sub-letting scammer and is now homeless | LandlordZONE.

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BREAKING: Shadow housing secretary replaced by Labour moderate Lucy Powell

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Shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire has been promoted and replaced by Lucy Powell as part of Keir Starmer’s reshuffle following last week’s disastrous election result for Labour.

54-year-old Debbonaire was in post for just over a year and was notable only for a handful of fiery speeches in parliament and a prolific output of written parliamentary questions to her opposite numbers, Robert Jenrick and Christopher Pincher.

The Bristol West MP has been moved to a more high profile job in Starmer’s reshuffle, albeit a less public-facing one, as shadow leader of the House of Commons.

Debbonaire’s housing beat will now be covered by 46-year-old Lucy Powell, who is a well-known pro-EU campaigner and moderate with a background in public relations and campaigning for the Labour party.

Party leaders

Unlike Debonnaire, Powell has connections to the centre of the party having worked with former Labour party leaders Neil Kinnock and Ed Milliband.

She has been an MP since 2012 for Manchester Central, has held two shadow roles (Education and Cabinet Office) but was discredited during Labour’s disastrous 2015 election defeat under Ed Milliband during which she was responsible for several PR blunders.

“Really pleased to become the Shadow Housing Secretary – some really big issues to tackle from cladding, housing crisis, private rented sector, homelessness and providing decent housing for all, to name a few,” she said today.

It has also been announced today that a Labour government would relax the planning rules on building new homes even further than the Conservatives, a policy Powell endorsed on Twitter today.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – BREAKING: Shadow housing secretary replaced by Labour moderate Lucy Powell | LandlordZONE.

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ELECTION: Losing Tory candidate is landlord under investigation for housing offences

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Landlord Manjit Kaur Gill, who’s being investigated for possible housing offences after being served with two improvement orders, has failed in her bid to win a seat on Elmbridge Borough Council.

The Conservative candidate was beaten into second place by the LibDems for the Weybridge Riverside ward, heading off worries that – if she had won – Gill would have been voting on housing and planning issues while being investigated by Hillingdon Council.

SurreyLive reports that the improvement notices served last August revealed one of her bedsits had no sink in the kitchen, no smoke detectors or heat detector.

It said occupiers had raised concerns about conditions with the owner, who had taken no action. An inspection revealed waste had been left to accumulate in the back garden, which the council said risked attracting pests.

Charity work

Gill – who’s background is international business development and who has an MBE for her charity work – also failed to protect her tenant’s deposit and last month was ordered by Uxbridge County Court to pay him £750, as well as the court costs.

Gill says she has made police complaints against her tenant although the Met Police says there are no active investigations.

She was previously found to have built an outbuilding without asking for planning permission. When the building was discovered, she sought to obtain retrospective consent saying it was going to be used as a gym and playroom, which was refused. In 2010 it was found that the outbuilding had not been knocked down, but was instead being used as a residence.

The council discovered the house had been converted into flats, again without planning consent, and an enforcement notice was served, though permission for three bedsits was later granted.

Gill told SurreyLive: “An investigation is just that, an investigation. If this is the case I’m sure that my legal team will manage it for me. I have worked tremendously hard to build up an international organisation over the past seven years.”

A council spokesperson added: “As investigations are continuing regarding the improvement notices we cannot comment further at this time.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ELECTION: Losing Tory candidate is landlord under investigation for housing offences | LandlordZONE.

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UPDATE: HMRC’s Making Tax Digital to be extended to more businesses

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The digitisation of business and personal accounts reporting to HMRC is coming soon for businesses below the VAT threshold.

It is now less than 12 months before those VAT registered businesses with turnovers below the VAT threshold will have to report following the Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules. If you fall into this category you need to start planning for MTD now.

Currently only VAT registered businesses making taxable supplies in excess of the £85,000 VAT registration threshold are mandated to comply with Making Tax Digital (MTD) rules.

Those rules require business to keep digital business records and send VAT returns using software that is compatible with MTD.

MTD for VAT is now being rolled out to all VAT registered businesses from April 2022 which may cause some businesses and the self-employed who are VAT registered but below the threshold to consider deregistering to avoid having to comply with MTD for VAT.

If you decide to do so you will need to complete Form VAT7 and account for output VAT on the market value of stock and assets still owned at the date of deregistration. This is where input VAT has been reclaimed on those assets.

There is however a £1,000 minimum which means that output VAT does not need to be accounted for where the combined market value of the assets is less than £6,000.

Unfortunately, deregistering for VAT will not necessarily avoid MTD as the requirement to keep business records digitally will be introduced for income tax from April 2023.

From then MTD for income tax will apply to businesses with gross income in excess of £10,000 a year which will include property landlords as well as traders and professionals.

The Making Tax Digital deadlines:

• April 2019: VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover over the VAT threshold (£85,000) need to keep digital records and submit digital VAT returns using compatible software.
• October 2019: more complex businesses such as trusts, not for profits and public bodies who were deferred need to comply with Making Tax Digital
• April 2022: MTD will be compulsory for businesses with a turnover below the £85,000 VAT threshold
• April 2023: MTD will apply to all taxpayers who file Income Tax Self-Assessment returns for business or property income of more than £10,000 a year

HMRC says that Making Tax Digital was introduced to get small businesses and the self-employed to keep and complete digital tax records and submit digital returns using compatible software. The eventual goal is for HMRC to go completely paperless.

HMRC argue that going digital will be “easier for individuals and businesses to get their tax right and keep on top of their affairs.”

In 2015 HMRC introduced the personal tax account for everyone, which can be accessed online and which is a digital tax record which makes it easier for individuals to manage their tax affairs.

Not acceptable

Eventually, paper records will not be acceptable to HMRC and will not meet the requirements of the UK tax legislation.

When you start to use Making Tax Digital for your business and Income Tax you will need to use appropriate software approved by HMRC. This lets you send Income Tax updates to HMRC and keep records of all your income and expenses.

If you’re already using software to keep records, you need to check if your software has been approved, otherwise you will need to transfer your existing accounts to a software package that is compatible with Making Tax Digital.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – UPDATE: HMRC’s Making Tax Digital to be extended to more businesses | LandlordZONE.

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NEW: Radical scheme starts to tempt private landlords into social sector

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Landlords will be paid cash deposits by a council in a radical bid to shorten housing waiting lists.

Stafford Borough Council has given its new innovative scheme the go-ahead, using a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme and has earmarked £30,000 for the first year, with the aim of helping 30 tenants.

The authority acknowledges that its current deposit guarantee scheme to help prospective tenants on low incomes find homes isn’t attractive to landlords because it doesn’t cover rent arrears.

Landlords are also reluctant to take Universal Credit claimants because of the lack of a direct pay option for the housing benefit element and because clients can end alternative payment arrangements at any time.

£10,000

Households in Stafford currently face an average wait of seven months for a one-bedroom property on the council’s housing list – and it can cost the authority more than £10,000 to house someone in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation during that time.

About £1,300 is needed up front to start a private tenancy in the town where the average rent is £525 per month.

A cabinet report says: “There are significant barriers for households with complex needs who cannot access social housing and have to wait in unsatisfactory accommodation whilst protracted and sometimes failed negotiations with landlords take place.

“This waiting can have an adverse effect on the client’s health and wellbeing, including mental wellbeing, and make rehousing more difficult.”

Councillor Jeremy Pert (pictured), cabinet member for community and health, says: “Sometimes the private rental sector does not work as well as it could, which adds to our costs as a council, and means a smaller number of homes are available to our residents than could have been the case.

“By making the changes proposed to the existing private sector access policy we are hoping to secure greater access to the private rented sector and lower temporary accommodation costs.”

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – NEW: Radical scheme starts to tempt private landlords into social sector | LandlordZONE.

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LATEST: Belfast government proposes nationwide Private Sector Leasing scheme for landlords

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Northern Ireland’s government is considering a nationwide Private Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme that would offer landlords guaranteed rents in return for a commitment to tenancy contracts of between three and five years as well as minimum property standards.

The initiative, which is still being considered by NI ministers at The Department for Communities, is part of efforts to widen choice for tenants within the private rented sector at the lower end of the market.

But in return for guaranteed income, as is the case with commercial offerings of a similar nature, landlords would have to accept below market value income for their property.

The proposals have been criticised by estate agency trade association ARLA Propertymark.

It points out that such long-term contracts could not be broken should landlords need to take back possession of their properties if their circumstances change.

Bad news

Also, it would spell bad news for letting agents in Northern Ireland who operate at the cheaper end of the private rented market and who, Propertymark reckons, could see 50% of their stock disappear as landlords transfer properties to the PSL scheme.

The idea could take off if implemented – landlords who have properties in areas where more reliable and more affluent ‘professional tenants’ are thin on the ground would have peace of mind via a government-backed scheme.

Daryl Mcintosh (pictured), Policy Manager for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales at Propertymark, says: “What would be more positive, would be to support the sector to improve through the introduction of legislation on property standards.

“This should be enforced through a dedicated housing court or tribunal. A leasing scheme would only look at standards of those properties entered, leaving the rest of the market with little regulation.

“A more robust tenancy regime will encourage investment in the sector and raise the standards across the board, whilst still allowing the flexibility that tenants and landlords need.”

The PSL proposal comes on top of several other radical changes being proposed to the private rented sector in Northern Ireland.

These includes increasing the notice period from four weeks to eight weeks, introduce a fast-track evictions process for problem tenants, tougher regulations on electrical and carbon monoxide safety, minimum landlord fitness standards and restricting rent increases to once a year.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – LATEST: Belfast government proposes nationwide Private Sector Leasing scheme for landlords | LandlordZONE.

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OPINION: ‘Property gurus’ and their high-risk schemes are a ticking timebomb

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Last week the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) highlighted its efforts to protect people from the dubious returns offered by ‘high risk’ investment funds.

The FCA wants to address harm to consumers from investing in inappropriate high-risk investments because many consumers don’t understand the risks involved, which can lead to “significant and unexpected losses”.

But sadly its remit does not include property investment, unless it is via a regulated fund, and even then most of its efforts are about how they are marketed.

A significant number of dodgy property gurus who preach how to make a living from, or recommend investing in, high-risk schemes have rushed into this regulatory void, muddying the reputation of the overall sector and its above-board operators.

And ‘preach’ is the right word. Level-headed and usually sceptical people who attend these courses, often in church-like venues led by a fire-and-brimstone style gurus, are persuaded to part with large sums on the spot.

Fees range from a few hundred pounds to the many thousands for courses that often counsel attendees to enter risky rent-to-rent contracts or put significant sums into perilous buy-to-let properties or developments.

The reason that the FCA has not been enabled to regulate schemes like this, even though some are as precarious for investors as the ‘high-risk funds’ the FCA covers, is that there has yet to be a high-profile scandal.

When one of these ‘get rich quick’ schemes does blow up horribly, regulators such as the FCA and the government cannot say they weren’t warned.

In the absence of regulation, Google searches are the only thing preventing people from losing life-changing amounts of money, where they will hopefully discover the handful of Facebook pages, forums such as Property Tribes and the Danny Butcher Foundation.

“Vanessa Warwick, co-founder of Property Tribes (left) says: “In the world of ‘get rich quick’ it only works if someone ‘gets poor quick’, namely the  mentees paying for a ticket to see a unicorn.

“The interesting thing is that it is easier to fool someone than to convince them that they have been fooled.

“They believe the Instagram lifestyle of flashy cars and homes and never question anything the guru claims, such is their desire to believe that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

“Many of these people end up financially worse off and, as the sector is unregulated, there are no real routes of redress or they cannot afford to take legal action. Lives have been ruined so I applaud Landlord Zone for highlighting these issues and risks.”

As the Danny Butcher Foundation points out, this used to be a cottage industry but it is rapidly expanding into a multi-million pound sector, helped by historic low interest rates which are persuading many people to look for new places to grow their savings.

LandlordZONE is aware of at least one training academy that has dozens of risky property investments under way underpinned by investor cash which, should it all go wrong, will affect hundreds of people.

The troubling fact is that, as is always the case, the government’s gaze will only fix on this problem once millions of pounds have been lost.

Read more about the Danny Butcher Foundation.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – OPINION: ‘Property gurus’ and their high-risk schemes are a ticking timebomb | LandlordZONE.

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Tenant said it would cost thousands to get her out?

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I had an EICR assessment in October, which stated the property required rewiring. Since then there have multiple failed attempts to get this work started and completed. The tenant had Covid-19 multiple times, then her boyfriend has had it, then a boyfriend’s relative bereavement

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