Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Confiscation Orders:

Southwark Council successfully prosecuted a London landlord
who divided a London Bridge property into 20 cramped studios and bedsits, “putting
profits before the quality of life of his tenants.�

Mr Trepel, aged 74 from Trinec in the Czech Republic, is the
subject of London’s largest Proceeds of Crime (confiscation order) claim to-date
for his illegal conversion of three flats within 2-4 London Bridge Street in
2010.

The council originally successfully prosecuted Trepel for this
breach of the planning laws back in 2010, when he was fined and ordered to
return the property back to its original condition.

But Trepel failed to comply despite further warnings and at
the Inner London Crown Court on 17 April, 2019, he was fined £10,000 and
ordered to pay £35,000 costs for breaching a planning enforcement notice, plus an
additional £1,000 fine from his company – No.1 (London) Ltd.

Of more consequence to Trepel however, Southwark Council, using
a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order, achieved a record settlement figure of
£1,118,601 which will have to be paid within the next three months, otherwise
Trepel faces a seven year prison sentence.

The figure was based on a calculation that Trepel would have
received £1.2.m gross in rent on his London Bridge Street properties since
2011.

Councillor Victoria Mills, Cabinet Member for Finance,
Performance and Brexit, said:

“I hope this serves as a warning to any disreputable
landlord operating in Southwark. This council will not stand by and let our
residents live in cramped properties that are harmful to their health and
happiness, and we will use every legal measure at our disposal to ensure homes
are of a decent standard and landlords do not profit from the misery of their
tenants.�

Under Proceeds of Crime Act rules most of the money will go
to the government but the council will receive around £445,000 of the criminal
benefit to re-invest in further enforcement and crime reduction initiatives.

The council has restrained assets belonging to both Trepel
and his company to ensure that the confiscation orders will be satisfied.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Landlord fined £1.1m for illegal flats conversion

Buy-to-Let mortgage rates could rise faster than expected

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Mortgages:

Mortgage Rates stability about to end, that’s according to
Property Master, the online broker’s latest research.

Research out today (Wednesday, May 8) from online mortgage
broker, Property Master, reveals the cost of fixed rate buy-to-let mortgages
varied by as little as £1 or £2 per month in either direction in May compared
to the previous month (May 1 to April 1, 2019.) 
The company went on to warn that this stability may be about to change
given last week’s Bank of England Inflation Report which signalled interest
rates would rise quicker than expected on the back of growth in wages, falling unemployment
and stronger GDP.

Angus Stewart, Property Master’s Chief Executive, said: “We
have been tracking the cost of buy-to-let fixed rate mortgages for almost 18
months now so have a large database. 
There have only been two movements in base rate over that period the
last one of which was in August 2018, so we have seen a lengthy period of
stability.  But the Governor of the Bank
of England signalled clearly last week that we should prepare for this
stability to end much quicker than was expected on the back of positive news
around wages, unemployment and stronger GDP.�

Mr Stewart continued: “Stable base rates and increased competition
in the lending market has helped to keep rates down in the buy-to-let market
but last week’s news means it really is time for landlords to start re-thinking
their finances.�

Property Master’s May 2019 Mortgage Tracker shows the cost
of five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers for 50% of the value of a
property were unchanged between April and May of this year.  The cost of a five-year fixed rate buy-to-let
mortgage offers for 65% of the value of a property increased month on month by
just £2 per month.  Five-year fixed rates
buy-to-let mortgage offers for 75% of the value of a property fell by £2 per
month.  A similar picture emerged for
two-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers with the cost remaining the same
or going down by £1 or £2 per month.

Since the start of the year the cost of most categories of
fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers have varied by no more than £7 per month
either up or down.  The exceptions being
two and five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage offers for 50% of the value of
the property which recorded year-on-year increases in monthly cost of £18 and
£25 respectively.

The Property Master Mortgage Tracker follows a range of
buy-to-let mortgages for an interest only loan of £150,000.  Deals from 18 of some of the biggest lenders
in the buy-to-let market including Barclays, BM Solutions, RBS, The Mortgage
Works, Godiva and Precise (full list below) were tracked.   Figures for this month’s Mortgage Tracker
were calculated on deals available on April 1, 2019.

Property Master was launched almost two years ago and aims
to shake up the buy-to-let mortgage market currently served by around 12,000
mortgage brokers.  It has already
attracted financial backing from a broad range of private investors including a
minority stake being taken by LSL Property Services, whose estate and letting
agency brands include Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Property Master has automated what was a manual, complex
process to provide landlords with a free easy to use mortgage search tool which
provides a mortgage quote that is pre-screened against each lender’s specific
and changing criteria.

www.property-master.com

Property Master
launched almost two years ago and is the UK’s first and only digital mortgage
brokerage service for UK buy-to-let landlords. Its innovative approach enables
private landlords to take control of their financing online for the first time
by matching their requirements on Property Master’s unique and complete
database of mortgage information and lending criteria. Founded by a group of
highly experienced financial services professionals, the company is directly
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Buy-to-Let mortgage rates could rise faster than expected | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Buy-to-Let mortgage rates could rise faster than expected

PurpleBricks founder quits after dreadful year

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Online Agency:

Michael Bruce, founder and CEO of the international online
estate agency, headquartered in Solihull, has announced that he is stepping
down from the troubled London stock exchange listed company.

Since late 2017, the PurpleBricks share price has tanked
from over £5 to just £1.26 yesterday, a 65% year on year decline, as the
company continued to buy growth with high advertising spend.

After undergoing rapid expansion into overseas markets, including
the USA, Canada and Australia, the company has confirmed that its operations in
Australia will close due to “increasingly challenging” market
conditions.

The online agency, which has no high street offices, charges
a flat fee payable up-front to market a property. Their fees vary across the
country, with greater London in the £1,399 bracket, and outside of London £899.

Property expert Henry Pryor says that online companies like Purplebricks
and others have definitely made impact and increased price competition, now with
an estimated market share of around 7%.

However, others have cast doubts on the model for the long-term, suggesting that eventually a merger with a traditional high street agency chain may be what’s needed.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – PurpleBricks founder quits after dreadful year | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: PurpleBricks founder quits after dreadful year

Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – NEC Birmingham

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Our Hon. Legal Counsel, Mark Smith, Head of Chambers at Cotswold Barristers will be presenting an overview of several landlords tax strategies at the pin Birmingham Meeting property networking event Thursday 16th May 2019.

The event will start at 6:00pm until 9:00pm and will be free for guests of Mark Smith that have not previously attended a pin meeting.

The post Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – NEC Birmingham appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) Landlord tax planning strategies – NEC Birmingham

£25 million from government to help vulnerable rough sleepers

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Thousands of vulnerable people sleeping rough will get specialist support to recover from life on the streets, thanks to a £25 million funding boost announced today (3 May 2019) by Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP.

The money

The post £25 million from government to help vulnerable rough sleepers appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: £25 million from government to help vulnerable rough sleepers

Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Wed, Jun 19, 2019 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM BST

This webinar is for landlords, legal professionals and property agents and will run through the eviction process for residential tenants.

Please Click Here to register for the Sheriffs Officer webinar.

The post Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Rapid eviction of tenants from a residential property

Why the Impact of the Tenant Fee Ban is Actually Positive for Landlords

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Jonathan Werth, Managing
Director at LiFE Residential, London based estate agency

We are just about a month
away from the infamous Tenant Fee Ban, set in the Tenant Fees Act, which is
coming into effect 1^st June 2019. There has been plenty of talk of
how the new law will benefit renters across the country and ‘punish’ estate
agents, but its impact on those in the middle – the landlords – is not
discussed as widely. For those of you who may not fully understand the
implications of the Tenant Fee Ban, let me say it will be only as irritating as
your our monthly WiFi bill increase, bringing long-term benefits to both
property investors, and the entire property sector.

The Tenant Fees Act prohibits
landlords and agents to force any charges onto a tenant, other than the rent
and deposit. The agents cannot charge any admin and agency fees, which include
costs for tenant referencing and inventories a tenant is usually charged with.
The new law also reduces the amount of deposit the agents can hold, from six
weeks to a maximum of five weeks rent.

Historically, estate agents have
been able to increase their revenue by charging both tenants and landlords for
specific fees. By charging tenants the admin and agency fees, estate agents
were able to offer landlords a lower fee and still maintain good level of
service and grow their business.

But times have changed, and the
UK Government now wants landlords to be accountable and pay all the fees necessary,
which means that estate agents are having to increase their letting and
management fees. The first time in 19 years of operating in a highly
competitive London market, we here at LiFE have just informed all of our
landlords with lower fees about the changes that come with the Tenant Fee Ban,
and what fees they can expect to increase from the 1^st of June. I am
confident, if not yet, that soon other agents will follow with the same
announcements. 

Naturally, some of our landlords
questioned why they must accept the increase, as they didn’t realise that some
of the estate agents’ revenue comes from charging the tenant fees. We, as
estate agents, are guilty of not properly explaining this to landlords.

The percentage of fee increase
landlords can expect to pay will vary with every estate agency and also be
influenced by the original amount of fees the landlord is currently paying. For
example, let’s say a landlord charges £1,500 a month for his rent, with a fee
increase of 1%, they will only have to pay an extra £15 a month. When you
divide the fee increase per week, the amount is minimal. Some people, however,
may expect to see bigger increases due to the historically low fees they are
on.

To combat the fee increase, landlords are having to increase
their monthly rents, which we are already seeing. In most places, such as
London, where demand overrules supply, the market will allow for the rents to
increase as a way of paying for the extra fees charged to the landlord.

The Tenant Fee Ban will, without
a doubt, make tenants happier and they will enjoy the renting experience more,
because when they must move, they’ll only have to pay their rent and deposit,
with no extra fees. During their tenancy, tenants will then be more positive
towards the landlord and estate agent and will be more inclined to renew their
tenancy with annual rent increases.

The most important implication to
the landlord and the entire industry, to my opinion, is that the loss of
revenue from tenant fees will clean up the industry from rogue and incompetent
agents. It will simply make it harder for anyone to start up an estate agency
without any knowledge, experience of qualifications.

Faced with all this pressure,
amateur agents and landlords are already leaving the industry, whilst professional
landlords have more room to grow and receive a better service from their
agents. Ultimately the new law is setting higher standards across the board for
both landlords and agents.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Why the Impact of the Tenant Fee Ban is Actually Positive for Landlords | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Why the Impact of the Tenant Fee Ban is Actually Positive for Landlords

Chester landlords fined for letting windowless flat with no heating

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rogue landlords:

Two Chester landlords have been brought to book and fined
for letting a “death-trap� flat which had no windows or heating.

Sandeep Jarjapu and Nattha Gohill were fined a total of £5,286
following a successful prosecution by Cheshire West and Chester Council at
Chester Magistrates Court.

When the Council inspected the dwelling, which is above a
shop in Brook Street, Chester, it was found to have serious safety issues. This
was back in December 2017, which led to a Prohibition Order being made, banning
the landlords from renting it out. However, subsequent to this, another inspection
in June 2018 showed the property to be still occupied.

Jarjapu, 31, of Belgrave Street, Chester, and Gohill, of
Seller Street, Chester, had pleaded guilty and were both prosecuted for failing
to comply with the Prohibition Order in their absence.

Maria Byrne, Director of Place Operations Cheshire West and
Chester Council told The Chester Standard:

“As a council we are very keen to ensure that tenants living
in the private rented sector are housed in properties that are safe and free
from hazards.

 â€œWe will not tolerate
landlords who choose to house their tenants in property that is not fit for
human habitation.�

“I would urge any tenant living in a property which has
serious hazards to report these to the Council`s Housing Standards Team on 0300
123 7038; the team will liaise with the landlord and take whatever action is
necessary to remedy the situation.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Chester landlords fined for letting windowless flat with no heating | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Chester landlords fined for letting windowless flat with no heating

Housebuilders agree to government leasehold pledge

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Long-leasehold:

The increasing trend to sell new houses on long-leasehold, as opposed to with a freehold title, has led to some alarming stories recently.

It seems that almost half the people (often first-time buyer
couples) who bought a leasehold house in the past ten years had no idea what
they were getting into, according to a new study by the The National
Association of Estate Agents.

In some cases homebuyers face extortionately high fees and charges with almost no limit to how high they could go over time. Leasehold owners are often charged expensive ground rents, growing over time under a formula set-out in the lease, as well as fees if they want to make changes to their homes. New owners feel they have been deceived and mis-sold their properties, with some now unable to sell.

A leasehold contract is a complicated area of the law and
unless the buyer was warned by their own solicitor before it was too late, they
could find themselves in deep trouble. The study found that around 94% of house
buyers regretted buying a leasehold while 62% felt they were mis-sold.

However, following some high profile cases coming to light, the government took action, this year putting pressure on housebuilders and now developers who are promising to keep ground rents under control.

Although the Government had said it might ban the sale of new-build houses on a leasehold basis – and it still has not ruled this out – and cap ground rents at peppercorn rates, in fact no legislation has been brought forward. It has simply asked for a voluntary pledge, relying on public pressure on the housebuilders to act in a fair way towards home owners.

The pledge was devised by Government which obliges builders
to commit to doing away with onerous ground-rent clauses in leasehold
agreements. First among the signatories were housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and
Barratt Homes.

Most commonly leasehold ownership is used for blocks of flats owned by one freeholder. This ensures orderly and centralised upkeep management of communal areas and the outside stucture, financed though service charges, paid by each leaseholder. Ground rent is part of the contractual lease agreement between the leaseholder and freeholder extending over the life of the lease and varies from zero to a substantial sum each year.

The lease has a finite life in terms of years, obliging the
lessee to renew at some point before the lease value diminishes too far to
allow a mortgage to be obtained on a sale.

Builders had found that by selling new houses on leasehold, previously an unusual practice when there’s no communal upkeep required, they could raise extra income. Lease clauses often mean the doubling of ground-rent every few years, and steep charges for any changes or alterations, such as new windows or extensions.

Often, when a leaseholder enquires about buying the
freehold, they find it’s been sold on to a professional investor, and marked up
in price. It all makes for problems and sometimes major issues if the
leaseholder comes to want to sell his or her home.

Among other things, builders will now have to agree to identify existing leases where ground rent doubles more frequently than once every 20 years, and offer to change the arrangement to one linked to the retail price index (RPI) when it is requested.

The changes mean that for ground rent investors and ground rent funds, in some cases they may have to accept lower returns in the future.

Public pledge for leaseholders

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Housebuilders agree to government leasehold pledge | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Housebuilders agree to government leasehold pledge

Landlords victory

admin    Uncategorized     agents

After a long dialogue representatives of Sefton council finally met the landlords Alliance. First let me state that the Sefton team were Welcoming, helpful and constructive. It was not a case of us fighting zealots on the contrary, the Council team were proactive and motivated to resolving the problem.

The post Landlords victory appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Landlords victory