Earl of Lytton reads briefings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Cross Hereditary Lord The Earl of Lytton (Full name: John Peter Michael Scawen Lytton) was taking part in a House of Lords Tenant Fees Bill debate on the 5th November. The Earl admitted to reading briefings from Shelter and Citizens advice

The post Earl of Lytton reads briefings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Earl of Lytton reads briefings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA!

Earl of Lytton reads breifings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Cross Hereditary Lord The Earl of Lytton (Full name: John Peter Michael Scawen Lytton) was taking part in a House of Lords Tenant Fees Bill debate on the 5th November. The Earl admitted to reading briefings from Shelter and Citizens advice

The post Earl of Lytton reads breifings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Earl of Lytton reads breifings from Shelter and CA, but not ARLA!

The inaugural National LIS Awards, Thursday 15th November

admin    Uncategorized     agents

18:00 – 12:30 The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London W1K 7TN

Brought to you by the organisers of the National Landlord Investment Show & publishers of Landlord Investor Magazine, The National LIS Awards celebrate excellence & professionalism in the private rented sector for landlords

The post The inaugural National LIS Awards, Thursday 15th November appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: The inaugural National LIS Awards, Thursday 15th November

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2018 – Letter of concern

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Open letter to Gareth Johnson MP:

Dear Mr Johnson,

There is a lot of support amongst landlords for the above bill that, as its aim, seeks to provide a means by which tenants in clearly substandard Housing ”

The post Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2018 – Letter of concern appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2018 – Letter of concern

St Helens Landlord fined £21,000

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Health & Safety:

A private landlord, who was renting to a family in the Collins Green district of St Helens, has been fined over £20,000 because of a persistent failure to make health and safety improvements.

She failed to make the improvements after the council issued improvement notices, which fall under the Housing Act 2004. The required repairs to the property were to rectify a number of health and safety issues, including dangerous electrics and damp.

She also failed to comply with a notice requiring her to fit smoke alarms, resulting Warrington Council attending to fit the alarms. For this offence a fixed penalty fine of £1,000 was issued.

Warrington council says it is working with landlords and its private sector housing enforcement team to carry out inspections and a range of work to tackle disrepair and health and safety issues in landlords’ properties in the borough.

A council spokesperson told the St Helens Star that the team is working closely with landlords to resolve all issues that are reported to them. The spokesperson said that the majority of local landlords want to work with the council, but those landlords that do not co-operate could face severe consequences, including heavy fines. Under new legislation, councils can now impose fixed penalty fines of up to £30,000.

Cllr Maureen McLaughlin, Warrington Council’s executive board member for public health, said:

“We are sending out a clear message to bad landlords that failing to ensure your properties are safe and healthy for your tenants will not be tolerated.

“We want to protect all of Warrington’s tenants from poor housing conditions, and we are working closely with landlords to achieve this.

“While the vast majority of them want to work with us, we will continue to use all the powers available to us to take action against those who fail to co-operate.â€�

Reminder about Smoke Alarms

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – St Helens Landlord fined £21,000 | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: St Helens Landlord fined £21,000

Halifax House Price Index slows to 1.5% growth

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Prices in the three months to October were 1.5% higher than in the same three months a year earlier, slowing from the 2.5% annual growth recorded in September, and recording the lowest rate of growth since March 2013.

House prices in the latest quarter (August –

The post Halifax House Price Index slows to 1.5% growth appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Halifax House Price Index slows to 1.5% growth

Property118 makes PIA finals – Thank you members and readers

admin    Uncategorized     agents

We are delighted to confirm that Property118 are finalists in the Property Investors Awards 2018 for the category of Property Website of the Year.

Click Here to view the full finalists page.

This year the Property Investors Awards received more nominations than any other year.

The post Property118 makes PIA finals – Thank you members and readers appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Property118 makes PIA finals – Thank you members and readers

PRS Debate – Government Intervention

admin    Uncategorized     agents

An hour wasn’t long enough for this debate, and like a football fan watching his team losing on National TV I was incredibly frustrated watching it. Many key issues were glossed over, in particular the subject of Selective Licensing which the two largest competing landlords associations oppose each others views on and both are which are pro and anti in different areas of the Country.

The post PRS Debate – Government Intervention appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: PRS Debate – Government Intervention

Flexible Ltd Co BTL criteria, Undervalue Transactions and more!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

From time to time, a lender comes to the fore because of their flexible underwriting and/or unique criteria points.

One such lender is Magellan. They popped into our office last week, and they just kept coming out with one gem after another.

The post Flexible Ltd Co BTL criteria, Undervalue Transactions and more! appeared first on Property118.

View Full Article: Flexible Ltd Co BTL criteria, Undervalue Transactions and more!

Rents to rise by 13.7% over next five years

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Rent Increases:  

International property consultants and agents Savills says affordability, not Brexit, will be the major factor in the future for the UK housing market.

The latest residential property market forecast from Savills has predictions for the UK mainstream property market 2019-23:

• UK house prices to rise 14.8% from 2019-2023, with significant regional variation Ranging from 21.6% in the North West to single digit growth in London (4.5%), SE and East (9.3%)
• London’s prime market will perform more strongly, with prime central London +12.4%
• Transactions to stabilise, with first time buyer and cash buyer numbers most resilient
• Rents to rise 13.7% over next 5 years; London rents +15.9%

UK house prices are set to rise broadly in line with incomes over the next five years, that’s the forecast from Savills latest study released 2^nd November 2018.

The traditional north-south divide will turn on its head, says the report, with the Midlands, North and Scotland expected to see the strongest increases, according to this new forecast from the international real estate adviser, Savills.

Brexit will continue to have an impact on sentiment over the short term, particularly in London and its commuter belt, but local market affordability is expected to be more of a determinant of the pattern of price growth over the longer term, says the high-end agent.

Savills predicts that between 2019 and 2023, UK house prices will rise an average 14.8 per cent, ranging from 21.6 per cent in the North West to single digit growth in London and the South, by far the strongest performers since the downturn, due to affordability constraints.  Values in the capital’s prime market will perform much more strongly, given price adjustments already seen in those market since 2014, thinks Savills.

Other regions were much slower to recovery post the 2008 recession and the global financial crisis (GFC), and some have only recently returned to peak values.  House prices are therefore more affordable, with greater capacity for loan to income ratios to increase.

Lucian Cook, Savills head of residential research, has said:

“Brexit angst is a major factor for market sentiment right now, particularly in London, but it’s the legacy of the global financial crisis – mortgage regulation in particular – combined with gradually rising interest rates that will really shape the market over the longer term.  “That legacy will limit house price growth, but it should also protect the market from a correction.�

Savills says that “transactions, rather than house prices, are often seen as the ultimate measure of market strength.  Sales volumes have fallen only -6.9 per cent since the Brexit vote to 1.145 million, demonstrating the resilience of the UK housing market.�

The firm expects that this figure will decrease by another 1.0 per cent over the next five years.  “But a continued re-balancing of the composition of the market is expected, with mortgaged buy to let investor purchases falling by -23 per cent.  This will add to upwards pressure on rents (see below), particularly in London, as investors look to lower value, higher yielding markets.�

The London market in detail:

• London house prices have risen by 72 per cent over the past ten years, well ahead of any other region. The average home buyer with a mortgage now pays just under £429,000 and has a household income of almost £76,000 (58 per cent higher than the UK average).  Even with borrowing at over four times that income, these households still need a deposit of £123,000.
• Small falls (-2.0%) are expected in London’s mainstream market next year, before values bottom out in 2020 and tick up steadily from 2021. Price growth over the next five years is forecast to total 4.5 per cent.
• The prime London markets are less dependent on mortgage borrowing and will outperform the mainstream, Savills says. The UK capital is expected to remain an attractive place to live, work and own residential assets, supporting12.4 per cent price growth in prime central London by the end of 2023.

The Regional story:

• At this point in the cycle, the highest price growth is expected in the lower value markets much further from the capital, which have seen nothing like the 10-year price rises seen in London – just 1.9 per cent in the North and 5.8 per cent in Scotland.
• The Midlands, the North of England, Yorkshire and Humberside, Scotland and Wales all have the capacity for borrowing to increase relative to incomes, even allowing for higher interest rates, and this will support price growth ranging from 17.6 per cent to 21.6 per cent across these regions.
• Key regional economies – most notably the metros of Manchester and Birmingham – have the capacity to outperform their regions attracting both local and investor buyers.
• Wales will perform in line with the Midlands as it has done in previous cycles, but it is a hugely diverse market. There may be increased housing demand crossing over from Bristol once the Severn bridge tolls are abolished.
• Scotland, which has only recently returned to pre credit crunch peak, is performing strongly, particularly Edinburgh and Glasgow, which have seen prices rise 8.9 per cent and 7.0 per cent over the past year, respectively.

Transactions – who is doing the buying?

• Transactions have fallen from 1.619 million in 2007 to around 1.145 million this year, but are forecast to remain stable over the next five years, though the market mix has changed.
• Cash remains king and cash buyers now account for almost a third of all sales (31%). The bank of mum and dad has provided important support to first time buyer numbers and, judging by receipts from the three per cent surcharge for additional homes, cash is also an important component of investment demand, Savills says.
• Mortgaged first time buyers, the only buyer group to have expanded since 2007 – from 359,000 to 370,000 this year – continue to be supported by Help to Buy and the bank of Mum and Dad. Numbers are expected to remain robust despite the prospect of a less generous, more targeted Help to Buy, with a fall of just -2.7 per cent anticipated by 2023.
• Mortgaged home mover numbers have fallen dramatically since 2007 as existing home owners move home less frequently. Numbers are down from 653,000 to 370,000, but having adjusted for stress testing of borrowing, are expected to remain constant over the next five years.
• Buy to let buyer numbers will continue to come under pressure. Stamp duty and mortgage-interest tax relief changes have led those highly leveraged investors to rationalise portfolios or pay down debt.

Rental growth will outpace Income growth:

Rental growth is expected to track house price growth, averaging 13.7 per cent over the next five years.   Tightening access to mortgage finance and limited social housing supply is driving demand for privately rented homes at all price points.  This is particularly true in London, where rents will rise by 15.9 per cent.

Lucian Cook concludes that:

“Until the market sees a significant injection of build to rent stock, rental demand will outstrip supply and rents will rise.  Investor buyers requiring borrowing are expected to focus on higher yielding markets and this will put further upwards pressure on rents in some of the most expensive rental locations.�

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Rents to rise by 13.7% over next five years | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Rents to rise by 13.7% over next five years