Mortgage rates fall as SWAPS in decline

Landlords biggest worry has always been rising interest rates and the resulting increased mortgage costs.  The good news is that SWAP rates which are often used as a predictator of a rise in fixed rate borrowing costs have been on the decline over recent months as markets have factored in a faltering economic UK recovery and a potential euro break up.

Mortgage Rates

The result is that short term buy-to-let mortgage rates have fallen back resulting in the emergence of some attractive 2 and 3 year rates over the last few months.  For example the 3.25% 2 year discount mortgage being offered by the Rugby Building Society.


Interest Rate Rise Recedes

The latest predictions from the money markets predict that interest rates may not rise until early 2016.  This is great news for many landlords concerned that an imminent rise in rates would bring about a dramatic increase in mortgage costs.

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BTL mortgages - best products

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison
80%	4.79% Discount	2 Years	£2999	£130.00	No	8.2% APR
80%	5.99% Fixed	Jul 31 2014	£1100	£199.00	No	6.5% APR
80%	5.88% Fixed	3 Years	2.5%	£0.00	Free legal fees for remortgage	6.2% APR
75%	4.89% Fixed	Aug 31 2014	£995	£0.00	No	5.1% APR
75%	4.98% Fixed	2 Years	£1999	£0.00	Free legal fees for remortgage	5.7% APR
70%	3.74% Discount	Jul 31 2014	£899	£0.00	No	5.9% APR
70%	3.85% Discount	3 Years	£995	£0.00	No	5.3% APR
65%	5.84% Fixed	Jun 30 2014	0%	£150.00	Free valuation for properties valued up to £500,000 (excludes Scotland)	5.3% APR
65%	3.99% Tracker	Jun 30 2014	0%	£250.00	Free valuation up to £700 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only.	4.7% APR
60%	3.25% Discount	2 Years	£1750	£250.00	No	5.3% APR
60%	3.59% Fixed	Aug 31 2014	2.5%	£0.00	£500 cashback on completion	5.1% APR

5.1% APR

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

IMPORTANT! Due to current market conditions, lenders are withdrawing and replacing products with little or no notice. Please check our website regularly to see the most up-to-date products available.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages.The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of mortgage.

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Landlords remain lowly leveraged

Residential landlords have always been less leveraged than other property owners and investors. 

Many landlords own outright their residential property.  The latest survey from BDRC Continental bares this out.  Their landlord panel reveals that over a quarter of landlords (28%) own their rental portfolio without any finance.

This give landlords plenty of equity to borrow against  in order to expand their residential investment portfolio in the future.

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Olympic torch - flicker or flame?

I'm just about to head out to watch the Olympic torch stroll past the end of my street. All I'm expecting is a bus with someone in a shell-suit holding a gold cone with a candle in. Should I really be such a negative ninny or does all this nationalistic hype and propaganda have any substance whatsoever?

I mean is this summers excitement really going to bring any 'legacy' or is it just a temporary bout of wasteful global boasting on our behalf that's a bit like 'the neighbour' who gets a brand new leased car on the drive a month before he gets his house repossessed.

Lets hope not.

I mean good news today about interest rates, down again, and even though we got a 'could be more creative' report from the IMF today they say that generally we weren't going in completely the wrong direction.

Much fist pumping and cheering to come, I hope.

UPDATE - OK, I've just got back. It was 'a bus with someone in a shell-suit holding a gold cone with a candle in.', plus a coca-cola bus with lots of over excited PR bunnies screaming for us to scream back. Surely the only Olympian thing coke have done for the countries health is put a ring of tooth decay in our kids front teeth, let's hope the economy is stronger than the Olympic committee's morale stance on sponsorship partners.

Rents are up again..but who cares!

According to Property Hawks Rentindex rents are on the rise again. 

Up 1% over the month and heading towards the all time high of £615 hit last year. 

But quite frankly who cares!  The sun is shining and landlords like every body else should be out enjoying it ...not looking at crappy websites.  Enjoy!

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Landlord sipps a political lead balloon

An influential select committee of MPs is urging the government to streamline pension and tax laws for landlords to stimulate investment in private rented housing.

The Communities and Local Government Select Committee are pushing for the inclusion of BTL property in self-invested personal pension schemes (SiPP).

Property Hawk got very excited about the prospect of this happening about five years ago until Gordon Brown made a last minute u-turn.

I'm not so sure it's going to happen for a while, not with a Tory government still reeling from the abolition of the 50 percent tax rate. Let's be honest the average voter does not want to see property landlords making further profits.

It strikes me this would be too much of a political lead balloon.

But we're still hoping. Maybe one day.

New 3.25% 2 year discount BTL

Property Hawk Mortgages is offering a fantastic new buy-to-let mortgage - a 3.25% 2 year discount up to 60% LTV with a flat fee and no early repayment charge!

Property Hawk Mortgages is pleased to provide this excellent buy-to-let mortgage with Hinckley & Rugby Building Society. This 3.25% 2 year discount with a flat fee is highly competitive in the 60% LTV bracket and could be a great choice for landlords.

Andy Young at Property Hawk Mortgages says: “We are delighted to offer this new exclusive buy-to-let mortgage with Hinckley & Rugby. The initial rate and flat completion fee make this a highly competitive product in the 60% LTV bracket. For those looking for a great rate and flexibility, this product has the additional benefit of having no early repayment charges.”

Gill Vernau at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society says: “We are expecting this new exclusive to drive good levels of business from landlord clients with higher deposits and it complements our existing product range very well.”


Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

IMPORTANT! Due to current market conditions, lenders are withdrawing and replacing products with little or no notice. Please check our website regularly to see the most up-to-date products available.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages.The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of mortgage.

Property for tenants that love cricket

Now here's an unusual USP for marketing a buy-to-let property when writing your rental advert.  What about a property with a view over the local cricket ground.  Perfect for cricket loving tenants.

The property is being sold on the instructions of J Gershinson FRICS and V Liddell MRICS of Allsop LLP as Joint Fixed Charge Receivers
Warne Court, Village Road, Enfield, London EN1 2FD
 
Freehold Modern unbroken purpose built gated development
Comprising 12 self-contained apartments (8 x two bedroom, 4 x three bedroom)
Fully let subject to 12 Assured Shorthold Tenancies
Total current rent reserved £194,400 per annum
Approximate gross internal area (excluding common parts) 1,001.53 sq m (10,780 sq ft)
Overlooking Enfield cricket ground
Secure undercroft parking
 
Offers in excess of £3,500,000 are invited for the freehold interest subject to the existing tenancies and subject to contract.

For further information, please contact:
Robbie Underhill
Email: robbie.underhill@allsop.co.uk
Tel: 020 7344 2659
Anthony Dixon
Email: anthony.dixon@allsop.co.uk
Tel: 0207 344 2625
 
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Property Hawk - contacting us.

Property Hawk does have contact telephone number so that you can speak to us if really necessary.  But if you have a query about the Tenancy Agreement, Property Management Software or letting your property the best way of getting a speedy response is always to email your specific enquiry.  We guarantee that we will get back to:

Need to know something fast... then email us: enquiries@propertyhawk.co.uk

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BTL mortgages current best products

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison
80%	4.79% Discount	2 Years	£2999	£130.00	No	8.2% APR
80%	5.99% Fixed	Jul 31 2014	£1100	£199.00	No	6.5% APR
80%	5.88% Fixed	3 Years	2.5%	£0.00	Free legal fees for remortgage	6.2% APR
75%	4.89% Fixed	Aug 31 2014	£995	£0.00	No	5.1% APR
75%	4.98% Fixed	2 Years	£1999	£0.00	Free legal fees for remortgage	5.7% APR
70%	3.74% Discount	Jul 31 2014	£899	£0.00	No	5.9% APR
70%	3.85% Discount	3 Years	£995	£0.00	No	5.3% APR
65%	5.84% Fixed	Jun 30 2014	0%	£150.00	Free valuation for properties valued up to £500,000 (excludes Scotland)	5.3% APR
65%	3.99% Tracker	Jun 30 2014	0%	£250.00	Free valuation up to £700 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only.	4.7% APR
60%	3.25% Discount	2 Years	1.75%	£250.00	Free valuation on properties valued up to £1m	5.3% APR
60%	3.59% Fixed	Aug 31 2014	2.5%	£0.00	£500 cashback on completion	5.1% APR

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

IMPORTANT! Due to current market conditions, lenders are withdrawing and replacing products with little or no notice. Please check our website regularly to see the most up-to-date products available.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages.The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of mortgage.

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Government report recommends tax simplication

The House of Commons Communities and Local Government select committee has recently explored how the economy can generate more housing in its' 280 page document 'Financing of New Housing Supply'.  In one section it looks at the contribution that residential landlords can make.  It concludes rightly that private landlords have a massive part to play in increasing residential supply.  I think that policy makers often overlook the contribution that small private landlords make.  We may not be building huge tower blocks or sprawling housing estates but many small landlords make a huge contribution to housing supply by bringing unused and inhabitable stock back into use or carrying out small scale developments.

The conclusion of the Committee is broadly positive being that :


"We recommend that the Government bring forward a set of proposals to
simplify the tax and regulatory structures that apply to private landlords. These
proposals should aim to create an environment in which small private landlords are
encouraged to expand their portfolios and invest in new build housing."

Unfortunately, simplification doesn't mean 'more generous'.  If government really wants to lever in more investment at little expense to the public purse then they need to give us a more favourable tax regime where residential landllords are treated on a par with business and residential investment is not seen merely as an investment.  I've talked before about the tax changes needed to encourage more investment from landlords.

For those with the time to read the full report you can download it here.


Mortgage Search - financing your investment

Deposit Protection - A Summary

The rules controlling the protection of a tenants deposit have recently been tightened.

Here is a useful summary of the requirements of the Housing Act 2004 on tenants deposits.

If you need to ask a question about your tenants deposit then post a specific question to our new landlord legal forum.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

BTL lending pushes out FTB's again

The Telegraph heralds the 'return of the buy-to-let investor' and plays the old 'pushing first time buyers out of the market'.

The article stems from the fact that buy-to-let mortgage numbers have rose again, up by a third during the first three months of this year in the CML's most recent figures.

The bricks and mortar haven seems to hold up against the flakey alternative investment markets, at least you can see what you've got for your money.

The CML reported 32,300 buy-to-let loans completed during the first  three months of the year of the year, up 32 per cent on last year.

Meanwhile the number of mortgages lent to first-time buyers is reportedly still dropping as lenders remain nervous about low deposits percentages with a still uncertain property market. Choosing a landlords typical 25 - 30 percent deposit over a 5 -10 percent FTB deposit.

You can't blame them really, can you?

Well you can, nasty bankers, bad bankers!  It's all your fault that the country's in the sh1t, nothing to do with government and individuals borrowing excessively,  living on the never, never to fund unrealistic and unsustainable expectations. No, no, no, it's the bankers, that right, not 'our' fault at all.......

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Housing Act 1988 as ammended

Finding the most up to date version of the Housing Act 1988 which governs the letting of property under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy can be a nightmare.  This is because the original legislation has been changed, added to and generally "mucked about" so much over the years.  We have therefore to thank Jeffrey Shaw of Netheredge Law for providing us with an up to date version of the Housing Act 1988.  This should always be a landlords definitive starting point in establishing what their legal rights and responsibilities are.


Landlord Legal Forum - post your legal questions for FREE

Buy-to-let lending up by 29%

Buy-to-let lending appears to be one of the few areas of increased lending in the economy according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).  Up 29% in terms of the number of property purchases in the first 3 month of the year, to 17,190 advances.

This sounds a pretty healthy increase.  Landlords who traditionally have a relatively low gearing on their property assets are obviously making hay off the back of increasing rental demand and rising rents.

Another boom?  Not likely - given the restrictive credit markets but relatively speaking landlords are borrowing and investing.  In fact buy-to-let mortgages now make up 12.8% of the total value of buy-to-let mortgages compared to from 12.6% at the end of 2011 and 12.2% at the end of the first quarter of 2011.

The total number of buy-to-let mortgages stands at just over 1.4million, with a total value of £159.4billion.

We ain't booming but were certainly ain't bust either.  Amen!

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