Mortgage valuation RICS registration

Landlords using a RICS surveyor for valuation purposes whether it be for their own purposes or through a mortgage company who require the valuation to protect their interest should be aware that from 30th April 2011 all surveyors acting in a valuation capacity should have registered under the RICS Valuation Registration Scheme.

Surveyors were criticised during the boom years for valuing up on many buy-to-let investments resulting in landlords owning off plan properties that were worth a lot less than they expected once the froth had been knocked off the over heating housing market.

Recently, surveyors have come under pressure for down valuing in an belated attempt to protect the exposure and interest of their mortgage company clients.

I'm not exactly sure why this new registration scheme will prevent these issues occuring again. 

Could it be a case of a professional body trying to shore up confidence in their members long after the horse has bolted!

Landlord Insurance - professional rates

Leek BS 4.19% mortgage

Leek building society has just launched a new fixed rate and discounted rate buy-to-let mortgage.  The Leek have a reputation for having a very small selection of keenly priced buy-to-let mortgages. 

However, because the building societies small size and limited funds they don't stay around for long!

The discount rate of 4.19% for 2 years (1.00% discount) is for a max 75% LTV and comes with a one off £995 application fee.

Because of the low application fee Moneyfacts has rated it a 'Best buy' for a 2 year mortgage.

FREE MORTGAGE SEARCH - find your best rate

Royalist landlord wishes

The landlord community would like to wish the royal couple a happy marriage and future life together, or do they?

Let's face it, a lot of us landlords are a cumudgeonly bunch, many of us probably can't stand the basic concept of an elitist, privileged existence born out of family lineage afforded to them by the exploitation of the everyman over centuries of inequality and abuse.

But putting that aside, letting bygones be bygones, good luck to the young couple, from me anyway.

I really can't speak for the other landlords out there.

Landlords are an odd bunch you know, and some of them have some peculiar ideas and views and well we're all different aren't we ......

God save the Queen!


Discounted landlord insurance

Property manager speeds up

The Property Manager 2.0 has had some further tweeks, to make it function faster.

We had received a few messages from users reporting slowness when adding Rental data, so we've reconstructed this element of the landlord software to make it sleeker and more efficient, as well as an overall clean up to make Property Manager 2.0 move faster.

We hope existing users notice the increased speed over the coming months.


Use our free property management software

Buy to let bounces back

With rents rising (up over 3.5% according to latest figures) at last lenders are waking up to the fact that landlords are a better bet than many first time buyers according to the Guardian.

I've been banging on about this anomaly for years. 

Landlords have had to endure less attractive mortgage terms compared to owner occupiers paying a higher rate of interest as well as being able to borrow less as a proportion of the value of the property. All this because in the eyes of lenders, landlords were at a greater risk of defaulting because an owner occupier was considered to be more likely to maintain their mortgage payments in tough times.  To me this flies in the face of the commercial logic that a landlord receives rent for their property and therefore for the most part should cover their outgoings including their mortgage costs.

In my view makes them less vunerable to financial hardship and more able to maintain their payments than most owner occupiers.  Am I misreading this - your views appreciated....

Buy-to-let mortgages - search for the best rate

The changing face of inventory

Inventory Clerks , Inventory House have been established since 2004 providing inventory services to more than 5000 properties per year in that time. Kevin Crack managing director talks us through the changes and developments in this emerging industry.

As a lettings negotiator and manager based in Wapping and Docklands in 2000/2001, inventory check-ins, check-outs were a service landlords and tenants were either unaware of or knew very little about. Landlords who provided an inventory tended to do so hand written on a scrap bit of paper. When a professional inventory was called upon it was often difficult finding a good inventory clerk, they were either not open for business, unavailable when tenants wanted to move in or were unable to travel in to London.

So Inventory House was formed. Our aim, to fill this gap, to provide a corporate, professional property inventory service with a corporate brand, corporate clerks, the highest quality reports and yes branded Smart cars! A service estate agents, landlords and tenants could rely on to always be available when needed. The key to it was to raise the standard of quality in the reports produced and to offer a more dynamic service than that seen anywhere before. It wasn't easy; I remember walking into one particular estate agent in our first week trying to sell our services and on announcing that I was an inventory clerk, one gentleman shouted across the room, what, as in foot soldier?

Then in 2007 the government introduced the Tenancy Deposit Scheme which in turn led to inventory reports having far greater importance and independent inventory services being taken far more seriously than ever before. Landlords and tenants suddenly became interested in what we were doing at check-in and check-out appointments and were taking the time to read through our reports.

That costly Cube

The worst that can happen on the TV's , The Cube, is that you go in with nothing and walk away with nothing, you've probably also had a free lunch, wandered around a TV studio and met Pip Schofield to boot, so not all bad.

However 'The Cube' in Birmingham has been a far more costly experience for many of the property buyers who took on the challenge and bought off plan apartments in this Brummie 'architectural show ( off ) piece'.

With values dropping 20 percent by the time of it's completion many hopeful contestants/ investors were left tens of thousands of pounds down on their investment. Unlike the smiley Pip Schofield who would ladle out a big dollop of sympathy and send you on your way with a pat on the back, the administrators of the troublesome Brummie Cube are coming after investors for everything they've got.

If life was only as simple as bouncing a tennis ball into a dustbin..........

Read more on the off plan investors plight here

Landlords muscle out FTBs

BTL property investors are returning back to the market and are to blame again for the woes of the struggling first time buyers.

Research from Assetz accuses cash rich landlords muscling out the struggling FTBs.

You big bullies!

Read more in this article

Discounted landlord insurance

BTL mortgage - lower flat fees

The arrangement fees can be a costly business for landlords, thankfully a number of BTL providers are beginning to bring costs down on a number of BTL mortgage products.

Some BTL mortgage providers are starting to introduce reasonable flat fees, including a £995 fixed fee from BM Solutions on a 4.49% two year fixed and The Mortgage Trusts new flat fee of £1098 on a 4.99% 2 year fixed.

More on these in Thisismoney article

Go here for a full market BTL search and free advice

A brief look at the UK mortgage market: a current snapshot

The UK mortgage market has had some big ups and downs in recent years, but where is it at the moment?

Here, we're going to take a look at some of the latest statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) to see how mortgage lending has fared recently.
Latest statistics for the mortgage market: February 2011
Figures released on 8th April 2011 revealed that mortgage lending saw a slight rise in February after January's 'downbeat' lending total.

A total of 32,300 loans for house purchase were approved during the month, worth £4.6bn. This was 8% higher by volume and 5% higher by value than January's figure. It was, though, 12% lower (by volume and value) than in February 2010.

There was also a rise in remortgaging during February - with the number of deals approved moving up from 23,200 to 24,300. This was 5% higher (in volume) than January and 3% higher in volume (but 3% down in value) from the same month a year earlier.

What was the market like for first-time buyers?

Just like they did in January, first-time buyers (on average) borrowed 80% of their property's value in February. They borrowed over three times their income - which is actually the lowest multiple since August 2009.

A little advice for first-time buyers:
It's important to remember that taking out a mortgage is a serious financial commitment - in that you'll be committing to your debt for a long period of time… and if you fail to repay it, the consequences can be serious (for example, your home may be repossessed). However, if you do start experiencing financial problems, seeking debt help and advice early on could really help you address the problem effectively.

What did the CML say about February's figures?

Chief economist at the CML, Bob Pannell, said: "The February fall in lending compared to last year was despite the fact that lending in the early months of 2010 was itself depressed following the end of the earlier stamp duty concession."

So, to conclude, the latest figures suggest that the mortgage market could be showing some signs of stability - but it's too early to make any firm predictions just yet.


Source
http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/media/press/2899


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Buy-to-let mortgages double

Moneyfacts latest research shows that as well as the lending criteria the number of buy-to-let loans available to landlords has doubled over the past year.

Even more encouraging is the fact that the number of new launches of buy-to-let mortgage products has been accelerating in recent weeks with 434 different buy-to-let loans available offers, compared with 215 at the start of 2010 and 330 just a month ago.

Mortgage Search - FREE broker advice

In possession

The eviction of Property Sparrow's tenant was last week. Coincidentally, she had booked a day off work and went along.

The bailiff was early, efficient and rushed off her feet. The locksmith was a reassuring presence and had seen it all before. The lettings agent was late and missed it all.

Property Sparrow had just signed the bailiff's papers when the tenant appeared at the front door. Property Sparrow had never met him before. He looked much younger than she'd thought, 25 at the most. She didn't feel sorry for him.

It looked as if he had been clearing out the flat and had come back to take away his few remaining possessions still inside. There was a light scent of sweat. He said he wanted to collect some bottles from the fridge and would Property Sparrow open the fridge and get them for him? She found herself lugging three giant bottles of supermarket own brand cherry cola, a telly and a kettle to the threshold and into the arms of her tenant.

She made a few terse remarks to him about the lack of rent, the locksmith was finished and then that was it, she had the place to herself.

She opened the windows and sat on the floor. She wrote a list of repairs: a couple of tiles off the bathroom wall and the extractor fan wasn't working; the living room could do with a lick of paint. Not too bad.

She locked the door with care and went home.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Trumping toilet troubles

You couldn't make it up!

A call from the tenant exclaiming about the noise the toilet makes every time it's flushed.  I duly investigate and end up with my hands deep inside the cisten listening to the trombone tones of the toilet. 

Like a scene from some 80s comedy - "Carry on I'm a LANDLORD".

OOOhhh misses you've got a right one here.  Looks like you've got a blockage in your diaphram!

Having thought that I'd sorted the initial problem only for it to return within the day. 

I then seek enlightenment from the Internet.  It turns out that my trumping toilet is not alone.

Time for a plumbers expert eye me thinks!


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Best head boy ever!

We all know the qualities required for a good head boy.

Youthful enthusiasm, charisma, popularity, naive optimism.

We think we have now found the best head boy ever!


Unfortunately, somebody left him in charge of the whole school.

Oh deary deary me. Chaos!

Anyway - good for him.... he's gone on and is now making loads of money for himself!

Buy a flat for 25k

Any landlords looking to pick up a buy-to-let bargain over Easter should check out the online auction being staged by Zoopla.

Currently on offer is a flat in Hartlepool with a reserve price of 25k and an initial bid of only 10,000 pounds.

As they say...you have to be in to win.

However before starting your bidding make sure that you do your research unless you want to be left with the booby prize!


Landlord insurance - renewing - what to do?

Rental Markets in London Continue to Grow

Throughout London and the South East, the rental market is continuing its growth, remaining dynamic in the face of increased demand. Due to this constant demand, rental yields have been supported and helped landlords enjoy a quick turnaround as well as a lack of vacant properties.

Hamptons International has announced that transactions within their lettings division have increased 6%, in comparison to the same quarter last year. With new applicants increasing 15% from March 2010, higher average rents are being charged across the market. This increase in new potential tenants is being offset by a 17% increase in new rental instructions on the Hamptons’ books, enabling both landlords and tenants to benefit from a buoyant rental market.

London is currently experiencing high demand and pressure throughout the lettings market, due to a number of contributing factors, including the difficulty some first time buyers experience when attempting to raise a deposit. Whilst lending and securing a sizable deposit is an issue for buyers, it will remain advantageous for the lettings industry, with a steady supply of prospective tenants available.

Hamptons Corporate Services team are seeing increased requests from industry, in particular the Energy and Finance sectors, to place senior professionals around London. This increased activity within industry highlights general demand for rental properties throughout London, a demand that looks set to continue throughout 2011.

Property price twitter - boogie

Don't blame it on the sunshine, just blame it on the boogie!

Mortgage lending rises slightly - Telegraph
Lending rises as confidence returns to housing market - Daily Mail
High asking prices leaves homes unsold - Thisismoney
Mortgage lending rose 21 percent in March - BBC
Mortgage market will remain tight until 2014
Over optimistic house sellers - Daily Mail
London asking prices hit all time high - Rightmove
House prices may fall by 25 percent - This is money

See all the property price tweets

Discounted landlord insurance

Goose with the golden egg!

Advertise on Rightmove – the goose with the golden egg!

We are often asked by our property hawk landlords, “I have a vacant BTL property which I need advertising, can you recommend an Online Letting Agent?

So we set about looking into this conundrum to see for ourselves which of the new breed of online letting agents was worth their weight in gold.

Looking at some of the online agents, it appears selecting a reputable, genuine agent is like searching for a needle in the proverbial “haystack”.

With many of the new generation “Online Letting Agents” springing up like tulips in the spring (and lasting about that long too) I need a company that has been around for a while and has built a reputable service.

Many websites are joining the online revolution somewhat later than the original players and they seem to come and go like the British sun at this time of year!

So the question is “What do I need in my online letting agent?”

First of all I need to let my property ASAP so I need to advertise on all the major property websites (such as Rightmove) as quick as possible and of course for a reasonable price!

Secondly, as I am new to advertising online, I would like a friendly voice on the other end of the phone to talk me through any technical difficulties I might have. After all, I am a landlord, I’m not Bill Gates!

I also want to talk to a person who has an understanding of the market place and not an offshore call centre who will guarantee to return my call within 24 hours. As I said I need to let my property yesterday not tomorrow!

And finally, I need support all the way through the process from writing my advert, to dealing with any enquiries and finally helping me secure my deposit with the relevant authority (to ensure I am not breaking the law).

I don’t want just some of these, I need all of these, and I need them all in one place.

If this sounds like some of the questions you might ask, then you will probably come up with the same answer for all –“ www.lettingaproperty.com!”

From advertising online to processing full tenant references, you are able to pick and choose which services you require - a real life one stop landlord shop

If you are a seasoned landlord and are just looking to advertise on Rightmove this is an option available to you too.

BTL mortgages - most popular

Below is a selection of the most popular buy-to-let mortgages currently available. For full information on these products, and all other buy-to-let mortgage schemes available to you, please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk/mortgages.aspx to use the free online buy-to-let mortgage finder. If you would like to discuss your requirements with a member of the support team please telephone 029 2069 5446 or you can submit a quick enquiry directly to the team by filling in our online enquiry form.

Interest Rate	Overall Cost for Comparison	Max LTV	Product Detail	Completion Fee	Early Repayment Charges
3.39% Fixed	5.3% APR	75%	3.39% fixed rate until 31/07/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. There is a booking fee of £150 and an application fee will apply.	3.5% (min £595)	5% of amount being repaid until 31/07/2012
3.59% Tracker	4.8% APR	60%	Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.09% (capped at 5.59%) until 31/03/2013 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.74% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £700 for purchases and remortgages and free legals for remortgages only. This rate is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £250 booking fee and an application fee will apply.	£999	4% of amount being repaid until 31/03/2013
3.88% Tracker	4.2% APR	75%	Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.38% for the lifetime of the loan. This product is available up to 75% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 100% at a notional rate of 8.5%. An application fee will apply. Available on a repayment basis only. The completion fee is payable at offer stage. Refer all cases for fees, maximum LTV and loan amounts.	REFER	1% of original balance being repaid for 1 year
3.99% Discount	5.4% APR	75%	Exclusive discounted rate of 3.99% (1.65% discount off the lender's SVR) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 5.64% for the remainder of the term. This product has no early repayment charges. It is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 135% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £250 and an application fee will apply.	£2499	No
3.99% Tracker	5.1% APR	75%	Remortgage only product. Variable rate of LIBOR + 3.09% (collared at 3.99%) for 2 years then reverting the the lender's standard variable rate (currently 4.60%) + 0.5% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation and free legals. This product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at anotional rate of 5%. There is a £99 booking fee and an application fee will apply.	£999	5% of amount being repaid within 2 years
4.49% Fixed	5.2% APR	60%	Fixed rate of 4.49% until 31/05/2013 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.45% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation and free legals for remortgages (properties valued up to £500,000). This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £245 booking fee and an application fee will apply.	£1250	4% of original balance being repaid until 31/05/2013
4.8% Fixed	5.2% APR	75%	Fixed rate of 4.80% until 01/06/2013 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.24% to give a current rate of 4.74% for the remainder of the term. The product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at the payrate. An application fee will apply.	2.5%	3% of amount being repaid until 01/06/2013
4.9% Tracker	5.6% APR	75%	Variable tracker rate of LIBOR + 4.00% for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate of 4.60% + 0.25% to the end of year 5, then for the remainder of the term, the lender's standard variable rate of 4.60% + 0.75%. The product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 130% at a notional rate of 7%. Please note that the completion fee will increase by 0.25% on applications for HMOs, freehold houses split into flats and limited companies. An application fee will normally apply.	2.25%	3% of amount being repaid for 2 years
4.95% Discount	6.1% APR	70%	Exclusive discounted rate of 4.95% (1.04% discount off the lender's SVR + 0.3%) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate (currently 5.69%) + 0.3% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. This product is available up to 70% LTV and the rental calculation is 130% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £199 and an application fee will apply.	0%	Tapered charges of 3/2% of the amount being repaid for the first 2 years
4.99% Discount	5.6% APR	80%	Exclusive discounted rate of 4.99% (0.5% discount off the lender's SVR) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 5.49% for the rest of the term. This product is available up to 80% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £250 and an application fee will apply.	£2500	2% of original balance being repaid for 2 years

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.

Please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk/mortgages.aspx to search the full product range and find a buy-to-let mortgage to suit your specific personal circumstances.

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

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.

---

Northampton landlords HMO controls

Apparently landlords in Northampton are raging against Northampton Borough Council who are trying to bring in restrictions in certain areas preventing landlords from creating more HMO properties without first obtaining planning permission.

The Council has an article 4 direction set to come into force on March 14 next years.

Are any other landlords experiencing these HMO restrictions introduced through the back door by local council initiatives.  It would be interesting to know.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Buy-to-let yields improve.

New research from Findaproperty shows that Southampton now boasts one of the highest rental yields averaging 8.12%, this is followed by Leeds and Virginia Water in Surrey, with rental yields of 7.52% and 7.5% respectively.

Chris Horne Editor of the landlord website Property Hawk observed.  "It's promising news that yields are moving ahead. The main contributory factors are rising rents and depressed house prices."

"I suspect that yields will continue to increase over the next years as rents continue to move ahead faster than the underlying value of property."

"This is all good news for landlords who should continue to see cashflow improve whilst also benefiting from a double whammy as the relative size of their loans fall due to the high level of inflation."

 Landlord insurance - time to renew?

Tips On Tenancy Deposit Disputes 40: Get A Court Order

Tip 40: Get a Court Order

Some people prefer to use the small claims court rather than adjudication. Although there is a fee to pay to bring a claim through the county court, and you might end up paying costs if you lose, there are circumstances where court is the more sensible option.

Many landlords who decide to use court, and whose deposit is protected by the DPS, the custodial scheme, run into difficulties. The DPS do not like to pay out the deposit without a court order that specifically directs them to do so, and some district judges don’t like to make orders that refer to parties who are not directly involved in the dispute. This can lead to an appallingly frustrating, Catch 22 situation, whereby even after having won their court case, landlords still cannot get their hands on the deposit.

The simplest way to resolve the situation is the return to the court that gave judgment and ask them nicely to amend the order. Court service staff are usually very helpful and if you explain the situation to them, they will normally ask the judge on your behalf. There may be a fee, of course...

Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an experienced deposit protection adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes. Tom helps landlords to claim money through the deposit protection schemes.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Rent to move

Stagnant property sales has created a trend for homeowners in London and the South East 'to rent to move' instead of 'selling to buy'.

ARLA have reported an increase of higher value properties hitting the rental market as many homeowners see that renting out their existing property to enable them to move to an alternative rental property is easier than selling and buying.

Following this trend the banks and building societies are looking to hit these 'musical chair artists' with big fees or forcing them to move to expensive buy-to-let deals, or pay a higher interest rate.

What is a homeowner supposed to do?

Read more in Thisismoney

BTL Mortgage search tool - free to use

Rents up 4.2%

Rents rise again according to the Buy-to-let Index produced by LSL Property Services.

In March rents rose by 0.4% in England and Wales to an average monthly rent of £687.  This means that rents are now 4.2% higher on an annual basis.

The biggest rent rises were seen in the East of England where they increased by 2.2%.

Rents in London have powered ahead over the last year soaring by 7.3% with the South East following close behind with a 6.7% rise.

Commenting on the figures Chris Horne Editor of Property Hawk observed:

"These figures are not surprising reflecting the strength in the rental market as more people continue to choose to rent rather than buy, because of mortgages and affordability issues."

"These factors are particularly strong in London and the south east which is reflected in the relative strength of this rental market."

Mortgage Search - FREE - broker advice

Weed out tenants from hell

A new I-Phone app has been launched that claims you can weed out tenants from hell according to this press release.

 I'm not convinced.  There have been a number of sites that promise to carry a black list of bad tenants.

Problems with scalability and issues over data protection so far that none have taken off.

I stand to be corrected if anybody knows to the contrary.

Until then I will just make sure I credit check my tenants the traditional way.

Tenant reference - now !

Property price twitter - Oley

Oley or just OK?

House prices falling faster in Britain than in Spain - Telegraph blog
UK housing market remains flat - RICS
Housing market enters sustainable recovery - FT Advisor
UK property market still in doldrums - BBC
UK property two tier dilemma - Telegraph
Interest rates set to quadruple - ThisisMoney
House prices static over past 12 months - Guardian
House prices in London offset falls elsewhere - Telegraph
UK house price decline - Bloomberg
House price rise fails to boost forecast - Sky news


See all the property price tweets

Discounted landlord insurance

BTL mortgages - most popular

Below is a selection of the most popular buy-to-let mortgages currently available. For full information on these products, and all other buy-to-let mortgage schemes available to you, please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk/mortgages.aspx to use the free online buy-to-let mortgage finder. If you would like to discuss your requirements with a member of the support team please telephone 029 2069 5446 or you can submit a quick enquiry directly to the team by filling in our online enquiry form.

Interest Rate	Overall Cost for Comparison	Max LTV	Product Detail	Completion Fee	Early Repayment Charges
3.49% Fixed	5.4% APR	75%	Fixed rate of 3.49% until 31/05/2012 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.99% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at a notional rate of 4.99%. An application fee will apply.	3.5% (min £595)	5% of amount being repaid until 31/05/2012
3.59% Tracker	4.8% APR	60%	Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.09% (capped at 5.59%) until 31/03/2013 then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 4.74% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £700 for purchases and remortgages and free legals for remortgages only. This rate is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £250 booking fee and an application fee will apply.	£999	4% of amount being repaid until 31/03/2013
3.88% Tracker	4.2% APR	75%	Variable tracker rate of BBR + 3.38% for the lifetime of the loan. This product is available up to 75% LTV and there is a rental calculation of 100% at a notional rate of 8.5%. An application fee will apply. Available on a repayment basis only. The completion fee is payable at offer stage. Refer all cases for fees, maximum LTV and loan amounts.	REFER	1% of original balance being repaid for 1 year
3.99% Discount	5.4% APR	75%	Exclusive discounted rate of 3.99% (1.65% discount off the lender's SVR) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 5.64% for the remainder of the term. This product has no early repayment charges. It is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 135% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £250 and an application fee will apply.	£2499	No
4.49% Fixed	5.2% APR	60%	Fixed rate of 4.49% until 31/05/2013 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.45% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation and free legals for remortgages (properties valued up to £500,000). This product is available up to 60% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a £245 booking fee and an application fee will apply.	£1250	4% of original balance being repaid until 31/05/2013
4.8% Fixed	5.2% APR	75%	Fixed rate of 4.80% until 01/06/2013 then reverting to a variable rate of BBR + 4.24% to give a current rate of 4.74% for the remainder of the term. The product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at the payrate. An application fee will apply.	2.5%	3% of amount being repaid until 01/06/2013
4.9% Tracker	5.6% APR	75%	Variable tracker rate of LIBOR + 4.00% for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate of 4.60% + 0.25% to the end of year 5, then for the remainder of the term, the lender's standard variable rate of 4.60% + 0.75%. The product is available up to 75% LTV and the rental calculation is 130% at a notional rate of 7%. Please note that the completion fee will increase by 0.25% on applications for HMOs, freehold houses split into flats and limited companies. An application fee will normally apply.	2.25%	3% of amount being repaid for 2 years
4.95% Discount	6.1% APR	70%	Exclusive discounted rate of 4.95% (1.04% discount off the lender's SVR + 0.3%) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate (currently 5.69%) + 0.3% for the remainder of the term. There is a free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. This product is available up to 70% LTV and the rental calculation is 130% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £199 and an application fee will apply.	0%	Tapered charges of 3/2% of the amount being repaid for the first 2 years
4.99% Discount	5.6% APR	80%	Exclusive discounted rate of 4.99% (0.5% discount off the lender's SVR) for 2 years then reverting to the lender's standard variable rate which is currently 5.49% for the rest of the term. This product is available up to 80% LTV and the rental calculation is 125% at payrate. There is a booking fee of £250 and an application fee will apply.	£2500	2% of original balance being repaid for 2 years
5.99% Fixed	6.2% APR	85%	Fixed rate of 5.99% for 2 years then reverting to a variable rate of LIBOR + 5.00% for the remainder of the term. This product is available up to 85% LTV and the rental calculation is 120% at payrate. An application fee will apply.	2.5%	5% of amount being repaid for 2 years

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.

Please visit www.propertyhawk.co.uk/mortgages.aspx to search the full product range and find a buy-to-let mortgage to suit your specific personal circumstances.

Email: info@propertyhawkbtlmortgages.co.uk

Tel: 029 2069 5446

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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More conversions promised

The government has launched a consultation on how to make planning policies more responsive to allow a greater number of residential properties to be created from empty office and commercial premises.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is looking at ways of deregulating the planning system to allow developers to bring on stream much needed additional housing. 

This comes in light of the latest housebuilding figures for 2009-10 which hit a record low of 129,000 new homes, the lowest level in peacetime since 1924.



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Councils lose HMO challenge

A consortium of councils has lost their high court appeal against the way the government made changes to the planning system which meant that planning permission was no longer required to convert to an HMO without the need for planning permission.

The councils spearheaded by Milton Keynes Council and backed by Oxford and Newcastle Cities had claimed that the Government had failed to consult properly local planning authorities prior to the changes.

The Councils have 28 days to consider whether to appeal the decision.


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Tips On Tenancy Deposit Disputes 39: The C Word

Tip 39: Don’t mention the C word

...Court, that is.

If you as much as hint that you would prefer to have your dispute resolved in court, rather than using the scheme’s own dispute resolution service, your file is liable to be suspended. The schemes are not able to adjudicate on claims that will be or have been (or might be) the subject of court proceedings, because the court service is a higher authority and the schemes can’t be seen to interfere. 

Sometimes people make the mistake of threatening to use court, in an off hand sort of manner, without thinking it through, then are surprised to find that their claim progresses no further. If you’ve done done this, you can restart the claim by affirming your intention not to pursue the matter through the court system, but you will incur delays.

Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an experienced deposit protection adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes. Tom helps landlords to claim money through the deposit protection schemes.


Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

BTL back from the grave

A year or so ago journalists were proclaiming that BTL was dead, well now they're regaling its resurgence, they're a funny old bunch.....journalists, heh!

You do wonder where they thought everyone was going to live, considering that nobody was able to buy, the country hadn't built enough council homes for decades and the UKs population continues to grow.

Well surprise, surprise, the private rental sector is still in demand and BTL is back on the way up after a year of poor health........so not dead then.

Lovemoney report on the return of BTL lending as Skipton Building Society join back in.

Whole market BTL mortgage search - FREE search tool

LHA - age changes

Landlords still realing from the changes to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) that came into force from the 1st April should be aware of a new change affecting younger single tenants in receipt of housing benefit.

This is potentially bigger for landlords letting to younger tenants who currently rent self contained accommodation than the recently announced LHA regime.

The government has already revised it's changes to the benefit system which means that young singles up to the age of 25 living on benefit would only be eligible to claim benefit for shared accommodation and not self contained units by extending the age category up to 35 year olds.

The change of the age limit had originally been intended to take place from April 2012 had now been brought forward to January 2012.

The governments own figures indicate that up to 88,000 claimants could be affected by the broadening of the age range.  Many commentators have suggested this to be a vast underestimate of the real figure.

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