He said: “I will ask the people of Kent what they want. If people want their money spent in a certain way than that is what we should give them.”
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Buy to let police commissioner
The media acclaimed landlord and former maths teacher Fergus Wilson, wants to be elected as the new police commissioner for Kent.
He said: “I will ask the people of Kent what they want. If people want their money spent in a certain way than that is what we should give them.”
He said: “I will ask the people of Kent what they want. If people want their money spent in a certain way than that is what we should give them.”
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Landlords should try to avoid surprises
The landlord of muslim extremist preacher Abu Qatada told the high court yesterday that he experienced "the worst day of his life" after journalists discovered
that Qatada was at the house. He told the court he did not realise that he had rented a house to a family related to freed radical cleric.
Tenant references for just £9.99
Sorry I couldn't resist the link.
Tenant references for just £9.99
Sorry I couldn't resist the link.
UK Asset Resolution Mismanagement
According to landlords UK Asset Resolution is mishandling many of the debt ridden property portfolios that were created through the overly gregarious lending of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley.
UK Asset Resolution was created by Government to try to manage and recover the £77billion bad mortgages from the banks that they were forced to take control of.
In This is Money article it describes some of the situations struggling landlords find themselves under UKAR stewardship, including poor management and rent collection, forced selling at below market rates and excessive fees.
Have any other landlords experienced problems with UK Asset Resolution or their agents?
BTL Mortgage Search - whole market
UK Asset Resolution was created by Government to try to manage and recover the £77billion bad mortgages from the banks that they were forced to take control of.
In This is Money article it describes some of the situations struggling landlords find themselves under UKAR stewardship, including poor management and rent collection, forced selling at below market rates and excessive fees.
Have any other landlords experienced problems with UK Asset Resolution or their agents?
BTL Mortgage Search - whole market
BTL mortgages - most popular
| Max LTV | Initial Rate | Term | Completion fee | Booking fee | Incentives | Overall Cost for Comparison |
| 80% | 5.79% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 7% APR |
| 80% | 5.49% Discount | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.9% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Fixed | Apr 30 2015 | 2% | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.8% APR |
| 75% | 4.25% Discount | 2 Years | 2.5% | £250.00 | No | 5.5% APR |
| 75% | 4.78% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.8% APR |
| 70% | 4.25% Discount | 2 Years | 0% | £199.00 | Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. | 6% APR |
| 60% | 2.99% Discount | 2 Years | £1249 | £250.00 | No | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 3.25% Discount | 2 Years | £999 | £250.00 | Free valuation, property valued up to £1m | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 5.49% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.9% APR |
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.
Landlords remain positive
Portfolio landlords are feeling the pressure according to latest research on a panel of landlords conducted by BDRC continental.The number of portfolio landlords that reported a loss increased from 1% to 8% between the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Despite this landlords remain up beat about the prospects of buy-to-let with 80% saying they feel positive about the sector.
It seems that us landlords are a pretty positive bunch or maybe we just wear rose tinted glasses?
Landlord insurance - instant quotes
Monday, February 27, 2012
DPS does a million
The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) has apparently paid back it's millionth deposit. Well congratulations to the tenant apparently located in the South East of England. Will they get a prize, a cake or perhaps one of those comedy cheques much beloved by the Pools companies back in the day.
Despite scepticism the protection of tenants deposits generally seems to work well unless there are complications. What tenancy doesn't have complications though.
The DPS currently protects 840,000 deposits amounting to £660 million.
Have a look a my recent tribulations with the DPS trying to pay my tenants back their tenancy deposit.
Generally despite the odd software dead end ….they ain't doing a half bad job.
Landlord insurance - 5 star insurance
Despite scepticism the protection of tenants deposits generally seems to work well unless there are complications. What tenancy doesn't have complications though.
The DPS currently protects 840,000 deposits amounting to £660 million.
Have a look a my recent tribulations with the DPS trying to pay my tenants back their tenancy deposit.
Generally despite the odd software dead end ….they ain't doing a half bad job.
Landlord insurance - 5 star insurance
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Getting on the Property Ladder
Getting on the Property Ladder in Bracknell just Became Easier
If you have been living in the Bracknell borough for a minimum of 5 years then help is at hand for first time buyers trying to step onto the property ladder. This is due to Bracknell Forest Council putting on a range of schemes.
These schemes include My Homebuy and Cash Incentive schemes. The My Homebuy scheme enables first time buyers to afford an equity share in property.
The second, Cash Incentive, is for those in social housing and is a grant of £38,000. This means they will be able to purchase their own properties and get the all important foot on the ladder.
To be eligible for the schemes applicants must have been living in Bracknell for 5 years, must be over 18, have an income of between £20,000 and £60,000, work a minimum of 16 hours a week, be a first time buyer and also have a good credit history. Applicants must also have enough money to be able to afford the deposit on a property and be able to cover any purchase costs.
The Chief Officer for housing, Simon Hendy stated, “There are lots of people in the borough who are earning good salaries but because banks are demanding such huge deposits they are struggling to get a foot on the ladder. These schemes will help first time buyers secure their first home and help support the local housing market.”
This will be a great boost for first time buyers who are currently stuck paying high rental yields due to the competitive natural of the rental market and add on costs such as rent deposits and tenants insurance.
The council is committed to finding reasonable and affordable housing for first time buyers in the area according to Councillor Dale Birch.
If you have been living in the Bracknell borough for a minimum of 5 years then help is at hand for first time buyers trying to step onto the property ladder. This is due to Bracknell Forest Council putting on a range of schemes.
These schemes include My Homebuy and Cash Incentive schemes. The My Homebuy scheme enables first time buyers to afford an equity share in property.
The second, Cash Incentive, is for those in social housing and is a grant of £38,000. This means they will be able to purchase their own properties and get the all important foot on the ladder.
To be eligible for the schemes applicants must have been living in Bracknell for 5 years, must be over 18, have an income of between £20,000 and £60,000, work a minimum of 16 hours a week, be a first time buyer and also have a good credit history. Applicants must also have enough money to be able to afford the deposit on a property and be able to cover any purchase costs.
The Chief Officer for housing, Simon Hendy stated, “There are lots of people in the borough who are earning good salaries but because banks are demanding such huge deposits they are struggling to get a foot on the ladder. These schemes will help first time buyers secure their first home and help support the local housing market.”
This will be a great boost for first time buyers who are currently stuck paying high rental yields due to the competitive natural of the rental market and add on costs such as rent deposits and tenants insurance.
The council is committed to finding reasonable and affordable housing for first time buyers in the area according to Councillor Dale Birch.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Consent to lease mortgages
If you're a prospective ' accidental landlord' who is needing to move but just can't sell their existing property you might be interested in a 'consent to lease' on your existing mortgage.
It can be a helpful way out if you can't muster the finances to pay down on the mortgage to meet swapping it to a BTL that requires lower LTV's than your existing residential mortgage.
But be warned expect pretty high percentages of interest.
Might be something to look at if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place or as this journalist from Love Money, stuck with a baby in a very small place.
Discounted landlord insurance
It can be a helpful way out if you can't muster the finances to pay down on the mortgage to meet swapping it to a BTL that requires lower LTV's than your existing residential mortgage.
But be warned expect pretty high percentages of interest.
Might be something to look at if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place or as this journalist from Love Money, stuck with a baby in a very small place.
Discounted landlord insurance
Can Government push down rents?
 |
| Giz us more rent! |
Many argue that landlords have nothing to worry about. That the rental market is too buoyant and that reducing housing benefit payments will just result in landlords moving out of the sector and renting to private tenants instead moving to the highest bidder. If the Government won't pay the rent then someone working will, so here's a sleeping bag, goodbye and good luck with finding a job.
Maybe so, I probably hold that point of view in places such as London and other relatively affluent areas across the country. I struggle to see that with the current high demand in the rental market the Government would be able to dictate to hard on rents.
However, what about the dead towns, the dying sprawls of industrial history that cover large swathes of the midlands and the north. Areas that were flooded with Government support and made up Government jobs, - "Can you shuffle those papers and then pass them to Debbie because she needs to do a bit of shuffling before she goes to pick up the kids at 3."
The Government created a fraudulent middle class to give these old industrial areas a sense of affluence, for the poor to orbit around, but drive around these areas and you're find that these Government paper pushers are in the minority, most are still poor, most of the area still grim, most unemployed.
You see the concept of 're-generation' was only ever a PR stunt, a surface re-polish, to a 'Changing Rooms' quality of refurbishment. These areas never truly recovered from the collapse of whatever industry they were based upon, their 're-invention' truly only a tatty facade based around a zinc clad museum or a repainted crane at a dockyard.
It's in these area that the Government if financially prudent could push rents down hard.
These areas where street after street of grim terraces sprawl out, where in many respects house prices and rents have been almost solely propped up by the Government pockets, reliant on what the 'big man' is prepared to hand out, in wages, benefits or rents.
So if the "big man' decides to be less giving, less generous what will happen to these charity fueled areas?
Well firstly, if the Government decides to pay less housing benefit to push down payments landlords will find it difficult to put up much resistance. They will struggle to argue that they can get more from a private tenant, they would have no choice but to accept what the Government is prepared to give them, however low.
"Thankyou sir, very kind of you." wizened landlord doffs cap and exits council offices stage left.
House price falls will follow, as a rush of landlords selling up flood the market. Depopulation will increase as the aspirational move to areas of opportunity, as it was before the charity handouts but more so. They do say the eighties are back in fashion.
I don't wish to panic landlords but the situation is at the whim of those in Parliament, your property investments dependent on political will and the tide is moving towards greater restrictions on housing benefit payments.
Remember the 'Big Man' we've got at the moment is not the one who needs the benefit recipients of these deprived areas to like them, they are not the one that was prepared to buy their votes and calm them with delusions.
Reality is back with us after the collapse of the banks.
So don't be surprised to see the country continue to divide further, which is a worry for us all, especially if you are a landlord in a deprived area. When you read articles listing that Hull has 79.36 people for every job, Stoke 73.32 and Sunderland 53.66, compared with the best as Aberdeen with 0.88, Reading with 1.21 and Cambridge 1.56.
'Giz us more rent' .....please, ...Im a landlord.
Search the whole BTL mortgage market free
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
BM Solutions cut rates again
Another week and another cut from BM Solutions, its cutting 0.2 % from all its btl mortgages following a 0.3 % cut earlier this month.
Phil Rickards, head of sales at BM Solutions, says: “This is our second round of price reductions in as many weeks. By launching some new deals and reducing all rates in the current range, we’re really shaking up competition in the buy-to-let market"
Search the whole BTL mortgage market - FREE
Phil Rickards, head of sales at BM Solutions, says: “This is our second round of price reductions in as many weeks. By launching some new deals and reducing all rates in the current range, we’re really shaking up competition in the buy-to-let market"
Search the whole BTL mortgage market - FREE
Life long tenants
Tenants are staying for longer, typically renting homes for a "record" duration of 19 months, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) said this week.
Great news. The pain of finding new tenants, the cost of advertising, showing them around whilst they kick the metaphorical tyres and suck in their cheeks at a touch of mildew.
The rental void. Urggghhh!
I've got one tenant whose been in one of my flats for nearly twenty years. Twenty years!
I love him like a brother for all the hassle he has saved me. Think about it, if that flat had turned around a new tenancy each year I could of easily lost 20 or 30 days of my life flapping around with letting and check ins, inventories, paper work, refurbishments, cleaning. You don't get those days back you know, each one is a step closer to death.
Tenants forever...........ideally.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
BTL mortgages - most popular
| Max LTV | Initial Rate | Term | Completion fee | Booking fee | Incentives | Overall Cost for Comparison |
| 80% | 5.79% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 7% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Fixed | Apr 30 2015 | 2% | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.8% APR |
| 75% | 3.74% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1999 | £250.00 | No | 5.4% APR |
| 75% | 4.78% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.8% APR |
| 70% | 4.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | 0% | £199.00 | Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. | 6% APR |
| 60% | 5.49% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.9% APR |
| 60% | 2.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1249 | £250.00 | No | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 3.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £999 | £250.00 | Free valuation, property valued up to £1m | 5.2% APR |
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.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Big increase in BTL mortgage advances
We saw an increase of 32 percent in the number of BTL mortgages in 2011 compared with the previous year.
Quite a jump and conclusive proof that BTL is on a bounce back.
The Council of Mortgages (CML) recorded 124,000 buy-to-let mortgages advanced in 2011, of which 66,360 were for purchases and the rest were remortgages.
The BTL industry is forecasting further growth in 2012 ( but I guess they would say that wouldn't they ).
Landlord insurance - cheap quotes here
Quite a jump and conclusive proof that BTL is on a bounce back.
The Council of Mortgages (CML) recorded 124,000 buy-to-let mortgages advanced in 2011, of which 66,360 were for purchases and the rest were remortgages.
The BTL industry is forecasting further growth in 2012 ( but I guess they would say that wouldn't they ).
Landlord insurance - cheap quotes here
Rents rise in January
January saw a rise of 0.1 percent on the average monthly rent in England
and Wales to £712 according to figures from LSL
Property Services.
David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services said: "The rental market burst back into life unseasonably early in January, with tenants on the move trying to take advantage of what is usually a quieter period for the rental market.The depth of the underlying demand sustained a higher level of competition for rental property during the Christmas period, preventing more severe falls in rents than we'd normally see during the period."
Landlord insurance quotes
David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services said: "The rental market burst back into life unseasonably early in January, with tenants on the move trying to take advantage of what is usually a quieter period for the rental market.The depth of the underlying demand sustained a higher level of competition for rental property during the Christmas period, preventing more severe falls in rents than we'd normally see during the period."
Landlord insurance quotes
NI speculates on Housing Benefit changes
Northern Ireland focused speculation on the effects of the changes to housing benefit on those between the age of 24 and 35 who will see sharp cuts over the coming months.
Unemployed Eamonn Brown expects to be forced out of his flat when his £80 a week housing benefit is cut under the new plans.
The government hopes that the cuts will push private landlords to drop rents.
This might be wishful thinking on behalf of the Government but in areas of high social housing landlords may find they are forced to take what the Government is prepared to give them.
What do you think?
Read more here in this BEEB articlce
Unemployed Eamonn Brown expects to be forced out of his flat when his £80 a week housing benefit is cut under the new plans.
The government hopes that the cuts will push private landlords to drop rents.
This might be wishful thinking on behalf of the Government but in areas of high social housing landlords may find they are forced to take what the Government is prepared to give them.
What do you think?
Read more here in this BEEB articlce
Discounts hit record levels
More and more properties for sale are subject to discounts on their original asking price according to property portal Zoopla. Over a third of properties currently for sale have had their asking price reduced at least once.
The average discount on these properties now stands at just under £20,000 or 7.5% according to their research. This is over £1000 more than this time last year.
Stockport is the area which has the highest number of discounted properties with almost half or 49% having a price reduction since first being marketed.
Time to grab a bargain....
Landlord insurance - professional rates
The average discount on these properties now stands at just under £20,000 or 7.5% according to their research. This is over £1000 more than this time last year.
Stockport is the area which has the highest number of discounted properties with almost half or 49% having a price reduction since first being marketed.
Time to grab a bargain....
Landlord insurance - professional rates
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Buy-to-let lending increasing
Buy to let lending is still increasing according to the latest statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The number of mortgages increased by around 84,000 in 2011.
During the 4th quarter of 2011 a total of 34,800 buy-to-let mortgages were advanced (15,600 were remortgages). This compares with only 26,300 in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Mortgage Search - whole of the market
The number of mortgages increased by around 84,000 in 2011.
During the 4th quarter of 2011 a total of 34,800 buy-to-let mortgages were advanced (15,600 were remortgages). This compares with only 26,300 in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Mortgage Search - whole of the market
Thursday, February 16, 2012
NEW 4.99 three year fixed
New 4.99% 3 year fixed rate with up to 80% LTV with freebies for remortgages - available via Property Hawk Mortgages
BTL mortgages - most popular
| Max LTV | Initial Rate | Term | Completion fee | Booking fee | Incentives | Overall Cost for Comparison |
| 85% | 5.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 1% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £2995 | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.7% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Fixed | Apr 30 2015 | 2% | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.8% APR |
| 75% | 3.74% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1999 | £250.00 | No | 5.4% APR |
| 75% | 4.19% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 70% | 4.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | 0% | £199.00 | Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. | 6% APR |
| 60% | 4.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.8% APR |
| 60% | 2.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1249 | £250.00 | No | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 3.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £999 | £250.00 | Free valuation, property valued up to £1m | 5.2% APR |
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.
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.
Halifax Heritage on sale
Landlords looking at picking up some eye catching heritage want to take a look at Heritage Mews in Halifax. For under half a million quid you could end up with 16 apartments and a dance studio to practice your ZUMBA steps in!Nice Move..details below:
Heritage Mews, Church Street, Halifax HX1 1QP
Residential Investment Opportunity comprising:
16 Apartments (10 x 1 bedroom and 6 x 2 bedroom apartments) subject to 15 Assured Shorthold Agreements. Dance studio subject to a Licence Agreement
Rent Passing - £68,052 - 17% GIY (Gross Investment Yield)
ERV - £72,250 pa - 18.1% GIY
Freehold
Asking Price: Offers in excess of £400,000 are invited subject to contract
For further information, please contact:
James Wilson
Email: james.wilson@allsop.co.uk
Tel: 0113 236 6679
Landlord insurance - best internet rates
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Seasonal rent drop over
The seasonal fall off in rents has almost come to an end according to the figures from the Rentindex.The Rentindex unlike any other UK rental index tracks actual rents in real time. Using details from over 5,500 landlords over the last 90 days it shows that average rents have nudged up just over 0.5% taking the average to marginally below £600 pcm. The latest graph indicates that the seasonal fall of in rents has been less dramatic and has been shorter than in recent years where rents have generally started recovering in March/April. This all bodes well for continued rental increases into 2012. Will we top the peak in rents of £615 achieved in October? We think that if past trends continue average rents could top £625 by October 2012. Good news indeed!
Landlord insurance - professional rates
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tenants young & beautiful!
Most tenants are still young and beautiful according to the latest stats produced by Countrywide.Their findings reveal that cohabiting couples under the age of 35 continue to make up the largest proportion of new tenants looking to rent (at 23.4% in Q4 2011). Most of my tenants are in this category although I do have one or two now that are older.
The figures reveal that their are a growing number of families that are entering the private rental market. I suspect this is a result of increasing numbers that are unable to raise sufficient mortgage finance to buy. This emerging trend which was found to be most evident in the North and South East of the UK.
Landlord insurance - professional rates
Thursday, February 09, 2012
List of our landlord software updates
 | |
| new landlord software logo |
Colourful buttons added
Speeding up adding mortgage interest payments
Make copies of your property inventories
Transfer addresses across supervised accounts
Added filter to rent summary page
and a new logo that will be going on soon - see picture.
Remember to leave feedback about individual pages using the thumbs up and thumbs down icons in the Property Manager 3 software.
Increase in rental demand
275,000 new tenants registered for private rental accommodation last year, a 24% increase on 2010, according to UK letting agent Countrywide. The letting agent saw a 35% increase in enquiries in London and a 22% increase in the North and Scotland.
Marketing periods have reduced with increased demand with the average time it takes to find a tenant dropping to just of just 13.5 days.
The letting agent also reports an increase in the numbers of families entering the private rental market.
Landlord insurance quotes
Marketing periods have reduced with increased demand with the average time it takes to find a tenant dropping to just of just 13.5 days.
The letting agent also reports an increase in the numbers of families entering the private rental market.
Landlord insurance quotes
ARLA predicts slower growth
ARLA predict that 2012 will see slower growth in BTL than 2011 and also reported a increase in the number of landlords selling.
Caution seems to be circulating the market with the number of landlords wanting to buy falling from 27 to 25 percent and the number wanting to sell property increasing from 8 to 9 percent.
They predict that rental growth will be between 4 and 5 percent over the year.
Discounted landlord insurance with Alan Boswells five star cover
Caution seems to be circulating the market with the number of landlords wanting to buy falling from 27 to 25 percent and the number wanting to sell property increasing from 8 to 9 percent.
They predict that rental growth will be between 4 and 5 percent over the year.
Discounted landlord insurance with Alan Boswells five star cover
Rise of the Silver Landlord
Mortgage broker John Charcol recorded an increase in forty to fifty year olds choosing to rent out homes instead of selling. This generation often has a high level of equity built up within their property and are refinancing on this to enable them to buy another property to move to whilst holding on to the original property for rental.John Charcol, observed that ‘Many of these people are looking to move but are reluctant to accept a lower asking price than they would have done a few years ago.’
‘The dramatic rise in house prices over the last 15 years have made people see their home as an asset rather than a home. As a result many of those who have paid a large chunk of their mortgage are instead looking to rent out their home rather than selling it.’
‘Pension funds have not had a great time recently and they are complex, people understand property because they can see when it goes up, or down in price."
It seems that for many Brits, bricks still seem safer than pensions.
BTL mortgage - search the whole market here
Sale & Leaseback stopped
Sale and leaseback the term given to property investors who use the unfortunate circumstances of home owners to coerce them into selling their property at unjustifiable discounts has been all but stopped.
In my view sale and leaseback companies are vultures in suits! They prey on desperate home owners who are at risk of loosing their property through reposession. Since coming under FSA regulation the 22 firms investigated the FSA has referred one firm to it's enforcement division while the others have stopped taking on new business or cancelled their business.
The FSA have acted to stop the sale and rent back market after it found that most schemes were either "unaffordable or unsuitable and never should have been sold".
The good thing is that it stops vultures profiting from peoples misery. However, ultimately it may do little to stop the unfortunate owners still being turfed out of their home. A hollow kind of justice!
Landlord insurance - your choice
In my view sale and leaseback companies are vultures in suits! They prey on desperate home owners who are at risk of loosing their property through reposession. Since coming under FSA regulation the 22 firms investigated the FSA has referred one firm to it's enforcement division while the others have stopped taking on new business or cancelled their business.
The FSA have acted to stop the sale and rent back market after it found that most schemes were either "unaffordable or unsuitable and never should have been sold".
The good thing is that it stops vultures profiting from peoples misery. However, ultimately it may do little to stop the unfortunate owners still being turfed out of their home. A hollow kind of justice!
Landlord insurance - your choice
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
PM3 Interest Editing just got faster
Another day, another improvement. A landlord pointed out that it would be quicker to set all the monthly interest figures for a property in one go - they don't change that often. So we added a Set to Value button to the interest editing screen.
If all the values are blank or zero, the Set to Value button sets them all to the value you enter. If some values have been entered, it only sets the ones after that. In the example above, the mortgage started in August at £308.22 before settling to £350.00 for the later months. The Set to Value button leaves alone the blank months April to July.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Landlord Accreditation Partnership Awards
TOTAL LANDLORD INSURANCE SPONSORS PRESTIGIOUS UK LANDLORD ACCREDITATION PARTNERSHIP AWARDS
Specialist provider of Buy-to-Let cover, Total Landlord Insurance , is pleased to announce that they will be sponsoring the inaugural UK Landlord Accreditation Partnership (UK LAP) awards.
The event which takes place on Thursday March 1st 2012, will celebrate the professionalism of London’s landlords and agents. Eleven awards will be given to those landlords, agents and partners who have excelled in their service to the private rented sector.
Steve Barnes, Broking Manager, for Total Landlord Insurance, said:
“We fully support initiatives that improve standards in the private rented sector, and as such wholeheartedly endorse everything that the UK Landlord Accreditation Partnership stands for.
“The UK LAP is not only there to recognise good landlords but also offers support and training to new landlords to ensure that they can build a successful and well run business, and give all of its members access to the latest legislation.
“We are delighted to be a sponsor of such a prestigious event and wish all the nominees the best of luck on the night.”
Two new accreditation programmes will also be launched at the event.
The Green Landlords’ Accreditation Scheme which will train landlords to be more energy and water usage conscious for the sustainability of their businesses, and to the benefit of their tenants and the environment.
The Tenant Accreditation Scheme will also be launched which will advise tenants on how to be responsible residents. The benefits of gaining accreditation will make tenants more knowledgeable as to their rights and responsibilities, and, they will be more desirable to landlords as they will have shown their commitment to being ideal tenants.
The Future of Housing in the Private Rented Sector will be hosted at
The Thistle Hotel, Edinburgh Suite, Bryanston Street, London W1H 7EH.
For more information go to www.llas-conference.org.uk.
Specialist provider of Buy-to-Let cover, Total Landlord Insurance , is pleased to announce that they will be sponsoring the inaugural UK Landlord Accreditation Partnership (UK LAP) awards.
The event which takes place on Thursday March 1st 2012, will celebrate the professionalism of London’s landlords and agents. Eleven awards will be given to those landlords, agents and partners who have excelled in their service to the private rented sector.
Steve Barnes, Broking Manager, for Total Landlord Insurance, said:
“We fully support initiatives that improve standards in the private rented sector, and as such wholeheartedly endorse everything that the UK Landlord Accreditation Partnership stands for.
“The UK LAP is not only there to recognise good landlords but also offers support and training to new landlords to ensure that they can build a successful and well run business, and give all of its members access to the latest legislation.
“We are delighted to be a sponsor of such a prestigious event and wish all the nominees the best of luck on the night.”
Two new accreditation programmes will also be launched at the event.
The Green Landlords’ Accreditation Scheme which will train landlords to be more energy and water usage conscious for the sustainability of their businesses, and to the benefit of their tenants and the environment.
The Tenant Accreditation Scheme will also be launched which will advise tenants on how to be responsible residents. The benefits of gaining accreditation will make tenants more knowledgeable as to their rights and responsibilities, and, they will be more desirable to landlords as they will have shown their commitment to being ideal tenants.
The Future of Housing in the Private Rented Sector will be hosted at
The Thistle Hotel, Edinburgh Suite, Bryanston Street, London W1H 7EH.
For more information go to www.llas-conference.org.uk.
BTl mortgages - most popular
| Max LTV | Initial Rate | Term | Completion fee | Booking fee | Incentives | Overall Cost for Comparison |
| 85% | 5.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 1% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £2995 | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.7% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Fixed | Apr 30 2015 | 2% | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | |
| 75% | 3.74% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1999 | £250.00 | No | 5.4% APR |
| 75% | 4.19% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 70% | 4.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | 0% | £199.00 | Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. | 6% APR |
| 60% | 4.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.8% APR |
| 60% | 2.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1249 | £250.00 | No | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 3.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £999 | £250.00 | Free valuation, property valued up to £1m | 5.2% APR |
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.
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.
BTL yields top 10%
According to an article in this weeks Sunday Times buy-to-let gross yields are topping 10% in London or specifically Greenwich. Research conducted by findaproperty apparently indicates that gross rental yields in this part of London are generating a yield of 10.2%.I'd love to see the properties that they have found that generate that type of yield in London. A garden shed or garage perhaps. I do hate it when the press throw out these unsubstantiated claims of unbelievable yields. I lay the gauntlet to the Sunday Times to produce the evidence of anywhere in Greenwich that is habitable and producing a 10% yield and isn't an HMO.
I think my money is safe. If you are a landlord or letting agent in Greenwich, then feel free to put me right.
Landlord insurance - instant quotes
Monday, February 06, 2012
Malicious damage cover
I've just received an email from another unfortunate landlord who has been a victim of drug producers.
His rental property has just been raided by the police just six weeks after it was let by his regular letting agent. The tenants received all the regular tenant checks and seemed very nice but decided to set up a small cannabis farm in one of the rooms of the property.
Fortunately for the landlord they were a small scale operation that he describes as amateurs, and the damage caused was limited to just one room. The landlord estimates his repair costs to be approximately no more that £500-600.
The bad news is that he contacted his insurer and found that his policy like many landlord insurance policies did not cover malicious damage.
So just imagine if the tenants had been a full scale cannabis producers that had wrecked the entire rental property.
We can't remind landlords enough that they need to make sure that their landlord insurance policy covers them for all the possible eventualities.
His rental property has just been raided by the police just six weeks after it was let by his regular letting agent. The tenants received all the regular tenant checks and seemed very nice but decided to set up a small cannabis farm in one of the rooms of the property.
Fortunately for the landlord they were a small scale operation that he describes as amateurs, and the damage caused was limited to just one room. The landlord estimates his repair costs to be approximately no more that £500-600.
The bad news is that he contacted his insurer and found that his policy like many landlord insurance policies did not cover malicious damage.
So just imagine if the tenants had been a full scale cannabis producers that had wrecked the entire rental property.
We can't remind landlords enough that they need to make sure that their landlord insurance policy covers them for all the possible eventualities.
Reformed landlord hates landlords
 |
| and I deserve it! |
Reformed landlord Patrick Osborne, sold his rental property after many of his friends and acquaintances had apparently condemned him and he had begun to feel guilty about the money he had made.
He seems to be much happier now he doesn't have to deal with tenants and proceeds to spew sanctamonious condemnation all over the world of the deprived money grabbing landlords.
Dirty money grabbing landlords, all of you, you really should all be ashamed.
He goes on to say he was also appalled at tax breaks he received. "I was quite surprised by how much I could set against tax and that was without hiring a flashy accountant, so I probably could've claimed more. The tax rules were, believe me, very generous."
"We all make compromises with our principles but I was getting more and more uncomfortable defending mine."
To make himself more comfortable I can imagine he spends his evenings wondering what he should do
with his six figure capital gain from the sale of his rental property.
New 2 year discount at 3.25%
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society has launched a new buy-to-let mortgage - a 3.25% 2 year discount up to 60% LTV with a flat fee, free valuation and no early repayment charge availiable through Property Hawk Mortgages.
Andy Young at Property Hawk Mortgages says: “We are delighted to offer this great new exclusive product with Hinckley & Rugby, which is an extremely competitive buy-to-let mortgage in the 60% LTV bracket. The low initial rate and flat fees should make this product very attractive to landlord clients looking to purchase or remortgage rental properties. The product also has a free valuation and no early repayment charges, thereby reducing upfront costs and making remortgaging in the future straightforward.”
Gill Vernau at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society says: “Hinckley & Rugby is currently looking to increase business for loans up to 60% LTV and this product has been specifically designed to meet the needs of landlords with higher deposits. We anticipate this being a popular product that will drive good levels of new applications.”
BTL mortgage search tool - free
Andy Young at Property Hawk Mortgages says: “We are delighted to offer this great new exclusive product with Hinckley & Rugby, which is an extremely competitive buy-to-let mortgage in the 60% LTV bracket. The low initial rate and flat fees should make this product very attractive to landlord clients looking to purchase or remortgage rental properties. The product also has a free valuation and no early repayment charges, thereby reducing upfront costs and making remortgaging in the future straightforward.”
Gill Vernau at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society says: “Hinckley & Rugby is currently looking to increase business for loans up to 60% LTV and this product has been specifically designed to meet the needs of landlords with higher deposits. We anticipate this being a popular product that will drive good levels of new applications.”
BTL mortgage search tool - free
EPC gets update
Chris Grant principal of EPC Choice has just got some inside information for users of Property Hawk on the format of the revised Energy Performance Certificate loved by landlords and due to be launched in April:"Just had a chat with a colleague who been on the training course for the new EPC in April 2012.
The new EPC makes various reference to the Green Deal which were not previously present. Page 3 gives an indication of what measures may be eligible for Green Deal finance, but this is only an indication. The Green Deal application process will start initially with an EPC but the qualification process will involve further calculations to ensure that the “golden rule” is met.
As discussed; the new EPC will require energy assessors to record greater detail during the EPC survey. This is likely to mean that an EPC produced after April may have a lower rating then one produced now.
The requirement for EPCs to be provided when a property is rented or sold still apply and will be stricter from April;
1. An EPC will be required on marketing for all buildings that are to be sold or rented.
2. Written particulars of a property must include a full copy of the EPC. There will no longer be an option to just include the asset rating.
3. The time for providing an EPC has been reduced from 28 days to 7 days from the date the building is first put on the market.
The validity period of the old style EPC is still 10 years – therefore a landlord would only need to obtain a new style EPC if they were intending to apply for the Green Deal."
Professional EPC service
Sunday, February 05, 2012
PM3 lets you copy inventories
A user pointed out that copying an inventory from one address or tenancy to another would save lots of time. We have added this.
PM3 Transfer Address in Supervised Screen
You can transfer addresses between supervisor and supervised accounts. Go to the Supervised screen, pick account and address, then click Transfer.
This action will fail if you have a tenant for the address in question who is also a tenant on another address. That doesn't happen often; if it happens to you email contact@propertyhawk.co.uk and we'll see what we can do.
This action will fail if you have a tenant for the address in question who is also a tenant on another address. That doesn't happen often; if it happens to you email contact@propertyhawk.co.uk and we'll see what we can do.
Rent Figures in PM3
Our FREE Landlord Software, Property Manager 3.0, or PM3 for short, creates Rent figures as they become due. If you have a monthly tenancy starting on the 8th of the month, and login to the system on 7th February, you will not see a rent figure for 8th February. Login the next day, 8th February 2012, and the figure will appear.
This is logical enough, but we know it confuses our users when they are getting used to the system: "really not finding how to enter rent payments" was recent feedback. Our reason for doing it like this was that it reduces the work for you, and means that the expected rental income position is always up to date.
We will keep this under review. We know it makes life difficult for landlords doing short lets, holiday lets, or lets to students for an academic term.
This is logical enough, but we know it confuses our users when they are getting used to the system: "really not finding how to enter rent payments" was recent feedback. Our reason for doing it like this was that it reduces the work for you, and means that the expected rental income position is always up to date.
We will keep this under review. We know it makes life difficult for landlords doing short lets, holiday lets, or lets to students for an academic term.
Friday, February 03, 2012
All Current filter in the Rents Summary
Another small change requested by a PM3 user. The Rents Summary screen can filter all current tenancies, whether there's outstanding rent or not. Why didn't we think of that?
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
BTL mortgages - most popular
| Max LTV | Initial Rate | Term | Completion fee | Booking fee | Incentives | Overall Cost for Comparison |
| 85% | 5.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 1% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 80% | 5.49% Fixed | Jan 31 2014 | 2.5% | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.8% APR |
| 80% | 4.99% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £2995 | £0.00 | Refund of valuation to a maximum of £500 and free legals for remortgages only. | 5.7% APR |
| 75% | 3.74% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | £1999 | £250.00 | No | 5.4% APR |
| 75% | 4.19% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.6% APR |
| 70% | 4.25% Disc.Tracker | 2 Years | 0% | £199.00 | Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only. | 6% APR |
| 65% | 3.99% Fixed | Sep 30 2013 | £1295 | £250.00 | No | 5.5% APR |
| 60% | 2.99% Fixed | Oct 31 2013 | £2495 | £250.00 | No | 5.2% APR |
| 60% | 4.99% Fixed | 2 Years | 2.5% | £130.00 | No | 6.8% APR |
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.
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.
Landlords - Gas Safety Checks
I recently published a blog regarding the obligations of landlords under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994. To re-cap a landlord is obliged to have all gas appliances checked annually and provide the tenant with a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate.There are various penalties for failing to comply and following more cases going through the courts it would appear that the Court are taking non-compliance seriously. In two recent cases one landlord was fined £8500 and ordered to pay £1500 costs and another landlord was fined £2000 and ordered to pay costs of £2000 for failure to comply - a huge penalty when you consider that the checks cost less than £100.
Also you may not be aware, but if your tenant is injured as a result of a faulty gas appliance they can bring a claim against you for personal injury, which could in itself cost several thousand pounds in compensation and a possible £6000-£8000 in legal costs.
If you would like any advice on your obligations as a landlord please email me at rbrough@fidler.co.uk
Rebecca