BTL mortgages most popular

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison
85%	5.49% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.9% APR
85%	6.19% Discount	3 Years	2%	£130.00	No	7% APR
80%	4.79% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	3.5%	£199.00	Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only.	6.4% APR
80%	4.69% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR
80%	5.19% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR
75%	3.74% Discount	2 Years	£1999	£250.00	No	5.4% APR
75%	3.25% Fixed	2 Years	3%	£250.00	No	5.3% APR
75%	3.49% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	6% APR
75%	4.29% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	1%	£0.00	No	5.1% 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
65%	3.25% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	5.9% APR
60%	3.25% Discount	2 Years	£1750	£250.00	No	5.3% 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.

East Midlands Landlord Show

East Mildland Landlords might want to check out the forthcoming Expo hosted by EMPO

On the day there will be over 40 exhibitor companies and local authorities providing advice, products and service deals to help manage property businesses more effectively, a series of informative seminars, property investment speakers and a Graham Penny live property auction. The seminars will cover a wide range of content including “An Auctioneers Guide to Buying at Auction,” “the current requirements for licensing,” “why tenant referencing is important,” “the latest advice on how to deal with issues around tenancy deposit disputes.”

 So whether you are the owner of a large property portfolio including licensable houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), a letting agency, a small buy to let or accidental landlord, or are thinking of investing in the private rented sector then the East Midlands Landlord Expo 2013 is the must attend exhibition for you.

Pre-register on the dedicated Expo website to receive your FREE ticket.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

Property manager mobile app

We are getting more and more calls for a mobile app to link up to landlords Property Manager 3 data.

So the good news is we've started work on its development.

Can you let us know what specific functions would be most useful to have on your mobile devices.

Please add your wish list to this post

Private rental sector - small or large?

The private rental sector personifies the kind of debate we are having as a country.  Do we think we are best served by a small number of large scale institutions where there are undoubted economies of scale and benefits from a large focused organisation.  However, we know that bigger isn't always best.  Two recent examples have been the banks who grew to big to fail and the food and retail sector where large scale has often meant bland and uninteresting.

Successive governments have been convinced that the private rental sector will be 'saved' rejuvenated if only they could get large scale investment by institutions such as pension funds pouring in billions of pounds into purpose built rental accommodation.  Well how true is this?  The private rental sector has been built on an army of small landlords often with only a single property.  In many ways the private rental sector personifies the 'supply side miracle' that many of the current crop of Tory politicians espouse to get us out of our economic malaise.  When you deal with a small landlord with a handful of properties then you are dealing directly with a business owner.  They care about their property and their business.  The same cannot often be said for large businesses with departments, sections, team leaders and section heads.  Small is beautiful?  Well may be.  I welcome any additional investment in the private rental sector but the arrival of the promised billions of investment suggested by the Montague Report may be not the panacea that the politicians would suggest.

Landlord insurance - expert brokers

Criminal not Rogue Landlords

Your cheques bounced!

Alan Ward of  the Residential Landlords Association has called for the media to stop using the term 'rogue' landlord, saying it 'suggest mischief and not the potential dangerous and often illegal practices used by a few less morally astute landlords in our community.

Mr Ward believes a better description would be 'criminal landlord' to help define a greater difference between the few bad apples and the rest of us.

He does have a point a 'rogue landlord' does always sound a touch seventeenth century. Tricorn hats and muskets at the ready 'stand and deliver your rent'!

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New 75%ltv BTL mortgage

We are delighted to offer this outstanding new buy-to-let mortgage - a 3.25% 2 year fixed rate up to 75% LTV with a percentage fee and no early repayment charge, which could be a great choice for landlords.

This mortgage comes with a rental calculation of 135% at payrate, no early repayment charge and a booking fee of £250.

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.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Landlords accused of stereotyping benefit tenants

A Guardian blogger has written an open letter calling landlords to reconsider the merits of letting property to benefit tenants. Accusing landlords of stereotyping and a lack of respect towards benefit claimants.

Read the post here
 

Editing a tenancy agreement in PM3

I've just been asked how to Edit a tenancy agreement using our free property management software so I thought I would share a short explanation for any other users who are wishing to change the details on one of their tenancy agreements.

Firstly you need to edit the details of the tenancy. The software uses this to generate any forms that are created under that tenancy.

To edit the tenancy details do this -

SUMMARY page - click TENANCIES button - select tenancy from pop up window - click EDIT TENANCY button - Edit details and click save

Once this is done you can create new forms with the edited details.

To create new forms (including tenancy agreements0  do this -

SUMMARY page - click TENANCIES button - select tenancy from pop up window - click 'Create new form for this tenancy' link  - select the form you require from the drop down list  - click Save form

All the forms that you create are saved here -

SUMMARY page  - FORMS - select the form and click the download icon.

NB - That by changing the tenancy details you will not edit the details on a Form that has already been created in the FORMS list. These are snapshots of data that are waiting to be downloaded. You must create a new form each time you require an edit.

Hope this helps

My tenants' problem with wobbly knobs!

Ok we have entered the tenant silly season.  I've just had a text from one of mine telling me that the door knob has fallen off and the fridge handle has broke.  Now who says the life of a landlord is not exciting!

Luckily for me I have my secret weapon...."Mick".  Now every landlord needs a Mick and I'm not giving his number out to anybody..what ever the bribe.

All this seems a million miles away from those heady days in early 2000 when momentarily landlords become "property investors" .. remember?

Oh well as the Labour Party D-ream sound track trumpeted at the time "Things can only get better!
 
Landlord insurance - expert brokers

Landlord Expo for Plymouth Landlords

Plymouth landlords are being offered advice and support at the Landlord EXPO next week.

The EXPO is being held at the Guildhall on Thursday 25th of October from noon till 7pm and is being organised by the Council and West Country Landlords' Association. 

Read more here

Average rent up again in September

LSL Property Services latest rent figures show a sharp increase of 1.1% during September putting their average rental figure up to a record £741 a month.

The figure is 3.2% up from September 2011.

Increases in rents were once again driven by London and the South East of England.

"Rents have risen consecutively for half a year as tenant demand strengthens on the back of a historically subdued mortgage market," said David Newnes, of LSL."However, every pound monthly rents go up by is another pound that renters cannot save for a deposit for their first home. This is lengthening their stay in rented accommodation, and increasing competition in the private rented sector."

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Tenants call for help about rental arrears

The Money Advice Trust (MAT) said they received a record 12,000 calls from tenants in rental arrears between January and August of this year around double the number it received during the same period in 2007.

Discounted landlord insurance

Tax tip - splitting the rent

If you have brought one of your buy-to-let properties with another party (perhaps a family member).  There could be tax advantages of joint ownership but it is possible to allocate the rental income in specified proportions.  For instance, you may have a student daughter who needs additional cash to see her through college.  It may be tax efficient for your daughter to receive most of the rent, rather than you have to pay tax on it first.  Have a look here for the full details.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

Advice from a property investment bear

Some  advice from a Guardian blogger who is very much a property investment bear and sees little hope in any real property price increases over the next decade.

I see great help and happiness for us all.

Have a read here in the Guardian 

I'm sure you will all have your own opinions as regards what the future holds.

BTL mortgage search tool

BTL yields data positive

Figures from the national advisory firm’s Complex Buy to Let Index Yields showed yields on vanilla buy-to-let increased from 6.1 per cent to 6.7 per cent over the quarter, thanks largely to average property value falling by 3 per cent from the previous quarter.

This helped push up the average LTV up from 64 per cent to 68 per cent, with lenders more willing to grant higher LTV deals thanks to lower property prices.

The data also showed that Houses in Multiple Occupation yields jumped from 9.2 per cent in quarter 2 to 11.1 per cent at the end of the third quarter.

Read full article in FT Advisor

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Is your tenancy deposit protected

If you have taken a deposit from your tenant and then protected it in a tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days and given the prescribed information you will probably be sitting back in the knowledge that you have done everything required of you.

However, what happens if you give your same tenants a renewal of the tenancy agreement 6 or 12 months down the line - will you have to re- register the deposit again within 30 days and give the prescribed information again? 

I have checked with the Deposit Protection Scheme today and they have advised me that they do not need it re-registering.  However, to be on the safe side I would advise contacting your deposit scheme provider as soon as you renew a tenancy agreement and advise them that you want to re-register the deposit and give your tenant the prescribed information again.

If you require any further advice on tenancy deposits or landlord issues please email me at propertyhawk@fidler.co.uk.

Rebecca Brough
Fidler & Pepper

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Section 21 Notices and deposits

Do you give your tenants a section 21 notice when they sign the tenancy agreement?   If so you could fall foul of the tenancy deposit protection requirements.

Some landlords I know get their tenant to sign the Tenancy Agreement and issue a section 21 notice at the same time - in theory there is nothing wrong with that.  However if you have taken a deposit, the requirements are that the deposit must be protected before the section 21 notice is issued. 

So if you give your tenant the tenancy agreement and section 21 notice and they hand over the deposit you haven't complied, which means that your section 21 notice is invalid.

To make sure you comply give your tenant the tenancy agreement, then take the deposit and protect it and then a couple of days later serve them with a section 21 notice.

If you require any advice about tenancy deposits or any other landlord issues please email me at propertyhawk@fidler.co.uk

Rebecca Brough
Fidler & Pepper

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Irish BTL lending situation latest

More fretful decision making for fragile Irish BTL lenders as the Irish Government continues with it's “wait-and-see approach”.

Some Government ministers have continued checking at the end of rainbows, so far, still no luck.

Read the latest in the Irish Times

Read the latest in the Irish Independent

FREE BTL mortgage search tool

Londons strong long term prospects

Cluttons are predicting that London will see large increases in demand for housing over the next decade and beyond which will not be matched by a corresponding rise in supply pushing up prices and rents. The company believe it offers a great investment for  buy-to-let investors.

"Decision makers have to question whether London's potential to maintain its position as a world city is being curtailed by such a limited supply of housing stock. The answer can only be yes," said Julian Briant, head of residential consultancy division, Cluttons.

"Small private landlords will continue to play an important role in the capital, including creating more units from the existing stock."Can't find the right one in our Best Buys

Cheap landlord insurance offers

Lease extensions from Property Hawk

New improved service - compare lease extension providers by price, distance and service rating and get quality service at an affordable price.

If your leasehold property has less than 99 years left to run, it is likely that its value will fall. Furthermore, when the lease has less than 80 years left, the value drops even faster and you may not be able to sell it or get a mortgage or remortgage.

In these circumstances, a lease extension is exactly what is needed in order to be attractive to lenders and buyers alike. Our lease extension service has access to all the professional help and advice needed and makes this complex area of property law simple and easy to navigate. This enhanced service gives an estimate of the likely premium payable for the lease extension, and enables you to compare online the professional fees of the solicitors and surveyors. Once you have chosen your preferred professionals, you can get a clear online quote with all the costs clearly set out so that you will know the likely costs of the lease extension upfront.

Visit the Property Hawk Lease Extensions

Our helpdesk, which is available 7 days a week can help you through the process and make sure that you have all the information you need.

Call 01844 265388 or email propertyhawk@utdgroup.com for more information

BTL mortgages most popular

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison
85%	5.49% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.9% APR
85%	6.19% Discount	3 Years	2%	£130.00	No	7% APR
80%	4.79% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	3.5%	£199.00	Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only.	6.4% APR
80%	4.69% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR
80%	5.19% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR
75%	3.5% Fixed	2 Years	3.5%	£250.00	No	5.3% APR
75%	3.74% Discount	2 Years	£1999	£250.00	No	5.4% APR
75%	3.49% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	6% APR
75%	4.29% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	1%	£0.00	No	5.1% 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
65%	3.25% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	5.9% APR
60%	3.25% Discount	2 Years	£1750	£250.00	No	5.3% 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.

Landlords - "who are ya?"

Football fans will be familiar with the terrace chants of: "who are ya ...who are ya?"

So landlords who are we?

Well according to the latest ARLA survey on landlords prepared in June we are:

53 years old and have been a landlord for 12.2 years and have an average rental property portfolio of 7.6 properties.

I'm afraid I have no figures for the percentage of us with beards; neither for ladies or gents.

So landlords "who are ya?"

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Rent Index recommended

If information is power then many would say that a Rent Index for the private rental sector is long overdue.  At the moment landlords and investors have to rely on dubious figures related by mortgage and property companies as press releases and done purely to market their businesses rather than giving any meaningful contribution to rental yields in the private rental sector.

I've been calling for government to step in and provide decent quality rental yield data for some time.  I was encouraged to see that at long last a report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recommended an official private rental price index. An index of private rental prices would cover a “key gap in the coverage of official housing market statistics”, said the National Statistician’s Review of Official Housing Market Statistics. This would  helping the government to come up with a truer measure for the consumer price index, and helping local authorities to set social rent prices. It would also make it easier for financial institutions to assess returns on housing investments.

My view is that the ONS currently serves up all sorts of obscure information about the state, health and attitudes of our great nation.  For instance they will be able to tell you about the average number of nights spend abroad by UK holiday makers.  Personally, I think that a proper understanding of the relationship between the capital values of residential property and it's income generating potential (the rent) would be a far more useful and interesting statistic for investing institutions, policy makers and landlords to have at their finger tips.

Nick Jopling, executive property director at Grainger, said the ONS report was “positive recognition of the growing significance of renting in the UK”.  “We’ve spent a lot of time considering how a private rental index could work and what benefits it could bring to the sector, to both investors and tenants. We hope to have the opportunity to work with the Office of National Statistics to develop this idea further.”

"HERE HERE Nick!"  But landlords don't hold your breath....this could take some time.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

Landlords top up and hold

Research carried out by ARLA the Association of Residential Letting Agents reveals that almost a quarter of landlords are looking to increase their total number of investments of buy-to-let property (the figure stands at 22% up from 21% in the previous quarter).

Interestingly, there has been a sharp drop in the number of landlords who are actively reducing their investment levels (down from 17% to 12% in the quarter).  This is understandable given the lack of safe alternative investment opportunities.  I've been speaking to friends recently who were looking at disposing of their residential property and have then changed their mind.  The problem for them is where do they place their cash and obtain a reasonable return?  There are not many options if you want to obtain a net return above 5% unless you are prepared to take on significant risk of a capital loss.  Faced with exactly this dilemma it appears that many landlords are happy to stay invested and wait for interest rates on money deposits to rise before cashing in their 'property chips'.

Landlord insurance - expert brokers

RICS forecast property sales to pick up

RICS are forecasting that property sales will begin to pick up but property prices will continue to fall.

With better mortgage rates and banks keener to lend again they feel that some energy is returning to what has been a very flat market outside of London.

Peter Bolton King, RICS Global Residential Director, said: "Prices are still dipping but at a much lower rate than seen in previous months."

Read more in ThisisMoney

Central London Rents Fall

The Olympics were great, nobody can deny that.

However it didn't exactly shine its torch in the direction of tourism or rental demand that was trumpeted.

According to Savills the games contributed to a slowing of London’s prime rentals market over the summer months. Their statistics show a small fall  in prime Central and North London rents, in part thanks to the weakening  economy and employment outlook in the financial and business services, but also thanks to the Olympian confusions of landlords with high expectations, followed by disappointment at the lack of actual demand.

With Prime London rents falling this year in contrast to the rise in property prices in the area.

For all the data go to the full Savills report here

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Green Deal Initiative

On 1st October 2012 the Government officially launched the Green Deal across the UK. This initiative is designed to help business and home owners make ecological changes to their properties. With this initiative the homeowner installs new green technologies without paying any initial costs. The government will front this fee, which is then returned through savings in energy bills over a period of time.

For private landlords, the Green Deal overcomes the estranged concept that the Landlord is out of pocket for energy efficiency improvements that benefit the tenants. Through this new scheme, it will be the tenants who will repay the cost of the eco measures through savings made in their energy bills. Therefore, the Green Deal issues a scheme that provides a dual benefit for both landlords and tenants within the private rented sector: The Landlord does not have to pay for ecological changes to their property, and the tenant benefits from lower energy bills and the reduced risk of fuel poverty.

The Energy Act 2011 aims to ensure that the Green Deal and incentive of cost effective energy efficiency improvements are implemented throughout the private rented sector. The Energy Acts asserts that from April 2018 all private rented properties should comply with the minimum energy efficiency standard rating.

The Green Deal is an excellent scheme that over time will benefit society economically, culturally and environmentally. Landlords can implement ecological measures that will not only boost the energy efficiency rating for their property, but will also ensure their tenants are protected from fuel poverty, which has increased dramatically over recent years.

The only drawback to this scheme is the fact that the arrangement of ecological measures can be both time consuming and difficult to arrange with contractors and tenants. For Landlords who hold a portfolio of properties, it may be worth investing in the skills of property managers who specialise in ecological and carbon neutral developments.

http://www.heramanagementservices.co.uk/property-management/

A quarter of Tory MPs are landlords

Here at Property Hawk we like to keep an open mind when it comes to the political parties.  The latest headlines in the FT claim that over a quarter of Tory MP's are making money out of letting to tenants.  Whether you agree with this or not, the good thing for landlords is that at least these MP's will have some basic understanding of what's involved in letting to private tenants.  They understand that being a landlord is not like printing money and that most landlords aren't t uncaring and exploitative.  They probably appreciate that an increasing amount of the national housing provision is being financed at NO cost to the taxpayer by private landlords.  How many MP's from the Labour or Liberal party has the same kind of direct experience and understanding of what the private rented sector is all about?  Arguably all this puts the Tories in a better position to oversea, regulate and promote the health of the private sector (history bares this assertion out).  Others may disagree.

Landlord insurance - professional rates

BTL mortgages most popular

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison
85%	5.49% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.9% APR
85%	6.19% Discount	3 Years	2%	£130.00	No	7% APR
80%	4.79% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	3.5%	£199.00	Free valuation up to £335 for purchases and remortgages and free legals on remortgages only.	6.4% APR
80%	4.69% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR
80%	5.19% Discount	2 Years	2%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR
75%	3.5% Fixed	2 Years	3.5%	£250.00	No	5.3% APR
75%	3.74% Discount	2 Years	£1999	£250.00	No	5.4% APR
75%	3.49% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	6% APR
75%	4.29% Fixed	Nov 30 2014	1%	£0.00	Free valuation and free legals for remortgages (properties valued up to £500,000).	5.1% 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
65%	3.25% Tracker	Sep 30 2014	2%	£195.00	Cashback £500	5.9% APR
60%	3.25% Discount	2 Years	£1750	£250.00	No	5.3% 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.

---

Landlord jailed for bullying

A landlord has been jailed for nine months for bullying his tenant.

The tenant was thrown out onto the street bare foot by his landlord and a 'stocky pal' after failing to pay his rent on time.

The landlord Jay Allen, aged 30, of Padley Way, Sheffield Lane Top, forcibly evicted the tenant Chris  Blades from a shared rental house without obtaining a proper court order

The judgetold the landlord in sentencing  “You decided that because the rent had not been paid you were going to evict the tenant unless he came up with the money immediately, which was impossible.
“Using your considerable presence, together with that of your co-accused, you went to dominate, frighten and overwhelm Mr Blades.”

The 'stocky pal' Razwan Mohammed was sentenced to six months imprisonment for his part in the affair.

This story should highlight the importance of landlord behaviour towards their tenants and the seriousness of any case of harassment by a landlord.

Steps landlords can take for arrears

Dealing with tenants in arrears can be difficult, but most landlords will probably have to deal with this problem at some time or another. Here are the steps you can take.

Step 1 - A gentle reminder. Perhaps your tenant has forgotten to transfer the funds, or had a problem with a standing order. A phone call or polite letter could be all that's needed at this stage, if it was a genuine mistake.

Step 2 - Consider a repayment plan or proposal. If your tenant is having difficulties with debt, there are professional companies that could help them. A company like Freeman Jones, who provided this article, can provide IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) for people with bigger debt problems.

Step 3 - Stick to your side of the contract. Even if they have broken their contract by not paying, you could face court proceedings yourself if you don't behave within to law and abide by your contract.

Step 4 - You could serve a possession notice - basically a notice of eviction. There are rules about how long you have to wait before you can serve one and rules about how long your tenant has to repay the arrears, or move out. Possession notices should be sent recorded delivery, as proof of delivery.

Step 5 - Issue proceedings. There are two ways to issue proceedings: the Accelerated Possession Procedure and possession under the 'fixed date' procedure, which would involve a court hearing. Speak to your local court to find out more about these options. 

London Rents Map

Following on from my recent post on being able to achieve rental yields above 8% in London.

The London Assembly also produce a London Rents Map that may provide landlords some useful information when looking at where to buy or even what rents they could charge for their London residential investments.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Downloading a FREE AST

Downloading a free Assured Shorthold Tenancy couldn't be easier in Property Hawk's Property Manager 3.0 software.  All you need to do after registering with the FREE property management software is to add the relevant property details.  Then you need to add the respective tenancy details.

After these details have been entered into the system just click on the forms section and then the + ikon at the top of the page.  You will be presented with a small pop up which you will have to select the type of form (tenancy agreement) and the address of the property you wish to select together with the details from a previously added tenant.  Once done you are ready to download the FREE customised version of the Shorthold Tenancy Agreement.   To do this just go to Forms and the newly downloaded tenancy agreement should have appeared as the first form in the list. To download click on the downward facing arrow and it should download as a pdf from here.

Landlord insurance - take away the pain

4.29% 2 year fixed with 75% LTV

Property Hawk Mortgages is offering an excellent buy-to-let mortgage with Skipton Intermediaries. 

This 4.29% 2 year fixed rate with a 1% completion fee has a free valuation and free legals for remortgages.

 

It is highly competitive in the 75% LTV bracket and worth considering. 

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.

Complaints against landlords increase

Shelter ( yes I know they hate us ) reckon that complaints about landlords in England have risen by more than a quarter in recent years. Their research from 310 local authorities showed complaints rose by 27% between 2008/9 and 2011/12 - from 67,283 to 85,639.

Interestingly it also reported that the number of successful prosecutions against private landlords rose by 77% between 2010/11 and 2011/12, it said.

London yields above 8%

I've written before about the importance of rental yields in making any residential investment purchase.  Average yields vary considerably across the country, with the lowest being in Central London (around 5%) and the highest being in the North.  I would expect to achieve at least an 8% yield in the North East.  The differential in these figures accounts for the differentials in the expected growth rates in capital values and rents.  What the markets are saying is that London property prices and rents will continue to out pace those in Gateshead.  Personally,  I think that's a fair assumption.

London yields above 8%

What happens if you could achieve gross yields of above 8% in London?  I was chatting to my tennis buddy and my accountant the other day about his idea for investing in London property by buying an apartment for one of his sons.  His initial thoughts were to buy in Docklands and he ascertained that yields there were nearing double digits. I was sceptical but said that I'd check out the details and had a few thoughts of areas to invest in from a recent visit.

Zoopla yields results

During my initial trawl of areas in the East of London that I thought could become 'property hotspots' in the future I started to use Zoopla's property market.  This is useful as you can see displayed in a single page the average asking rents and current asking prices on the same page.  Looking at the prices for Bow in the east of London the current average asking price for a 2 bet flat is £289,878 (170 flats) compared to the average asking monthly rent which is £1967 (329 flats).  Using these figures I calculate an average gross rental yield of 8.14% (not bad in any landlords estimations).

The case for London residential investment

If you believe as I do that London will continue to suffer massive under provision of rental property and that any increased supply will continue to outstrip demand then London rents only have one direction to travel in.  So in short you don't have to go North to get high rental yields.  The downside is that you may have to wait 20 years or so before these sort of peripheral East London locations are seen as desirable by the London upwardly mobile middle classes (have a look at my recent East London odyssey)  At that stage you could be talking about big capital gains as well as a healthy rental income.

Landlord Mortgages - finance my invesment