Let to retire

'Let to retire' -  is my attempt to coin a new phrase for a sub-section of the private residential lettings market.

'Let to retire' refers to an increasing number of over 65's who are looking to let out spare rooms in their homes to help make up for any shortfalls in their retirement income.

As a trend, it makes sense. Pension incomes have been hit hard. Woefully low interest rates, failed investments and the breaking of links to any index has seen many pensioners worse off than they might of hoped.

Expectations may have also changed, no longer are pensioners happy to spend their retirement in a wing-back chair, or pottering in the garden, many want to still get out there, go on holiday, hang out in coffee shops, go to gyms - do stuff and buy more stuff.

A recent survey by Morethan insurance reported as many as 1 in 7 pensioners would consider letting  rooms in their properties, that rate increases to 1 in 5 living in the capital.

With many older people increasingly asset rich but cash poor expect this trend to increase.

'Let to retire' - you heard it here first.

Read more in the Telegraph

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Property prices power on in 2014

Property prices have had a strong start to the new year fuelled by an increasing number of first time buyers dipping their toes.

Nationwide BS have reported a 0.7% rise in January 2014 - and the month isn't even over.

Read more in the Guardian

Read more in the BBC

Read more in the Telegraph

Read more in the Independent


Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Welsh Assembly warned of landlord licensing

A mandatory landlord licensing scheme in Wales has been warned against by the Residential Landlord Association.

The proposed scheme, part of a new housing bill laid down last October, would require every Welsh landlord to be registered on a central register as well as having to pass a 'fit and proper persons test'.

The RLA are warning that administering such a scheme would be more costly and complex, than the proposals currently estimate.

Read the thoughts of the RLA on Welsh landlord licensing scheme here

My prediction is, despite any practical advantage a scheme would or wouldn't bring, politically its a vote winner - therefore, chances are,
the legislation will come to pass.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates
 

Latest rental data from ONS

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest quarterly

statistics on rents in the private rented sector.

The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP) measures the change in price of rent in residential property from private landlords.

The key statistics are -

• In the 12 months to December 2013 private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.0%, down from a 1.1% increase in the 12 months to November 2013.
• In the 12 months to December 2013 private rental prices grew by 1.0% in England, 1.3% in Scotland and 1.2% in Wales.
• In the 12 months to December 2013 rental prices increased in all the English regions, with rental prices paid increasing the most in London (1.6%) and the South East (1.0%).

You can download the full PDF copy of the report 

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Adding expenses - Property Manager

Many regular uses of Property Hawk may not realise that by singing up they also have automatic access to the Property Manager.

If you are looking to submit your tax return shortly, one of the most useful facility of PM 3.0 is the ability to add expenses giving you a total for deductible expenses which can be taken off your rental income and give you a figure for your rental profits.

What to claim for?

There are a number of expenses that can be deducted against your rental income.  Got a question about the software.  Please sign up for the forum and ask it here.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

London rents twice as expensive

Rents in London are more than twice the national average.

Letting site Gumtree, report the average monthly UK rent is £665 compared to an average rent in the capital of £1,516.

The data was derived from more that 100,000 rents listed with the site monthly.

Read more in the Guardian

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

PRS makes up 19% of housing stock

According to Savills data, the total value of UK housing stock is now 5.205 trillion pounds.

2013 saw a 186 billion pound increase, but that still leaves it  344 billion pounds lower than the 2007 high. The Private Rented Sector now accounts for 19 percent of the UK's total housing stock.

See more details in the slide show below.

The Value of Housing across the UK Part 1 from Savills

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Most popular BTL mortgages

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison	Lender
85%	4.99% Fixed	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
85%	5.99% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	7% APR	Kent Reliance Multi Let & Ltd Co. Semi Exclusive
80%	4.59% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
80%	4.95% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.3% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	3.75% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.1% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron Light Refurbishment
75%	4.69% Discount	3 Years	2%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Semi Exclusive
75%	2.88% Tracker	2 Years	2.5%	£150.00	Free valuation for purchases and remortgages & free legals on remortgages	5.3% APR	Mortgage Trust Exclusive
65%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Ex-Pat Semi Exclusive
60%	2.45% Discount	2 Years	£1950	£250.00	One free Valuation on properties valued up to £1,000,000	5% APR	Hinckley & Rugby Exclusive

 

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

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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Flood risk landlords at risk

Landlords in areas of flooding will not benefit from the latest initiative being promoted by the Government and the Association of British Insurers who have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). 

The scheme named 'Flood Re' is meant to help people with properties in flood risk areas by the Government giving insurers support by capping their liability to prevent insurance being unobtainable.  One exemption from the proposed scheme would be private landlords.  Estimates from the RLA conclude that this could affect between 50-100 thousand landlords in the flood risk areas.

The proposals which form part of the Water Bill which is due for it's second reading in the House of Lords today Monday 27th January.

Landlord insurance - specialist brokers

Prices up 7.5% in 2013

House prices are up by 7.5% according to the Halifax.

Despite this , prices in December actually fell by 0.6% in December. The average price of a property is by end of December was £173,467.

Prices rose by 3 times the rate of inflation in 2013 according to Halifax's figures 

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Another list of fined landlords

Brent Council has used new powers given to them to help battle the rise of London's ‘beds in sheds’.

A local landlord Virendra Patel, tried to argue that the outhouse he'd initially got planning permission for to be used as storage/gym should be allowed to stand, despite him having let it to a family of six ever since its completion four years ago.

However, the landlords argument that it was now immune to enforcement action because it had passed the four year time period were overridden by the judge using part of the new Localism Act 2012,  arguing that the buildings true use had been deliberately concealed by the landlord.

Patel argued that he had not hidden his tenants, and denied knowing that they should have paid council tax.

District Judge Cooper, ordered him to demolish the building and pay £11,703 in legal costs.

Cllr George Crane, Brent Council’s lead member for regeneration and major projects said: “This is a fantastic result for the council and unscrupulous landlords who flout planning laws should take note."

Read more on the fined Brent landlord

Landlord Mohammed Rafakat was fined £2,500 for renting out a damp-ridden rental property in Normacot. The property was described as having 'severe' rising damp and substandard electrics. The 33-year-old landlord had refused to carry out improvements. The conviction comes following enforcement action by Stoke-on-Trent City Council's housing standards and environmental health teams - read more on the Normacot landlord fined



The landlord of a rental property in Bury was ordered to pay  £15,000 in costs for breaching fire safety legislation and putting her tenants at risk.

Bolton Crown Court heard the rental was being used as a cannabis farm, although there was no evidence that landlord Ishrat Arra was connected to this activity.

She was given two suspended sentences for 12 breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 - read more on the fined Bury landlord.



A pair of Newquay landlords have been fined £6,000 for failing to meet housing standards with a shared rental property they let out.

Stacey and Michelle Bathe  failed to protect the health, safety and welfare of their tenants.

Read more on the - Newquay landlords fined

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

New heavy refurbishment lending

Shawbrook Bank have launched a new heavy refurbishment product available with Property Hawk Mortgages.

Heavy refurbishment is defined by the works being completed costing more than 15% of the property value e.g.

• extensions
• loft conversions
• internal configurations
• change of use (single dwellings to flats)

Applicants must be experienced in refurbishment and be able to provide evidence of a track record of similar completed projects within the last 2 years.

Product details:

• 0.89% per month
• Up to 70% LTV based on current market value
• Terms up to 18 months

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

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.

Flood scheme could exclude landlords

BTL property might be excluded from the Government's new Flood Re scheme.

The scheme, proposed to start later this year is aimed at providing affordable insurance to homes in flood risk areas, paid for by a approximate £10 levy placed on household insurance policies. 

However, the scheme as it stands is not expected to cover businesses. Whether BTL property is classified as a business it currently under debate between the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the trade body for banks and building societies lending to landlords, insurers and the government.

If BTL does find itself excluded from the scheme, then landlords can expect their landlord insurance premiums to go up.

Watch this space.

Latest BTL mortgage rates

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison	Lender
85%	4.99% Fixed	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
85%	5.99% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	7% APR	Kent Reliance Multi Let & Ltd Co. Semi Exclusive
80%	4.59% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
80%	4.95% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.3% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	3.75% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.1% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron Light Refurbishment
75%	4.69% Discount	3 Years	2%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Semi Exclusive
75%	2.88% Tracker	2 Years	2.5%	£150.00	Free valuation for purchases and remortgages & free legals on remortgages	5.3% APR	Mortgage Trust Exclusive
65%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Ex-Pat Semi Exclusive
60%	2.45% Discount	2 Years	£1950	£250.00	One free Valuation on properties valued up to £1,000,000	5% APR	Hinckley & Rugby Exclusive

 

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

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.

---

Newham landlord licence unchallenged by NLA

The National Landlord Association have been defending their decision not to challenge Newham Council's new mandatory landlord licensing scheme in the courts.

Read there justification here

Landlord insurance & electrical work

I was recently contacted by a landlord desperate to find out where he stood on carrying out some minor electrical repairs to his tenants cooker.  His email started:

"I am desperate for an answer to my question and hope that you can help.

I am a landlord and my tenants have reported the cooker oven isn’t getting up to temperature. I have researched the problem and I need a new heating element.

My question is, Can I fit this item myself without invalidating my landlord insurance or do I need to employ a qualified electrician to undertake this work to a supplied appliance? "

The current Building Regulations contained in Part P deal with electrical safety. 

My view is that you don't need Building Regs approval for this repair nor that the work be carried out by a 'competent person' as referred to in the Regs.

The Landlord Insurance Brokers view

Chris Greaves from Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers comments:

“Firstly, we would recommend that you refer to your existing policy to establish whether there is anything specifically contained in the wording that requires work to be carried out by a qualified and certified person. In our experience, it would be unusual for this to be written into the actual policy wording.

Assuming there is no specific exclusion in the policy wording, then you would be entitled to carry out your own repair. However, in the event of a claim (that could be identified as being caused as a result of the repair) an insurer may enquire as to the competence of the person conducting the repair. In some cases, the insurer could potentially look to avoid a claim due to defective workmanship.

Our recommendation and suggested best practice  would be to engage the services of an appropriately qualified person to carry out the repair. This would provide the best protection and peace of mind to all parties”  





Property Hawks View
Property Hawks view would be that 'belt and braces' might suggest that you use a qualified person to fit the cooker element.  I've certainly used somebody in the past although he wasn't a qualified electrician, which would mean that he wouldn't be considered to be a 'competent person' under the Building Regulation.  The law as it stands though means that there is no legal requirement to do so.

Landlord insurance - expert brokers

Rents rise less than the cost of living

Landlords are consistently accused of charging rip-off rents, and yet the latest figures from LSL Property Services show rents are currently rising slower than the cost of living.

Figures for December put average rents 1.5% up from a year before, with the average rent now at £745 a month.

In comparison, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation ended the year at 2%, whilst the Retail Price Index (RPI) hit 2.7% according to the ONS figures.

Though rents are still comparatively high in relation to average earnings, in my opinion this only reflects the gravity defying property values that the UK has managed to sustain, and not, as some want to make the public believe, the unharnessed greed of landlords. 

Rental yields remain historically low.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

More landlords turn away benefit tenants

Discussion on landlords becoming less inclined to let to tenants on benefit continues with the release of data by Spareroom.com.

The website surveyed 1500 landlords and found that 57% would not let to benefit tenants, and stated this when advertising their rental property.

Of those that do currently let to tenants on benefits, more than half said they would stop, once  Universal Credit is introduced into their area.

The director of SpareRoom, Matt Hutchinson reflected that: "The 2008 move to stop landlords receiving rent payments direct – designed to give those on benefits greater responsibility for their finances – has had overwhelmingly negative and lasting repercussions for tenants on housing benefit."

And so say all of us!
Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Mortgage approvals up report BoE

Mortgage approvals have hit a seventy month high in November according to the Bank of England. The bank reported 70,758 approvals in November, up from 68,029 in October

This is a 32.6 per cent increase over the year, with November 2012 seeing just 53,370 approvals.

The bank also reported that levels of mortgage arrears remained little changed for the BTL sector.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Sharp increase in the young staying with parents

Young adults are increasingly remaining in their family home for longer, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The trend, is unsurprising, following on from a financial crisis that has not been echoed by a comparable fall in property prices, means the move away from mum/dad/guardian has been increasingly difficult for the younger generation.

Back in 2002, just 2.4 million young people aged between 20-34 lived in their childhood home, eleven years later and that figure has risen to 3.4 million in 2013, a 1 million increase.

The full report on the ONS website is here - The large increase of 20-34 year olds living with parents

For further comment on the release - read the Telegraph here or the Daily Mail here.

Expect this figure to increase further if the Conservative press forward with their policy of stopping Housing Benefit to those under twenty five.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Buy to let yields above 5%

The debate on what the real level of buy-to-let yields continues.

According to LSL typical rental properties returned a gross rental yield of 5.3% in December.  This is in stark contrast to the figures published by the Financial Times showing rental yields in many parts of  the UK soaring above 8%.

The contrast in these figures highlights the difficulty in calculating accurate rental yields.

Free property management software, Free tenancy agreements

Paragons fixed rate bond pays 6.125

This might interest some of you out there. Mortgage lender Paragon are issuing bonds paying a fixed 6.125 percent a year. The specialist BTL mortgage lender is looking to raise capital to help with further lending.

There is a minimum investment of £2,000, thereafter in £100 increments. Interest will be paid twice a year, January and July. These bonds are eligible to be held inside an Isa or pension account.

The bond matures in 2022, when Paragon will pay off lenders - if all is well.

The Telegraph have done a piece evaluating the opportunity here

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

London's new commuter suburbs

The London Evening Standard introduces the new proposed suburban developments in Old Oak Common, Cricklewood, Croydon and the Upper Lea Valley.

Part of the Outer London Commission aim to revitalise suburbs with new transport and business initiatives.

The commission will focus on large tracts of industrial land, so-called “brownfield sites” where designated housing zones, will benefit from tax breaks and relaxed planning rules. 

RICS sees increase in property sales

According to RICS, house sales are on a high.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors report homes sold per surveyor has hit a six year high, the higher volume driven by an easing of credit conditions, the Help to Buy Scheme and improved consumer confidence.

The RICS Residential Market Survey reported the average number of transactions seen by its surveyors reached 21.3.

“Growing availability of affordable mortgages has released some pent-up demand from a market that, in recent years, has seen many viable buyers unable to enter the market,” said Peter Bolton-King director at RICS. “On the face of it, this seems like good news but unless we see a marked increase in the number of homes coming up for sale we could well be looking at a price rises becoming unsustainable in some areas.”

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Council to compete with letting agents

Hackney Council are taking a radical approach to housing tenants by setting up as a letting agent.

The council’s is setting up a not-for-profit model of a letting agency, with the aim to rent out properties on behalf of landlords without charging administration fees to prospective private sector tenants. 

The council's 'letting agency service' will only accept those landlords and properties approved under the  London Landlord Accreditation Scheme.

As part of the service the council will guarantee a landlord there rent even if a property falls empty. 

A pilot for the scheme is hoped to start in April, with the scheme fully up and running by the summer.

Cllr Karen Alcock, cabinet member for property and housing policy, said: “Hackney is a place where some rents are going up considerably and what the council is trying to do is to find different levels of affordability for people. Rather than going to agencies and the property going to the highest bidder, we’re working on longer tenancies – we’re trying to create a more stable rental market for those who can’t afford to rent but earn too much to get a council house. We’re trying to help people stay in the borough in properties of a good standard.”

The council has not said how it would fund the rents on empty properties.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

The only way is up - maybe

Talk abounds of the inevitable trajectory of property prices in 2014.

As Yazz once sang, 'the only way is up, baby!"

However, let's just stop a moment and take a deep breath before we get carried away by this euphoric late eighties music track. ( remember that's the trick new Labour pulled on us before and look where that got us)

Maybe we should all take time to re-consider Yazz's bullish lyrics. Should they be hedged with  caution? Let's bring in some reality that might have been discarded along the way.

I mean despite her declaration, Yazz has hardly remained a gleaming star, the only way was clearly not up for her despite her own predictions.

So with property prices, despite the talk of a price boom, in many parts of the country, property is already clearly over-priced, as this article in the Daily Mail underlines the gap between wages and values are unrealistically stretched. The current property market is an inflated bubble fuelled on debt that might simply be unsustainable.

With average property prices rising 5.4 % a year, set against wage increases of just 0.9%, a typical home buyer needs to raise this extra £16,000 from an earnings rise of a meagre £261. This clearly isn't adding up.

"The only way is up, maybe!" sounds a far more realistic lyric to sing along to.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Gambling the rent is paid

Judging by the television advert breaks, a lot of money is being lost to online gambling sites and a fortune in interest is being paid out to payday loan sharks. What other explanation can there be for the sequence from one to the other during endless TV advert breaks. 

The frequency of these TV adverts points to a lot of folk in financial trouble. 

Shelter has recently said they believe 70 per cent of families are struggling with rent.

So ask yourself the question, if you were someone in debt, who would you pay first?

Not paying off a payday loan would be prohibitively expensive. We've all read the 4000 percent interest footnotes in the small print at the bottom of the TV screen. You'd clearly want to pay them first.

A bank overdraft or credit card debt are  hefty on their interest and charges, plus not paying them would annihilate your future credit rating. So it would be shrewd to pay them off next.

Food - well you've got to eat.

So when would you pay the rent? Would you rob Peter to pay Paul? Or would you let Paul the landlord go without his rent? I mean, he seems a nice chap, what he going to do? - pull a face and threaten to evict you - he's too nice a guy.

Maybe you could offer him fifty quid as a part payment on the rent, to see if that will keep him happy for a week or two, or maybe you could try and win the full rent by a few spins of a virtual roulette wheel over on slippyslots.com.

Stay lucky!

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Debate on the shift from letting to benefit

The trend for landlords to shift away from renting to tenants on benefit has featured in various articles over the weekend, sparked by news that famed Kent landlord, Fergus Wilson has sent out two hundred notices to all of his existing tenants claiming benefit.

The Guardian warn that the situation might worsen with the introduction of Universal Credit, whilst the Telegraph makes a case that benefit tenants are still the most profitable sector of tenants.

The situation is not a straight forward one - profit and risk are intertwined.

Although yields remain relatively high for the benefit market, the risks still seem higher than other sector. With direct payments being ended to landlords, many of us are seeing an increase in rent defaults by those tenants on benefit. In another piece in the Telegraph, Fergus Wilson relayed how his benefit tenants now owed him £800,000 in rent.

Landlords will have their own opinion, based on their own experiences, but with the insecurity of an AST the rental market will be left to choose it's own balance.

It will be down to landlords to decide who they want to let to.

Landlord insurance - portfolio rates

Most popular BTL mortgages

Max LTV	Initial Rate	Term	Completion fee	Booking fee	Incentives	Overall Cost for Comparison	Lender
85%	4.99% Fixed	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.8% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
85%	5.99% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	7% APR	Kent Reliance Multi Let & Ltd Co. Semi Exclusive
80%	4.59% Discount	2 Years	2.5%	£130.00	No	6.7% APR	Kent Reliance Semi Exclusive
80%	4.95% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.3% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	3.75% Discount	2 Years	0%	£0.00	One free standard valuation for properties up to £250,000. If the property is worth more than £250,000 then there will be a £240 contribution towards the valuation	5.1% APR	Hanley Economic Exclusive
75%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron Light Refurbishment
75%	4.69% Discount	3 Years	2%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Semi Exclusive
75%	2.88% Tracker	2 Years	2.5%	£150.00	Free valuation for purchases and remortgages & free legals on remortgages	5.3% APR	Mortgage Trust Exclusive
65%	5.39% Variable	0 Years	2.5%	£0.00	No		Saffron BS Ex-Pat Semi Exclusive
60%	2.45% Discount	2 Years	£1950	£250.00	One free Valuation on properties valued up to £1,000,000	5% APR	Hinckley & Rugby Exclusive

 

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

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.

---

Opinion on property prices in 2014

The Telegraph give you their opinion on what will happen to house prices in 2014.
 

Ten best areas to invest in London in 2014

The top ten areas to invest in London in 2014 are Nunhead, Rotherhithe, Forest Hill, Peckham, Morden, Walthamstow, Enfield, Tottenham, South Harrow, Croydon, according to London Loves Business. 

Paragon launch lifetime tracker BTLs

Paragon Mortgages, have updated its offering, including a new range of lifetime tracker products.

The lifetime trackers are available for both single self-contained properties and multi-unit blocks and HMOs, with rates ranging from 4.50%. All the products have a 1.5% product fee and a max LTV of 75%.

John Heron, Director of  Paragon Mortgages, said:

“The new lifetime tracker products are very competitive and offer something new for landlords who are looking to extend their portfolios.

“These are good value products for the whole term. The market has been somewhat 'stuck in a rut' with two year fixes and trackers, which may have their place, but high reversion rates may mean that in many cases a good two year rate may not work out well in the longer term.”

Search the whole BTL mortgage market free

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.

View on Central London lettings market

Prime Central London estate agent, W.A.Ellis, saw a buoyant lettings market in 2013, with a 50% increase in tenancies agreed in 2013 compared to 2012, and an estimated 2.8% increase in rents in 2013, however, this price increase was 0.4% less than 2012 when prices rose by 3.2%.

Lucy Morton, senior partner and head of lettings at Prime Central London estate agency, W.A.Ellis, comments: “Although rents did increase last year overall, in the lead up to Christmas, we did see prices reduce by as much as 20% in order for landlords to secure a tenant and prevent void periods.

“Voids periods did creep up last year but the figures are slightly distorted as the lettings market has become more seasonal. For the last two years in particular, the key lettings months have been between April and October – in these periods, a property can let within a week, whereas void periods can be substantially increased if a property becomes available between November and March. The changeover season in the lettings calendar continues to be during July when we notice a marked increase in our tenancy terminations. This is driven by not only the end of the school year for families, but also the end of the academic year for universities. Year on year, we are noticing a substantial increase in high net worth overseas students flocking to study in London which adds to this."

“It is always difficult to predict market conditions 100% accurately, but I believe that it will be more of the same for 2014 although with the economy picking up, indications are that the City will be hiring thus creating more tenants. I therefore predict that Prime Central London rents will increase by marginally over 3% in 2014.”