BofE Mortgage Approvals for Sept

The Bank of England's mortgage lending figures for September saw 62,932 approvals, worth £11.1bn.

This is up from August's 60,984 approvals.

September's remortgages rose to 42,440, slightly higher than the six month average of 41,882 per month.

Download all the Bank of England's Money and Lending stats for September 2016

Bank of England: Number of mortgage approvals in September 3.2% higher than in August but 9.6% lower than one year earlier.#ukhousing pic.twitter.com/Pi9SxTBj4y

— Noble Francis (@NobleFrancis) October 31, 2016

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A letting agent renewal fee question

Property Doctors: why should I have to pay my letting agent a renewal fee? https://t.co/9pPvprj0b4

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) October 31, 2016

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Homelessness Reduction Bill Changes

Homelessness Reduction Bill changed and it's bad news for landlords https://t.co/EWEkM5uKSa

— NLA (@nationalandlord) October 30, 2016

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Britain falls behind on home ownership

In terms of home ownership, Britain is lagging behind most of Europe https://t.co/rkQRk9lfOR #property

— NALScheme (@NALScheme) October 31, 2016

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BofE abandons plans to cut rates

Bank of England looks set to abandon plans to cut interest rates again this week https://t.co/5RDxrqsN8L

— This is Money (@thisismoney) October 31, 2016

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I have 7 BTL's but want more

I have seven buy-to-lets and want to invest in more, can I do it? https://t.co/KuqeAYUCSP

— This is Money (@thisismoney) October 31, 2016

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House price rises linked to S21 evictions

10% rise in house prices leads to 60% increase in s.21 based evictions, study shows. 3x s.21 evictions since 2010 https://t.co/vZ7jqH1NdE

— Nearly Legal (@nearlylegal) October 31, 2016

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House purchase approvals graph

House purchase approvals can't seem to catch a break. A recovery seems to be headed off by some event, be it policy or economic #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/vSaQQKpR9F

— Mo (@bigmo8) October 31, 2016

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12 month prime-London property price change

5-minute residential market round-up https://t.co/0eNj2IJXld@knightfrank pic.twitter.com/g6pDa38Vl0

— Gráinne Gilmore (@ggilmorekf) October 31, 2016

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Rent control through the back door

I have written before about my out and out opposition to any form of rent control. 

Why am I so vehement about rent control? 

It's not just because it will hit my pocket. 

No my main reason is that it simply doesn't work in the long term. 

Rent control fails to deliver lower rents for tenants. All that happens is that we end up with a diminished Private Rental Sector, meaning less choice for tenants and ultimately an unbalanced private rental market.

Labour Party rent control policy

Labour politicians have frequently muted the prospect of rent controls with the like of Ken Livingstone talking about rent controls in London, whilst Dianne Abbott also called for controls on London rents during her Mayoral election campaign. 

Despite promises at a national level, the Labour Party have been unable to bring rent controls in and make the policy stick.  However, the new London Mayor, Sadiq Khan is proposing just that, but this is rent control through the back door.

Khan back door rent control plan

Under Khan's proposals, he would force developers to offer rental property at a discount to market rents at80% of current market rents.  In some cases the discount on market rents would be much more. 

Property Week reports that in the London Borough of Newham rents could be as low as 55% of market levels.  All the checks, controls and restrictions will end up making what is an incredibly complex development procedure totally unworkable for many developers, resulting in them exiting the process, or putting their development plans on hold, hoping for an eventual reversal of the policy. 

Khan's policy is rent control through the back door. It will have no impact on the general level of rents in the capital or the rest of the country. It is simply tokenistic political meddling. 

What is needed in both the capital and the rest of the UK is more supply.

A system that ensures that there is healthy competition between landlords for tenants will do more to keep rents affordable than all the cock and bull tinkering dreamt up by vote grabbing politicians.

Build more!

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Prime London property report from Savills

Further price adjustments are expected across the prime London housing market in 2016 - latest report: https://t.co/YUwHsYk3gC pic.twitter.com/Vvjx9kGOcL

— Savills (@Savills) October 27, 2016

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Unaffordable rents map of the UK

Excl: Rent now unaffordable for minimum wage families over 47% of councils - @Shelter report;https://t.co/tLEm3HX5wa pic.twitter.com/SvUS370LKF

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) October 27, 2016

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Fake landlords cheating tenants

The crooked landlords who are finding new ways to cheat desperate renters https://t.co/fWk6VHkZG3

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 24, 2016

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Estate agents see return of buyers

September's UK Housing Market Report from the National Association of Estate Agents shows -

• Buyer demand up 16% ( 333 prospective buyers per branch, up from 287 )
• Supply down ( properties available per branch 40, down from 41 )
• Sales to first time buyers (FTBs) down ( 23% of sales, down from 28% )

NAEA M.D, Mark Hayward, comments : 

“This month’s report proves that buyer confidence is growing, which is obviously reassuring, given that we expected uncertainty following Brexit. Although supply has dropped marginally, this does not concern us as it’s still higher than the levels we saw between April and July. However, it is worrying that the number of sales being made to FTBs has fallen to the lowest number in 10 months. The fact the Government’s Help to Buy housing scheme is due to close this year might pose more of a challenge for those who were relying on this to help get their foot on the property ladder. We now look ahead to the Autumn Statement and look forward to seeing what plans the Government puts in place to assist FTBs towards their goal of homeownership.”

Estate agents see home buyer confidence rebound #brexit #mortgages https://t.co/Lz313rut9r

— FTAdviser (@FTAdviser) October 27, 2016

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Letting agents have a bumper September

Letting agents are happy according to September's PRS report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents. It appears PRS is continuing to enlarge, with agents reporting an 18 month supply high.

Key points

• Number of rentals per agency branch at an 18 month high (average 40)
• A rise in tenant demand ( average of 40 new tenant registrations )
• Agents seeing rent hikes has fallen to lowest level this year

ARLA's M.D, David Cox, comments-

“This month’s findings paint a really positive picture for renters. Although demand is rising, we’ve seen this happen gradually over the course of the year, and would expect it to slow again in line with seasonal trends over the next few months. On the other hand, the supply of rental stock has risen astronomically, which suggest it’s not quite right that landlords are pulling out of the market as a result of Brexit. This is supported in our findings, which reveal the number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties hasn’t changed since April, when three landlords were selling up per branch.

“It’s good to see less landlords hiking rents this month, but 24 per cent is still too high. The cost of renting is already high in many parts of the country and until the Government converts its pledges and promises into bricks and mortar, we won’t see renters reach a position where they’re able to save to get on the housing ladder. It will be interesting to see how this is tackled in the upcoming Autumn Statement.”

Go to ARLA's statement

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Khan's plan for discounted rent developments

Revealed: Sadiq Khan's plan to make developers deliver flats for rent at huge discounts. Will it "kill off" sector? https://t.co/5g7imK1JCA pic.twitter.com/gY27tEtwCo

— Samuel Horti (@SamuelHortiPW) October 27, 2016

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Mortgage approval graph - 2015 v 2016

Quick comparison of 2015 and 2016 BBA mortgage approvals for house purchase (non seasonally adjusted) pic.twitter.com/CKuyC4NT8H

— Neal Hudson (@resi_analyst) October 27, 2016

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Heathrow house prices face crash landing

What will happen to house prices near Heathrow Airport? https://t.co/2nV7442KpB

— This is Money (@thisismoney) October 25, 2016

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Cities are like magnets - global trend

Two billion more people will live in cities by 2035. This could be good – or very bad https://t.co/LdO9AnIe7G #ukhousing

— Guardian Housing (@GuardianHousing) October 19, 2016

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London property prices to fall 5.6%

Property prices will fall 5.6% in London in 2017 over Brexit uncertainty, economists say https://t.co/lG1kR3dqkq pic.twitter.com/1Q49uW0vEK

— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) October 26, 2016

Brexit is being blamed for a lot of things - but don't lump house prices in there too https://t.co/jUY2knEbkT pic.twitter.com/eywjJbTjPS

— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) October 24, 2016

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BTL returns map - Leeds comes out top

Buy-to-let can offer a return but you need to know where... https://t.co/A8UcnE5udE

— This is Money (@thisismoney) October 24, 2016

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London FTBs need to save for 121 years for a deposit

No access to the Bank of Mum and Dad? Then save for 121 years for a home in London https://t.co/of2MjZpQw8

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) October 26, 2016

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Landlord insurance - building materials cover

I am in the process of refurbishing my penthouse apartment in Nottingham.  Progress is slow as any landlord will know and I'm wondering whether all the expensive building materials will be covered by the insurance policy. 

Are expensive building materials covered by my landlord building insurance?

I'm dealing with a gang of retired or part-time tradesmen.  this means that don't want to work too many hours.  So as a result I have a lot of expensive building materials lying about on site waiting to be installed.  This includes:

• An expensive Italian spiral staircase
• £4000 with of European Oak 
• A partly installed Ikea kitchen and appliances
• Parts of a luxury bathroom

An incident last week where 'somebody' left a window open made me think what would happen if there was a break in and somebody had the where for all to remove all these expensive building materials and would my insurance cover me for the loss?  For a start the fact that the window was left open would probably invalidate my building insurance because there would potentially be no forced sign of entry.  "I wasn't best pleased!"

The law on landlord building insurance covering a development project

As landlord property insurance is not my strong point I thought I'd consult the experts at Alan Boswell to see what their view was on it all.   They admitted that the area is a grey area but in general terms:

a)     If you are living in the property whilst it is renovated, the building materials would get classed as contents and be covered
b)    If no one is living in the property overnight (generally definition of unoccupied) then theft of unfixed building materials tends to be excluded
c)     If you have a contractor in to do the work they can generally cover the materials under their insurance until the work is complete, but you would need to ensure this is specified in the contracts between you as the contractor may have an extra charge to do this.

Looks like the safest bet is to keep the site fully secure and protect it from a break in as a risk to the development project is site theft and the left of expensive building materials unless they are fully installed.

Is it possible to obtain 5 star building insurance?

Landlord jailed for re-mortgaging parents home

Man who remortgaged his parents £1.5m home to finance his property empire is jailed https://t.co/widJIYLq2u

— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) October 24, 2016

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A ground rent nightmare

Beware the small print that could hike one-bed flat’s ground rent to £8m-a-year https://t.co/b78NDFG8jS

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 22, 2016

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Tax hike to affect half a million landlords

Landlord tax hike

The tax hike or raid instigated by the government changing the way they work out a landlords rental profit leading to massive tax rises for some landlords could affect up to 440,000 landlords according to claims by the National Landlords Association.

Proposed tax changes will push landlords into higher tax bracket

The changes resulting in the loss of mortgage interest tax relief which are to be staggered will no longer allow higher rate tax payers to offset all their mortgage interest charges against their rental income.  As a result over a fifth of landlords claim that they will be pushed into the higher tax band triggering a higher rate of tax and an increased tax bill for many landlords.  Some landlords have been investigating using a company structure to reduce their tax bill.  This works because a landlord operating through a company will continue to be able to offset their entire mortgage interest bill.  We have explored previously whether landlords should incorporate their rental business.

Law society of landlord tax change

The way that the government has brought in the legislative changes to the landlord tax system on income tax has been criticized by a number of organizations.  The law society has actually slammed the way the finance bill has been introduced.  Despite these criticisms it is very unlikely that the government will back down.  In fact Cherie Booth ( Blair )representing a group action by landlords recently lost their case challenging buy-to-let tax changes.

More tax info:

5 ways to slash your tax
Calculate your tax return with our free online property manager
Capital gains tax explained

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Does foil behind radiators really work?

Does foil behind radiators really work? https://t.co/whmXPNEUlK

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 22, 2016

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A way to pay no tax on your BTL...??!

Worried how you'll make your buy-to-let pay amid tax assault? One expert believes he's found a way to pay NO ta... https://t.co/fog6BoxzGa

— This is Money (@thisismoney) October 21, 2016

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Landlords could get stuck on high BTL rates

The buy-to-let borrowers 'marooned on high rates for life' https://t.co/QAonF0UFPU via @Telegraph

— Property4MediaUK (@Prop4MediaUK) October 21, 2016

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Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgages.  

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Construction sector sees slow growth

Construction sector sees slowest growth in three years as firms worry about the Brexit effect https://t.co/0PeAHAVXiF #property

— NALScheme (@NALScheme) October 21, 2016

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Cheap boroughs show strongest growth

Property prices in some of the cheapest London boroughs show strongest annual growth: https://t.co/CDaGAAZGab pic.twitter.com/0QAI6xlsfn

— ES Homes & Property (@HomesProperty) October 20, 2016

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Claiming for deposit deductions

Maximise your chances of winning a dispute with our guide to "Claiming for deposit deductions" FREE at https://t.co/KxuUj83ARF pic.twitter.com/xsVJuTy0WJ

— mydeposits (@mydeposits) October 20, 2016

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North/south rental divide shrinks

The gap in the cost of renting a home in the north versus the south of the country is closing fast https://t.co/21MUOstFC2 pic.twitter.com/YXXrnseEcT

— Zoopla (@Zoopla) October 19, 2016

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Call to put up rents in taxation protest

Landlords react to buy-to-let High Court decision https://t.co/EGPkVhZzvD

— FTAdviser (@FTAdviser) October 20, 2016

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Increasing poverty in Northern Ireland's PRS

The number of people in NI in poverty living in the private rented sector has increased over the past 5 years https://t.co/E0rQg1AmEx pic.twitter.com/Gp6EWM7pCZ

— New Policy Institute (@npi_research) October 20, 2016

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Nottingham property auction kicks off

Our latest statistical briefing gives an overview of tenancy deposit protection across the UK. #deposits pic.twitter.com/qizb6mS8vA

— TDS (@TenancyDeposits) October 20, 2016

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Four tenants renting a garden shed

Four people found living in a garden shed https://t.co/U0dTaubAan #property via @MSPI_UK

— NALScheme (@NALScheme) October 18, 2016

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Global student property investment chart

2015 saw record levels of investment into student housing according to @realcapital. Full details in our new report: https://t.co/8lFeHNYy4o pic.twitter.com/m9yQZ4vcxO

— Savills (@Savills) October 17, 2016

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Savills London property auction - Nov 1st

Our next London #auction is on 01/11. The catalogue is now live: https://t.co/qUVsPTq2QM with over 180 lots & guide prices from £2000+

— Savills Auctions (@SavillsAuctions) October 17, 2016

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Government UK HPI for August

Average house prices in the UK continue to go up according to the latest ONS data published today. 

The Government's UK HPI for August 2016 has annual property price growth now at 8.4% (up from 8.0% in July ).

Average house price across the UK -

• England - £236,000, annual growth at 9.2% 
• Wales - £236,000, annual growth at 2.7% 
• Scotland - £145,000, annual growth at 4.3% 
• Northern Ireland - £123,000

As for the English regions, the East now leads the way.

House prices up 9.2% in England. 2.7% in Wales & 4.3% in Scotland in the year to Aug 16 https://t.co/7VUkNaQydU

— ONS (@ONS) October 18, 2016

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More PRS lets than property purchases

There already are more new private rental lettings than transactions each year and have been since the credit crunch. pic.twitter.com/pWRamR7CvA

— Neal Hudson (@resi_analyst) October 17, 2016

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Airbnb is pushing up rents

Airbnb is driving up the rent in your urban neighborhood | Alexander Zaitchik https://t.co/OWC35KueiW #ukhousing

— Guardian Housing (@GuardianHousing) October 17, 2016

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Land Registry repossessions data

There were 526 #repossession sales in England in June 2016 https://t.co/fRMbKFWUKF pic.twitter.com/547DPPlvMh

— Land Registry (@LandRegGov) October 18, 2016

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4 out of 10 homes are sub-standard

Tenants need safe homes and landlords should be forced to provide them | Penny Anderson https://t.co/DALxTBpIlo #ukhousing

— Guardian Housing (@GuardianHousing) October 17, 2016

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The East leads re-surgent property market

East of England leads the way as house prices soar again https://t.co/HLt89fBlBG

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) October 18, 2016

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Kensington landlord fined £162,000

Hammersmith Magistrates Court handed landlord, Mr Abbas Rasul a fine of  £162,000 for not having a license for his House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) alongside 22 further charges under HMO Management Regulations. 

Environmental Health Officers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea found the flat on Hyde Park Gate, SW7 was being let to more than 18 tenants. The flat had been illegally subdivided into 14 tiny rooms, each rented out for an average of £800 pcm.

Mr Abbas Rasul  failed to appear in court.

The Environmental Health Officers described the conversion put tenants lives at risk, with no fire doors, smoke detectors or alarms for a flat with just one kitchen shared between all eighteen tenants. The gas boiler was described as 'dangerous', it had been serviced and had a cracked flue. Makeshift electrics had some rooms reliant on extension leads trailing from other rooms to provide a supply.

Conditions witnessed posed such a risk to safety that Environmental Health Officers issued a Prohibition Order to prevent further use of the flat.

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500,000 landlords to be hit by tax change

Half a million landlords will face harsher tax rules  https://t.co/pDWxDnQI3U

— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) October 18, 2016

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Are houses unaffordable for millennials?

Are millennials actually bad at saving or are houses just unaffordable? https://t.co/iExA2L7zfN

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 18, 2016

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Rogue landlord crackdown to include minimum bedroom sizes

Crackdown on rogue landlords to include new minimum bedroom size https://t.co/iDx38WAtZt #ukhousing

— Guardian Housing (@GuardianHousing) October 17, 2016

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New bank to offer commercial mortgages

New bank to offer commercial mortgages #mortgages https://t.co/s5PPNjIbxN

— FTAdviser (@FTAdviser) October 17, 2016

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More homes let than sold say Countrywide

More homes could be let than sold in 2017 @CountrywideUK #buytolet #mortgages https://t.co/G1wWn7v0r4

— FTAdviser (@FTAdviser) October 17, 2016

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Luxury London property sales collapse

Sales of luxury London properties collapsed by 86% in past year https://t.co/Kcqs20pCHm

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) October 17, 2016

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Rightmove's HPI sees north/south divide

The Rightmove HPI for Octobert shows a rise of 0.9% (+£2,623).

The national average property is now at £309,122, just 0.4% (£1,349) down on the record high of June this year. 

However, the market varies across regions and sectors, with different areas of the country and different sectors experiencing contrasting market conditions. 

The north seems to be fairing better post-brexit than the south. 

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst comments: 

“After the referendum result and the usual summer slowdown, estate agents’ experiences appear to fall into one of two camps, with a definite north/south divide. Agents in the northern half of the country reported a quiet week or two after the surprise result of the Brexit vote, but most then saw a quick return to good levels of buyer enquiries and subsequent sales agreed. In contrast many in the southern regions saw more prolonged hesitancy among buyers, with it taking until September before a marked pick-up in activity. What has continued is the overall upwards trajectory in the average price of property coming to market, underpinned by years of inadequate new-build supply. After some price falls over the quieter summer period, the national average is now less than a couple of thousand pounds shy of its all-time high recorded in June.”

The North sees rising sales

“While the number of new-to-the-market sellers is actually up compared to this time last year in all the northern regions, it is failing to keep pace with high buyer demand. Agents report brisk sales in many areas, especially in the mass-market sectors. They say as long as it’s not over-priced, the right house in the right area is quickly being snapped up for close to, at, or even over the asking price.”
The South see falling sales

“This increase in the number of properties up for sale should not be misinterpreted as a glut of unsold property, but rather as an increase from the very low number of properties that agents have had on their books in the last few fast-selling years. While there is still underlying high demand in mass-market sectors, some find that affordability has become over-stretched while others judge that prices have risen beyond their true value. While many properties are still selling, in market sectors where there is now a lot more choice, buyers need enticing by an attractive price or by properties with special finish or appeal. If sellers fail to take this into account, then buyers will choose to buy elsewhere or bide their time.”

How have #houseprices changed this month? Find out in our latest HPI: https://t.co/rR6JmYtyww #property #news pic.twitter.com/XUo4GCNRR5

— Rightmove (@rightmove) October 17, 2016

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47% of tenants told to ignore eviction notices

47% of tenants served with section 21 eviction notice from landlord say they have been told to ignore it by local council, Shelter or CAB

— Landlord Action (@LandlordAction) October 14, 2016

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Rats in the attic

A landlords life is full of surprises. The latest for me was a call from one of my tenants telling me about some unwelcome neighbours. It transpires that despite being in the first floor maisonette they have gained some unwelcome neighbours...rats! Clearly they were less than happy and called a pest control immediately to investigate. The outcome was that the private pest control business laid poison in the loft to get the critters!

One of the amazing things was that rats had been able to get into the property and at such a high level. It looks like the rats had got in through gaps in the pointing by scaling the adjoining vegetation. Paradoxically, the pointing can't be sealed up until the little critters have been dosed with the poison and died, hopefully in the garden.

This week I'll be  trying to convince the tenants that there will be no more instances of rats in the attic.

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What's to know about Japanese Knotweed

Find out everything you need to know about Japanese Knotweed with our latest blog post, courtesy of @TotalLandlord https://t.co/hknvx4c1Eg

— mydeposits (@mydeposits) October 13, 2016

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Rental growth slows as supply increases

The rate of rental growth has slowed as more supply has entered the market according to the Landlord Insurance company Homelet which indicates that new tenants pay an average of £910 per month, up 3% on last year.

The average monthly rent in London is now £1,555.

Rentindex the real time monitor of rents indicates the average rent is now at over £680 surging 4% over the last 6 months and up 3.6% over the year.

Lies lies and rental statistics but in essence rents are still continuing there very gentle increase over the long-term but they are no way rocketing up in most of the UK in the way that many London MPs and tenants rights activists may try and suggest.

Rentindex - real time rents

UK city population growth rates since 2011

UK city regions:
Greater London has quickest population growth since mid-2011, Glasgow has the slowest https://t.co/M2KunAHJQE pic.twitter.com/PQA75qGaBb

— ONS (@ONS) October 12, 2016

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Property or pension? - podcast debate.

So, what is better, property or pensions, or a mixture? Here's our radio discussionhttps://t.co/YV4lvcbhlx

— simon read (@simonnread) October 12, 2016

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Prices up, as supply shrinks, predict RICS

The Royal Institute of Surveyors UK Residential Market Survey for September 2016 is out.

Key points

• Buyer demand increases for the first time since February. 
• House prices continue to rise.
• New instruction levels stay low. 
• Market confidence picking up following post-referendum jitters.
• Agents sale stock levels remain close to historic lows at an average of 45 properties. 

Price and sales outlook

Low supply alongside increasing demand is expected to push up prices both in the short and long term. Surveyors are increasingly confident that prices will push up over both the next three months and twelve month periods.

The outlook for central London is less positive, with surveyors predicting small price falls to continue in the short term, thanks to Brexit and Stamp duty changes.

Home buyers 'back after Brexit jitters' https://t.co/9vqN2DMYRQ

— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) October 12, 2016

Buyer interest fuels house price rise as number of homes for sale falls https://t.co/Vti5d5KhkC

— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) October 13, 2016

Buyers return to UK housing market https://t.co/3Q6CSEwHAN

— Finance News (@ftfinancenews) October 13, 2016

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Builders report post-Brexit bounce

Housebuilders report post-Brexit bounce https://t.co/nhHT5qYIsx #property

— Property PR (@propertypr) October 12, 2016

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Rent hikes looming

Rent hikes looming as a million landlords plan to put up rents against @TenantTax https://t.co/yaWn6CZ2GU #property

— NALScheme (@NALScheme) October 12, 2016

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Only a quarter of Welsh landlords registered under Rent Smart

Few #landlords registering under Rent Smart #Welsh law https://t.co/vo8dYq165h

— Luscombe Lettings (@LuscombeandCo) October 12, 2016

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BTL investing for expat workers

Jane Simpson, at Property Hawk Mortgages says:

The buy-to-let mortgage market is without doubt a fast-paced and ever changing environment in which to operate as an intermediary and it can sometimes be a challenge to keep up to speed. This is one of the reasons why Property Hawk Mortgages specialises only in buy-to-let mortgages and is able to provide added value to landlords with our expertise and in-depth knowledge of lenders and their criteria.

To illustrate the dynamic nature of the buy-to-let mortgage market, in the last month Property Hawk Mortgages has removed 370 buy-to-let products from its sourcing system and added a further 361 new rates. 

There are many reasons why lenders withdraw existing product ranges and release new ones, but any activity affecting the financial markets and monetary policy will immediately have an impact on the pricing of buy-to-let finance. It was not unexpected that The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced a further cut to interest rates of 0.25 per cent and it is therefore not surprising that the buy-to-let mortgage market is experiencing considerable change at the moment.

For landlord clients, the cut in interest rates presents a great opportunity. So far, most lenders are passing on the rate reduction through their Standard Variable Rates (SVR) and Bank Base Rate (BBR) tracker products. We have also seen a number of lenders releasing reduced fixed rate products following the MPC’s decision. 

For example, Axis Bank has launched a selection of reduced 2, 3 and 5 year fixed rates for both its standard and specialist ranges. 

At Property Hawk Mortgages, we have been getting a steady flow of enquiries from landlords about expat buy-to-let mortgages. This has always been considered a niche segment of the buy-to-let lending sector, but in reality there is a wide choice of lenders and products available for UK citizens who are living and working abroad.

Property Hawk Mortgages currently offers expat products from nine different lenders including: Kent Reliance, Shawbrook Bank, National Counties Building Society, Market Harborough Building Society, Bank of China, Axis Bank, Landbay, Saffron Building Society and Skipton International.

As you would expect, lending criteria for expat applicants is a bit different compared with standard buy-to-let mortgages for landlords who live and work in the UK. All of the lenders mentioned above require that the applicant owns an existing property in the UK, with the exception of Skipton International and Market Harborough Building Society which do not. Applicants must also have a UK passport and bank account.

Quite often we get calls about clients who have sold their home to move abroad and therefore are not current UK property owners. In this case Skipton International and Market Harborough are the only port of call.

Expat lenders also have a higher minimum income requirement than for standard buy-to-let mortgages. For example, Kent Reliance has a minimum income of £25,000, Axis Bank a minimum of £40,000 and Market Harborough Building Society a minimum of £45,000.

Following on from the higher minimum income requirements, lenders are also strict about the type of work the applicant does e.g. Kent Reliance requires they must be a professional or employed in a senior position within a UK, EU or US agency or recognisable and traceable company. 

Many lenders accept self-employed applicants such as an equity partner in a law firm or a business owner with an internationally recognised accountant, but may require a higher level of income. For 

example, Skipton International requires £40,000 for employed but £60,000 for self-employed applicants.

Most lenders also have a higher minimum loan size for expat cases, usually of between £100,000 and £150,000, with the exception of Saffron Building Society, which has a minimum loan size of just £30,000.

One of the most important questions to ask expat landlord clients is which country they are living and working in as most lenders have either a list of banned countries or a list of acceptable countries that they will consider.

Although there are particular aspects to consider when handling a buy-to-let expat case, there are plenty of products available for these clients. For some lenders, their core range of buy-to-let products is open to expats and for others such as Kent Reliance, Landbay and Skipton International a specialist expat range is offered separately.

Here is an example of expat buy-to-let mortgages currently available:

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.

BTL lending bounces back a bit - CML data

The Council of Mortgage Lenders figures for August are out.

Key points are -

• Home-owner borrowing on 66,000 loans totalled £12.2bn, - up 14% on July, 11% up on August 2015.
• First-time buyers borrowed £5.1bn on  31,800 loans,  up 13% on July and 24% on August 2015.
• Home movers borrowed £7.1bn on  34,200 loans,  up 15% on July, 3% up on August 2015.
• Remortgages on 34,900 loans, totalled 5.9bn, down 2% on July, but up 41% on August 2015. 
• Landlords borrowed £3bn on 19,400 loans,  no change from July,  down 12% .on August 2015. 

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, comments:

'House purchase activity bounced back from a dip in July, reflecting resilience in first-time buyer activity. Mortgage rates remain at or close to historic lows, and the re-pricing of mortgages following August’s base rate cut should help to underpin a continuing, strong appetite for home-ownership over the coming months.

Buy-to-let by contrast continues to operate at lower levels five months after the stamp duty change on second properties. This appears to be a long-term trend, and with lenders potentially tightening affordability checks ahead of the tax changes in April 2017, activity on the buy-to-let house purchase side may well remain at current levels.'

BTL lending in August

Gross BTL lending was way down on early 2016, but showed signs of recovery, with 1,000 more BTL loans in August compared with July. Remortgages remain dominant in the BTL lending market amounting to nearly two thirds of BTL loans. 

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Lease extensions Q&A by Land Registry

Lease extensions: our blog answers some of your frequent questions and how to avoid the most common requisitions https://t.co/xhHTzNo9ZP pic.twitter.com/bRUu0mOrqc

— Land Registry (@LandRegGov) October 12, 2016

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All of the house price indices on one chart

Comparison of non seasonally adjusted UK house price indices pic.twitter.com/m5Jf1jIheB

— Neal Hudson (@resi_analyst) October 12, 2016

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BTL buyer interest up 30% since May

Rightmove have seen a 30% rise in enquiries from BTL landlords/investors since May.

The BTK sales market is seeing a recovery in activity following the April dip caused by the introduction of the 3% stamp duty surcharge.

Rightmove’s Head of Lettings Sam Mitchell comments: 

“Investor activity has bounced back following the stamp duty changes, though some agents report that many investors are looking to knock sellers down on their asking prices to make up for the additional stamp duty they now need to pay. New rental supply has held up despite concerns that the stamp duty changes would lead to less fresh stock.

Once again Essex and other commuter spots are offering investors the best total returns, and those looking at long-term investments are seeking out areas with upcoming improved transport links. The changes starting in 2017 to lessen mortgage interest tax relief may see some seriously review their businesses and could scale back, though there appear to be no signs yet of landlords exiting the market. If supply of property to rent does scale back those that will win in the long term will be less highly-mortgaged landlords that chose not to sell off their property, and the big winners could be those that are investing in the right areas now. We expect some of the supply gap to be filled by Build to Rent but it could take some years for this to seriously increase rental stock levels. With this in mind 2017 could be another year of increasing rents.”

Key Points

• BTL buyer enquiries up 30% since May.
• This quarters new rental listings up 6% on this period last year.
• Asking rents falling in London, down 0.7% on last quarter.

Download the Rightmove Rental Trends Tracker for Q3 2016

The latest Rental Trends Tracker is out - find out what's changed this quarter in rental prices across the country > https://t.co/LNuXUCKje3 pic.twitter.com/SDJ6UFQD5o

— Rightmove (@rightmove) October 12, 2016

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Should a landlord rent to parrots?

RT @RentingLetting: I've had tenants asking if they can bring their dog, but this was a first https://t.co/gbumTIEt8W

— Victoria Whitlock (@VicWhitlock) October 12, 2016

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Give inheritance to grandchildren says minister

I'm wondering if Gavin has wealthy grand parents.

No 10 rejects housing minister's call for people to skip generation in their wills https://t.co/dvzvey2mY2 #ukhousing

— Guardian Housing (@GuardianHousing) October 10, 2016

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Knight Frank sees profits dip

Knight Frank profits hit by Brexit vote https://t.co/0zdvPUYR8C #property

— Property PR (@propertypr) October 10, 2016

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Falling home ownership graph

UK has seen home-ownership fall from 70% to 64% over 10 years but this hides bigger fall amongst younger people offset by older generations pic.twitter.com/IIsYY87OMw

— Neal Hudson (@resi_analyst) October 10, 2016

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Average income after housing costs deducted

As @TheIFS have shown - median household income after housing costs for people born in the 1980s is lower than for those born in the 1990s pic.twitter.com/lkpSOa3bL0

— ResolutionFoundation (@resfoundation) October 10, 2016

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Home ownership chart since 1986

Home ownership is down to levels last seen in 1986 - and it's not just a London problem. This article explains why https://t.co/NKKKfG8sdN pic.twitter.com/fsO4BMqEqb

— ResolutionFoundation (@resfoundation) October 10, 2016

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Halifax House Price Index for Sept

The Halifax House Price Index for September 2016 is out.

• House prices in the three months to September were 5.8% higher than in the same three months of 2015 
• Prices in the last three months (July- September) were 0.1% lower than in the preceding quarter

The banks housing economist, Martin Ellis comments:

“House prices in the three months to September were largely unchanged compared with the previous quarter. The annual rate of growth eased from 6.9% in August to 5.8%.

"The housing market has followed a steady downward trend over the past six months with clear evidence of both a softening in activity levels and an easing in house price inflation.

“The reduction in annual house price growth from a peak of 10.0% in March to 5.8% six months later remains in line with our forecast at the end of 2015. A lengthy period where house prices have risen more rapidly than earnings has put pressure on affordability, therefore constraining demand. Very low mortgage rates and a shortage of properties available for sale should, however, help support price levels over the coming months.” 

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DPS customers targeted by fraudsters

We've had reports of fraudsters targeting our customers. Read our blog and learn how to avoid becoming a victim https://t.co/rtOOsUeJnG

— The DPS (@The_DPS) October 10, 2016

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Do I need boiler insurance?

 

 

Landlord boiler insurance

Do you need boiler insurance?  The short answer is of course not!  It's not a legal requirement and many landlords such as myself have managed with no or limited cover for years.  For a more in depth look at the whole topic of boiler insurance have a look at this investigation into landlord boiler insurance.

Landlord boiler insurance obsolescence 

More concerning for me and I suspect a lot of landlords is that of boiler obsolescence.  What do I mean by this?  Well it's not that the boiler has to be scrapped because it can't be repaired or no longer works properly.  No the problem is that the boiler as in my case can be fixed but the part is no longer available.  I have a property with a Baxi Solo Boiler and everything is fine apart from the plumber just cannot get the thermostat he needs to replace.  Have a look at the serial numbers and if you can find one or know somebody who supplies this part please let me know.  It will save me having to needlessly scrap a perfectly good boiler.

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