Landlord and BTL Blog

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

An electrician to fix my heating?

Landlords heating

So I get a message from my tenant telling me that the central heating has packed in. Should he call Scott the plumber to take a look?

On first analysis that would seem sensible. Heating equates to plumbing and plumbers. However, after further enquiries it turns out that it is not the heating but the electrical heating control panel that has kaputt and needs replacing. So ironically, I don't need a plumber but an electrician. What is better for me is that my electrician is very good and wont charge a call out fee.

One of the important aspect of being a landlord is problem solving and getting the right man or women for the job.

Plumbers - how much should you pay?

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

UK house price inflation falls to 8.3%

The ONS have released their official UK HPI for July.

The government's ONS data puts the average annual UK house price growth at 8.3%. This rate is down from the 9.7% seen a month earlier for June 2016.

The average UK house price is now £217,000, up by £17,000 over the course of 12 months, and £1,000 over the month.

England saw the strongest rise, with average annual price growth at 9.1%. The average property in England is now £233,000.

In comparison, Wales grew by 4.0% and now stands at £145,000, Scotland grew by 3.4% to £144,000 and Northern Ireland's average stands at £123,000.

UK House price inflation falls to 8.3% in July, says ONS https://t.co/qFUuRUpwxC
— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) September 13, 2016

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UK regions see rent falls

Five UK regions see falls in rental values according to letting agency, Countrywide's Rental Index for August 2016.

Their data for August shows five out of nine areas saw a fall in rental values.

Central London, the South East, South West, Midlands, and Wales all fell.

Countrywide pointed to a sharp increase in rental supply.

Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide comments:

“In London and the South East, recent increases in the number of homes available to rent, outpacing the growth in tenants looking for a home, has meant that bargaining power is shifting towards tenants from landlords. This is slowing rental growth,”

Thanks to relatively strong performance in other areas, across the UK as a whole rents rose slightly, up 1.5% to a monthly average of £960.

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One perspective on the current housing market

Putting some perspective on the current state of the housing market #RESI2016 pic.twitter.com/Gwd2831a6T
— Lucian Cook (@LucianCook) September 13, 2016

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Housing market cools - official figures

Housing market cools in first post-Brexit official figures, but prices are still soaring https://t.co/btYqIiEDuB
— Telegraph Property (@TeleProperty) September 13, 2016

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