landlords
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Latest property news
62% of London Airbnb listings are now from ‘multi-listers’
Landlords are increasingly switching from traditional long-term lettings to Airbnb and using specialist management companies to manage their bookings, research from Colliers International suggests.
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Latest property news
How can it be so cheap? Online agent launches £35 HMO service
Online lettings firm No Agent is claiming to be the first in the industry to offer landlords a fixed-fee management service for HMOs, charging £35 per room a month in England and £55 in London. The package includes a tenant finding service but not photos, which landlords will have to pay extra for. No Agent’s launch, which it says would work out at a 4.5% management fee excluding VAT, is designed to undercut traditional agents which it claims charge between 10-15% for a similar service. Landlords are charged a £100 set-up fee for its HMO package to pay for licensing and property condition checks. Photos are charged at £250 for the first room and £35 for each subsequent one, a cost which includes 30 days of accompanied viewings. The online agency, which has so far been funded partly through two crowdfunding campaigns and private VC investment, says its new HMO service is designed to attract landlords caught between the recent buy-to-let tax increases and the looming tenant fees ban. HMO service Its £35 service for HMO landlords includes quarterly inspections, rent collection, contract renewals and property management. No Agent also reports tenants’ rent to Experian if they agree to it…
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Landlords set to make £162,000 profit per property over next 25 years
Landlords in the near future will not be the dying breed some industry commentators would have agents believe, research by a leading lender has revealed. Chatham-based KentReliance says its data shows landlords in the UK will make an average net profit of £162,000 per property over the next 25 years – in today’s money – despite the government’s recent tax take. This equates to £6,500 per property per year and includes both rental income and capital gains. KentReliance says the figures prove buy-to-let investment still has long-term appeal for landlords, even though over the 25-year term they will pay £100,000 in tax. That includes £60,000 in capital gains tax, £29,000 in income tax and £10,000 of stamp duty, assuming the landlord is a lower rate tax payer. “The buy to let market is undergoing a sea change,” says John Eastgate of KentReliance’s parent company, OneSavings Bank (pictured, below). “Regulatory and taxation changes have altered the market dynamic, reducing its attractiveness to amateur landlords, and increasing the tax bills of higher-rate investors. “In spite of rising costs, there are still healthy returns to be found in property for committed investors, but the days of speculation are gone. “It is a long-term…
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‘Rogue landlords should have their properties confiscated’
A shock report into the private rented sector or PRS has recommended rogue landlords should have their properties confiscated,
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Stamp Duty rise driving landlords to spend on upgrades not portfolio expansion, says Countrywide
Figures from agency giant reveal yet another unintended consequence of the government's desire to squeeze landlords financially.
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Latest property news
Alexa! Make my life easier!
Vesper Homes, which rejoices in being a ‘pioneering proptech London estate agent’, has developed an Alexa Skill to make life easier for landlords and tenants.
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Latest property news
Government rejects agent’s petition calling for tenant fees cap
The Government has rejected a petition signed by nearly 10,400 agents that proposed a tenant fees cap instead of an outright ban. Started by 29-year-old letting agent Rob Farrelly (pictured, below) who began his own business Friend & Farrelly Property Services eight years ago, e-petition 206569 was signed by agents all over the UK. In its response to the e-petition, the Government has revealed its determination to plough on with its draft Tenant Fees Bill published on 1st November, saying it wants to see a rental market in which landlords and not tenants are the primary customer of agents. As well as reiterating its belief that a fees ban will improve transparency and affordability for renters, and that fees are still not clear or explained, it claims that “many letting agents and landlords acknowledge that fees charged to tenants are currently not at a level that is justifiable and agree that intervention is necessary”. “The Government does not believe that a cap would be effective and is likely to lead to a race to the top in terms of fees charged. A ban is easier to understand and enforce.” Agents are also able to see a glimpse of the future…
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Government starts consultation on single housing ombudsman for whole sector
The government is to introduce a single ombudsman to cover the whole of the property industry including for the first time both new homes and rented property, and has announced a consultation. There are currently four different complaints bodies in housing and not all those operating within the industry must join them, a ‘gap’ that the government says it wants to close. The private treaty and lettings sectors have three ombudsman – although one of the recently said it was withdrawing from the market – plus there’s an additional ombudsman for the social housing sector. But private landlords are not currently compelled by law to join a redress scheme or be accountable to an ombudsman. Eight weeks The proposed initiative kicks off with an eight-week consultation which the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) says will help “shape a simpler and better complaints system” and that in future disputes will be “resolved faster” and homebuyers and tenants will be able to access compensation. The MHCLG consultation will look at various aspects of the property market including whether or not a ‘whole industry’ ombudsman is really needed, but also look at whether builders should be included in the scheme; how…
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20% more landlords struggling with mortgage payments than a year ago
The number of landlords struggling financially has soared by 20%, figures from UK Finance, the organisation replacing the Council of Mortgage Lenders, reveal. Its latest market report shows that the number of landlords with more serious mortgage arrears is on the increase. Those with arrears of between 7.5% and 10% of their balance increased by a fifth year-on-year, although the buy-to-let ‘crackdown’ being led by the government has yet to drive increased possessions in this market – which have held steady. Buried deep in the UK Finance figures is one less publicised fact – that ten times fewer landlords are in mortgage difficulties than homeowners. This may baffle the many landlords who are facing increased lending criteria following the Prudential Regulation Authority’s recently-introduced stricter buy-to-let lending rules. But although the buy-to-let market is struggling, the lending market for homeowners is looking much brighter, UK Finance says. The number of homeowners with arrears of up to 5% of their mortgage balance has been dropping dramatically over the few years, down from 55,000 mortgage in 2014 to 34,500 mortgage during the final quarter of last year. And year-on-year, this type of mortgage arrears decreased by 10%. Also, those in serious arrears has…
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Portfolio landlords struggle to get mortgages as PRA rules kick in, research shows
Nearly three quarters of landlords with multiple properties are finding it harder to get either mortgages or remortgage existing debt as the Prudential Regulation Authority’s second wave of mortgage rules kick in, it has been revealed. Research completed on behalf of lender Foundation Home Loans among 2,000 landlords found that 70% of those with more than four properties had struggled to obtain further finance to buy more properties, while half of those with between one and three properties also faced problems. The second wave of PRA rules went live in September last year to allay fears that excessive borrowing by banks on generous terms to landlords might endanger the economy during a downturn. The larger the portfolio, the harder it has become for landlords to get the green light for more finance, largely because those with more than four properties are now effectively classed as enterprises and must submit business plans to get a home loan or remortgage an existing one. Rejected by lenders Two thirds of landlords with eleven or more properties within their portfolio now believe the range of mortgages available to them has dropped, while a quarter think they are now more likely to be rejected by…
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