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Em Morley

Over half of tenants affected by delay in council benefit

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 2:46 pm

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52% of private sector tenants on housing benefit have seen delays over payment from their local council, according to new research conducted by the National Landlords Association.

Affecting almost 3.3 million tenants, the figures show that in 36% of these cases, tenants stated that the delay in payments caused them problems with them being able to pay their rent on time.[1]

Shortfall

These figures come on the heels of a report from housing charity Shelter, which predicts 80% of working English households claiming housing support will face a shortfall in benefits as a result of government plans to halt housing benefit for four years.

Presently, 73% of tenants claiming benefits said that they pay rent to their landlord when in receipt from their local council. The remaining 27% said that their housing benefit was paid directly to the their landlord by the council.[1]

‘Local councils are failing to support a growing number of tenants who are most in need of a home and the proportion of landlords willing to let to tenants in receipt of benefits have halved over the last few years,’ said Richard Lambert, CEO at the National Landlords Association. ‘Their perception is that the risk is too great and it’s easy to see why if payment delays appear to be inherent within the benefits system,’ he continued.[1]

Over half of tenants affected by delay in council benefit

Over half of tenants affected by delay in council benefit

Pressure

Mr Lambert also said that the, ‘pressure on those private landlords who have remained in this part of the market will be seriously increased by the Government’s benefits freeze and the devastating changes to mortgage interest relief announced by the Chancellor in July’s Budget.’[1]

‘Ultimately, the people who suffer will be those who have almost no option other than the private rented sector for a home and yet find that they are unable to rely on their local council for the support to which they are entitled,’ Lambert concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/over-half-of-tenants-affected-by-council-beneift-delay.html

 

 

Rightmove CEO Earns Over £7m after Cashing in Shares

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 2:22 pm

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CEO of property portal Rightmove, Nick McKittrick, has earned millions of pounds after selling shares in the firm he developed.

Rightmove’s COO, Peter Brookes-Johnson, also cashed in by selling shares, which were awarded at nil cost, similarly to McKittrick’s.

Rightmove CEO Earns Over £7m after Cashing in Shares

Rightmove CEO Earns Over £7m after Cashing in Shares

McKittrick raised £7.4m after exercising his right on Friday to obtain performance shares awarded over the past few years. He sold the shares at an average price of £37.39 per share.

He retains a stake of £5.2m, or 141,027 shares, and sits on options and other bonus stock worth a potential £14m.

McKittrick, 47, was one of the co-founding executives in Rightmove, alongside Ed Williams.

He was appointed to the board in 2004 and became CEO in April 2013, after Williams departed.

Brookes-Johnson also exercised his right to sell shares, but still holds 37,664 shares, plus other options.

He joined the portal in 2006 and became COO in 2013, after being the managing director since 2011 and head of estate agency business since 2008.

Rightmove recently announced the latest in its programme of buying its own shares. It bought 14,000 at an average price of £37.16.

Rightmove has bought 33.3m of its own shares since revealing it’s buy-back strategy on 28th December 2007.

Rightmove was launched in 2000, the brainchild of Harry Hill, the then chief executive of Countrywide. It was owned by the four main corporate firms of that time: Countrywide, Connells, Halifax and Royal & SunAlliance.

It was originally free to agents, but began charging in 2002.

In 2006, it floated on the stock market with a valuation of £425m.

Last week, Rightmove, which made £70.3m profit in the first half of the year, was worth £3.6 billion.

 

OnTheMarket Boss Says Portal Creates More Choice

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 1:20 pm

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OnTheMarket’s chief executive, Ian Springett, argues that the property portal is pro-competition.

He dismisses claims of cartel behaviour, saying: “The disruptive influence and service of OnTheMarket are positive pro-competitive.

OnTheMarket Boss Says Portal Creates More Choice

OnTheMarket Boss Says Portal Creates More Choice

“With our launch, our members have created more choice for consumers and agents alike and are pursuing a longer-term strategy to prevent an unhealthy dominance and control of the portals market by just two firms.

“These two firms generate super profits on the back of the data provided by traditional estate agents and provide the essential platform on which an ever-growing number of online-only agents depend.”

Springett insists that the portal is here to stay, whatever the critics say. He identifies Russell Quirk and Zoopla as being the most vocal opponents.

He continues: “It is now nearly eight months since OnTheMarket.com was launched – 230 days to be precise – and in that time we have delivered rising traffic levels month-on-month and an increasing volume of quality leads for our member agents.

“Support for OnTheMarket is snowballing in terms of agent membership and property listings. Naturally, these impressive successes, which have already helped us to disrupt and transform the landscape of the portals market, have attracted the most relentless and strident criticism from those who would prefer the business to fail.

“Online-only agent Russell Quirk and Zoopla Property Group – which lost almost a quarter of its agents between the end of September 2014 and March 2015 – remain the most consistently vocal detractors.

“Given the scale of Zoopla’s losses of agent members and property listings and given the fact that Mr. Quirk’s agency is excluded from joining OnTheMarket, this remains unsurprising.”1 

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/onthemarket-is-pro-competition-and-creating-more-choice-says-portal-boss/

Greatest number of empty homes in the North

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 1:01 pm

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Categories: Property News

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A new investigation by a national campaigning charity has given an insight into the regions with the greatest number of long-term empty homes in the UK.

Data from the research conducted by Empty Homes indicates that the largest number of these types of property (those that have been empty for six months or more) is in the North East of England.

Void periods

Empty Homes, with support from Aldermore, looked at the reasons behind this, including empty homes and deprivation, alongside issues in communities, such as poor housing in the private rental sector.

The report calls on the Government to bring back dedicated funding for local authority areas with large concentrations of empty properties, to enable to bring more homes back into use. In addition, Empty Homes suggests that the Government should assist in the creation of 20,000 affordable homes from long-term empty dwellings by 2020. The charity estimates that this will set the Government back around £450m over five years.

Utilising Government figures, the report shows that 0.88% of the country’s housing stock is listed as long-term empty. The North East has the largest proportion of regional stock classed as long-term empty, with 1.34%. This was followed by the North West (1.27%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (1.15%).[1]

London was found to have the lowest percentage of long-term empty homes, with just 0.6%.

Continuing problems

Results from the investigation show that there are still substantial levels of long-term empty properties in areas that were formerly Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder areas. These areas ran up until 2010, when they were replaced with the coalition Government’s, ‘Cluster of Empty Homes Fund,’ which set aside £60m to attempt to tackle the worst concentrations of unoccupied properties.

With the lack of empty homes funding, which was halted in March of this year, there is concern that attempts to create affordable homes form long-term empty properties will suffer in the face of new build schemes.

According to the research, 78% of British voters believe the Government should place a larger emphasis on tackling the problem of empty homes. 36% said that these types of property blighted their local community.[1]

Greatest number of empty homes in the North

Greatest number of empty homes in the North

 

Priced out

‘With so many people priced out of decent housing across England, there is an imperative to make the most of the empty homes we have in all parts of England, alongside building new homes that are within the reach of people on low to ordinary incomes,’ said Helen Williams, CEO of the Empty Homes Charity.[1]

Charles Haresnape, Group Managing Director of Mortgages at Aldermore Bank, agrees that, ‘the lack of housing supply is the biggest challenge facing the housing market today.’ He says that, ‘until 1990, the number of homes built every year was over 200,000, but the total has only exceeded that level in four years since, during the period between 2004 and 2007.’[1]

‘To meet current demand we need to take a two-pronged approach; refurbishing empty homes and bringing them back into use, combined with building new homes,’ Haresnape added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/largest-amount-of-long-term-empty-homes-are-in-the-north.html

 

 

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 12:21 pm

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A leading estate agent boss has said that the public should learn to love estate agents.

Ed Mead, the executive director of London agency Douglas & Gordon says that people blame estate agents for any problems with buying or selling their homes.

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

He asks that when property dreams don’t become a reality, who else do people have to blame?

Mead explains: “Given the absurdity of our property-buying system, the cheapest in the developed world and one the Government refuses to regulate in even the most basic way, there are plenty of weak links where those who could face blame enjoy hiding behind the estate agent.

“Most of the public erroneously think that, once an offer has been accepted on a UK property, it is sold – it’s not. Until contracts have been exchanged, anyone can pull out of a deal – buyer or seller – and 35% of people do. That’s a lot of heartache, and lost money.”

Mead argues that if a buyer pulls out, as the deal is taking too long, it could be for a number of reasons and none the fault of the agent.

He says: “The solicitors could be slow but it’s much easier to blame the agent rather than a lawyer.”

It is neither the agent’s fault if there is gazumping or gazundering.

Mead continues: “There is one very good reason why you should love your agent. Very few property dreams come true without one. It may surprise you, but only 20% or so of the work an agent does goes into advertising your property or putting details on one of the massive property portals.

“80% is reserved for the bit that cajoles, begs, drives, counsels, buys, kicks, obsesses over and finesses all the elements mentioned above. Given we are the undertakers, the last involved, we very rarely get any thanks.”1

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/its-time-to-love-estate-agents-public-are-told/

 

Estate agent slams trading standards CPR

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 11:45 am

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A high street estate agent has slammed the newest communication to the industry on Consumer Protection Regulations, branding it as a, ‘complete mess,’ and, ‘nothing short of ridiculous.’

Criticism

Jonathan Newell, director of SalesBoards Estate Agents in Exeter, believes that his company’s situation shows the extent of the issues with the publication. ‘We pride ourselves on being open and honest with our fees, but the new legislation now states that our fees have to be advertised inclusive of VAT,’ he said.[1]

‘Since VAT was introduced in 1973, agents fees have always been quoted exclusive of VAT and that is what the public have become used to. So our usual fee of 1.25% plus VAT now has to be advertised at 1.5% including VAT, which in my mind makes a very competitive fee sound no better than typical,’ he added.[1]

Estate agent slams trading standards CPR

Estate agent slams trading standards CPR

Avoidance

Mr Newell went on to say that SalesBoards, like many other firms, has decided to try and dispel any confusion by removing any reference to fees from its adverts and publications.

He noted that, ‘a quick browse of last week’s local newspaper revealed that only one out of 23 agents included details of their fees in their adverts.’[1]

‘Given that the Consumer Protection Regulations are supposed to make things better rather than worse for the consumer, it seems they may have fallen short of achieving their intended goal,’ Newell concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/agent-says-trading-standards-cpr-guidance-is-a-complete-mess