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Em

Em Morley

Most Expensive Property This Year Has Sold

Published On: July 27, 2015 at 8:51 am

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Categories: Property News

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A luxury penthouse in South Audley Street, Mayfair, has sold for the highest price achieved so far this year in London, after it was bought for £7,000 per square foot.

This price has only been beaten by a few sales in Knightsbridge between 2013 and 2014. It is believed that the penthouse sold for around £26m.

The home, at 77 Mayfair, is one of six other apartments that have all sold off-plan in the last seven months, totalling £100m in separate deals.

High-end developer Luxlo confirmed the exchanges, saying the average price per square foot for all six apartments was £5,500. This is a record for Mayfair.

To anyone hoping for a look inside the property, there are no internal images available. It is known that the penthouse comes with parking spaces and servant quarters downstairs. It has two floors, three bedroom suites, a roof terrace and cinema room.

The new block will be completed in 2016 and is located alongside Hyde Park, overlooking the Dorchester Hotel. It has underground parking and a luxury spa operated by the 24-hour concierge service of Harrods.

Clarges Mayfair was the last luxury apartment building to trigger a debate over the price of housing in central London. The complex was built by leading property group, British Land.

The average price per square foot achieved by this development was over £5,000. The penthouse allegedly sold for close to £7,000 per square foot.

Just last week, an office-to-residential conversion on Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, sold for £90m, around £4,285 square foot. It was said to be the deal of the year, until it was beaten by 77 Mayfair.

Apartments in the area often achieve a higher price than houses.

A partner at Knight Frank, Richard Cutt, comments: “Due to the proliferation of listed buildings in Mayfair, new build developments are a real rarity.”1

Knight Frank and Wetherell were joint agents on the sale.

1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11758870/Exclusive-Luxury-penthouse-snapped-up-in-the-record-property-deal-of-the-year.html

What You Can Rent for Under £1,000 a Month Around the World

Published On: July 25, 2015 at 10:00 am

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The average rent price in London has now reached £1,500. It is no secret that private tenants in the UK are hit with spiralling rents, with little opportunity to get onto the property ladder.

Supposing that a renter is looking for very basic accommodation in London, this studio flat in Kensington can be let for £997 per month. But what would this rent (or less) get you in other parts of the world?

 

London, England: £997

Location: High Street Kensington

Specifications: Studio flat with bed, kitchen and toilet

Positives: Pleasant entrance hall

Paris, France: £854, €1,220

Location: 13th arrondissement

Specifications: 40 square metres of space, kitchen, toilet and shower room

Positives: Good for couples

 

Berlin, Germany: £875, €1,250

Location: Rosenthaler Platz

Specifications: Loft apartment with one bedroom and one bathroom

Positives: Plenty of space

 

Kathmandu, Nepal: £945, 150,000 Nepalese Rupees

Location: Sunakothi, Lalitpur

Specifications: House with four bedrooms and five bathrooms

Positives: Separate servant quarters, landscaped garden and swimming pool

 

Mumbai, India: £947, 94,000 Indian Rupees

Location: Poonam Nagar

Specifications: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms

Positives: Gym, swimming pool, jogging track and clubhouse

 

New York City, USA: £912, $1,425

Location: Prospect Park South, Brooklyn

Specifications: One-room apartment

Positives: Tenants can keep pets

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina: £947, 13,580 Argentinian Pesos

Location: Palermo Hollywood

Specifications: One bedroom, 1.5 bathrooms

Positives: Pool, gym and walk-in wardrobe

 

Shanghai, China: £597, 8,564 Chinese Yuan

Location: Xuhui district

Specifications: One bedroom, one bathroom

Positives: The flat has a Jacuzzi

 

Sydney, Australia: £920, 1,940 Australian Dollars

Location: Sydney’s central business district

Specifications: One bedroom, one bathroom

Positives: There’s space for a washing machine!

 

Moscow, Russia: £953, 85,000 Russian Rubles

Location: Aeroport district

Specifications: One-bedroom studio apartment, built-in stereo and large bathroom with sauna and bidet

Positives: The owner describes it as an LCD Airbus

 

Los Angeles, USA: £968, $1,512

Location: Downtown

Specifications: Studio apartment, one bathroom and a rooftop swimming pool

Positives: Grand chandelier in bedroom

 

Tokyo, Japan: £957, 185,000 Japanese Yen

Location: Suginami

Specifications: Three bedrooms and a living/dining/kitchen area

Positives: Hammock included

 

Nairobi, Kenya: £949, 150,000 Kenyan Shillings

Location: Westlands

Specifications: Two bedrooms, open-plan kitchen and great views

Positives: Two waterfalls in the complex

 

Cairo, Egypt: £788, 9,648 Egyptian Pounds

Location: 200 metres from the pyramids

Specifications: Four bedrooms, one bathroom and air conditioning

Positives: Great view of the pyramids

 

Cape Town, South Africa: £776, 15,000 South African Rand

Location: Sea Point

Specifications: Two bedrooms, one bathroom

Positives: Close to the sea

 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: £625, 3,107 Brazilian Real

Location: Santa Teresa

Specifications: Two bedrooms, one bathroom and a hammock

Positives: Located within an artistic neighbourhood

 

 

 

 

 

Aldermore Updates BTL Mortgages

Published On: July 24, 2015 at 4:51 pm

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Aldermore has updated its whole range of buy-to-let mortgages, launching new standard and specialist products for simple and complex cases.

The products are aimed at all types of brokers and landlords, including limited companies.

Aldermore Updates BTL Mortgages

Aldermore Updates BTL Mortgages

The main aim of the overhaul is to put Aldermore’s residential and commercial buy-to-let products under one scheme. Now residential mortgage brokers and landlords will have access to a wider range of products, from the standard selection for individuals with one property, to the specialist collection for limited companies, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and multi-freeholds.

Likewise, commercial mortgage brokers and landlords can now benefit from the standard range, including two, three and five-year fixed rates from 4.18%. The maximum loan-to-value (LTV) available is now 80%, up from 75%. These deals were previously unavailable to commercial mortgage consumers.

The specialist selection allows residential mortgage customers to access a different range of products, aimed at more complex cases. These include two, three and five-year fixes from 5.18% and variable rates from 4.93%.

A recent study by Aldermore revealed that 84% of intermediaries believe that lenders should be more innovative in an effort to meet the varied needs of landlords.

In the survey of 323 intermediaries, Aldermore found that 63% of respondents think that landlords are faced with too many restrictions from lenders.

Additionally, 29% of intermediaries said that lenders seem reluctant to lend to landlords and 53% believe that lenders don’t do enough to support the needs of the changing buy-to-let sector.

Group Managing Director of Mortgages at Aldermore, Charles Haresnape, comments: “The revamp we have introduced today across our entire buy-to-let mortgage range clearly demonstrates our commitment to the buy-to-let market and shows we will not sit still.

“Our new range covers the full and broad spectrum of buy-to-let, from the simple to complex, catering for all types of broker and landlord, including those companies that own buy-to-let property, which is a feature that may be more attractive to some borrowers post the recent Budget changes.

“These changes have been introduced in response to feedback from our broker and landlord customers. As a relatively new entrant to the banking sector, it is imperative that we listen to our customers’ needs and we are constantly looking at ways to innovate and evolve.”1 

1 https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/7/aldermore-revamps-btl-mortgage-range

Mortgage approvals up by 8%

Published On: July 24, 2015 at 4:29 pm

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Categories: Finance News

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Latest figures suggest that high-street banks have seen a yearly increase in the number of mortgage approvals.

BBA’s figures for high-street banks indicate that year-on-year, approvals have risen by around 8%. In addition, remortgaging was 20% higher, suggesting borrowers are keen to secure current fixed-rate deals and gain more certainty for the short-term future.[1]

Pick-up

Data also shows that gross mortgage borrowing hit £11.5bn in June, which was 6% higher than at the same stage one year ago. Also, after a slow up in demand during the second half of 2014, overall mortgage stock is 1.1% higher than the same period last year.[1]

Richard Woolhouse, Chief Economist at the BBA noted, ‘the housing market is beginning to hot up again, as we’ve seen a pick-up in the number of mortgage approvals for the last month. Interestingly, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of people remortgaging, which could be down to savvy borrowers taking advantage of competitive deals on fixed mortgages ahead of a possible rise in interest rates.’[1]

Brian Murphy. Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, commented, ‘a substantial leap in mortgage approvals this June suggest the housing market has once again stepped up a gear, building on the steady growth over the previous three months.’ Murphy believes despite the restrictive housing supply, ‘record low interest rates are helping to ease affordability concerns for those borrowers who can stump up enough money for a deposit.’[1]

‘As a result, lower earners are increasingly active in the purchase market and can borrow with the confidence that their finances are being thoroughly stress tested against the prospect of higher rates in future,’ Murphy added.[1]

Mortgage approvals up by 8%

Mortgage approvals up by 8%

Confidence

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients believes, ‘with the general election finally out of the way, strong lending figures demonstrate that confidence in the housing market continues to improve.’ Harris warns however, ‘the real growth in lending has been on the remortgaging side, with borrowers keen to snap up a cheap fixed-mortgage. With Mark Carney’s recent comments about a potential rate rise at the turn of the year, we expect to see significant growth in the number of people remortgaging in coming months.’[1]

‘While more people are enquiring about remortgaging, there are many who will sit on their hands and wait until interest rates actually start to rise. Anecdotally, the first rate rise is the trigger point for many people remortgaging but it may even be the second or third increase, as that is when there is a significant impact on a household’s expenditure and people then remortgage to ‘save’ money. However, by then the best fixed rates will have long gone,’ Harris concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/mortgage-approvals-rise-8.html

 

New Government-Approved Guides for Agents

Published On: July 24, 2015 at 4:03 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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Online guides for estate and letting agents have been published on a new Government-backed website, business.companion.info.

The website states that the advice has been written by expert contributors under the guidance of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

However, some agents may not agree with all of the advice, particularly that regarding Consumer Protection Regulations (CPRs).

One guide says that if a property has an unpleasant view on one side, then agents may not need to mention it.

New Government-Approved Guides for Agents

New Government-Approved Guides for Agents

It reads: “If a house has open fields on three sides and a builder’s yard or nightclub on the fourth, the safest option is not to refer to the outlook.

“If you said that it was surrounded by views across open fields, you would mislead unless you made equal reference to the view on the fourth side.”

However, the guide then seems to contradict itself, continuing: “If the fourth side was of such importance to a consumer that it could affect his decision to buy, it may be a misleading omission not to mention it.”

Mike Day, a compliance expert, gives his view: “It looks as if someone has taken advice that would have been appropriate under the old Property Misdescriptions Act (PMA), whereby effectively only statements made were covered and has applied that.

“Basically, under the PMA, provided your statement was factual and didn’t imply something else, no problem. The CPRs, however, go much further and an omission is an offence if felt to be misleading.

“My basic approach to this is to ask oneself, if the information given, or not given, would affect your decision to transact (view, offer, buy, etc.), then it should be disclosed.”

Day concludes: “While there is still a degree of subjectivity, I think the average consumer (as described in the Regulations) would see living next door to a nightclub as something they would want to know about.”1 

The guides also advise agents that “new instructions” should be listed as such, “for only a short period (we would suggest a month)”.

The guides detail what, where and how agents sell.

They also cover the new Consumer Rights Act, due to be implemented on 1st October, which includes rules regarding digital content.

Further subjects included in the guides include:

  • Property descriptions
  • Displaying fees
  • Safety of rental properties
  • Consumer contracts, pricing and the sale and supply of goods
  • Information on when to offer a refund, repair or replacement
  • Aggressive selling, misleading descriptions and advertising
  • Use of membership logos, online reviews and endorsements
  • Alternative dispute resolutions

The estate agent guides can be found here: http://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/services/estate-agents-property-descriptions

The guide for letting agents is here: http://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/services/letting-agents-display-of-fees

Missed phone bills to cost mortgage?

Published On: July 24, 2015 at 3:15 pm

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A new report suggests that late or missed payments on a mobile phone bills could come back to haunt would-be homeowners looking to secure a mortgage for a new home.

Research conducted by loan, mortgage and credit card provider Ocean Finance shows that nearly four million people have missed or deferred their mobile phone payments.

Assessment

More and more lenders are conducting stricter affordability checks on all mortgage applicants, impacting the amount people can borrow and the length of time applications can take.

When quizzed about why they missed or delayed payments, half of consumers said that their bills were unexpectedly high. A third of respondents said that they delayed paying their bill as they had to prioritise other payments.

Data from the report shows that those in the 18-24 year old category were most likely to have problems with paying their phone bills, with almost 25% admitting to late payments.[1]

Missed phone bills to cost mortgage?

Missed phone bills to cost mortgage?

‘Mobile phone contracts are a form of unsecured credit and having as little as one late payment in the past three years can dramatically affect people’s chances of getting a mortgage,’ commented Gareth Shilton of Ocean Finance.[1]

‘Lenders are now scrutinising every detail of an applicant’s finances, stress-testing their ability to manage a budget and withstand potential interest rate increases. If you plan to apply for credit, make sure you tidy-up your bank statement in advance. Put in place direct debits and set aside the money to pay them, and then cut back on unnecessary spending. It’s crucial to get ‘mortgage fit’ or you may risk losing a house you’ve set your heart on,’ Shilton concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/could-missed-mobile-phone-payments-cost-you-your-dream-home.html