Posts with tag: Buy-to-Let

Many tenants living in slum-like conditions: Shelter

Published On: May 16, 2017 at 11:19 am

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,Shelter,tenants

An extremely concerning new report conducted from housing charity Shelter has revealed that hundreds of tenants are living in slum-like conditions.

The charity suggests that many renters are being plagued by damp, mould, infestations and electrical faults within their rental accommodation.

Concerns

In order to compile the report, Shelter, alongside You Gov, took statements from 300 tenants across large urban regions.

31% of these tenants expressed their concerns over damp and mould. 16% said that they had faulty electricity within their rental property.

One particular respondent claimed that the damp in his accommodation caused damage to his clothing.

He said: ‘I have been living in awful conditions in this flat. There’s a lot of mould on the walls and all over the furniture. I’ve had to throw away my clothes and go to the doctors because I’ve been ill with chest infections from breathing in the mould.’[1]

Many tenants living in slum-like conditions: Shelter

Damp Issues

It is imperative for landlords and tenants like to be aware of the risks that damp brings. There are a number of residential damp elimination and preventative measures that can be taken in order to eliminate these risks.

Stuart Cavanagh, Head of HR at Novus Property Solutions, believes tenants should become more informed on the dangers of damp and how to protect their rental properties.

Mr Cavanagh, addressing tenants, said: ‘The majority of renters are fortunate enough to have helpful, professional landlords who will see to complaints immediately. These are principles, however, that not all landlords work by. In such cases, it sadly falls onto the tenant to make better preparations and understand how to protect the property. In the long-run, being better informed will not only help you appeal to your landlord, it will also prepare you for future renting and dealings with landlords in general.’[1]

‘The health risks are very real, with children and those suffering respiratory ailments most susceptible – an informed approach is the best preventative measure. Know what to look for, and take action accordingly.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/shelter-a-third-of-uk-tenants-living-in-slum-like-conditions.html

Buy-to-let landlords contribute £15.9bn per year to British economy

Published On: May 15, 2017 at 3:55 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,rents,UK economy

A revealing new report has shown that buy-to-let landlords presently contribute £15.9bn per year to the UK economy through pre-tax spending on running their portfolios.

This is more than double the forecasted £7.1bn in 2007 and is a direct result of the significant growth of the private rental sector and the cost of acquiring property.

Tax

Further analysis of the report from Kent Reliance shows that 36% of landlords questioned are looking to cut-back on their yearly spending. It is feared that this could reduce overall spending by over £500m- a real blow to tradesman and professionals that support the industry.

17% of landlords said that they would cut down on property upkeep in order to cut costs, followed by 10% who said they would cut letting agent fees and mortgage costs.

These landlords feel they will cut spending on letting agent fees by 28%, servicing by 21% and mortgage costs by 15%.

Fees

The cost of property upkeep, maintenance and servicing was found to be the largest outlay for landlords at a combined total of £5.5bn.

Landlords commutatively spend £2bn on service charges and ground rent, £963 on insurance, £904 on utilities and £1.1bn on associated costs.

Letting agents’ fees came to £4.7bn each year, with £644m spent on legal and accountancy fees.

Buy-to-let landlords contribute £15.9bn per year to British economy

Vital

John Eastgate, sales and marketing director of OneSavings Bank, noted: ‘Landlords may seem like an easy target for political point scoring, but they play a vital role in the economy. Not only do they house a huge proportion of the country’s workforce, bridging the housing demand and supply gap, their spending supports thousands of jobs – whether builders, cleaners, lawyers and accountants or letting agents.’[1]

‘Trying to tackle the housing crisis by targeting landlords with punitive taxes is very simple and politically highly palatable, but has unintended consequences. Either it means less work for all those who support the property industry, or it means tenants will have to foot the bill for the government’s tax raid, or both,’ he continued.[1]

Concluding, Mr Eastgate said: ‘One side effect of the recent changes, and rising running costs, will be the professionalisation of the sector as amateur and accidental landlords leave the market. There is nothing wrong with having fewer, bigger landlords, but that alone will not help more young people get homes.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/buy-to-let-landlords-contribute-15-9bn-a-year-to-uk-economy-study-finds

Buy-to-let rates beginning to rise

Published On: May 9, 2017 at 10:00 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: buy to let mortgages,Buy-to-Let,mortgage rates,rates

The most recent report from Mortgages for Business shows that buy-to-let fixed rates increased in April, for two, three and five-year terms.

In fact, only five-year fixed rates failed to return to their February averages, staying just 0.01% lower at 3.76%.

This is the first month since January that any rises have been seen in rates, for both fixed and variable products.

Falls

Three-year fixed rate terms have consistently fallen for a longer period- between April 2016 and March 2017. In this period, the typical three-year fixed rate slipped from 4.50% to 3.53%, with a new record low seen in every month from June.

Despite April bringing an increase in fixed rates, particularly for shorter terms, no visible pattern emerged among variable rate products. Five and two-year tracker rates rose by 0.02% and 0.12% respectively, but others fell.

Buy-to-let rates beginning to rise

Three-year variable rates fell by 0.02%, but term product rates slipped by 0.11%.

Steve Olejnik, COO of Mortgages for Business, commented: ‘For some time now buy-to-let mortgage lenders have been cutting rates to maintain lending volume in a sector that has been actively targeted by both the taxman and the regulator. Rates can only fall so far, however, and figures from April suggest we may have reached the limit.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/btl-rates-are-starting-to-rise.html

Rents in London fall for first time since 2009

Published On: May 8, 2017 at 8:38 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,London,London rents,rents

The most recent report from Homelet has revealed that rents in London fell for the first time since 2009 during April. This was a direct result of rental price inflation across the UK sliding to its lowest level for more than seven years.

Capital Falls

Homelet’s report found that rents in the capital were down by 1.2% in April, in comparison to the same period in 2016. This is the first time typical rents have fallen year-on-year since December 2009.

This decline in London, alongside marginal decline across the wider South-East region, drove rental price inflation down across the country as a whole.

Rents for new tenancies in Britain during April were 0.4% greater than in the same month in 2016- the lowest figure since February 2010.

This rental price inflation means that tenants signing for a new tenancy over the last month paid an average rent of £904 per month across the UK. When the greater London region is removed from the analysis, the average rent agreed falls to £754.

Rents in London fall for first time since 2009

Inflation

In addition, the data showed that areas of the country where rents are rising more quickly are those that saw less profound rental price inflation during the first six months of 2016.

Wales for example saw rents 2.2% greater in April compared to the same month last year.

Martin Totty, Chief Executive Officer at HomeLet, observed: ‘Rents have been rising at a more modest pace across the whole of the UK in recent months, with lower levels of rental price inflation and even falling rents in areas of the country where prices were previously rising most quickly. We continue to see landlords’ and letting agents weighing tenant affordability considerations very seriously.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/london-rents-are-falling-down.html

Leeds Building Society launch lowest ever five-year BTL product

Published On: April 28, 2017 at 11:50 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,buy-to-let mortgage,landlords,Leeds Building Society

Leeds Building Society has today moved to announce a new five year fixed-rate Buy-to-let mortgage at 3.10%.

This deal comes with a low £199 fee and also comes with free valuation. What’s more, fees assisted legal services are available for standard remortgages.

Market Leading

Jaedon Green, Director of Product and Distribution at Leeds Building Society, said: ‘This market-leading Buy to Let deal is available for purchase or remortgage up to 70% LTV.’[1]

‘Buy to Let remortgage activity is highest at this LTV level and landlords appear to have been acting to minimise their costs and manage profitability as the Government’s tax changes began to affect this market.’

‘Five year fixed rate products remain the choice for borrowers looking for longer-term security over their monthly repayments, making it easier to budget, which can be particularly useful when managing a privately rented property,’ he continued.[1]

Leeds Building Society launch lowest ever five-year BTL product

Alongside the new five-year fix, the Society has refreshed its wider buy-to-let range. This includes the addition of new purchase-only two-year fixed rate mortgages at 1.99%, up to 60% LTB.

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/leeds-launch-their-lowest-five-year-btl-product.html

Where are the best regions for rental growth?

Published On: April 28, 2017 at 8:39 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,landlords,rental rises,rental yields,rents

New figures from Your Move show that the average rent in England and Wales during March stood at £800, a rise of £2 in comparison to the previous month.

However, this was a fall from the £811 per month seen at the back end of 2016.

Rental Rises

The latest Your Move England & Wales Buy to Let Index shows that rents increased in six of the ten regions covered by the analysis during March, in comparison to February.

This was driven by rises in the East of England, with prices here increasing 1.6% in the last month. Now, values are 7.4% greater than in March last year.

Valerie Bannister, letting director at Your Move, noted: ‘In previous months we have seen rents in the South East rise as people looked to move beyond the capital, but it is the East of England which appears to be seeing the benefit as rents here have risen 7.4% in the last year.’[1]

Capital Slowdown

On the other hand, rents in London continue to slow. The capital saw rental decline on both a monthly and yearly basis. The average rental property in the capital let for £1,203pcm during March 2017, a fall of 6% month-on-month.

Bannister continued by saying: ‘Rents in London have declined in the last 12 months, falling from £1,297 a year ago to £1,203 in March 2017.’[1]

The capital was not the only region to experience a rental decline in the last month and year. In the North East, prices now average at £525pcm, after seeing a fall of 3.7% since February and 3.1% since March 2016. However, it remains the cheapest place to rent, according to the survey.

When are the best regions for rental growth?

Yields

In terms of yields, the average in England and Wales was 4.5% in March, a fall from the 5% seen in March last year.

Regions with greater house prices continue to have the lowest yields, therefore it is not a surprise that the average yield in London was 3.2% last month.

At the other end of the scale, properties in the North East saw the largest yields, of 5.2% in March. The North West also saw healthy yields of 5% over the same period.

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/4/where-are-rents-rising-fastest-in-england-and-wales