Posts with tag: Buy-to-Let

New flatmate finder available with a free trial for landlords

Published On: February 10, 2017 at 12:33 pm

Buy-to-let landlords in the capital are currently being invited to list available rooms for rent free of charge online via a new compatibility based site.

The platform, Idealflatmate.co.uk, was designed by Cambridge professors and is based on an algorithm similar to that found on dating websites. It works to prioritise tenant compatibility to attempt to secure longer-term relationships and tenancies.

Habits

Technology used in the algorithm, functional after the respondent has completed a 20 question survey, focuses on the living habits and sociability of users.

A study from two professors, Dr Paula Banca and Professor Mark P Haggard, found that the relevance of questions asked were of paramount importance.

Founders of Ideal Flatmate, Tom Gatzen and Rob Imonkihe, came up with the idea for the platform after being continually frustrated with the ever-changing flatmates that had found through listing websites.

Mr Gatzen said: ‘Both myself and Rob have lived in flat shares that ended up in disaster because we didn’t get along with our flatmates. We thought that there must be an easier way.’[1]

‘For landlords and agents, it’s the perfect solution as the site is free and offers a great opportunity to get more visibility in alternative areas of the market, particularly amongst tenants in search of long term relationships which ultimately facilitates longer term contracts,’ he added.[1]

New flatmate finder available with a free trial for landlords

Reducing Turnover

The founders are hopeful that the emphasis on compatibility will cut the rental turnover rates in properties.

Gatzen also noted: ‘We’ve tried to make the site as user friendly as possible, which will make it more attractive to prospective tenants as well.’[1]

Ideal Flatmate is offering the free trial for landlords and letting agents until Spring, with the platform also offering assistance in achieving their optimum websites.

Since the soft launch phase in November, Ideal Flatmate has seen over 30,000 users, 3,000 people register and more than 1,000 properties listed.

Mr Imonikhe observed: ‘We’ve had overwhelming positive feedback from letting agencies thus far. We recently heard from a letting agent who had a property listed on a well-known listing site for three weeks with no interest, he put it on our site and after two days had found a full group of tenants and a 12 month contract.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/new-flatmate-finder-launches-with-a-free-trial-for-landlords

Residential rents becoming unaffordable in some regions

Published On: February 10, 2017 at 11:23 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: annual rental growth,Buy-to-Let,rents,residential rents,White Paper

A new report has revealed that residential rents are continuing to rise across the UK, with 20 regions seeing increases of more than 3% during the last year.

Data from the most recent Landbay rental index shows that Luton saw the fastest growing rents with a rise of 6.5%. This was followed by Northamptonshire (5.1%), Peterborough (4.8%) and Edinburgh (4.6%).

Other prominent rises were evident in Medway (4.5%), Bristol (3.62%) and Nottingham (3.25%).

Average Rents

Taking the UK as a whole, the average rent is now £1,189pcm-a rise of 1.08% year-on-year and 0.06% month-on-month.

When London is taken out of the figures, typical rents cool to £750pcm, up by 1.92% and 0.12% respectively. In the capital, the average rent stands at £1,883pcm, down by 0.42% year-on-year and by 0.04% month-on-month.

By country, average rents differ. In England, the average rent stands at £1,221, up by 1.06% year-on-year and by 0.06% month-on-month. In Scotland, rents average at £721 and in Wales, £635.

The Landbay Index shows that in the 20 regions with annual rental growth of 3% or more, rents are becoming unsustainable. As such, the firm has called for the Government to prioritise affordability in these areas.

White Paper

This week’s long-awaited Housing White Paper further underlined the growing proportion of income tenants are spending on rent. Data shows that around half of tenants’ take-home pay is being given to their landlord in the form of rental payment.

Landbay’s analysis has revealed that tenants in nine out of twenty areas with the fastest growing rents are currently spending over 60% of their take-home pay on rent.

For example, a tenant in Luton presently spends an average of 68% of their disposable income on rental fees. Renters in Brighton and Hove, Bristol and Thurrock spend an average of 69%, 64% and 63% respectively.

Residential rents becoming unaffordable in some regions

Affordability

John Goodall, chief executive officer of Landbay, noted: ‘There are currently 4.3 million tenants in the private rented sector but affordability is becoming an issue across many parts of the UK. Whether tenants are renting as a stepping stone on the way to home ownership or, increasingly, renting for life, people rely on a well-served buy to let market to ensure rental growth doesn’t become unbearable.’[1]

Mr Goodall acknowledged that the White Paper has pledged to provide more affordable housing and more rental properties and believes the sector could finally be getting the investment it requires. However, he feels that the Paper failed in certain regards.

‘Further institutional investment in large scale developments, specifically designed to rent rather than buy, should go some way to professionalise the sector, improving living standards and helping control further rental growth.’[1]

‘While private rented sector schemes are already on the way in many of the areas facing the fastest pace of rental growth, the Government’s white paper missed an opportunity to highlight where in the country this type of investment is needed the most. For those in the top 20, experiencing rental growth above 3% a year, the clock is ticking,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/rents-across-uk-apart-london-rise-3-areas/

Strong end to 2016 for the rental market

Published On: February 9, 2017 at 2:09 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: average lets,Buy-to-Let,landlords,UK rents

After a turbulent year, average UK rents ended 2016 greater than they started it, according to the latest Your Move England & Wales Buy to Let Index.

The Index reveals that the average property was let for £811per month during December. In January 2016, the average rent stood at £790.

Eastern Rises

Rents rose across most regions during last year, with the East of England seeing the most prominent.

However, demand for properties in London has fallen, with more would-be renters looking outside of the capital for options. The East saw rental rises of 6.1% over the year, closely followed by the South East, where average rent has grown by 4.4% since December 2015 to hit £877 per month.

Only two regions saw average rents fall on a yearly basis during 2016. In the South West, homes let for an average of £660 per month-1.4% lower than twelve months previously.

The North East saw a less prominent fall, with prices down by 0.2% year-on-year. This region remains the cheapest place to rent a property in the whole of England and Wales, with average totals of £543 per calendar month.

At the other end of the scale, London remained the most expensive place in which to rent. The typical property in the capital commanded a rent of £1,291 in December.

Strong end to 2016 for the rental market

Strong Finish

Valerie Bannister, letting director at Your Move, noted: ‘The rental market in England and Wales has ended the year strongly, with all key indicators looking positive. Rents ended the year higher than they started in most areas, yet tenant arrears have remained broadly at the same level.’[1]

It comes as little surprise to learn that London offered the lowest rental yields. Homes in the capital returned 3.3% on investment during December.

In contrast, landlords in the North East saw the strongest yields, with the average property returning 5.3% in the same month.

Concluding, Bannister added: ‘Rents ended the year higher than they started in most areas, yet tenant arrears have remained broadly at the same level.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/rental-market-in-england-and-wales-ended-2016-strongly-latest-index-shows

Buy-to-let rates slide to record lows

Published On: February 9, 2017 at 11:52 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Finance News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,buy-to-let mortgage products,buy-to-let rates,landlords,Mortgages for Business

The most recent data released by Mortgages for Business has revealed that average buy-to-let rates for two and three year products have dropped to their lowest levels on record.

Rates for these products stand at 2.92% and 3.76% respectively.

Low Fees

However the report also shows that five-year fixed rates rose for the second month in succession, standing at an average of 3.77%, This is more than the average price of a three-year fixed rate for the first time since January 2015.

In addition, the Index found that January was a good month for short-term tracker products. Two-year buy-to-let tracker rates stayed at an average of just 2.81%-unchanged from December.

Buy-to-let rates slide to record lows

David Whittaker, CEO of Mortgages for Business, observed: ‘Longer term swaps in particular have risen in recent months, so it’s no surprise that pricing for five-year fixed rates have started to creep up. However, when looking at the bigger picture, these rates are still, on average, less than 1% more than their shorter term counterparts. As such, we continue to recommend them to customers as they not only provide a longer period of security against rate rises in an uncertain market, they can also save landlords the time and money it costs in remortgaging more often.’ [1]

‘At the very least, landlords should consider having some properties mortgaged on longer term fixes to spread risk. The fact that these rates are beginning to rise now should prompt landlords to take action sooner rather than later,’ Mr Whittaker added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/btl-rates-fall-to-record-lows.html

Confusion over timescale of letting agent fees ban

Published On: February 8, 2017 at 2:28 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News,Tenant Fees Ban

Tags: ban on agent fees,Buy-to-Let,letting agent fees,White Paper

Yesterday saw the publication of the long-awaited Housing White Paper, which included pledges on fixing the ‘broken’ housing market.

These included introducing longer tenancies and building more affordable housing for first-time buyers.

However, the Paper still remained vague on the subject of the banning of letting agents’ fees in England.

Banning of Fees

The measure to ban letting agent fees was introduced during last year’s Autumn Statement, but as yet there is little in the way of a specific timeframe for the changes to be implemented.

In the White Paper, the Government says the following on the ban:

‘Where there are concerns, these tend to focus on affordability and security. In the long term, building more homes will help with affordability, but renters often face upfront costs including fees charged by letting agents to tenants.’

‘Tenants have no control over these fees because the agent is appointed by and works for the landlord. This is wrong.’

‘The government has already introduced transparency on fees. We will consult early this year, ahead of bringing forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows, to ban letting agent fees to tenants. This will improve competition in the market and give renters greater clarity and control over what they pay.’[1]

Confusion over timescale of letting agent fees ban

Implementation

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has suggested that the timeframe for the ban on fees will follow one of two routes.

First, full consultation and primary legislation, which could take until 2018 to complete.

Alternatively, there could be, ‘curtailed consultation and secondary legislation under existing statute,’ which could be completed this year.

Uncertainty surrounding the timetable, coupled with the on-going Brexit debacle, suggests that a ban on agent fees is unlikely until next year.

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/2/letting-fees-ban-still-unlikely-to-be-introduced-until-2018

Are there millions of faulty white goods in UK rental properties?

Published On: February 6, 2017 at 4:20 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,electrical properties,landlords,white goods

New figures released by Imfuna show that fires involving faulty white goods have cost the economy over £118m over the last five years.

As such, landlords and letting agents are being warned that the lives of their tenants could be at risk should they cut corners on testing these types of goods.

Risks

Since 2011, London’s Fire Brigade have attended 2,072 white-good-related fires-amounting to nearly one fire per day.

As part of their company recall policy, home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool maintains that consumers can use their affected dryers while awaiting modification, so long as they are not left alone.

However, the Fire Brigade strongly disagrees, urging anyone with these models to unplug their machine and to stop using them immediately.

The average success rate of an electrical product recall in Britain is between 10-20%. As a result, there are millions of recalled electrical items being used in rental properties in the UK. With most of those products being recalled due to posing a serious risk of fire or shocks, they are a substantial risk.

Are there millions of faulty white goods in UK rental properties?

Legalities

Jax Kneppers, founder and CEO of Imfuna, said: ‘Many landlords provide white goods in rental properties, including fridges and freezers that are switched on 24 hours a day. Landlords and agents should check to see if their fridges and freezers have been recalled and immediately advise tenants of any issues.’[1]

‘Landlords and agents should also ensure their properties have fully working smoke alarms. Landlords are legally required to fit smoke alarms in rented homes, as well as offer protection against carbon monoxide poisoning. They are also required to check all alarms are working when a new tenancy starts – with potential penalties of up to £5,000 if they don’t comply. Thorough property reports which flag items in need of repair are an essential part of ensuring that tenants remain safe in rented accommodation and that landlords avoid paying heavy fines,’ Kneppers added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/faulty-white-goods-putting-tenants-lives-at-risk.html