Agents Say Landlords Are Unprepared for TDS

In last weeks' FT, Sharlene Goff reported widespread confusion among landlords about the tenancy deposit schemes (TDS)
And it seems that the key information on the scheme is coming out rather late in the day.
Follow the link below to this useful article (though please note that landlords who are not in a scheme can STILL evict if the tenant is in serious arrears - they will only be stopped from evicting on "notice only" grounds)
Keep in mind too that the new rules only applies to NEW assured SHORTHOLD tenancies incepted on or after 6th April.
It does NOT apply to assured tenancies and the new rules on TDS do not apply at all (yet) in Scotland and N. Ireland.
Of course, those thinking of going for an assured tenancy instead of an assured shorthold should think carefully, becuase you can't evict on "notice only" grounds with an assured tenancy - you would have to wait for the tenant to be in arrears.
Here is the link to the article
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fe6d333e-ef55-11db-a64e-000b5df10621,_i_rssPage=d89d6328-51da-11da-9ca0-0000779e2340.html
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007 Back to main site www.lettingfocus.com

Why Tinkering with Pensions is Driving More People to Buy to Let

I see Sara Beeney was in the London Evening Standard yesterday saying that London house prices are due to fall heavily.
I agree, but I don’t think the fall will be too heavy – however after a recent strong rise, a pause for breath is well overdue in the capital.But remember house price growth is very patchy and prices in many areas of the North and Midlands have fallen over the last 6 months.
The fact is that national house price stats have been skewed by massive rises in posh parts of London (driven by an unholy mixture of city money and the ill gotten gains from non UK domiciled overseas nationals attracted by our very lax tax regime)
Northern Ireland has also done well for reasons of “catch up” and a delayed impact of the peace dividend.
However, whether house prices rise or fall, in the long run this country is becoming more divided between rich and poor – and between house owners and tenants.
I predicted last year at the Property Investor Show that by 2026 half of all properties will be rented or second homes -and I still believe it.
That prediction got me a lot of press - and some stick, but let’s see shall we.I see one big lender has recently made a similar prediction.
If it happens, this will take us back to a mix of home tenure not seen in the UK since the late 1940s because without any change in the tax regime, buy to let will definitely continue to grow as a proportion of the housing stock.
Of course, Gordon Brown and the big cheeses at companies who make the decisions on company pension funds are doing their best to make traditional pension fund investment more unpopular than ever (and hence driving more people to buy to let).
And half the time, the poor pension saver doesn’t even notice what’s happening.
After all, there has only recently been a big storm about GB’s decision 10 years ago on the pension tax credit.But there is more too - if you have a traditional pension I would strongly urge you to read Rob Budden’s excellent piece in last Saturday’s FT. It’s an eye opener that few people who are toiling away and putting money in their pension will be aware of!http://www.ft.com/cms/s/13d3413c-ef56-11db-a64e-000b5df10621.htmlBack to main site www.lettingfocus.com

Buying Agent and Estate Agent - A Potentially Incestuous Relationship?

Good buying (or property finding) agents should know their patch well and they will have bought quite a lot of property in the area for their own account and / or for other buyers.
The property finders work for their clients to find properties for them.
They take the hassle out of the search process and should get good prices from agents and other sellers by using their buying power and knowledge of the market.
The fees they charge to their clients will involve an up front registration fee and a final finders fee.
The finders’ fee may be based upon say doing a detailed report on 15 properties for which a fee of upwards of £2,000 will be charged. Alternatively, the fee will be based on the price of the property purchased - 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent is normal. All these charges will generally have VAT on top and the registration fee will be at least £500 plus VAT, which is normally deducted from the final fee.
And for the estate agent, the existence of buying agents makes their job that much easier.
A property comes up where the estate agent knows he has a buying agent waiting for exactly that kind of property for a client.
The estate agent knows the property can be sold easily with a minimum of aggravation. Indeed, to make sure he gets the business from other estate agents, the estate agent will make it known to the vendor that he has a buyer just waiting to snap up the property.
In these circumstances, if the estate agent is up against other estate agents, he may well be confident enough to reduce his commission to get the business, because after all, he won’t have the usual marketing expenses to incur on this sale. The buying agent will insist that the property is taken off the market - and the vendor will normally agree to this.
The danger is that the relationship between the two sets of agent becomes too incestuous and the vendor loses out or, in the worst case, both the buyer and seller get "ringed" with the agents pocketing commission for doing a duff job.

Look at Cheap Coastal Towns

Right now, there are ten seaside towns where house prices are at a discount of more than £50,000 to the average house price in their region -and all ten are on the East coast.
The discount is the highest in Margate where according to the Halifax the average house price (in 2006) of £144,300 is at a discount of an incredible £86,361 to the average house price in the South East.
Okay, the South East is an expensive region and Margate does still have some way to go to recapture past glories, but that is quite a big discount.
In fact all the seaside towns that are at the biggest discounts to their regions are all in Kent, Essex and Sussex.
This will change soon due to three key drivers.
The growth of second homes
More “creative types” who can work form anywhere – they have moved to attractive rural and seaside locations for a better quality of life.
Regeneration of some seaside towns / improved transport links in others
Price acceleration of seaside towns will push property prices on the coasts.
As the wealthy continue to roll out their wealth to second homes in attractive seaside towns -as they have already done in South Devon – attractive south eastern coastal towns will see good capital gains. Back to main site: http://www.lettingfocus.com/
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007