Page 915 – Property118

Topsy-turvy House Prices Rise and Fall at the Same Time

26th August 2011

The topsy-turvy housing market has produced another crop of confusing statistics this month. The latest house price data from the Land Registry shows average house prices went up 1.3% from June to July but down 2.1% compared with home values in July 2010. The average house price in England and Wales is now £163,049. London […]

Minister Plans to Slash Small Company Accounts Red-tape

25th August 2011

Property investors running small companies could benefit from government plans to cut red-tape. Many property people run their buy to let or buy to sell businesses through limited companies – and some have other business interests with a corporate structure as well. The government plans to slash record keeping costs for around five million firms […]

Landlords Feel Good About Buy to Let Prospects

25th August 2011

Landlords are feeling good about the prospects of their letting businesses, according to a new survey. Around two-thirds of landlords rate their likely trading over the next three months as ‘very good’ or ‘good’, according to research by the National Landlords Association (NLA). The sentiment survey asked 600 landlords their opinion about the private rented […]

Good Local Schools Can Put House Prices up by £12,000

24th August 2011

Parents are willing to pay more money to buy or rent a property in a good school catchment area, according to new research. Around a third of buyers and renters with children aged 10 or less rate moving in to a good catchment area as a priority.

Secret Home Sharers Can Run up Fines for Landlords

24th August 2011

Sharing digs is booming in popularity as young home-seekers are failing to raise mortgages to buy properties of their own. In just a year, the number of flat sharers has mushroomed by 100,000 – up from 2.749 million a year ago to 2.85 million in 2011. The findings, from property web site easyroommate.co.uk also revealed […]

Want to Splash Out a Little?

24th August 2011

Every landlord wants to maximise their rental. Whatever the circumstances, when people rent it’s not just the number of bedrooms, fitted kitchen and access to train station that are important to them. It’s the all important lifestyle.

Limited Options for Corporate Buy to Let Loans

23rd August 2011

As the largest buy to let lender pulls out of the corporate buy to let market, landlords with companies now have limited options for borrowing. The Mortgage Works – the specialist buy to let lending arm of The Nationwide – was one of a declining number of lenders willing to take on lending to property […]

Buy to Let Clubs Blamed for Ripping Off Landlords

23rd August 2011

Buy to let property clubs that rip off landlords are blamed for rising rental home repossessions. The clubs ran relentless marketing campaigns during the peak of the housing bubble aimed at persuading property investors to part with their cash on homes advertising rent returns and valuations that were close to fraudulent. Since the credit crunch, […]

Parking Problems and Neighbours who ‘Own’ the Road

23rd August 2011

Buy to let tenants parking in the streets near their home can spark huge rows with neighbours who think they ‘own’ the roads outside their homes. Many rented homes come with inadequate parking – or a free-for-all to find a space on the road nearby. Research findings have revealed 44% of home owners believe they […]

Money Men Predict Surge in Buy to Let

23rd August 2011

The case for investing in buy to let is moving into sharper perspective as financial firms with a vested interest in selling to landlords disclose their business insights into the sectors. For landlords thinking about the future of the rental businesses and the prospects of expanding, it looks rosy. The latest private rented sector statistics […]

Mark Alexander, founder of Property118.com

How Free Tenant Referencing Businesses Are Influencing Landlords Strategies

19th August 2011

Mark Alexander, Property118 founder and landlord since 1989 is updating his lettings strategy to utilise two free tenant referencing services to protect his properties from bad tenants. While tenants on the whole will rent without any problems and leave the property in the state they signed for, sadly there are always going to be a […]

Ministers Rule Out Regulation for Letting Agents

19th August 2011

Calls for regulating letting agents have met with a clear message from the government that it’s up to the businesses to clear up their own sector. Letting agent organisations like the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) have pushed for a long time for a tightening of the rules governing how letting agents handle client […]

Buy to Let Rents Up for the Sixth Month in a Row

19th August 2011

Buy to let rents are still rising and are unlikely to stop any time soon despite hitting a record high after increasing for the sixth month in a row. The average private rented home in England and Wales costs a tenant £705 a month – according to LSL Property Services, the UK’s biggest letting agent […]

Mortgage Lending Slumps Again

18th August 2011

Remortgaging is keeping the mortgage market ticking over as lending figures for July slumped again. Gross mortgage lending for the month was £12.6 billion, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders, speaking for Britain’s top banks and building societies. The figure was a 1% from June – but 6% down on July 2010, which was also […]

Landlords Warned Over ID Theft as Tenant steals £10,000

18th August 2011

Landlords who let homes they have previously lived in are urged to tidy up their finances and redirect mail before they leave to prevent identity theft. The warning came from a judge after a tenant faced a court charged with fraud and theft after a landlord stumbled across a demand from a credit card company […]

subsidence crack in brick wall

Tenants Trashed Home as Landlord Waited for Eviction

18th August 2011

The plight of a landlord who had a buy to let home trashed by tenants who faced eviction for failing to pay the rent has highlighted the unfairness of proposed new laws. Housing minister Grant Shapps is readying new powers for social housing groups to fast track evictions – but these will not include private […]

Buy to Let Demand Shows Signs of Slowing

18th August 2011

Tenant demand for buy to let homes is showing some signs of peaking, according to the latest figures from one of the UK’s leading letting agents. Although rental property viewings were up for four months in a row in July – by 6% – the year-on-year figure was 2.8% down on July 2010. Tenants signing […]

More Britons are on the Move, as More Move In

17th August 2011

The UK is seeing a rising number of people uprooting to France while at the same time seeing more relocating to here, according to two relocation companies. MyFrenchHouse.com has seen a rise in business for relocations and self-sufficiency, a marked shift from the holiday home getaway they are used to. Conversely, furniture solutions provider Fully […]

Bank of England emblem symbolising decision to hold the Base Rate at 5%

Bank of England Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions August 2011

17th August 2011

Bank of England have released their Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions for August, and they have found a ‘subdued’ housing market except for in London. Again confirming the numerous surveys published each month. Read and download the Bank of England Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions August 2011 What do you think of their findings?