Tag Archives: Property Advice

09Dec 2010

Property Landlord advice: House prices stabilise

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By Steve Roulstone

It never ceases to amaze me how the press and in particular the BBC never fail to jump on any ‘announcement’ relating to property and place a negative spin on what is being reported. Today I see a Headline which states ‘UK House prices fell in November’ on the BBC web pages as once again, it is the BBC who decide to tell the nation that housing is in decline, still! (this is not the frist time in fact this could be said to be a trend) But lets just look a little bit closer at what is actually happening?

Massive decline

Of exactly 0.1%! That is what has actually been reported by the Halifax now is that significant enough to report a decline? Firstly, house prices are always more liable to fall at this time of the year, because the winter season is always slow for house sales, as anybody in the industry is aware. But is such a small reduction worthy of such headlines? Does it not rather suggest that such a fall at this time of year, is more representative of stability in the current level of house prices? Not it seems, if you are the BBC!

Worldwide media take note!

You see, if you look at other reports on the same subject, then a more balanced approach is taken. In The Wall Street Journal report ‘UK House prices fall as demand slips’ on the same Halifax announcment (Still a negative headline but then good news never sells!) the first lines confirm that this is because of lack of demand, giving credibility to the headline they use, because they report, less owners are looking to place property on the market. This would reflect the increase in owners looking to the rental market as they seek to maximise the return from their assets, as reported by ARLA this week. They do state it is because houses cannot be sold, I would surmise that many have not even tried!

Facts behind the fiction

Only at the end of the report by the BBC do we get to some positive and supportive quotes about what is actually happening, I would suggest the damage is done by then, because most people scan the first few lines. Do this in the WSJ report and a truer picture emerges. The facts are that the Housing market is mainly flat, would expect to slow down and probably fall in the winter and under these circumstances I think a fall of 0.1% is a good performance.

Rental market

My market continues to do well, so why should this concern me? Because I believe that it is overall confidence in the housing market that matters the most and we would all benefit from a confident market. Reports that dwell on the negative and headlines that do the same may be better news, but they also do further harm and delay confidence. So please BBC let’s see the details delivered in a more factual manner, I think we all expect better!

 

 

 

25Nov 2010

Property Landlord Advice: Private Rental sector gets Government boost.

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By Samantha Knight

The Prime Minister said the Government may introduce “fixed period” tenancies to ensure new social housing tenants can be evicted if their circumstances improve. People who are given council houses are currently awarded an indefinite “secure tenancy” if they successfully complete a 12-month trial tenancy. This means they can only be evicted through the courts if they fail to pay rent, cause serious problems for their neighbours or in other exceptional circumstances. If they die, their secure tenancy can be passed on to a partner or child. Mr Cameron said the current rules meant that people in more severe need of housing were being kept on council waiting lists while some tenants’ situations got better.

Controversial statement:

“At the moment we have a system very much where, if you get a council house or an affordable house, it is yours forever … And actually it ought to be about need,” Mr Cameron told a public forum in Birmingham. His comments came in response to a mother of two teenagers, who told him she slept on a blow-up bed for two years because her council could not find her a bigger house. Your need has got greater,” Mr Cameron told her, “and yet there isn’t really the opportunity to move.

“There is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking, actually, when you are given a council home, is it for fixed period, because maybe in five or 10 years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won’t need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector.” A total of 1.8 million families are currently on waiting lists for council housing. The Government advises local authorities on how they should ration properties but councils also use their own criteria,

Changes will be difficult.

Local families living in cramped conditions and people who are homeless or have medical conditions being made worse by their houses are usually prioritised. Only some local authorities consider the income of applicants. It is thought councils and housing associations would be left to decide how long local fixed-term tenancies would last. Mr Cameron conceded that an attempt to reform the system would cause “a big argument” but was necessary. “Looking at a more flexible system I think makes sense,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that any changes would not, however, apply to people already in social housing. The Conservatives pledged in their general election manifesto to protect the rights of existing tenants. All good news for private landlords, making investing in rental property with affordable rents a safe bet.  If the Prime Ministers plans go ahead, we will have a queue of tenants now in need of private rental properties.

05Nov 2010

Rental Issues: Good Landlord Tenant relationships.

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By Steve Roulstone

 

I have just rented a property for the first time, mainly because it has made sense for me to accept an offer from a third party to rent my own home for several years and the offer was too good to miss! But whilst that is the reason why I have rented, I wanted to comment on the relationship I have developed with my new Landlord and how trust and good relationships can still matter.

Lesson to be learnt.

I am dealing directly with my Landlord rather than through an agent and it has enabled me to get across our wishes in relation to the property so much easier than what I know would have happened if I had been operating through a Managing Agent. I know because I know how I would have reacted if I had been that agent and this is the lesson for us all – too many times we forget to look behind the request at the individual and are too scared to advice anything but caution in relating Tenant requests to our Landlords.

Improvements to the Property.

Of course, I am in a position where the last thing I would want is negative press about my dealings as a Tenant in my home town, no that would be just too embarrassing, and I feel that my Landlord knows this, and this has helped her to trust that we will indeed improve her property with our wishes, it also enabled me to negotiate a long term agreement as well, which was exactly what we wanted. But it is the fact that so many people do have good intentions which we as agents may be losing by taking a defensive line instead of putting more work in too finding ground and grounds upon which a Tenant could be allowed to put their own stamp on property they wish to call home, especially if it encourages them to stay longer. It has been a long term belief of mine that we should do everything to encourage Tenants to stay as long as possible on behalf of the Landlord anyway, less footfall, less movement in and out, is bound to be in your Landlords interest in looking after any property in our charge.

Keeping the Tenant happy – as well!

Of course I am not suggesting we throw caution to the wind and allow Tenants what they want when they want (we have to stay within a legal framework at all times) but rather that we should try that little bit harder to recognise good intention and look closely at what Tenants are proposing, especially if the property will benefit and therefore our Landlord also, in the long run. There is nothing like experiencing matters at first hand to remind us that in keeping our duty of responsibility to our Landlords, ‘No’ is not always the best answer and not always in the best interest of all concerned. We should always keep in mind that a happy Tenant looks after a house and pays the rent. I do not know about you, but as a Landlord as well, these are the very things I want from and for my Tenants!!

03Nov 2010

Property Landlord Advice: Are Building Societies qualified?

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By Steve Roulstone

It has come to my attention on two or three occasions lately that Building Societies are being particularly harsh in withholding permission when mortgagees apply to rent their property. For so many owners, renting has become the vehicle that has allowed them to move on with their lives, especially in a flat sales market and we as a National Company, have seen a vast increase in Landlords because of this trend over the last two years.

Permission Withheld!

But now it seems societies are withholding permission in some very strange situations and it would seem, with little thought to the reasons why and the consequences of their actions. The main target for their refusal would appear to be a Company let, which is where I cannot understand there stance, especially when the Company on at least two occasions has been HMCR the agency who look after accommodation for our forces personnel. Although in favour of the Societies, it would help if HMCR did not insist on a release clause for any immediate change of circumstances!!

Strange reasoning.

But the case I will concentrate on is one where permission was refused without taking any of the facts in to account and on appeal, the Landlord was told that not only would they not discuss the issue, take the individual circumstances in too account or consider the Company or the experience of the owner (Even though the amount left on the mortgage was small and represented less than 15% of the value of the house)  but that to tell the owner why permission had been refused would in their words ‘encourage the owner to commit fraud by allowing him to then state that the new conditions had been met, even if they had not’ To state that I was flabbergasted when I heard what was said would be missing how I actually felt by a short space trip!!

Human rights.

Now forgive me for raising this issue as Human Rights, but the last time I checked, in this Country you were indeed innocent until proven guilty and to make such a statement flies in the face of this fact with such impunity that it cannot be ignored. The last thing I would recommend would be for an owner to go against the wishes of their Mortgage Company and I believe in this case a re-mortgage is taking place with a Company who know and approve the situation (and I am made to believe at a cheaper rate to boot!) but come on Building Societies, the recent problems have not been caused by your paying customers, and to act it such an arbitrary way towards us is not acceptable. The least you could and should do is give individual consideration to each scenario and stop acting like some medieval Baron running your own court as both Judge and Jury!

Consequences

We are told that it is not in their interest to have houses re-possessed but really, what is happening if permission is not given or individual circumstances heard as against this blanket decision approach, is people who need to move to gain employment, are being forced to accept lower prices for property where if in negative equity, the effects could damage people’s lives for years to come, if not indefinitely! Not to forget that when statements like that repeated above are made, and such blanket policies are enforced, they merely prove themselves to be ignorant of how the rental market works and therefore unqualified to make decisions that have such an impact on our lives.

19Oct 2010

Property Landlords advice: Resident Landlord agreements (Part 1)

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By Mike Edwards

Deciding if a Resident Landlord agreement is the correct solution to any situation can be a nightmare for Landlords to determine. What can on the face of it look straight forward may not be and vice versa. What happens if there is completely separate access for the tenant? Or what if their accommodation is like a granny annexe or a garage converted into a studio, or a building in the garden? The list goes on!

Popular practice

These situations are becoming more common as the credit crunch inspires some innovative use of spare accommodation by Landlords, but do we treat these scenarios as tenancies or licences? And above all if they are tenancies then should they be ASTs which means registering the deposit – or a fine if you don’t!

Some definitions

If the building as originally constructed is a purpose built block of flats no matter how small and the Landlord occupies a unit as their main residence it can never be a Resident Landlord case. But if you have a conversion to self contained flats and the landlord lives downstairs it is a Resident Landlord case but the tenant cannot have an AST because it is a Resident Landlord situation. In the conversion if the occupier has their own bedroom but shares facilities with the Landlord then only a license can be granted. This is because under the 1988 Act the tenant only needs exclusive possession of “any part of the dwelling” to have a tenancy so the exclusivity of the bedroom is enough to make them a tenant and an AST can be created if there is no Resident Landlord.

And more definitions

Rules on exclusive possession are different outside the 1988 Act as to be a tenant the occupier must have exclusive possession of all essential living accommodation. Therefore if the tenant cannot have an AST as the landlord is in the building, he must have exclusive possession of all essential living accommodation before he can be a tenant and therefore be granted a Common Law tenancy (as in the example above of the two self contained flats above).

Further legal implications

However all this throws up another key issue. In managing the situation, you must make sure it should not have been an AST for if it is then the deposit must be protected. So if you wrongly designate an occupier as a licensee and do not give them an AST when you should have done so then you will be open to a claim for mishandling their deposit.

Link to Res LL Part 2

08Oct 2010

Property Landlord advice: Property Scams and problems

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By Mike Edwards

There is once again an upsurge in scams within the Private Rented Sector. These come in various changing guises, some more serious than others.

Common problems:

Properties being turned into cannabis farms or to house multiple foreign workers are still on the increase, though such more common abuse of a property should soon be spotted by regular inspection visits – especially if unannounced.

Problems to be aware of:

More recent developments include people communicating with agents claiming to be the Landlord and giving a change of bank details so payments are siphoned into the wrong bank account. Any change of details should only be registered if they are in writing, the signature compared with the Landlord contract on the file and are known to have come from a confirmed source. Acknowledgement can be sent to the Landlord’s known address or by calling the landlord on a telephone number you know to be theirs. Agents without a contract on their file are short of a significant document and if they do not have a signed Landlord contract on file how can they check the landlord’s signature?   

Summer problem:

There have also been instances over the summer of people posing as agents and turning up at a joint agent’s office, requesting keys for a property supposedly on the instruction of the landlord. Or posing as contractors the Landlord has instructed to undertake work to their property. Again a vigilant and well organised agent should obtain confirmation prior to releasing the keys.

Registration of ownership scam:

Two variations on actual property ‘theft’ are also being reported. Firstly Agents are being contacted by potential tenants only interested in viewing or enquiring about empty property. This can be a sign of a potential fraud intended to transfer the ownership of the property away from the Landlord. Secondly there has been an increase in cases where the Land Registry has confirmed a property has been ‘stolen’ by tenants who identify there is no mortgage and transfer the title deeds into their name. If in response to the ‘lender’s consent’ enquiries at initial interview the landlord confirms there is no mortgage then the Landlords should be advised to ensure that their home address is the one used by the Land Registry for service of any relevant notice so they can be aware of any such attempt of transfer.

06Aug 2010

Property Landlord Advice: The need for an Inventory

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By Mike Edwards

Because of my day to day involvement with Rental issues, there are always reminders about advice that can be given to Landlords and problems on a recent tenant find case has highlighted the need for a detailed inventory attached to a tenancy and emphasised how critical this document is.

The case in hand.

In this case and despite our best efforts in advising the Landlord not to be so short sighted, he instructed one of our offices that an inventory was not required. The tenancy involved four sharers in one property. In such tenancies an inventory is even more critical. There are now extensive problems, the deposit is protected in one of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) schemes and the question is how to retain the deposit for the damage etc.

The inevitable result.

The answer in the short term is that it cannot be retained and the tenants are highly likely to raise a dispute via the Scheme Administrator. All three schemes have been at pains to constantly emphasise the need for a quality inventory if a dispute comes before them. In fact one has gone as far as to say that without the inventory the landlord has no chance of claiming anything in terms of dilapidations and damage at the end of the tenancy – even if the tenant has stolen all the furniture from a fully furnished property!!

The cost of hindsight.

Money is probably the reason this Landlord did not want an inventory and if so then in my opinion it is folly of the highest order. Many agents include the cost of an in-house inventory in their initial Landlord fee, and those that do not will do so at an extra cost which is normally a reasonable amount.

Best advice.

In simple terms no inventory means a Landlord will struggle to make any claim against a tenant when dilapidation is an issue. Damage or missing items can be impossible to prove without not only a list, but a proper accountable system of inventory that will stand to account when challenged. As Letting Agents, we are charged to give best advice to our Landlords at all times and at all times our best advice is to ensure a robust and well prepared inventory always accompanies your Tenancy paperwork.

30Jul 2010

Property Landlord Advice: Off Plan Purchasing – Is now the right time?

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 By Samantha Knight

A bit of a dilemma?

As somebody who now runs a Company offering both Property Management and Consultancy services, I have been heavily involved in discussions with Landlords about the manner and timing for making a purchase and in todAys climate the question of when rather than if is becoming more relevent. Timing is never an easy to decision, but in a market whereby prices are gradually creeping back up, if you select the right area, buying ‘off plan’ right now could well be the best choice you ever made.

Lets keep it simple. 

Choose your property from the site plan with the added benefit in most cases of having input in the finish of tiles, flooring, kitchen units and layouts.  Secure your price now and pay only that fixed price when the property is built and ready for hand over.  Get in early enough on a development and you may well find yourself buying a property that upon completion has £1000’s of equity already in it.  Who could ask for a better deal than that?!

A long term property investment

 The risk will always be will the market rise or wont it?, but inevitably it will whether you make your £1000’s on completion now or in the years to come.  Finding new build sites may be the hard part, but with reports from the construction industry that development is back on the rise – it’s got to be worth a look.

 Seek advise from your letting agent on where best to buy to meet the current demand of the rental market- a national agent will always be able to offer the best unbias advice on the current hot spot locations across the UK.

 

 

19Jul 2010

Property Landlord Advice: Advertise on the Web or in the Press?

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By Steve Roulstone

House or Flat to Rent?

How do you advertise on behalf of your Landlord, hopefully in a manner that keeps them happy and feeling that you are looking after their property, but does that mean we have to continue to advertise in traditional ways?

Houses to Rent or Flats to Rent?

Where do you look if you want to rent a property, my point is that so often it is a different source than where you would want to advertise if you have a property to rent! So Landlords and Tenants want to see their properties listed in different sources, Tenants will utilise the web for their search and Landlords so often want to see us present on such portals as Rightmove, but still want to see the property listed in the local papers and here is the dilemma.

Breaking News: Press turns to the Web!

Because I travel the country speaking to National Letting Agency offices, I have the opportunity to ask what local trends in the Residential Lettings market are and more and more where the income from advertising matters, local press are opening their own web sites, because we are all turning away from Paper advertising. The reason is simple, they are far too expensive even set against Rightmove charges (and I do not say that lightly!)

We only want to Rent the House or Rent the Flat, Honest!

And that is the whole point, we need to convince our Landlords that we only have their interest at heart, because if you are in an area where paper advertising still leads the way, we will still advertise in the papers. In the meantime we need to collect facts and figures to give the story behind the trends, and convince our Landlords that papers listings are no longer needed.

The answer is in your Landlord rights

But in doing the right thing our whole aim is blown apart, for it is my belief that our problem lies with where Landlords look for Agents to see who to contact and it is only in our listings of Flats to Rent and Houses to Rent that they find us, so I have just blown my own recommendation out of the water, because while Landlords still answer the question ‘Where did you find our name’ with the answer, ‘in the local paper’ the press will still get my money!!

14Jul 2010

Franchise News: The importance of looking the part!

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By Steve Roulstone

That all important first impression.

Every Company providing services today and Letting Agents are no different, need to make a good impression from the start. This means when Tenants are looking for a property to rent they will make a decision about your Company, the moment they walk through your front door. This is human nature!

Landlords know as well.

 And Landlords know that Tenants (as the customer in the triangle) will make this judgement, so they are doing the same. So what do we need to do to look the part and give a good impression? Well I do not apologise for my recommendation here, because tried and tested methods are exactly what they say on the tin; tried and tested!

 Want to let your house?

 Then present the office in the same way! An office can be full of modern furniture and new technology, but unless it looks tidy and well presented, will it make a good first impression? I say no, simple rules of tidiness such as empty desks when staff are out and just like a well presented property at a viewing (did you see the link coming?) you will get that good impression. And I have not forgotten that what applies to the office applies to your staff as well, but let’s concentrate on the office today.

 Not magnolia again!

 Oh yes, the reason we letting Agents recommend neutral colours stands just as well in our offices, we do not need to make bold statements with challenging colours, or different colour schemes with furniture that does not match. Why? Because we need it to look good, in exactly the same way we look to market a property. So if you want to give the right impression, keep it clean, keep it tidy, and present it ‘neutral’.

 Old rules are good rules.

 We do not need to re-invent the wheel when making an office look professional, we just need to do our job. If we tell Landlords how their property should look to achieve a good Tenant, after all ‘The better the home looks the better the Tenant will appreciate the home’ then we should do the same and again, I believe this simple rule applies to both.