A little time now for my current pet subject, though I suspect I am far from the only landlord who is on their soapbox about this particular topic at the moment.

The National Landlords’ Association has, this week, spoken out quite strongly against the proposed buy to let register planned by the government. In no uncertain terms the NLA has said that they believe it will be an unworkable failure. That is what I like about these guys, they do not mince their words.

They have said that while they can see that the plan is well meaning, it is so flawed that it will be useless in achieving its stated goal of driving out rogue landlords. It also accused the idea of all landlords having to register all their properties of being overly intrusive.

The NLA points out that, in its opinion, a similar plan that has been in place in Scotland for a few years now is a total failure.

It is good to see the NLA speaking out against this proposed national register. I agree with them wholeheartedly and though I doubt that their words will be heeded, I think the government could do worse that than to consult with this group before it moves forward with this ill-judged plan. I shall not be holding my breath, however.

As a landlord or property investor, you will have seen how the whole property market has been turned on its head over the past 15 months.
 
The main problems that have surfaced as a result of the credit crunch are: Continue reading →

The sharp fall in sterling and the possibility of interest rates touching zero has started to lure overseas property investors back to the UK. The property market has declined by 15% to 20% from its highs of a year earlier, and this means that cash rich investors in particular are able to snap up properties at significant discounts.

The pound has almost become equal to the Euro and has suffered losses against the yen, dollar and Swiss franc. As the economic outlook gets gloomier many feel that sterling will continue to decline.

Apparently Americans and Europeans have started to show more interest in UK properties although they have not yet started to buy. Investors from Asia too are showing interest in luxury flats as well as houses in London. Continue reading →

Three quarters of buy-to-let landlords are faced with the problem of an increasing number of tenants defaulting when paying rent. According to the National Landlords Association (NLA), as the economic downturn continues, 71% of landlords believe that in the coming year they will face even more rent arrears.

Currently 37% of landlords are suffering from overdue rents and are becoming increasingly concerned that in the next twelve months the situation will worsen.

The Association of Residential Letting Agents said that this situation has arisen at a time when people who are unable to sell their houses in a falling market are trying to let out their units. This has therefore led to a surplus of rented accommodation in the rental market.

This oversupply of rented accommodation has in turn led to a fall in rents in many areas of the country. The expected income for landlords has been reduced by 2.5% during the last three months, ending in November, and in central London rents have fallen by 8.1%. Continue reading →

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Serious landlords are always looking for deals, especially in the current market

When one comes their way, it is sometimes not feasible to apply for finance. This is because the administration and paperwork will take too long, and this is likely to result in the investor losing out on the deal.

In such scenarios the landlord will end up buying the property using their cash reserves, and they will then re-mortgage the property to release the invested funds.

The question then arises as to whether the interest charged on the re-mortgage is tax deductible.

In Arthur Weller’s opinion, the mortgage interest is tax deductible in such scenarios. This is because the property was bought with the intention to take out the mortgage soon afterward.In such scenarios the purchaser will only pay cash originally because this is a better way to execute the purchase. Continue reading →

Amidst all the economic doom and gloom, Chief investment officer of ING, Ian Whittock, told the 124 attendees at their annual investor seminar that the current property markets represented the investment ‘opportunity of the decade’ (source: property week).

During the seminar he went on to say that though on the surface things may not seem all that good for the housing market, there was less risk in the market now than there was 18 months ago. He is of the opinion that if you are sitting on cash reserves, then there is a brilliant opportunity waiting if one can be bold. Continue reading →

An increasingly popular way to boost property cash flow with the current financial market turmoil is to venture in to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or general multi-lets. In fact, I wouldn’t be too far wrong if I was to say that unless you had properties with a low debt to equity ratio, then this is probably the only way you are going to generate any decent cash flow.

What is going to generate you the greater cash flow? A three bedroom house let out at £595 per month, or the same house split in to four rooms, with each one being let out for £260 per month, thus generating monthly income of over £1,000!

However, as an increasing number of investors start to plunge into this market, you would be wise to take note and not to put all your eggs in to this one basket!

Will we see another apartment style plunge in coming years?
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