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News 2010 (latest
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Training __________________________________________________________
Is
the Private rented sector set to grow? The
Tenure Trends in the UK Housing System study indicated that the Private Rented
Sector (PRS) could soon outgrow the social rented sector, as buy-to-let investor
numbers grow. Did you know that if the PRS continues to grow at the same rate
it will be larger than the social rented sector by 2013? For the first time in
100 years the number of owner-occupier homes in the UK has declined and the PRS
has increased significantly. But will this trend continue? We take a quick look
at some of the factors that will shape the future of the PRS. More
information Here August
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ Holiday
home owners to lose tax breaks on holiday lets The
tax advantages on furnished holiday lets were reinstated by the Coalition after
the previous Government abolished them in April.. George Osborne the Chancellor
of the Exchequer reversed the measure in the June Budget saying he wanted to help
small businesses operating in the tourism industry.However, the Treasury has now
said it intends to make it much tougher for home owners to qualify for the breaks.The
move comes as the Government prioritises reducing the country’s deficit. More
information Here August
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ The
effects of the Commercial Property Market in Dublin, Ireland
Concerns of the future of Arnotts, one of Ireland's oldest department stores.
It has been reported late last week the Dublin department store Arnotts (pictured
left) has had the Anglo Irish Bank and Ulster Bank moving in to take control
of it. The store employes 950 employees in Henry Sreet, Dublin and the banks are
the backers of "Arnotts Northern Quarter Development". This has been put on hold
because of the economic situation in Ireland. More
information Here August
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ New
home sales fall for second month in Australia The
Sydney Morning Herald has reported that New home sales fell for a second straight
month in June to a 17-month low, as rising interest rates continued to erode demand.
The Housing Industry Association's home sales index dropped 5.1 per cent in June,
following a 6.4 per cent drop in May, as the lingering effects of pricier loans
acted as a deterrent to new buyers entering the market. Victoria
fared the worst, with house sales sliding 10 per cent, while New South Wales posted
a 2.2 per cent fall. Sales of houses dropped 5.2 per cent in Western Australia
and 5.1 per cent in Queensland, HIA said. In South Australia new home sales went
backwards by 4.2 per cent.Nationwide, private house sales also dropped to a 17-month
low, falling 6.6 per cent in June to 6,847. Meanwhile, purchases of multi-unit
dwellings increased by 10.3 per cent, HIA said.August
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ Landlord
insurance is a cheap essential says Simple Insurance New
landlords who are waiting out the property market by renting out their homes should
make sure they have the appropriate insurance. This is according to one comparison
site, which notes that landlord insurance can be bought for under £100 from Simple
insurance More
information Here July
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ NLA
Property Woman of the Year 2010 is Juliet Ashton-Taylor The
24th June 2010 saw the country’s leading property entrepreneurs gather together
for the prestigious NLA Property Women Awards 2010. Competition was fierce, but
it was Juliet Ashton-Taylor, a landlord from Gateshead, who stole the show to
claim the title of NLA Property Woman of the Year 2010. The Awards were presented
by property addict and TV presenter Melissa Porter, who praised the winner; “Juliet
is a true ‘rags-to-riches’ story and she fully deserves this award." More
information Here June
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ HomeLet
and Martin & Co offer new cover for Landlords
HomeLet, have developed an exclusive new Rent Guarantee product for landlords,
called the Martin & Co Promise. The new product combines comprehensive cover and
extremely competitive prices to provide landlords with market leading protection
for their rental income,Commenting on the new product HomeLet Managing Director,
John Boyle, said "Last year we saw an increase in the number of reported illegal
evictions by landlords. Unfortunately I expect this figure to increase again in
2010, which is disappointing. At HomeLet our expert property legal specialists
deal with the arrears in a professional manner, ensuring that the tenant is treated
fairly whilst the landlord still receives the rent. In those cases where court
proceeding are needed we take care of everything and support the landlord every
step of the way. More
information Here June
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ There
are a record breaking number of renewals for Martin & Co The
Martin & Co network have had many reasons to celebrate over the past year, with
record breaking results and their domination of the industry’s national awards.
However 2010 has given some of the network’s award winning offices an additional
reason to toast to the future. Ten Martin & Co offices across the UK have reaffirmed
their commitment to the UK’s no.1 letting agent by renewing their franchise agreements
for another 5 years More
information Here June
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ NLA
welcomes Government re-think on draconian shared housing rules Following
a campaign by the National Landlords Association (NLA), the Government has today
announced it will be looking to end blanket shared housing planning regulations
in favour of a more targeted approach.Local authorities will need to tailor recent
shared housing planning rule changes to areas where high concentrations of shared
housing are causing problems. More
information Here June
2010 Back
to top
___________________________________________________ Mundys
in Lincoln strenghten Management Team Award-winning
estate agency Mundys in Lincoln has strengthened its senior management team by
making two of its most committed and talented staff members associates. Mundys
was named the Best Estate Agency in Lincolnshire for the second year running after
winning five stars in the prestigious Daily Mail UK Property Awards in October
2009. Mundys Residential Lettings Department has been ranked as the third-best
letting agents in the East Midlands region at the recent UK Estate Agent and Letting
Agent of the Year Awards 2010 More
information Here June
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________ HomeLet
sponsors Bloom Apprenticeship Academy for Estate and Letting Agents
HomeLet, the specialist land and tenant insurance provider and tenant referencing
service, has announced that it is to sponsor the Bloom Apprenticeship Academy
for Estate and Letting Agents The Apprenticeship Academy, which launches with
its first intake of young people in October in Birmingham, aims to deliver the
next generation of well educated, commercially-aware estate and letting agents
to help promote professionalism in the industry. More
information Here June
2010 Back
to top
___________________________________________________ Well-meaning
but flawed" - Register of landlords to be ditched in UK The
"well-meaning but flawed" national register of landlords will not be brought forward
by the current Government, according to Housing Minister, Grant Shapps MP, speaking
in the House of Commons today. Earlier in the week, the Minister had suggested
that a national register could well be "another HIPs" and would not encourage
further investment in the private-rented sector. More
information Here June
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________ UK
Housing Minister Grant Shapps promises 'no more red tape' for private landlords
Housing
Minister Grant Shapps has today promised England's one million landlords that
the Government has no plans to introduce new regulations on the private rented
sector. New regulations were proposed by the previous administration in response
to the Rugg Review of the Private Rented Sector, but have been judged by the new
coalition to introduce too much additional red tape. These included a National
Register of Landlords, regulation of letting and managing agents, and compulsory
written tenancy agreements.More
information Here June
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________
High
Wycombe Landlord fined for unsafe house Itlaf
Hussain was ordered to pay £6,758 in fines and costs over the condiion in a terrace
house in Oakridge Road, High Wycombe, Bucks that he had let out.There were 24
separate electric defects including a 13amp power point in the shower cubilcle,
no electrical earthing for the property and bare live wires sticking out of an
outside wall. The soil pipe from the WC had a hole in it and was bound in gaffer
tape and not properly connected to the drainage system and leaked. More
information Here June
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________
ARLA
has appointed Sue Hughes-Thomas as president ARLA
has appointed Sue Hughes-Thomas as president. Having become a letting agent 24
years ago, Mrs Hughes-Thomas then worked her way through the ranks of ARLA's regional,
national and divisional councils. Speaking about her appointment Mrs Hughes-Thomas
said that "I am honoured and excited at becoming ARLA's next president. I'm looking
forward to promoting ARLA's remit far and wide, showing people why using an ARLA-licensed
agent is so important put simply, it's the only way to ensure both landlord and
tenant are protected. More
information Here June
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________
Rents
start rising again in the UK as demand outstrips supply
A lack of supply is pushing rents higher signalling a revival in the lettings
market, says the latest RICS Lettings Survey. The net balance of chartered surveyors
reporting rising rather than falling rents rose from zero to 30 percent - a marked
contrast to April last year when 58 percent more chartered surveyors were reporting
falling rents, an all-time low for the survey. Surveyors are optimistic that rents
will continue to rise with the rental expectations net balance climbing to 36
percent - the highest figure recorded in the survey's history More
information Here May
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________
Irish
Landords under pressure from falling rents
The
Daft.ie report has described the year on year "collapse" in rental income as "pretty
shocking". According to the report "Still a renter’s market, as supply outpaces
demand and that this isn’t going to change so long as supply outpaces demand."
Rents fell by just under half a percent in the first quarter of 2010, according
to the latest report published by the property website, Daft.ie. Having risen
in January, rents fell back slightly in each of the three following months and
the average rent nationwide now stands at just under €760 More
information Here May
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ HIPS
are history but EPC's are not The
Government has scrapped Home Information Packs (HIPs) in the hope of kick starting
the housing market in England and Wales*. The requirement to provide a HIP when
selling a home was suspended on 21 May 2010 and will be abolished shortly. This
means that homes put on the market on or after 21 May 2010 will no longer need
a HIP. Landlords and homeowners will still need to provide an Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) before selling or letting homes
More information Here May
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________ NLA
Campaign regarding Capital Gains Tax -May 21st 2010 Capital
Gains Tax - Stand up and be counted -Treasury plan Capital Gains Tax raid Following
a General Election campaign, where housing was barely mentioned, the new Government
should be focused on encouraging investment in residential property. The NLA -
National Landlords Association has just emailed Landlords on it mailing list about
their latest campaign. More
information Here May
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ HIPS
- Home Information Packs suspended 20th May The
new coalition Conservative Liberal Democrate government has suspended controversial
home information packs today. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister
Grant Shapps suspended the packs, known as HIPs, with immediate effect pending
primary legislation to permanently abolish them. Both parties had stated in their
coalition agreement to get rid of the packs, which were introduced by Labour in
2007. May
2010 Back to top ___________________________________________________ Landlords
must be included in new Capital Gains Tax exemptions Capital
gains from the sale of residential property must be included in the “generous
exemptions” if Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is increased, according to the National
Landlords Association (NLA). Following
a General Election campaign where housing was barely mentioned, the new Government
must be focused on encouraging investment in residential property. The new CGT
regime will act as a significant disincentive for landlords considering further
investment. More
information Here May
2010 Back to top
___________________________________________________ Having
difficulty letting your holiday rental in 2010? Has
the downturn of the world economy finally caught up with the self catering holiday
rentals business? 2010 could prove to be a difficult year. At jmlvillas.com we
are still seeing a lot of copy email enquiries going to property owners, however
some of the feedback from owners is that it is quieter than usual. People have
concerns about jobs and flight disruption. British Airways cabin crew are planning
more strikes later in May and the Volcanic ash problem from Iceland is not blowing
away.More
information Here May
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Freak
waves cause havoc in the Nice area Massive
waves have hit the French Riviera between Nice and Cannes causing major material
damage to the densely-populated coast on Tuesday afternoon 4th May. The freak
weather struck as the region is preparing to host the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.More
information Here May
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ County
Down estate and lettings agency Pinkerton Murray Strikes Gold
Pinkerton Murray has
won has been recognised for its excellent customer service in the 2010 Estate
Agent & Letting Agent Awards (Estas). It achieved the highest possible accolade,
winning gold in both the estate agents category and letting agents category for
Northern Ireland. More
information Here May
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Lighthouse
Property Services of Lincoln offers broadband Lighthouse
Property Services in Lincoln is the first lettings firm in the UK to offer tenants
an exclusive wireless broadband service that can be used both at home and throughout
the city for free and all on the same network More
information Here May
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Rising
Rents Pose Potential Risk for Landlords in the UK Following
the recent RICS residential lettings survey and FindaProperty Rental index which
both reveal an increase in rental prices HomeLet is urging landlords to protect
their monthly income. According to Managing Director John Boyle continued increases
could cause problems for landlords further down the line as people looking to
rent may not be able to afford to do so or may struggle to make their monthly
rental payments. More
information Here April
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Letsure
sets up insurance deal with Hamptons Letting Agents
Lettings insurance
specialist Letsure has agreed a deal to provide insurance products to landlord
customers of residential agency Hamptons International. The new product, which
covers rent and legal protection, will cover landlords against losses that occur
as a result of unforeseen events, such as tenants failing to pay their rent or
breaching the terms of the tenancy. More
information Here April
2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ AIIC
Inventory Clerk of the Year Award The
Aassociation of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC)announced the winner of the
2010 Award for Inventory Clerk of the Year. Emma Goddard (pictured right receiving
her award from AIIC Charman Patricia Barber) of EG Inventories, Bournemouth. She
received a cheque for £100. The AIIC is the UK's largest membership organisation
for independent inventory clerks. See:
Professional Property Organisations March
2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________
HomeLet
Launches £500 Prize Draw for Landlords Great
news if you are a landlord with a HomeLet insurance policy. To celebrate the successful
launch of Landlord's Insurance+ specialist insurers HomeLet are giving landlords
the chance to win £500 of B&Q vouchers.
More
information Here March
2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________
Is
the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France for sale? Is
the Carlton in Cannes up for sale? Passing it earlier this week it had a large
BNP Paribas Real Estate sign hanging from the front. It does not appear the hotel
is being advertised for sale, but Cannes is hosting the 2010 MIPIM conference
between the March 16 to 19th March 2010. This is the large gathering of international
property professionals. According to a report in "The Daily Telegraph" earlier
this week. "The Irish Times" Thursday 18th March Property section had a heading
"No Cannes do for Irish" saying that ", only a handful of Irish are in attendance.
More
information Here March
2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________
Many
UK Landlords facing fines The
March / April edition of "Landlord & Buy-to-Let Magazine" It has numerous reports
of landlords being fined like - Oxfordshire Landlord fined for ignoring gas safety,
Landlord fined for unsafe conditions - A landlord has been fined £15,000 after
Lewisham Council prosecuted him for leaving his rented property in unsafe and
dangerous conditions. Record fine for landlord - A Haydock landlord has been fined
£6,000 by St Helens Magistrates who heard a catalogue of housing hazards at his
rented property. Landlord's fine for housing offences reduced - Following an appeal
in the Crown Court on Thursday 7th January 2010, a Sneinton landlord has had his
near maximum fine of £62,061 for three HMOs - Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing
offences and three management offences reduced by half and made subject to a 12
month custodial sentence if the fine is not paid within 12 months. More
information Here March
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ ARLA
launches buy-to-let mortgage comparison site
Landlords
keen to expand their portfolios will be pleased to hear that the Association of
Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) has launched ARLA Mortgages, an online comparison
site. The free service is aimed specifically at the buy-to-let
borrower and is flanked by sister sites, NAEA Mortgages for residential purchases
and ICBA Mortgages for the commercial property sector.
The
service was unveiled at the 2010 ARLA Conference in conjunction with sister products
NAEA Mortgages for residential purchases and ICBA Mortgages for the commercial
property sector. More
information Here March
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Insurance
advice following storms in France this week LA
tempête Xynthia, which ripped through south west France during Saturday 27th February
and Sunday morning 28th February 2010, has been declared a catastrophe naturelle
by Prime Minister François Fillon. This means insurance companies are obliged
to take into account flood damage and the government will publish details of the
areas covered in the next 48 hours. Property insurance company Intasure
have asked owners of properties damaged by the storm winds that hit south
west France to contact them so that any claims can be processed. Intasure are
asking policy holders to take photographs of the damage that has been caused and
to get written quotes for the work required. More
information Here March
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Rental
increases in UK - Landlords should still be cautious The
latest FindaProperty.com Rental Index has just been published and is encouraging;
however the recovery is not over yet.More
information here
March 2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ More
Benefits for HomeLet Premier Customers
From March 1st 2010,HomeLetcustomers will have access to two new exciting benefit
packages. In response to a survey of its current Premier customers, many of whom
are among the UK's leading residential lettings and property management businesses,
HomeLet has enhanced its Premier membership benefits and launched the brand new
PremierPlus membership package. The improved benefits packages have been designed
specifically for letting agents who are keen not just to succeed, but thrive in
today's tough economic climate. More
information here
March 2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Irish
quit the Cote d'Azur This
was the headline that was in Thursday 25th 2010 "Irish Times -Property Residential"
section. It appears from the article that Irish people under financial pressure
at home are trying to release the equity they sank into second homes on the Riviera.Agents
like Ennis, of World Homes Investments in Dublin, sold apartments and villas on
the Riviera as prices rose between 2000 and the peak in 2008, many by as much
as 70 per cent. They have fallen since then, but not by much more than 10 per
cent, according to Ennis. More
Information here
February 2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Letting
Agents Positive about the Future of Lettings in the UK Letting
agents are more optimistic about the future of the market than they were almost
a year ago despite the continued lack of financing for buy-to-let mortgages, according
to HomeLet,
the market-leading tenant referencing and specialist insurance provider to the
lettings industry, conducted an independent customer satisfaction survey in December
2009 which revealed that 98% of agents expect the lettings market to stay the
same, grow or grow substantially in the next 12 months. This is up by 12% on January
2009. More
Information here
February 2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Foxtons
slapped with OFT order The
Negotiator Magazine has repotted that Foxtons has been banned from using certain
commission terms within its lettings agreements as a result of a final High Court
order secured by the Office of Fair Trading. The order revealed on February 22,
2010, prevents the London agency from using terms, which require landlords to
pay renewal commission to Foxtons after the sale of their property to a third
party because the original tenant remains in occupation, and those which require
landlords to pay a sales commission to Foxtons in the event they sell the property
to their tenant. It
follows a landmark judgment in the High Court last July in proceedings brought
by the OFT under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The
court accepted that all the terms the OFT complained of were unfair. Foxtons had
until 29 January 2010 to lodge an appeal, which the agency initiated in December,
but aborted last week. The order has resulted in Foxtons overhauling its standard
lettings contract terms, limiting renewal fees to two renewals. Commission is
also now only payable where the original tenant remains in occupation, and the
landlord will get a pro rata refund where the tenant leaves the property before
the date set out in his lease. The OFT plans to contact lettings agents to highlight
acceptable terms of business. Foxtons declined to comment. February
2010 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Rents
rise for first time in two years in Ireland Rents
have risen for the first time in two years according to the latest survey by property
website Daft.ie. Rents across the country rose by just over 1 per cent in January
the survey found. The national average rent now stands at €765, almost 25 per
cent lower than the peak levels seen in early 2008. The January increase follows
sharp falls in rents iIn 2009. More
Information here
February 2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Cold
Snap Could Prove Costly for Landlords says HomeLet Insurance
Landlords who don't have specialist buildings and contents insurance could end
up having to pay out thousands of pounds in call-out charges and repair costs
for damage caused by a boiler breakdown or leaks from tanks or pipes. The UK's
leading insurance provider to the lettings industry is warning property owners
that trying to save money by cutting back on things like insurance could cost
them in the long-run particularly at this time of year when temperatures drop
below freezing point. More
Information here
January 2010 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Some
of the stories from 2009 below, the rest Here __________________________________________________________ The
Money Centre
about to close Lloyds
Banking Group, which now owns a Monopoly over the buy-to-let mortgage market,
have chosen to refuse to accept new business applications from The Money Centre.
They have done this without providing us with an opportunity to meet the decision
makers to review their rational or to appeal their decision. More
Information here
December 2009 Back to top __________________________________________________________ Interest
in overseas property soars Primelocation’s
International Search Index has revealed that in November, the number of searches
for international property doubled, when compared to a year earlier. The website
logged over one million foreign property searches, taking levels of interest back
up to pre credit crisis days. More
Information here
December 2009 Back to top __________________________________________________________ UK
Rents have declined for the second consecutive month The
Negoiator has reported this according to the latest buy-to-let index from LSL
Property Services.Rents fell by 0.6% in November, taking rents back to the levels
seen at the end of August, reveals the group, which owns Your Move, Reeds Rains
and Halifax. This follows four months of rapid rental inflation during the summer
when rents rose at an annual pace of 13%. Half of the country’s regions saw declines,
but rents fell fastest in the South East, down 3.3% in the month. Only
the Midlands and the East of England experienced increases in November. Landlords
saw yields slip to 4.9% in November, a level last seen in November 2008, though
they were 0.3% lower when adjusted for void periods. Nevertheless, investors who
bought property a year ago have made a total return of 4.1%, which is the best
annual total return on LSL’s record, which begins with property purchased in June
2007. The group’s index shows that in November, a typical rental property made
£809 in capital gains and earned £665 in rental income, totalling £1,474. Arrears
worsened in November, with 525,000 tenants having not paid their rent on time,
up from an unusually low 495,000 in October. Collectively, tenants owed £261m
in overdue rent last month. December
2009 Back to top __________________________________________________________ HomeLet
Launch New Range of Landlord's Insurance HomeLet,
who have been supporting the lettings industry since the birth of buy-to-let,
have used their knowledge and expertise to deliver their most comprehensive range
of landlord's insurance products to date.After months of development and years
in the making HomeLet have launched Landlord's
Insurance+ More
Information here
December 2009 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Holiday
Homes Hit in UK pre-budget report from April 2010 The
British Government's Pre-Budget presented on Wednesday 9th December 09 by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) will affect the owners of holiday
homes. Individuals and companies who rent out holiday homes like the ones advertised
on jmlvillas.com the low cost villa advertising service are set to lose their
tax breaks and pay the same rate of tax as if they were renting out property in
the UK. More
Information here
December 2009 Back to top
__________________________________________________________ Lettings
business grows in Glasgow with Letsure
Letsure have just launched a recruitment campaign to increase the number of staff
at their credit search reference centre at Granite House, Stockwell Street, Glasgow.
The company that was established in 1983 has been based in Glasgow for many years
and as Lumley Holdings Group up until it became part of the Erinaceous Insurance
Group in 2007 being part of the same group that owned it's major competitor HomeLet.
More
Information here
October 2
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