Tuesday 22 November 2011

Londoner would need to earn nearly £90k to get on housing ladder

A Londoner could need to earn as much as £87,000 – triple the current average salary in the capital – to buy a property in London, according to a new report by the National Housing Federation. 

Home Truths London shows that the average property costs £408,384 and the average income is £27,128.

A salary of £87,511 would be needed to obtain a 75% mortgage, while the borrower would also need to provide a deposit of over £100,000.

Click here to read the full article Londoner would need to earn nearly £90k to get on housing ladder

Friday 18 November 2011

Tenants' costs of renting a home 'up again'

The cost of renting a home in England and Wales has risen for the ninth consecutive month but the rate of increase has slowed, a survey has said.

LSL Property Services, which owns agencies such as Your Move and Reeds Rains, said that the average rent climbed to £720 a month in October.

However, the 0.2% monthly increase was the smallest rise since February.

Frustrated first-time buyers continuing to rent and a shortage of rental property have led to rising costs.

Click here to read the full story Tenants' costs of renting a home 'up again'

Landlord's anger as teen vandal avoids fine

A TEENAGER who trashed a privately-rented house and left the owner with a £20,000 bill walked free from court without having to pay a penny in compensation yesterday.

Judge Howard Crowson told Lee Davis – who has not worked since he left school – that he wanted to make him foot the bill but it was impossible because he has no money.

The move angered the home’s owner, Glenn Schofield, who last night told The Northern Echo: “That’s justice for you. I believe the punishment should fit the crime.”

Click here to read the full story Landlord's anger as teen vandal avoids fine

Thursday 17 November 2011

Paying and receiving deposits

This is an interesting questions and answer feature from The Telegraph which explains some of the recent court cases relating to deposits. The first question is:

I have just purchased my first buy-to-let property and found a tenant. I would like to take a deposit to cover any damage caused. I understand, however, that there are rules governing the handling of a deposit. Is this correct?

Click here to read the full article Paying and receiving deposits

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Universal Credit: crunch decisions to be made on housing payments

Government ministers will meet this week as they look to define the 'vulnerability criteria' that will determine whether tenants continue to have their housing benefit paid directly to their social landlord from 2013.

From that date, housing benefit - among other means-tested benefits - will be rolled into a Universal Credit which will be administered centrally, and paid directly to tenants.

The Government has said, however, certain groups will continue to see their benefit paid direct to the landlord such as pensioners and “vulnerable people” which it has previously estimated the latter to stand at around 10% of social housing tenants.

Click here to read the whole story Universal Credit: crunch decisions to be made on housing payments

Monday 7 November 2011

Stop blaming greedy landlords for rising rents

Greedy buy-to-let landlords traditionally get the blame for rising rents and, with rents at a record high, never more so than now. But are landlords simply cashing in on the greater demand for rental properties - or are other factors at play?

The problems faced by tenants are well documented. Rents are rising and becoming unaffordable for many ordinary families and for single professionals who don’t want to share with other renters. Just last month research from LSL Property Services showed that the average rent reached £718 in September, 0.7% more than the previous record high seen in August.

But it’s not a case of simple greed. While landlords are benefiting from low interest rates and a decent choice of buy-to-let (BLT) mortgages, many have to pay managing agents and/or lettings agent fees – and these don’t come cheap.

Click here to read the whole article Stop blaming greedy landlords for rising rents

Thursday 3 November 2011

Housing benefit cuts to affect three quarters of landlords

A survey by the National Landlords Association (NLA) has found that Government caps on housing benefit payments could force over three quarters of landlords out of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) market.

The survey found 77 per cent of landlords who have LHA tenants are either considering or already taking steps to reduce their involvement in the LHA market.

Click here to read the whole article Housing benefit cuts to affect three quarters of landlords

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Landlords are laughing all the way to the bank

Buy-to-let landlords are filling their pockets as rents hit record highs. The mortgage famine means rising numbers of people cannot afford to buy and so demand for rental accommodation sharply exceeds supply.

Average monthly rents across 18,000 properties in England and Wales are now £718 per month – or £29 more than a year ago – according to LSL Property Services, Britain’s biggest letting agent and owner of Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Sceptics may suspect landlords of trying to talk up rents, but the housing charity Shelter describes private rents as “unaffordable” for families on average earnings in 55 per cent of local authority areas. The charity says acute shortages of social housing have forced people who would normally qualify for subsidised housing into the private sector, raising demand and rents.

Click here to read the full story Landlords are laughing all the way to the bank