Sequence Reports a Rise in Rents

There is a recent study provided from Sequence that proves there is an increase in rents across the board. This trend has been noticed in several different agencies that OnlineLetting Agents has been following up on, especially since the trajectory of the trend will ultimately affect the market in the future. The strongest letting agency chains are raising the rents along with the 300 other strongly led agencies as well. The top agencies that are raising the rents are BarnardMarcus, William H. Brown, and Fox & Sons. Among these popular letting agencies, this will undoubtedly dictate the renting market for the future to come, and is likely that this trend will be getting even more exaggerated as time passes.

Statistics

What the researchers have found is that the rental data has risen 1 percent in the past month. The average rents cost around 762 pounds per month, and are expected to continually rise as well. This has also affected a more dramatic rise for new tenants, with them facing 20% increases of annual costs that did not exist in previous years. This theme will change the landscape of the renting business and has also affected whether people are opting to rent or buy a property.

Not all of the renting prices have been consistent, however. London is one of the most affected markets that has seen the largest rises in rent prices in recent history. Currently, the average rent is up to 4% increase of an annual payment. In addition, the average rent in London is 1,427 pounds per month, which is at an all time high and is not expected to see a reduction any time soon. In addition to the inflation of prices, the number of new tenants is up 37% as well, which means in London people are renting more than ever.

Driving the Market

The simple laws of supply and demand are what is dictating the rise in the market rental prices. Currently, there is an average of six prospective tenants that are fighting for each rental in the London capital. This is one of the most competitive markets in the world, and it seems like with foreign investors this competition is only getting fiercer.

There are simply no new rental properties that are coming onto the market, which makes it difficult to keep up with demand. For this, it is simple for the agencies to simply raise the prices of rent in order to reap revenues and stoke an increase of earnings for the agencies as well. The growth in rents is not seemingly keeping people from wanting to rent flats in the capital, and while it is most obvious in London this is a trend that has taken a hold of the majority of the UK at varying levels. The days of sensible rent has seem to enter a new phase in which inflation is the norm and demand continues to grow. 

Retiree's Securing Buy-To-Let Mortgages

Age restrictions have been a status quo in the buy to let mortgage industry for some time, however, some lenders are reconsidering these policies. The Government made an announcement that would allow pensioner’s to have unlimited access to their retirement savings accounts. This message preceded the movement to change the age restrictions which shows that the announcement made an impact on the mortgage industry.

Prompted by this movement, a specialist mortgage lender has offered pensioners under the age of 70 to apply for 35-year mortgages.

According to MPPT Spotlight, Henry Jordan, managing director of The Mortgage Works (TMW), has recognized that an increasingly popular form of retirement income is now buy-to-let property.

Unfortunately, anytime changes are made in an industry there are schemes that begin to form and target the vulnerable. Particularly when it comes to the retirement community these schemes are manipulative in nature, preying on the fears or possible weaknesses that come with aging. One of these schemes which is being advertised by some firms, is intended to compel pensioners to withdraw all of their savings in order to invest in property.

Chancellor, George Osborne announced that there are new rules which will be introduced in April 2015. These new rules provide an opportunity for pensioners to withdraw their pensions at age 55. This is an alternative to having the money as an annual income.

After the Budget announcement was made, some speculation began regarding whether future pensioners would use their pension savings to pay off existing mortgages, or to invest in property by obtaining buy-to-let mortgages.

The new rules will cause an increase of pensioner’s having full access to large sums from their pension pots. This is forcing UK mortgage lenders to take a closer look at age limits for their borrowers. Modern technology used in detecting health problems in their infancy and modern medicine used to treat these illnesses has greatly increased average life spans.

A large portion of the aging population would have previously not been able to qualify for buy-to-let mortgages. Retirees between the ages of 65 and 75 who would have liked to take advantage of this additional source of income would not have been given the opportunity. Buy-to-let owners can take advantage of all of the resources available at http://onlet.co.uk/ regardless of their age. Using this resource is a great benefit to all buy-to-let landlords, and especially to those who will be purchasing their very first buy-to-let property.

Mortgage applications with The Mortgage Works will now be allowed for those who previously would not have qualified due to age restrictions. The new age guidelines will now give opportunity for investment through mortgage applications until the age of 70. The maximum term of 35 years will now be standard practice. As people continue to live longer, there will be an increased need to evaluate more policies and procedures which include an age limit. Changing according to the needs of the time will continue to propel us toward progress in each generation.

Improved Housing Benefits Everyone

The BRE Trust has conducted new research with the purpose of finding out what level of improvements have been made in the treatment of housing-related injuries and illnesses under the Government’s Decent Homes Programme. This program was launched by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). According to a study conducted by the BRE Trust, there have been improvements made with a pleasant twist on the improving health of the tenants themselves. According to Housing Excellence, the intention of the program was to bring up the standards of social housing as a nation.

Many benefits were gained during a 10 year period between 2001 and 2010. Some of those benefits include taking care of serious hazards. There was an estimated total savings to the NHS of about £392 million. The greatest of the savings to the NHS was due to addressing the most serious hazards which are categorized in the Housing Health & Safety Rating System. Those savings totaled £224 million. An additional savings of £71 million per year is also gained provided the stock stays at a reasonable level and is considered hazard free.

The study showed that 759,000 or 20% of homes in the social sector were not considered decent places to live in 2010. The problem with this is that these issues are not only difficult to remedy, but also quite costly. The costs to the NHS of allowing housing to fall into the non-decency category are great, if the right amount of money is not invested. As of 2010, the estimated costs of these Category 1 hazards was £184 million. If any of the homes, which are now regarded as decent, fall in to a category that labels them non-decent the costs will continue to rise and cause an even greater challenge in improving the public housing. This is a big concern for many who are working hard to take steps toward preventing that from happening.

It is beneficial to everyone for the social sector homes to continue to be improved upon, and transitioned into safe and decent places for people to live. It is better on a personal level because improved living conditions greatly add to the quality of life. The subsequent productivity to the individuals who live in the housing is enormous, and it just makes economic sense. When social housing improves that opens the door for investors to buy homes in the surrounding areas for buy-to-let investments. This raises the overall value of the community which benefits everyone as well.

With Online Letting Agents readily available to help those investors with their investment properties, they are better equipped to make good decisions which benefit the entire community. It has been documented that other costs associated with the housing, which are easily forgotten, are the costs of reduced education and performance by children and adults living in these conditions. When the basic needs of people are neglected, it has a negative impact on the community and the rest of society.

Adding Value to Buy Let Homes with Extra Space

There is a way to get the most value our of a let home by simply increasing space. The OnlineLetting Agents has reviewed a new report from Nationwide that was published on landlordzone.co.com that explores how adding a bedroom, bathroom, or extension can increase the value of the homes by up to 20%. This is a simply way to increase the value of the home, especially with loft conversions or extensions, that will have an affect on the value of the property for years to come.

Benefits of Adding Space

Adding space to a property is a great way to increase the value by a fifth of the overall price. It is also found that finding space for an extra bedroom adds as much as a 10% increase in value while an extra bathroom affects the price value by 5%. It has been shown in the research that buyers are interested in having extra space and are willing to pay more for the advantage as well.

The research was concluded once the house prices were reviewed before and after improvements. Even by increasing floor space by merely 10% can have a direct effect on the value of the property and can raise the value as much as 5%. This shows that even minimal improvement may have an affect on the overall value of the home once it is put on the market.

There is an added bonus as well when you opt to increase the space of a let home property. The cost of the improvement is fully deductible against any capital gain tax due on the chargeable gain when the property is sold by investors. That means that you may able to pursue extensions or conversions of the property without paying more out of pocket, potentially.

The Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, was quoted as saying “We re-examined the factors that affect the value of the homes, and the potential to add value. Having more useable space is thought to be consistent with better quality accommodation and the people are prepared to pay for it. “

A second bathroom is considered to be a favorite component amongst homeowners, and research supports the fact that adding an extra bathroom can prove to be a desirable addition to a property.

Since the market allows for a higher value of the property with increased space, it is generally an advisable notion to take into consideration the process of adding space to a property. In the long run, it may help with having more revenue, especially if the property is being rented so that it can garner more revenue as time goes on.

The study also gives a clue to calculating property value, in which a one bedroom flat generally costs around 4,200 pounds per square metre, where a four bedroom house is priced at 2,000 pounds per square metre.

When taking into account the benefits of increased space of a property, this may give you insight to converting a home for more revenue. 

HOW STUDENTS HAVE BEOME BRITAIN’S BEST TENANTS

Ah, youth.  Who doesn’t miss their collegiate days?  Those are the days where you really begin to grow as a person and start to discover who you truly are.  It’s the finest intersection of adolescence and adulthood, with all the intrigue and privileges of the former with the protection and comfort of being able to occasionally fall back on the former.  You’re old enough to drink and party, yet not quite old enough to be held to a workman’s standard for such actions.  You’re training to become an engineer, or learning the ins and outs of bio-chemistry, or coming to terms with the power of Shakespearean poetry or Joycean prose.

And, as it turns out, according to recent surveys, you make for some of the best tenants in Britain today.  How is that the case?  Here are four reasons why this young and unlikely set of buyers and renters have come to make up some of the nation’s best and most reliable tenants.

1. An Eye Towards the Future: Today’s college student has a constant eye trained towards the future.  While that may not seem like anything too novel—after all, aren’t you supposed to be working out your future in college?—it is, and here’s why.  Previous generations of college students have garnered a reputation for having a “live for now” sort of reputation.  However, when you grow up in the midst of economic difficulty, as many of today’s college students today have in the wake of the mid-2000s economic hiccups, you start to realize the importance of planning for the future.  The result?  For as silly and amateurish as they may see at times, this generation of college students is, in actuality, more financially-aware and fiscally-mature than previous crops.
2. Parents: At Onlet, we always stress the importance of having a fallback plan.  Whether you’re a landlord looking to collect rent or a student tenant that’s paying for your flat with a combination of a nest egg and money you earn on your part-time job, it’s always important to have a fallback plan.  That’s why students are one of the most reliable bets for landowners and letting agents alike—they have a definite need for flats and housing and, what’s more, if they have difficulty meeting rent, the parents are usually there to assistant their children or, at the worst, serve as collateral partners in a shared lease and tenancy agreement.
3. Demand: As alluded to, there is more demand among college students for affordable housing than just about any other demographic.  This puts landlords in a position of power in a classic case of supply and demand.
4. By the Numbers: Finally it’s worth noting that the numbers support this growing idea of students as reliable tenants.  Of the insurance claims filed last year, according to Total Landlord Insurance, only 9.6% of them were filed in relation to a student tenant.  What’s more, the typical property claim for students was £2,090.18—about four thousand fewer pounds than those pertaining to their adult counterparts.

Onlet

A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE REACT TO BUBBLE FEARS

It isn’t always easy being an economist.  It’s a bit like being a weatherman, in fact—a job wherein you’re stuck trying to predict the future and, like any mortal tasked with the impossible, so often failing and angering people in the process.  It simply isn’t possible to always call the coin right, and when there’s a chance you may well have called the coin wrong, you get an irate bunch of people clamoring for your head.

As such, it should come as no surprise that, amidst talk of “bubble fears” in the market, there have been some rather vocal backlashes and a strong degree of dissent.  Why is that?  Well, for one thing, housing prices have been soaring—markedly so, in fact.  To February, an absolutely astounding 9.1% rise in house prices has been recorded.  It’s enough to make any landlord excited and any first-time buyer contrite.

But how should you really be reacting?  What’s a fairer view of things?  Here are just a few things to keep in mind with regards to these latest reports.

1. The Past: To be fair, a lot of the backlash that’s resulted from these descriptions may well be founded in a remembrance of where we were in the credit crunch days and a strong desire to never go back to that again.  And why would we want to?  It was absolutely dreadful, whether you were a landlord or a homeowner.  Those dog days are now seen as a definite “valley” in the series of peaks and valleys that have made up Britain’s recent experience with letting homes and landlord profit margins.
2. The Present: What’s more, we’re currently in the midst of one of the great peaks in recent years.  Who would want to hear of that “bull run” coming to an end?  With sites such as Onlet making the experience of letting and dealing with tenants easier than ever before, and the price of homes in the region going steadily upward, it should come as no surprise that, among landlords, the present is a very good time indeed, and hearing it characterized as a “bubble” is unwelcome news, to say the least.  But is it true?
3. The Future: As stated above, it’s not easy to predict the future.  We can say that markets do have periods in which there are “bubbles,” and boom-bust and back to boom again economies are not altogether uncommon in today’s day and age.  If landlords don’t do enough to make sure that their practices are solvent and sustainable, the risk for a bubble is there.  Then again, tools to prevent such an issue are also present as well.  Hammering out coherent and clear tenancy agreements with tenants and garnering only the best tenants from letting agencies such as Onlet can be a key way to keep your business running despite these “bubble fears.  There’s no future but the one we make—let’s work to make it a sustainable one.

Online Letting Agents

Do tenants value broadband facilities?

A survey has be done by Go Compare, a house buying comparison website and it has helped to compile essential information showing how most people decide where to rent a house. One of the most amazing revelations from the survey is that many people want to live in houses that have internet connection. Broadband is fourth on the list of the most important things that a house must have to make it complete. They are gas, electricity, water and internet access. This is the latest findings and landlords have something to think about.

Reasons to install broadband

There are many services and product available on the internet and most people need them daily. There those who make money from home and others just want to browse and chat with friends through the social network.  One does not need a computer to this; there are smaller devices like laptops, Smartphone and others that can be used to download television channels and online games.  Some of us cannot think straight without internet access because they are used to doing it daily. More than 54% of the survey participants think internet is most important than some of the things that landlords consider a priority

The people who participated in the survey value broadband more than items such as aesthetics and original quality features. Things they find more useful are security enhancement features, a beautiful garden, double glazing and reliable hot shower.

Use this information wisely

The information from the survey is helpful for those who want to know where to put more of their investment efforts. As an investor who already has rental houses, you can add broadband to advance quality of features that you provide to your tenants.  Online agents will also be able to spice up adverts to keep your houses with tenants all the time. Broadband is a great feature that many tenants are looking for.


Be among the first
Making your property eye-catching should be one of your first priorities. The list below tells you more on how to do it.

Add features like strong secure windows and doors, great showers and double glazing. These are things that determine quality of your property long term. At some point, you will be glad that you used these features.

Installing internet is not as expensive as the features mentioned above, but its one of the things that attracts tenants fast. It will bring fruits of your hard work because people want houses with internet.

Excellence is the only to go

Broadband that cannot be helpful if it’s slow and always down. Get the most excellent you can afford because tenant will feel cheated if they find that the internet is not fast. To avid embarrassing situations where tenants are always complaining, choose the provider carefully and make sure they provide reliable and efficient services.

It will cost you good money to install internet especially from big providers who include BT infinity, Sky Broadband and many others whose services are quality and outstanding.  For a marvelous deal at a cheaper cost consult a provider such as PlusNet. They offer quality services and the charges affordable.

Visit the website of the provider and see what other people have to say about their services. If you do not know how to go about that, contact us, Onlet. We specialize in such services and we carry out the difficult task ensuring you get the best. Our goal is to keep your houses occupied by selecting the most excellent broadband provider for you.