Property industry news & blog
Using Letting Agents to Find a Rented Home – Part 2
Posted on Thursday, September 29, 2016
In Part 1 of this blog series we discussed what letting agents actually do as well as where and how to find them. In this second part we will focus on how to choose a letting agent and also the process that follows once you have identified the letting agency you want to use. How to Choose a Letting Agent Obviously the first thing you need to do is identify the various letting agents that operate in the area or areas where you want to rent a property. Then, once you know of...
Using Letting Agents to Find a Rented Home – Part 1
Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Using a letting agent to help you find rented accommodation is becoming increasingly necessary these days, as over 50% of all privately rented properties in the UK are handled by letting agents. The good news is that they usually make the process a lot easier for the tenants and landlords they provide the service for. What Letting Agents Do A letting agent is simply a business model that handles all kinds of properties from houses to flats to commercial buildings. For their...
Brexit and Business
Posted on Friday, September 2, 2016
An outline is emerging of the possible challenges and opportunities faced by small businesses ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU. Little more than a week had passed since confirmation of the referendum result when George Osborne announced his intention to cut Corporation Tax from the current level of 20% to just 15% – having already dropped it from 28% during his six years in office. Osborne’s successor has since refused to commit to any...
How to Find a Good Architect
Posted on Thursday, September 1, 2016
How to Find a Good Architect All architects should be registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) after completing a training period lasting seven years. The ARB is an independent organisation set up by the Government to be the UK’s regulator of architects. You can call the ARB at 0800 389 6221 or visit the ARB website where you can take advantage of a multitude of resources to gain information on finding and using the right architect, as well as using their...
Mortgage Totals Up But Value Down
Posted on Friday, August 26, 2016
Recently published research has revealed that the total number of re-mortgages increased during the month of June, although the month on month and year on year value of the re-mortgages has actually decreased. This means that the current value of re-mortgaging is now slightly lower than it was during June of 2015. According to the research undertaken by one of the UK’s leading legal conveyance outsourcers, LMS, the total equity withdrawn has decreased by 14% in June, while it has...
Landlords - Reduce Tenancy Voids
Posted on Wednesday, January 27, 2016
If you own a property you are renting out then it’s likely you have already encountered the problem of what to do during the periods where no one is renting the property. Sometimes, there is literally nothing you can do as it comes down to certain circumstances that are out of your control, but there are measures you can take to minimise the amount of voids you experience. Find the Right Tenants This is the most obvious one but a lot more goes into it than you might imagine....
Market Voaltilty
Posted on Monday, January 18, 2016
2016 has started with a great deal of uncertainty and volatility. Our Partners at St James's Place Wealth Management have provided their thoughts on the key issues behind the recent volatility. Click here to watch the video. Whilst recent events have been unsettling for some investors, the key points are: Market volatility is normal. Recent years have been characterised by low levels of volatility, but what we’re seeing now is broadly...
Advice for Landlords
Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2016
With the unpredictable market making it difficult to sell a house at the moment, you might be considering renting out your second property in order to bring in some income. You may also simply want to get into the rental business and make an extra living as a landlord. Whatever your reasons, all landlords need to follow the same few steps to ensure they do everything by the book. Here are five of the best pieces of advice to get you started. 1. Calculate the Viability The first thing...
3% Stamp Duty on BTL Properties
Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2015
The Scottish finance minister John Swinney is to introduce a three per cent surcharge on the full purchase price of all ‘additional properties' - buy to let and holiday homes - from April 1. Scotland had been the only part of the UK to which a similar three per cent stamp duty surcharge had not been introduced by the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, in his autumn statement. Swinney now says that from April, for properties purchased for over £40,000, a similar three per...
House Prices Set to Rise
Posted on Friday, November 13, 2015
UK House prices are expected to rise by 4.5 per cent for each of the next five years - a cumulative increase of around 25 per cent according to the RICS. The culprit over the long term - as it has been in the short term - is a shortage of stock. RICS says demand continues to considerably outpace supply and the number of new instructions decreased in October for the ninth month in succession. In fact the institution says the supply of new stock to the UK market has been...