Click here for the full Newsletter

Welcome from the Editor:

Welcome to the April 2008 issue of the LandlordZONE Newsletter which reviews the 2008 Budget.

The gloom, it seems, continues. A downbeat IMF report out last week concludes that the financial market crisis has developed into the biggest shock to the system since the 1930s Great Depression and predicts 1 trillion $ total losses (around £500 billion)

With oil and food price inflation rising, the report warns of a one-in-four chance of a global recession, with the world economy trapped between fire and ice—between slumping growth and rising inflation—the dreaded stagflation of the 1970s.

A vicious circle could be set in train: lack of confidence by the financial markets, lack of funds for investment leading to falling property and asset vales, reduced economic output, leading to job losses in turn leading to lack of investment—lasting for years.

But there are now some signs that the credit crunch may be contained and although the 1/4% cut in in Bank Rate this week to 5% has had little initial impact, analysts are predicting that the rate is headed to 4% in the next 12 months. The BOE could also do more to stimulate confidence & growth, helping borrowers.

The problem at the moment is that the cost of money (the wholesale interbank lending rate (LIBOR) is around 1 percentage point above Bank Rate, which means that mortgage rates are stubbornly refusing to come down quickly.

Previous house price crashes have only occurred in serious recessions, so it remains to be seen if this scenario is enough to precipitate one in the UK.

With house prices up around 180% in 10 years, 300% over 20 years and 9,000% over 50 years, owners should have some room for manoeuvre, though overstretched newcomers who have paid over the odds are already feeling pain.

Currently, average house prices are around 6 times male average earnings, a traditional guide, though some experts now argue the measure is obsolete with 2-earner couples.

Average house prices could fall by around 10% this year with commercial values expected to correct by between 20 & 30%, hopefully before picking up again in 2 years or so.

Given this background and despite evidence of a relatively strong economy in the UK, it brings into question our government’s handling of first the Northern Rock crisis (vis-à-vis Bear Stearns), the recent budget and it’s room for manoeuvre in a crisis because of government debt.

In this issue Maurice Patry FCA, of Landlords Tax Services Limited reviews some of last month's budget measures with particular reference to landlords.

Maurice says, “the 2008 Budget is wide ranging, and this summary deals only with key points. It is not an exhaustive review. Whatever is contained in the Budget should be treated with caution; the final version that becomes law may differ significantly from the Budget. You should not rely on summaries. Use it as a guide only and take professional taxation advice which takes into account your personal circumstances.”

One major change affecting landlords is the abolition of taper relief and the introduction of a unified CGT rate of 18%

This caused consternation in the small business community until the Chancellor introduced some special exemptions.

It could be a windfall for some short-term BTL investors wanting to get out quickly, but it could also have an adverse effect on an already shaky property market if too many investors rush for the exit.

The Landlord & Buy-to-Let Show this week is one of the highlights of the year for Landlords—18-19 April 2008 at London Olympia. Over 80 exhibitors—sold out—& a comprehensive seminar programme:

-Friday, 16.30 & Saturday, 16.00 Tom Entwistle, LandlordZONE—Selecting & Managing Your Tenants: The Key to Success in the Rentals Business

-Friday, 15.30—The BBC’s Sarah Walker will outline how to Present your Property for Quick Rental at the Best Possible Price, and Adding Value to Your Investment

-Friday, 14.30—Keep up-to-date with the law: Landlord Law’s Tessa Shepperson looks at Essential Legal Points for Landlords

-Saturday, 12.00 Leaseholder Rights from ALEP (The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners) as they explain How to Negotiate the Minefield of Owning a Flat...

The Property Investor and Buy-to-Let Show is at Manchester Central again on 9th to 11th May.

Hope to see you at these shows.

Tom Entwistle, Editor, LandlordZONE.co.uk

Read the FULL Newsletter to find out more...

Cover4LetProperty.co.uk specialises in insurance for residential and commercial landlords. By inputting simple details of your property or portfolio just once onto the Cover4LetProperty online quote form, you can access up to five quotes instantly.

An initiative by Award Winning Landlord Mortgages. The service is very flexible and provides effective property management at a fraction of the cost of traditional Letting Agents.  

Landlord Manager V2 - Visionbase software Limited have been producing property management software since 1995 and are therefore one of the older established software products producers aimed specifically at landlords.
The latest version of Landlord Manager, which has just been announced, uses a simple user interface to allow you to record property income and expenditure for any number of properties. With numerous drill down facilities, reports and graphs you can easily track the progress of your rented property. Other features include a Rent Centre that will track your tenants and their outstanding rents, Tax Returns, VAT and a Sage compatible file to give to your accountant - www.landlord-manager.co.uk

Business Accountz is for Sole Proprietors, Partnerships and Limited Companies and is ideal for service based businesses such as Landlords and Property Investors. Unique one-click VAT Return. No confusing jargon. Fast and dead easy to use. Mac OSX 10.4+, Windows Vista/XP, Linux. Pro version available Summer 2007 adds Stock Control and Multi-company. 

Property Investment – the easy way !  We offer the following services: *Discounts of 15% - 20% with typical savings of £25,000 on each purchase. *New build properties from major developers. *Low deposit down deals. *Specialist Mortgage Brokers & Solicitors. *Our ‘Ready to Let Service’ – furnishing packages. *Appointing the letting agents. *Continuing support with your property after purchase. Crimson deal with all of the day-to-day issues involved in purchasing your property, so you truly are an armchair investor. www.crimsoninvestments.co.uk

Tops Worldwide Are you looking for ’under-valued’ properties but never know were to find them? At TOPS Worldwide Ltd we focus on UK residential and commercial repossessed properties in the process of receivership, probate properties and distress sales—before they go to auction.
We also have a large stock of investment properties in Berlin with healthy net yields and long term tenants. Save time bidding at property auctions - explore our directory of repossessed properties, probate properties, liquidations and distress sales for conversion, modernisation, renovation, or a buy to let investment and find those great auction deals. See our continuously updated database of residential, commercial and retail opportunities—flats, terraced or detached properties, development land, retail outlets, hotels, care homes - www.topsworldwide.co.uk

Landlords - Advertise your properties quickly and easily, for just £5 per property per month. (Discounts are available for bulk uploads and long advertising periods).
• Include images, maps, features, pricing, contact details, and more
• We display performance reports and track the enquiries made by students about your properties
• 1000s of emails are sent by our student visitors to landlords on our site everyday.
• Over 5000 student landlords already registered and using our site. 

Landlords Property and Tax Manager by PropertyPortfolioSoftware.co.uk

Property Portfolio Software provides solutions to help self managing landlords get better organised when managing multiple properties. Their software solutions are designed by landlords for landlords and are guaranteed to save you time, money and effort in running all aspects of your property business.

LandlordAction.co.uk Credit CRUNCH—What an OPPORTUNITY! Right now there are people sitting scared rigid. What’s going to happen to the market? What should I do? If you’re in property, you know what to do—stop panicking and make the most of the situation.
“Power to the Landlord” is a one-day seminar hosted by respected eviction specialists Landlord Action—the London Evening Standard described them as “a blessing to landlords” This seminar is completely independent with the focus on education—leading expert speakers will advise on topics including finance & the banks, taxation and dealing with problem tenants etc. LandlordZONE is proud to be associated with Landlord Action Seminars—book your place now quoting reference LLZONE and receive a full 10% discount on this seminar normally priced at £300—Sunday 8th June, 8.30am till 6.01pm at the Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow, London

An independent property mortgage and property finance web portal. The site contains all the help and investment finance information you should ever need to guide you through the process of successful property investment and securing competitive property finance. 

Successful Landlords know that Tenant Screening is "the" most important task when letting property. Tenant Verifying - doing credit searches and tenant referencing is the core of the tenant screening process.  Nice Car, Nice Suit, Nice Chat... No Rent!  Don't take chances - have those tenants checked out professionally!