Over 20,000 subscribers

Click here for the full Newsletter

See previous issues at: Newsletter Archive

Welcome from the Editor:

Welcome to the October 2007 issue of the LandlordZONE Newsletter

We’re living in turbulent times. If you are interested in the broader picture from a renowned authority I recommend you read Alan Greenspan’s timely biography—The Age of Turbulence—Adventures in a New World.

Greenspan, chairman of US federal reserve for nearly 20 years, knows a thing or two about markets and has produced a very readable analysis.

Following the credit crunch of recent weeks, triggered by the US housing downturn and the emergence of the so called “sub-prime” mortgage debacle, we’re all now wondering if the UK housing market will follow suit.

A bleak warning by the IMF that Britain’s homes are 40% overvalued—higher than the US market before it’s collapse, at 9 times average earnings (up from 5 times in 2001) - does nothing to allay our fears.
But if the worst should happen, and it might not - then what?

Well, there’s a strong letting market in the UK, a continuing housing shortage and low unemployment. If you are not overstretched financially and you can manage your tenancies well, why worry about the value of your property in the short-term?
In fact there could be some real buying opportunities in the near future for those with the resources to add to their portfolios, but use good advisors and brokers.

All this is nothing new - we could be going back to normal conditions, where making money from property is about wise investments, managing tenancies well and making long-term gains.

Tom Entwistle, Editor, LandlordZONE.co.uk

Getting a Buy to Let Mortgage

This edition of the LandlordZONE Newsletter looks at the some issues involved with mortgages and the current market conditions for buy to let.

The buy to let mortgage, introduced 11 years ago, has helped, along with the AST, to transform the rental market in the UK at a time when social and demographic changes demanded a big increase in rental accommodation. This has been good for the country and the economy.

However, during this time house price inflation has been unprecedented—the average house price has risen threefold since 1991.
This has led to claims from some quarters that BTL landlords are to blame for the plight of first time buyers and that tax relief on buy to let mortgages should be removed.

The five successive interest rate rises, now the credit crunch and so called “sub-prime” debacle in the US, have led to a slowing down of the housing market and to lenders being much more circumspect when it comes to approving loans.
Both these claims need to be challenged as far as genuine investor BTL landlord is concerned!

The speculators, some of whom have been buying to leave empty, and the growing number of second home owners, have no doubt had some effect on distorting the housing market, though this could change rapidly if we see a real downturn.
A recent CAB report claims that some landlords are using the possession procedure (Section 21) to avoid repairs, making their tenants live in squalor.

The so called below market value (BMV) strategy now being advocated by some advisors (nothing new if you’re a savvy investor landlord), if it is not applied ethically, is likely to be further grist to the mill to the critics of BTL.
Several high profile TV programmes out in the last week have been highlighting the seedier side of property investment and showing some of the horror stories on both sides—landlord AND tenant.

All of this does the image of the landlord no good whatsoever, as if it wasn’t bad enough already in some quarter

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

Landlord Manager uses a simple user interface to allow you to record property income and expenditure for up to 100 properties. With numerous drill down facilities, reports and graphs you can easily track the progress of your rented property. 

The Investor's Club

There are so many property investment companies claiming to be the biggest and best, so how do you choose which one to invest with? At TIC, we believe that we offer a number of reasons why you can rest assured that we’re as committed to your investments as you are: The price point of our properties makes investment affordable, our rigorous due diligence process ensures we purchase the best properties for our members. We have forged strong relationships with developers; from large multi-national organisations to smaller independent regional builders - www.ticltd.com

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. 

Crimson Investments

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

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. 

Manage your tenancies effectively, keep up to date with new legislation and protect your investment. But where do you find all the information to help you gain maximum benefit from being a landlord? The Landlord Show gives you access to all the advice and support you will ever need.
Or call the bookings hotline on 0800 321 3028  www.landlordshow.info

Northern Property Investment Agency (NPIA)

Northern Property Investment Agency, incorporating European Property Investment Agency, was founded by professional investors to enable clients to expand and improve their own investment portfolios. UK buy-to-let residential and UK commercial, both in the North East and North West of England, whilst EPIA specialise in overseas buy-to-let residential and commercial properties - Berlin, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, the Cote D’Azur, Normandy and Brittany. www.npia.co.uk - register for property alerts, email us on info@npia.co.uk,  Bernie or Craig on 020 8421 9801

The Property Investor & Homebuyer Show is the largest dedicated property event held in Scotland each year and returns to Scotland's premier exhibition venue - the SECC Glasgow - for a third year.
The show is the event for serious buyers at every step on the property ladder. So if you are considering buying for investment or residential purposes, in Scotland, other parts of the UK or abroad, The Property Investor & Homebuyer Show Scotland will answer all of your questions. www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/scotland

lettingzone.com

Advertise your property to let Landlords' properties are showcased to millions *(as below) of tenants through DLSD's specialist Letting Agent program advertising landlords property on Rightmove, Findaproperty, Propertyfinder, Primelocation, Fish4, Hotproperty, Letalife, Rentquick, Letmatch and over 220 local websites throughout the UK. 

Property Tax Portal was founded in September 2003 by Amer Siddiq who is the managing director. Amer, a former IT professional and property investor himself, is supported by a team of highly qualified tax professionals. They produce the respected Landlords Property Tax Manager Software and now run regular Tax Seminars for Landlords and Property Investors. The website is packed full of useful information and products to help minimise your tax payments.  

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!