Casualties of the tougher lending criteria applied to mortgages are expected to fall into the welcoming arms of buy-to-let landlords – who could see rental income climb as much as 14pc this year, according to estate agents Knight Frank. Emma Thelwell, Daily Telegraph – 30/10/2007 Despite a slew of warnings earlier this year that Britain’s [...]
If you were travelling on the London Underground this summer, you might have noticed a prominent advertising campaign promising a once-in-a-lifetime escape from commuter-land. “Quit the Rat Race, Become a Property Millionaire,” screamed a series of 10ft-high posters. They sat alongside advertisements for foreign travel, video games, Jack Daniel’s whiskey – all products tempting you [...]
Like so many young professionals hoping to cash in on Britain’s property boom, Paula Collins, a 26-year-old recruitment consultant from London, thought her money would be safe. The buy-to-let market was booming and the deal from a Manchester developer seemed too good to pass on. ZOE DARE HALL, Daily Mail – 29th October 2007 The [...]
The Bank of England today warned the commercial property sector could be set for more trouble due to turmoil in the financial markets. David Doyle, Property Week – 25 Oct 2007 In the Bank’s bi-annual Financial Stability Report, commercial property is identified as vulnerable because of the previous boom in the sector. The slowing of [...]
Demand for rented accommodation has grown strongly in recent months as potential first-time homebuyers become increasingly nervous about the slowing property market and frustrated by more expensive mortgages. Jo Thornhill, Mail on Sunday – 23 October 2007 The knock-on effect is that rents are rising for the first time in years, making it even more [...]
Assetz has criticised the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Institute of Director’s calls for penal tax charges on buy-to-let investors. Mortgage Finance Gazette – 23 October, 2007 Stuart Law, Chief Executive Assetz, commented: “We have recently witnessed a flurry of rather ill considered opinions and proposals for a change in legislation, many from organisations [...]
Since the updated Part E building regulations in 2003, new build homes and conversions have had to comply with stricter sound insulation requirements. Nearly 5 years on, Sound Service (Oxford) reflects on whether tougher regulations have improved the lives of new homeowners. Document E, Resistance to the Passage of Sound 2003 edition, plus amendments in [...]
More than one third of UK landlords are still unaware of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), according to an independent survey commissioned by The Money Centre, one of the country’s largest independent buy-to-let mortgage brokers. The findings mean that many landlords could find themselves committing a civil offence and forced to pay a tenant three [...]
Improve the saleability of your property by improving its energy rating using these top tips provided by the ultimate home information pack (HIP) resource – hipCENTRAL (www.hipcentral.co.uk). Low Cost • Check that you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) fitted. If not these can be purchased for less than £10 and fitted by a plumber for [...]
An era of buying homes to turn a quick buck has imploded, reports James Doran in New York The Observer – Sunday October 21, 2007 If you want to know if Britain is heading for a housing market crash, you don’t have to listen to the Cassandras at the IMF – just take a look [...]
