Landlord Investor MAY 2015

BY

INDUSTRY

EXPERTS

COVERING

ALL

ASPECTS

OF

BUY-TO-LET

MAY 2015

WRITTEN

LANDLORD | PROPERTY | INVESTMENT

THANK GOODNESS THAT'S ALL OVER: GENERAL ELECTION 2015

- Peter Littlewood

PROS AND CONS OF BUY TO LET FOR PENSIONS

- Tom Entwistle

CRAZY OR CRACKING? SURREY BUY TO LET ANALYSIS

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- Kate Faulkner

13% OTH

WILL THE NEW GOVERNMENT

WORK FOR YOU?

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WELCOME TO THE MAY ISSUE OF LANDLORD INVESTOR! Editorial Editor Tracey Hanbury editor@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk Editorial Contributors

Checkaprofessional.com David Humphreys David Lawrenson Juswant Rai Kate Faulkner Marie Parris Paul Ahearn Paul Shamplina Peter Licourinos Peter Littlewood Simon Cook Steve Cox Susannah Cole Tom Entwistle

We have published this months edition to wait for the anticipated election results, I am writing this on the day after the election, and Mr Cameron has just got a majority of 5, expected to be a majority of 6 by the time you read this.

Already the FTSE index (the Footsie) is up 100 points, and anticipated to go to a record high, to read more on what this means for Landlords, see Peter Littlewoods article on page 10.

Also in this issue we find out why Croydon is London's biggest Growth Capital with Kate Faulkner providing us with the Surrey buy-tolet analysis.

CONTENTS Buy-to-Let Analysis Industry Update Pensions Student Accommodation Lettings & Management Great Property Tips Landlord Insurance Expert Advice Your Property Partner Investment Legal

06 10 14 18 20 22 26 28 34 38 42

Due to popular demand, Tom Entwistle is once again delving in to the world of pension in the buy-to-let world and explains the pros and cons of investing in the market.

Happy reading!

Tracey Hanbury | Editor Landlord Investor

Art Dept.

Design Craig Edmonds

Tracey Hanbury

Contact 0208 656 5075 landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk /LandlordInvestmentShow @LandlordInShow

Tenants History Southbridge House Southbridge Place Croydon CR0 4HA Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials herein are those of the authors; the editors and publishers. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. Tenants History Limited and our contributors will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through the promoted links.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

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6

BUY TO LET ANALYSIS

CROYDON:

CRAZY OR CRACKING BUY TO LET INVESTMENT AREA Kate Faulkner - Propertychecklists.co.uk

CROYDON IS A BIT DIFFERENT TODAY TO THE ONE I REMEMBER. IT'S WHERE I BOUGHT MY FIRST HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST RECESSION IN THE 1990S...

The property was a classic two bed terrace in South Croydon and cost about £65,000. And we often talk about how hard affordability is for those trying to get on the ladder but back in those days it was tough too.

The reason being, mortgage restrictions wouldn’t allow you to borrow more than 3 or 3 ½ times your income, so I couldn’t actually afford to buy on my own – I had to buy with a friend.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

And boy wouldn’t we all wish we could buy a house in Croydon for £65,000! A property for this price sounds an ‘amazing deal’ until you take into account my salary – which back in the day was just over £12,000. And although I could save for a deposit, mortgage rates were a staggering 8.5%!

Today’s market in Croydon is very different, partly because there was no tram then and most of the properties near the centre were terraces through to 1930s properties in the suburbs. There certainly weren’t any sparkling new flats and although the shopping was OK, it wasn’t anywhere near as good as it is today.

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So how have prices and rents performed in the area over the years? Well I thought it might be interesting to look at the property I bought over 25 years ago.

It did need updating and cost then £65,000. Similar ones today have been selling out for £215,000 and the latest one for £273,000 but the latter looks a bit bigger than the one I bought. This price growth translates into an annual increase over the years of between 4.5% to 5.5%, not too bad considering during this time inflation has increased at 2.8% each year, so property prices have gone up by over three times while inflation has only doubled.

And although you might think ‘wow that’s a big increase’, interestingly so have the wages I would have earned. Estimates are instead of earning around £12,000 to buy a £65,000, I’d be earning now over £40,000 to buy a £215,000 property. So in my case my wages would have actually kept up with house prices.

How does that translate into affordabililty? Well you might be surprised to learn, it would actually be more affordable for me to buy the property today than it would have been over 25 years ago, as the chart below shows, which assumes two of us are buying.

BUY TO LET ANALYSIS

What is still the same though, I think, is getting to Croydon by car on the A23 from the M25 is still as bad as it was 25 years ago!

HOW HAS CROYDON PERFORMED IN THE PAST? Well that’s how things stack-up from one first time buyer’s perspective, so what does Croydon look like from an investor’s perspective?

Since 1995, property prices, on average have increased by 5.67% each year, taking prices from an average of just over £80,000 to over £323,000. This isn’t quite as strong as London overall as yet, whose prices tend to increase by 7% each year, albeit that includes the likes of Kensington and Chelsea.

COMPARING AFFORDABILITY OF PROPERTY IN CROYDON TODAY VERSUS 1993 Year

Earnings

Deposit

% of Income

£1,625 1993

£12,000

5% deposit /2

13.5%

£5,375 2015

£42,000

5% deposit /2

12.8%

Mortgage

£30,875 £61,750 / 2

£102,125 £204,250 / 2

Annual Cost

Mortgage % Income

£3,012 per year @ 8.5%

25%

£6,537 per year @ 4%

15%

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

BUY TO LET ANALYSIS

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And with property prices up 16.7% each year, (2014 vs 2015) Croydon is still seeing a bounce back after the property price crash, but this appears to be slowing fast. Price rises appear to have peaked as the year on year increase back in September 2014 was 24% - with growth slowing every month since.

And it doesn’t look like house price growth is as assured as other London Boroughs based on historic data. During the credit crunch, prices fell by 20% rather than the Greater London 16%, in addition, it’s taken a while for prices to recover since market heights. Overall since 2007, prices have only risen by 14%, meaning annual price growth has fallen from its long term average of 5-6% down as low as 1.85% - despite the recent house price rises.

Investment wise, a studio/one bed flat will cost anything from £150,000 upwards, with 5-6% yields and two bed flats and terraces range from £200,000 to £300,000, renting for around £1,000 to £1,500 giving yields of 5.5% which is pretty good for a London Borough. In the meantime, SpareRoom suggest room rents would give rental income of just over £500 per month, just over £115 per month which could help yield some good HMO returns. *Data from the Land Registry.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? One of the main positives of Croydon as an area is it’s proximity to London while being a family friendly town that’s pleasant to bring up a family without spending hours commuting each week. The downside though is there is a lot of property in Croydon and it’s not the picturesque lifestyle a longer commute can secure including Brighton and the Kent and Surrey lines – and there will be new areas to live, such as Maidenhead with Cross Rail coming in soon.

However, it is still good value for money versus many other areas across London with such a short commute. Population wise, it looks like people are coming into Croydon with a 10% increase from 2001 to 2011, higher than the national average. Economically it also has some pretty big employers, including Nestle, but it’s problem is that a lot of the office space they have – and I remember working on one of them – is pretty awful 1960s tower blocks, rarely fit for purpose in today’s modern world.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

Surprisingly too, although the employment rate is good, there are a lot of young people are out of work and some of the areas are still pretty run down with many of all wages not working.

For the future, economic plans are in place to improve the area’s performance, looking to enhance:Enterprise and innovation Inward investment and business retention Jobs, employability and skills In addition there is a lot of effort to try and make the area work for the modern day due to much of the town centre being quite out of date and there are plans to integrate the areas working towards better retail and leisure facilities, including pedestrian routes and easier access to mainline stations.

All this activity should help to drive the population, demand and property prices in Croydon – but it’s future success depends very much on whether Londoners will want to live there or whether they’d prefer to move out further and they may choose to do this via Cross Rail areas instead.

Savills estimate that prices in London as a whole will only grow around 10% over the next five years with rental values increasing by three times more: 30%.

Personally I think that Croydon property prices will do better than the average, while I think rents won’t do quite so well.

Is Croydon worth investing in? Well time will tell a little bit, but there is always money to made in property in any area, so to find out more about the opportunities and likely returns, do come to the Landlord Investment Show and my seminar. ⌂ For more information about Croydon’s economic plan download: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/sites/default/files/articles/downloads/ecodevelop.pdf

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Download all the FREE checklists a Buy to Let Investor will need Independent expert advice on: • Property prices, rents, returns and forecasts • Analysing your buy to let • How to buy property below market value • How to choose the right buy to-let services

SEE OUR CHECKLISTS FOR ALL THE BUY TO LET HELP YOU WILL NEED www.propertychecklists.co.uk

T: 01652 641 722 LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

10

INDUSTRY UPDATE

THANK GOODNESS THAT'S ALL OVER! WELL, HOW WAS IT FOR YOU–THE GENERAL ELECTION I MEAN?

Peter Littlewood Southern Landlords Association

AT LEAST YOU WEREN'T A PARTY LEADER THAT HAD HIGH HOPES ON THURSDAY MORNING, ONLY TO BE OUT OF A JOB ON FRIDAY MORNING. Lady Bracknell said in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ ‘to lose one parent is a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness’ What would she have said about losing 3 party leaders on the same day?

I am writing this on the day after the election, and Mr Cameron has just got a majority of 5, expected to be a majority of 6 by the time you read this. Already the FTSE index (the Footsie) is up 100 points, and anticipated to go to a record high.

Why? Not so much to toast a Conservative win, more that a long period of the unknown has come to an end, and we all know that pure Conservative policies will get through – bar a back bench rebellion. The markets don’t like uncertainties, and the prospect of long drawn-out post-election negotiations to try to form a government gave the FTSE the jitters – but no longer.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US LANDLORDS? WELL WE KNOW WHAT IT WON'T MEAN: •

Rent controls, and rent increase caps (Labour and Greens);

•

Long term tenancies tenancies (Labour & Greens), with no opportunity to evict the tenant after the first 6 months (Labour);

• ‘Mansion Tax’ (Labour; Lib Dems & Greens); •

Ban landlords from letting poorly insulated properties (Lib Dems & Greens);

•

Local referendum for major planning decisions (UKIP);

•

Substantially increased Council Tax on empty properties (Labour & UKIP)

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Unless the Conservatives adopt any of them. Under the Coalition they had already started down the road of:

• Limit the ability to rent poorly insulated properties And it is unlikely this will change.

• An extension of the Immigration Act – currently under trial in the Midlands. Cynics would say that this brought in so the Tories could argue they were doing something about immigration. I personally think there is every chance this will extend across the whole country.

WE ARE AWARE OF VARIOUS MATTERS THAT WERE STARTED PRIOR TO THE ELECTION, AND NOW WILL PROBABLY BE CONTINUED: • Complete roll-out of Universal Credit is the main thing that will affect us. Will Ian Duncan-Smith (IDS) remain as head of DWP, or will Mr Cameron bring someone else in to actually implement this?

IDS has been passionate about this matter, and is fixated on it getting people back to work, not just cutting the welfare costs. Mr Cameron has tried to move him before, but he dug his heels in.

IDS might not get his old job back. Personally I think it is time for a fresh face to see through this complex matter, and I think IDS would be a fantastic Foreign Secretary.

• Discretionary Licensing of rental property. Brandon Lewis announced changes to this, and has indicated he would like to restrict the cavalier approach of Local Authorities even more;

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

INDUSTRY UPDATE

• Allow Local Authorities to increase the

Council Tax on long term empty properties;

• Changes to the Section 21. The Secretary of State now has the ability to amend this document, and Eric Pickles wants to consult on this. It is highly likely that DCLG (Dept of Communities and Local Government) will start this consultation regardless of who the new Secretary of State is. Hopefully this will go ahead, and the two typs of S21 will be unified;

12

INDUSTRY UPDATE

SO WHAT NEXT? Partially depends on who the next Housing Minister is, and whether the job will be returned to full cabinet status.

We’ve already had Grant Shapps; followed by Mark Prisk; rapidly followed by Kris Hopkins; and even more rapidly by Brandon Lewis. A real revolving door of Housing Ministers. What we need now is someone to stay in the job for at least 3 years, and to actually understand housing.

All the parties agreed on the desperate shortage of housing. It is this that is driving up rental, and purchase prices. Trying to cap rental would only make matters worse. The Conservatives have pledged to: •

Build 100,000 starter homes;

•

Invest £1b to unlock brownfield sites to allow for 400,000 additional homes;

•

Allow first time buyers to buy at 20% below market value;

•

Extend the Help to Buy equity loan scheme to 2020

But all this depends on Mr Osborne releasing appropriate funds. We all know that pledges made before an election are rapidly forgotten. Hence the need for a strong Housing Minister to fight their corner.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

All Governments, regardless of colour, have fallen woefully short of building houses. But as Brandon Lewis said at the BPF conference, there is a shortage of bricks, and brick layers – so even if we get the land, and the Planning Permission there is noone to build. Sounds like rapid action is needed for this.

We would also urge the Government to take a better interest in Accreditation. Boris Johnson started the London Rental Standard, built on the successful model implemented by the London Landlords Accreditation Scheme (Llas) over 10 years ago.

This has already trained, and accredited over 20,000 landlords, which is truly wonderful, but is a mere dent in the total number of landlords who need training.

This would then allow Central Governments and Local Authorities to pursue those landlords who will never do the right thing, even if they know it is wrong. These landlords are mostly called ‘Rogue Landlords’. Many of us prefer the term ‘Criminal Landlords’ and do not want them in the industry.

Perhaps by the time of the next Landlord Investor we will know who the Minister is, and have had the Queens Speech, so will know the direction of this Government. If so, I will put pen to paper again. ⌂

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PENSIONS

PROS AND CONS OF BUY-TO-LET FOR PENSIONS Tom Entwistle - LandlordZONE

BUY TO LET HAS HAD MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF SUCCESS OVER RECENT YEARS AND THAT'S NO DOUBT THE REASON WHY INVESTING IN A BUY-TO-LET HAS ATTRACTED EVER INCREASING INTEREST. What helps is it’s so accessible: everyone knows a little about property if only because they live in one themselves, and perhaps they have bought one or two to live in, in the past. It’s also tangible in that you can see it every day, unlike a stock market investment that’s just a number on a page or a computer screen.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

Recently published research shows that the average buy-to-let investment in the UK, over the past 18 years, has produced returns that easily outstrip those of other major asset classes.

For every £1,000 invested in an average buy to let property, purchased with a 75% loan to value (LTV) mortgage, in the final quarter of 1996, would have grown to be worth £14,897 by the last quarter of 2014. This represents a compounded annual return of 16.2%.

By way of comparison, the same investment in UK commercial property over the same period of time would have been worth £4,494, or invested in Government bonds £3,329, and in UK stocks and shares £3,119. A cash investment on the other hand would have produced a mere £1,959, all according to research from buy-to-let lender Landbay.

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Many buy-to-let investors overstretched themselves in the pre-2007 boom years, but as property values plummeted many were thrown a lifeline as the base rate was slashed to 0.5 per cent and has stayed at that level since. Rates have stuck there since 2008, but just remember they will rise again.

Of course 2014 was a very good year for buy-to-let investors with property prices rising by an average 8.3%, considerably more in some locations, over the 12 months. There’s no reason to believe that such high returns will be repeated in the future, but there are still many positives in the market to show that they could be.

Investors see buy-to-let as a way of increasing personal income and at the same time providing a long-term investment which will grow in capital value – an ideal pension pot, and an asset you can eventually pass on to the next generation.

And because you are investing in a tangible asset, which is capable of being sold (liquidated) fairly quickly, and produces an income, it is something, unlike stock market investments, that you can borrow against. So, not surprisingly during a slump, buy-to-let has been the only mortgage sector to see real growth over the last few years.

Despite the fact there’s always potential for costs to rise, a shortage of suitable accommodation and more tenants in the market, rising rents and improving mortgage deals are still tempting investors, and now we hear there could be another influx from those able to draw down money from their pensions after “pension freedom day”.

Like any investment, buy-to-let comes with no guarantees, but for those who have faith in bricks and mortar, and want more control over their financial destiny than being invested in stocks and shares, it’s still worth considering.

The classic model for new investors is buying a property in need of refurbishment. Buying a tired old terrace property or flat at a knock down price and bringing it up to modern standards before renting out means you can pick up a bargain and add value immediately.

Buy-to-let lenders typically want rent to cover 125% of the mortgage repayments and many are now demanding 25% deposits, or even larger. So buying with a mortgaging comes down to securing a property with a decent initial yield – a property in a location with sufficient rental demand to cover the mortgage payments and running costs and still leave a little over.

As the market bounced back after the “credit crunch” of 2007-8 mortgage rates are once again at record lows, helping buy-to-let investors make their deals stack up. There are lots of mortgage deals on the market. One currently available example would allow you to fix a mortgage for five years at just over 3 per cent, given the biggest deposit being put down.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

PENSIONS

But low rates won’t last forever and one day they will most certainly rise. Banks lending on commercial loans currently look at 15 year money being at 4% above base, so it’s important to “stress test” any investment on a conservative basis and allow for interest rates to reach 4 to 6% in the future.

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PENSIONS

Looking at the downside, you need to “stress test” to see what would happen in the worst case scenario. The more you borrow (loan to value ratio) the greater your risk of not paying your mortgage instalments if, for example, you are faced with a long void period. If you take on a bad tenant who does not pay you rent and takes several months to remove, or you are faced with an unexpected repair bill, such as a central heating boiler that goes kaput, you have a real problem.

The cost of maintenance and redecoration and replacement items, insurance, and advertising, plus agents fees when you use one, all need to be factored into the equation, along with any service charges or ground rent, in the case of leasehold flats.

For those who are less keen on DIY a much less labour intensive model such as new-build can still produce a significant return in the current market, providing you buy a desirable property for rent in an area where there’s good tenant demand.

As there are currently no signs of an imminent rise in mortgage rates, and everyone knows that housing demand is outstripping supply by a wide margin, it’s creating a very competitive mortgage market where lenders are competing for business that is plentiful and low risk. Rates for two-year fixes at modest loan-to-values can currently be achieved around 2 per cent.

All the signs are that demand for rental properties will remain high for some time. As long as first-time buyers continue to struggle to save enough money for deposits and other factors such as immigration and increases in student numbers sustain demand for tenancies, the status quo will continue.

With rental property proving itself as an excellent long-term investment, and a market that is now worth around £1,000bn (One Trillion Pounds), new investors should do well providing they do their homework first. Research is vital to make sure the upside of any project outweighs its downside; you must assess very carefully: the area you are looking to invest in, the type of property and suitability for renting, the type of tenant you will be targeting, the potential demand, and the net rental yields achievable.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

Can you do the tenancy management yourself and save on managing agent’s fees, or do you have too little experience at the early stage, or perhaps the property is too far from home to see to comfortably? You need to consider how much time you can spare; certainly for an experienced landlord who is organised, management time can be minimal. But there will be periods when management effort becomes intense. This is during tenancy changes or when you have problems with tenants, so are you able to be flexible with your other work commitments? If you are retired, time may not be a problem.

17

Add to this stamp duty on the property purchase, capital gains tax when the property is sold, and the addition of further assets for inheritance tax on the estate, and you have a considerable number of tax planning issues to consider.

Another very important consideration is administration and taxation. There are some good inexpensive property management software packages available on the market to stream-line your paperwork and help with self-assessment tax returns, but it still takes up some hours of your time every year.

You will be taxed on your rental income at your marginal rate of tax. This can be offset to some extent by having the property in joint names with a partner, so you use up two tax allowances. In the early years of your investment the surplus of income over expenses is likely to be small, if you claim all your allowances, mortgage interest repayments often being the biggest expense.

Property is and always should be a long-term investment. The returns may not seem much at first, but over time and with compounding these become significant. I’ve had situations, granted over a very long period of time, where the yearly rental income has exceeded the amount I originally paid for the property.

But the phenomenon of buy-to-let’s high investment returns underlines the general stability of the personal finances of landlords. Indeed new research is showing that: • Around 70% of younger landlords regard their buy-to-let property as their only pension fund • Around 28% of existing landlords plan to expand their property portfolio in 2015 • Experts are forecasting that one in six over 55’s will use some or all of their savings to fund a buyto-let property investment.

So, as we see the possibility of a new cohort of an older generation landlords, following the April pension reforms, it would appear that a large proportion of existing buy-to-let investors are already planning to rely totally on their property investments for their retirement income. ⌂ Tom Entwistle is an experienced investor in residential and commercial property. He founded the LandlordZONE® website in 1999.

Research by several financial institutions is suggesting that pensioners are likely to be big fans of tangible ‘bricks and mortar’ investments, and are attracted by the returns on offer. These can reach in the teens of per cent in some locations, depending on the type of rental investment you are looking at.

The Government’s own projections suggest that by the year 2032, there could be more than one in three properties owned and operated by private landlords. Currently this figure stands at one in five, up from one in ten over the last 20 years.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

PENSIONS

However, pensioners or those nearing retirement need to be cautious. This is because the tax position is not particularly favourable to them when drawing on pension money: apart from their tax free 25% on money drawn out of the pension pot, the rest is taxed on the way out of the pension, plus their general income for the year, and any income from the investment property, will be taxed at their marginal rate.

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YOUR PROPERTY STUDENT ACCOMMODATION PARTNER

PREPARING YOUR PROPERTY FOR LETTING Simon Thompson

Director of Accommodationforstudents.com

AS A LANDLORD, FINDING QUALITY TENANTS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT ONLY PAY THEIR RENT ON TIME BUT ALSO LOOK AFTER THE PROPERTY. There are a number of tips that landlords can utilise, however, to ensure that by preparing their property effectively they will attract the type of tenant they would like.

Firstly, when a current tenant checks out, it provides a nice opportunity to undertake any repairs and prepare thoroughly for a new tenant.

Indeed, the people at MyDeposits, one of the legally-recognised tenancy deposit protection schemes, offers help and advice for this event.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

This is because the likelihood of a complaint or a landlord wanting to retain part of the deposit to help pay for repairs or cleaning come to a head.

The organisation says the landlord should remind their tenant of their responsibilities at least two weeks before they leave and ask for the opportunity to be present when they do so.

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STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

LANDLORDS SHOULD SPELL OUT A TENANT'S RESPONSIBILITIES. This is the time when a landlord should spell out what they want their tenant to do before leaving.

By all means highlight the repair of any damage and insist on a high level of cleanliness before the property is handed back but the landlord must then, and this could be crucial, assess the current condition of the property and compare it with the check-in report.

For this reason alone it might be useful for the tenant to be on hand to see where the problems are.

The landlord should also focus on the garden, on any items left behind, take the meter readings, detail any missing items and clearly detail and take photographs of any damage.

Many landlords are confused about the term fair wear and tear and they should appreciate that they cannot claim against what could be considered as fair wear over a period of time.

LANDLORDS CAN CLAIM FOR DAMAGE TO THEIR PROPERTY However, should the tenant actually damage the property, the landlord is quite within their rights to make a claim to pay for repairs.

Perhaps the only difference is that a landlord needs to be well-organised to move in and do the checkout process on the day a tenant moves out and to put right any damage or cleanliness issues.

Depending on the type of property, summer months are busy for many landlords so a quick turnaround needs to be undertaken and deposits taken and handed back.

PREPARING A PROPERTY FOR A LETTING SEASON Preparing a property for a letting season means that a landlord also needs to be aware of their legal obligations before doing so.

These will include ensuring that there is a Gas Safety certificate in place for the property and that it has been issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

If the property needs smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors, then ensure that it has. Installing smoke alarms is always a good idea for private rental properties.

A landlord also needs an energy performance certificate before they can let a property and any furnishings and furniture need to be compliant with fire safety regulations.

When a tenant checks out, they should sign the check-out report as being a fair reflection of the property's condition.

There are also a range of other small jobs that should be undertaken, for instance the radiators should be bled properly, leave instruction manuals for the appliances and remember to have a spare set of keys cut.

Among the big issues when tenants’ check-out is the level of cleanliness and landlords are entitled to hire professional cleaners to prepare the property for the next tenant with the previous tenant picking the bill.

Essentially, the tips detailed in this article can be used by landlords with a variety of different properties, whether they are for all-year-round occupation or simply for summer or seasonal lettings. ⌂

For those landlords who are looking for help and advice on how to prepare a tenancy for the summer months, the previous advice from MyDeposits is relevant.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

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YOUR PROPERTY LETTINGS & MANAGEMENT PARTNER

MANAGING YOUR INVESTMENT Paul Ahearn - Samuel Estates

BUILT ON TRUST, INTEGRITY AND COMMITMENT, SAMUEL ESTATES OFFERS LANDLORDS A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF LETTINGS AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES, TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS. When you’re seeking to let out your investment property, there’s nothing worse than having concerns about those handling the let for you. Trust is essential … and you’re in safe hands with us.

With numerous awards and a great name in the local community, we’ve developed a reputation as one of South West London’s most dynamic and friendly agents. We’re not part of a national chain.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

We are proud to be an independent estate agency, free to make our own decisions. And our local knowledge and competitiveness is second to none.

Our full membership of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) – and we are one of the first Estate Agents to be accredited the London Rental Standard and members of Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) - ensures you will receive not only a leading service backed by expert knowledge, but truly professional and friendly lettings and management service.

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We’re here for you - Built on trust, integrity and commitment, Samuel Estates has developed an exceptional reputation for a caring, professional and conscientious service. You can be confident that our team are highly trained and fully understand what you need to achieve your goal. Furthermore, as an independent estate agent we are free to operate in your best interests in all that we do.

⌂

Samuel Estates have guided many clients through selecting the right fittings, fixtures, décor and finishes to ensure the maximum long term rental value for their property. We feel this is so important, that we offer a free advice and consultation service to get you of to the best start.

For more information on how we can help you maximise your return on your investment property, contact Paul Ahearn on 020 8090 9000 or email paul@ samuelestates.com

The first thing to understand is that there are no strict rules guiding whether a landlord should furnish a property. It’s completely up to you whether you offer it with nothing but the bare essentials, or fill the property with furniture. Nevertheless, the decision to let a property furnished or unfurnished will make a difference to your chances of finding a tenant and the kind of tenant you will attract.

Our highly experienced property management team looks after hundreds of properties for UK and Internationally based clients. We carry out regular property inspections and report back directly to you. We are the sole point of contact for tenants so you do not have to worry about routine repairs and maintenance. You won’t experience the unpleasantness of late night phone calls about property problems - we’ve got it covered.

We will take care of all the little details for you, such as notifying the electricity, gas, water and local authority when your tenant moves in. If there is a void period between tenancies, we will settle any interim bills on your behalf to ensure that there are no discrepancies with the changeover.

Unlike most other agents we go out of our way to make sure that we get you a fair price and a great service from the contractors we use for any repairs and maintenance work on your property.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

LETTINGS & MANAGEMENT

If you prefer a more hands-on approach or have a portfolio of properties, we can also build our property management services to match your specific requirements.

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GREAT PROPERTY TIPS

BUY TO SELL TO MAKE SERIOUS POTS OF CASH! Susannah Cole The Good Property Company In this series of articles, we are covering the 7 Stages of a successful Buy to Sell Strategy. Last month we covered Building your Team and Sourcing your Deal. This month we focus on finance and running the refurbishment project, all super important for your success in delivering your Buy to Sell Strategy.

LET'S START WITH THE MONEY...

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS To make sure your property project is profitable you need to know the costs you will incur and your end selling price. Often investors consider the obvious costs, purchase price and refurb costs. However, there are the (as my Uncle John would say) ‘Crud and Corruption’ costs, meaning all the other ‘gubbings’ involved in Buying and Selling Property that people often forget to consider. Typically these add around £8k to a project of around £100 - £150k purchase price.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

To help you, here are the categories of costs you will incur in buying the deal:

FINDING THE DEAL OFFER COSTS, PRIOR TO EXCHANGE EXCHANGE COSTS COMPLETION COSTS FINANCE COSTS REFURBISHMENT COSTS STAGING COSTS SELLING COSTS Before that scares you off, just remember knowing your costs are all part of a process. Once you’ve bottomed out your costs, there is a simple formula to profit. Make sure your margin is 20%. If all of the costs above add up to 100k you need to be sure you can sell it for 120K, otherwise walk away…

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WHY DO WE NEED THAT MARGIN? PRIVATE INVESTOR; 2) To give yourself a safety buffer. In property there’s always an obstacle to give you sleepless nights; roofs leaking, rot discovered, builders being slow…. This 20% margin allows you a safety net for costs overrun as well giving you great profit.

FINANCING THE DEAL Which are the routes to financing the deal, and which do I prefer? Let’s review the options...

CASH;

is great because you get easy fast decisions, you are often the preferred buyer so you are likely to be able to buy great deals. The down side is the level of cash you have will limit your purchasing power. In addition, you compromise an efficient ROCE (return on capital employed), as the capital you are using is significant.

MORTGAGES;

are definitely not the right financial product for BTS as they are about long term lending not for short term in and out projects. Occasionally, mortgage companies do authorise mortgages for BTS projects, so if you insist on using a mortgage check in advance. Be conscious of redemption costs and that mortgages can take time to set up which could impact on your ability to buy the project quickly.

BRIDGING AND SHORT TERM LENDING; scary as bridging may sound, this is the right formal financial route to take as it is set up for shortterm projects. You get some great banks like Shawbrook, here at TGPC we’re a real fan, their rates are good and they have sensible additional fees rather than the large chunks of cash that bridgers used to take, for the ‘hidden’ cost of surveys and legals.

SO, WHAT DO WE DO? Well, we use a mixture of cash, bridging/short term funding and private finance, depending on the project and our situation at time of purchase!

REFURBISHMENT. Well done, you’ve found the project, funded it and now you’re about to make it beautiful! Here we go, this is the craft in the project, and you need to get it right…

This is about managing the refurb successfully, on time and to budget. Project scheduling is an important skill, akin to herding cats if you are working with individual tradesmen.

I suggest that everybody learns how to manage individual trades on the first couple of projects. That way, you will be so glad to contract with a builder and really respect the hard job he has in scheduling and organizing the talented trades to deliver a project on time. In an ideal world, the schedule would look like the list below although often you’ll get overlap between one stage and the next.

The risk for you is if the deal does not sell. You will need to move from short term to long term funding such as a buy to let mortgage. If you have bought well in a good location, it’s hardly a difficulty to retain an asset and manage it as a buy to let property instead bringing you monthly income, a step known as Plan B!

"ALWAYS HAVE PLAN A (SELLING IT) AND PLAN B (RENTING IT)" LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

GREAT PROPERTY TIPS

1) To make profit, and

working with private finance can give you flexibility and improves your scalability. You reduce the amount of profit you get from each project but if you do multiple projects you’ll end up with a higher overall profit. Be aware, that the down side is a serious risk to reputation if any project doesn’t work out which can happen as, well, this is property! Working with private finance takes a lot of time managing good quality relationships, but can be a great way of proceeding with BTS projects. Please be aware of legislation surrounding PS13/3 and ensure compliance.

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GREAT PROPERTY TIPS

PROJECT SCHEDULING 1. Correspond with Building Regs people and apply if needed

2. Rip Out 3. Initial structural build Building Regs in to check structural strengths (gallow brackets, RSJs) 4. Windows, Roof, Wind and Water tight

5. First Fix – electrics and plumbing Building Regs in to check installation satisfactory before the work is covered up

6. Kitchen and bathroom installation

7. Plastering, tiling

8. Garden and external work 9. Second Fix – electrics and plumbing Building Regs in to check final systems install is satisfactory before work is covered up 10. Painting and carpets

11. Snagging

12. Gas, Electric and Building Regs Certificate received

13. Final Sign Off

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

Next month I will conclude our series on Buy to Sell, with a focus on the soft stuff – how to ‘retail’ the property. I will highlight the process of conveyancing, a step many developers miss, and I will share some tips on how we look to have a fast sale, with no delays from our buyer. ⌂ Get in touch! Email TGPC on education@thegoodpropertycompany.co.uk or call 0117 942 8914.

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LANDLORD INSURANCE

ARE YOU AT RISK AS AN EMPLOYER? Steve Cox - Alan Boswell Group Many landlords may never have considered that they actually employ anyone; after all, if they have no full time employees other than themselves, what is the potential problem? But in fact, most could have a potential exposure from a number of areas such as cleaners, rent collectors, builders or other casual labour working on the premises under their supervision.

STEVE COX PROPERTY INSURANCE SPECIALIST FROM ALAN BOSWELL GROUP EXPLAINS WHO IS CLASSED AS AN 'EMPLOYER' AND WHAT YOUR OBLIGATIONS AND POTENTIAL RISKS ARE AS A LANDLORD. May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

The law requires that if you employ anyone to work for you, there must be Employers’ Liability insurance in place to cover them should they be injured as the result of negligence, whilst working for you. The minimum cover required is £5 million, but many insurance companies actually provide double this limit or more, because the level of cover not only has to include any compensation paid, but also the legal costs involved in a claim passing through the courts.

What is more, you must have – and display where it can be seen by employees – a certificate demonstrating that you have this class of insurance.

This can include being displayed on the company’s website, as long as employees are aware and have easy access to it.

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WHO IS AN EMPLOYEE?

But where you have part-time and casual employees the picture might not be quite so clear.

As a general rule (but not exclusively), someone working for you is an employee if some or all of the following apply: • You deduct tax and national insurance contributions from their pay; • You control how and when they work; • You supply the materials and equipment; • You share in any profits they make; • They are treated the same as any other employees.

If, on the other hand, they are clearly working on their own account or for others as well as you, and supplying their own materials, they are unlikely to be employees.

For example, if you employ a cleaner to work two or three hours a day on one or more of your premises, pay net of tax and national insurance deductions and supply the cleaning equipment required, he or she is almost certainly an employee and you must have Employers’ Liability insurance.

If, on the other hand, you employ a firm of cleaners and maintenance operatives to whom you pay a fixed price as a business expense and leave them to manage how they do the work, they are unlikely to be employees.

This is not a remote 'academic' issue. Although property management may appear to be a relatively 'safe' activity, there could be cases where you employ someone to undertake repairs to (for example) the roof. If you were to fail in your duty of care as property owner and the injury or death of the worker involved were to occur, you could find yourself in court defending a substantial claim for damages.

Even if the worker appears to be self-employed – rather than a direct employee of yours – the question will arise regarding his legal relationship with you. If it can be proved that he or she is

Without adequate Employers’ Liability insurance, you could find that you are not only open to prosecution for breaking the law (and fined up to £2,500 for every day on which you do not have insurance) but you could also face the possibility of having to cover the compensation costs out of your own pocket, if you are found to have been negligent in any way.

Even if you are not actually found to be guilty of negligence, you could face legal costs running into tens of thousands of pounds, just to defend the case. And your chances of ever recovering this amount from the claimant are likely to be remote.

EXEMPTIONS There are some exemptions from the requirement to have this class of insurance, such as individuals who employ only very close family members (this does not apply if you are a limited liability business) or where the only employee owns at least 50% of the business. However in view of the modest cost of Employers’ Liability insurance having the cover, even if it is not absolutely essential, is a good idea.

GETTING THE RIGHT ADVICE It is worthwhile being aware that not every Property Owners insurance policy automatically includes Employers Liability insurance, although all those offered by Alan Boswell do. Seek independent professional advice if you are employing or thinking of employing anyone. We are able to provide professional, independent advice and can explain how best to protect against your risks. ⌂ For further advice contact Steve on: T: 01603 218031 M: 07766 715654 W: alanboswell.com/landlords E: scox@alanboswell.com Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Ltd offers a range of other services including business, home, travel and car insurance.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

LANDLORD INSURANCE

Particularly in the case of a property company, it can sometimes be difficult to decide whether you have employees. For example, a full time administrator is clearly an employee, as is a maintenance person or rent collector.

operating independently and simply undertook a project of work on your behalf then any liability you may have in respect of the accident will be covered by your public liability insurance (which you should have as part of your standard Property Owners cover). If, however, the individual is working under your direction and you are supplying the equipment to be used, then they are almost certain to be treated as an employee.

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EXPERT ADVICE

GENERATION RENT David Humphreys Property Investor Online

TENANTS, NOW "TRAPPED IN GENERATION RENT", ONCE AGAIN NEED PROTECTION FROM AVARICIOUS LANDLORDS. Not sure who coined the term "Generation Rent" but it is widely used through Labour’s "Cost-ofLiving contract with hard-working Britain" and there is a lobby group of the same name.

Now, it does depend on whose review of this Labour Party policy you read, ranging from their own piece of print with a forward from Ed himself, through national newspapers with different political persuasions and of course the BBC, as to quite what will be legislated against.

But, once again, the private landlord is being portrayed as the worst kind of capitalist by the Labour Party who seem intent on rolling the clock back over 50 years to protect “Generation Rent” from the excesses visited upon them by greedy private landlords, regardless of the fact that legislation already exists to reduce excessive rents, tackle slum conditions and grant 3-year tenancies, which seldom incur rent increases, because getting the rent for even a 1 week between-tenancies void is the equivalent of at least a 2% rent increase. Well that’s my policy for the 2nd year.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

I say "once again" because back in the 1960s, when I first worked in the PRS, few if any landlords proclaimed the fact for fear of being labelled a "Rachman" and thought of as a profiteer to be legislated against if at all possible.

These were the days of "regulated" rents when often the rent roll did not cover the cost of repairs, which the landlord was legally obliged to carry out.

But with the Labour supported introduction of the Protected Shorthold Tenancy, followed by the Assured Shorthold Tenancy which introduced Open Market Rents and the landlord's right to recover "vacant possession" at the end of any contractual period, we all believed that the Labour Party had changed its position and no longer regarded the private landlord as quite such a pariah.

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BES included residential property. The deal was that an investor received tax relief when investing in a limited company, whose purpose was to buy and let property. The company could borrow, thereby leveraging the investor’s cash and the investment had to be held for a minimum of 5 years.

The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, was that all tenancies were "Assured" and therefore technically speaking, "lifetime". Properties were let at "market rents" and appeared at first sight to be the same as today's AST’s. BES was very attractive to property investors but was finally phased out in 1993 in favour of the Enterprise Investment Schemes which did not include residential property.

It seems we were wrong and that the private landlord will once again be subject to attack regardless of the economics applying at the time as was the case with registered "fair" rents, which could only be reviewed every two years when the review generally took no account of inflation or rising interest rates, both of which were rampant.

So how does the landlord mitigate against this situation, not just assuming that the Labour Party will be in control for the next five years, but assuming that the Labour Party will get control at some time in the future and their current thinking of once again legislating on landlord/tenant matters with a tenant bias won't have changed.

THERE ARE THREE FEARS: 1. That the landlord will be unable to obtain mandatory vacant possession within the proposed default 3 year period.

2.

That the landlord will be unable to increase rents above a cap, probably inflation linked, regardless of increased costs such as interest rates.

At that time I ran a letting/managing/investment agency and was instructed to buy, fix up, let & manage BES properties whilst "guaranteeing" a high probability of achieving vacant possession at the end of five or six years, because the market value with a lifetime tenant would be substantially less than with vacant possession.

My strategy was to buy properties which attracted and let to, two types of tenants.

A) Students. B) Tenants, who ordinarily would be homeowners but, for whatever reason, wanted to rent for 6-12 months.

I concentrated on the "homeowner" tenant and bought one & two bedroom flats, which were ideal for foreign up-market singles & couples. I did not want to house children because that introduced a possibility of longevity due to schooling.

The portfolios I created were in a University City so, in the majority of cases, I had voluntary vacant possession in June with the properties relet towards the end of September (Academic Year).

During these summer months, there was always a demand for short lets.

3.

That the legislation is made retrospective in that both the "3 year period” and "rent cap" will apply to current AST’s.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

EXPERT ADVICE

I know from experience that all these fears can be mitigated. In 1983, pre-buy to let, the Conservative Government introduced BES (Business Expansion Schemes) which gave investors a tax break going in to an investment and a tax break exiting after five years.

EXPERT ADVICE

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The properties were carefully selected by location & neighbourhood and then fixed up to a very high standard to attract the summer short let market because the return on the investment was boosted by filling that summer void.

This strategy could be operated very effectively today, subject to location & neighbourhood, provided that the properties underwent a high-quality fix up and were fit for 2 purposes.

Initially housing the voluntary vacating tenants prepared to pay a premium rent for quality and secondly, attractive to potential buyers without needing any substantial upgrading.

The last rent, if that is to be disclosed to a new tenant, would be the premium short let rent!

An alternative strategy is to take a long-term view and provide quality housing for the LHA market.

My experience in this market over the last 15 years, which has involved buying, fixing up, & letting hundreds of distressed properties bought at auction, is that the LHA family tenants respect quality housing treating it as their home and don’t jeopardise it by being in breach of contract .

By developing a portfolio in a single location/neighbourhood is highly likely that a landlord could offer their tenant alternative comparable housing in the same neighbourhood within nine months if the landlord wanted to sell.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

By buying and fixing up properties, the initial and future rents would be based on the first rent achieved by the investor and not on any rent achieved prior to ownership and that rent, as far as I'm aware and unlike house sale prices, is not currently published.

In any event, if you are going to work in the LHA market, it is best to try and keep to the LHA rents and boost your income by selling a property each year, to take advantage of the CGT exemption and lower CGT as against the Income Tax applying to rental profits.

There remains one aspect of capped rents which you need to mitigate against, and that is mortgage interest.

Mortgage payments take the biggest chunk of rent each month, over half the rent with high leveraged properties, and any serious increase in interest rates could/would be catastrophic.

My advice would be to lock in to a "fixed rate". How long, really, the longer the better, but certainly that initial 3 year period and possibly 5-6 years. There are other mortgage variables to consider such as capping, portability & redemption penalties Interest is the only cost that can be crippling provided that your property is fixed up to a high standard to start with resulting in relatively low maintenance and repair costs plus loss of income from voids & rent arrears.

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One other matter which you need to resolve quickly is what happens if the Labour’s stated policy of banning letting agents charging the tenant a fee is passed into law because, realistically, that loss of your letting agent’s income can only be recovered with an increase in your fees.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with another aspect of the Labour’s policy, the standard of rented housing in the UK. Often it is dire and yet there is no reason why UK tenants can't be provided with good quality housing regardless of their circumstances. Okay so laws exist to deal with this problem but unfortunately they are not enforced and we have the scandal of tenants who complain about their substandard housing being given notice to quit and evicted.

Just as we strive to have an NHS that we can all be proud of, so we should have a PRS that is the envy of the world. Also, just as the sick are not going to go away or reduce in numbers, neither is Generation Rent. ⌂

Whilst I completely disagree with any political meddling in the Private Rented Sector, I have to say that in many respects, the industry has brought it upon themselves. The fees charged by letting agents really are, in many cases, iniquitous, particularly extension fees every 6 months!

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

EXPERT ADVICE

After that you have insurance & statutory checks to pay, which should creep up in line with inflation, letting and management which should remain a fixed percentage of your rent, so if the rent can't be increased, neither can the letting and management fees, professional fees which again should creep up in line with inflation and most other possibly high costs, flood, fire, malicious damage, rent arrears, are all insurable risks.

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EXPERT ADVICE

EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BUY-TO-LET MARKET David Lawrenson - Letting Focus david@lettingfocus.com David Lawrenson, author of the highest selling property book, “Successful Property letting – How to Make Money in Buy to Let” and an independent landlord advisor at www.LettingFocus.com looks at the private rented sector today.

PENSIONS CHANGES AND MORTGAGES It’s a long time ago now, but the 2014 budget is worth remembering as a bit of a watershed moment for residential investment property. And probably one of the more significant things could come from the changes to pensions rules: Now that people are allowed to take more of their pension as a lump sum instead of being forced to buy an annuity, it could be that many more people, at retirement, will opt to take 25% of their pension lump sum as cash and invest it into residential property investment. Expect more grey haired landlords.

After similar moves by Skipton and Manchester Building Societies and the Bank of Ireland, went unchallenged, landlords finally decided they had enough and fought back against the latest move (by the West Bromwich Building Society). The website Property118 started a representative legal action – and the case was heard in the high court on 21st January 2015, but incredibly the landlords lost.

Property118 have sought to appeal – and we hope they succeed. If you are on a cheap tracker rate, you should be following this case very carefully.

BUILD TO LET UPDATE - WILL THE LENDERS RENEGING ON TRACKER BIG PLAYERS MAKE A SUCCESS RATE MORTGAGES OF PRIVATE RENT? The ongoing moves to try to wriggle out of tracker mortgages by some banks and building societies are quite astonishing, given the recent environment in which banks and other financial services companies seem to be competing to make the headlines for the wrong reasons - whether that’s swaps miss-sold to small businesses, rigged Libor and Forex rates or unsuitable PPI flogged to retail customers.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

One aspect of the increasing interest from big scale overseas property investors and property funds is in large scale "build to let" - this is where big developments are built exclusively for private let. (Others dabbling in the market are housing associations and UK pension funds). The idea is that by building on a large scale and leveraging lower funding costs than private landlords can muster, the funds will make money for the backers.

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GOOD AND BAD ADVICE IN PROPERTY INVESTMENT As long as there is money to be made in buy to let, there will be some gurus and advisors giving advice to private landlords. This can involve risky financing techniques (for those who don’t have the capital for deposits) and / or the sourcing of supposedly great “below market value” leads (for those who are time constrained and don’t wish to find their own deals). Always be wary of gurus selling the concept of “financial freedom” – especially where that can be supposedly be achieved in just a couple of years.

A buzz way to make money that's surprisingly still doing the rounds is something called "Rent to Rent" (which we think is a sure way to get a lot of hassle for very little money - even for the promoters!). One variant is where the punters let their property to a "middleman" agent company that claims it will pay a guaranteed rent, thus taking away all the daily hassle of being a landlord. Sometimes their strategy involves cramming properties with housing benefit tenants on single room rents.

A company in London offering such a "service" got into financial trouble, in 2014, and many landlords have seen their “guaranteed rent” turn out to be anything but guaranteed. The housing benefit money was paid over by the councils but has apparently disappeared and the landlords now face having to evict tenants.

We have seen many exhortations to invest in other collective schemes, but sometimes a careful study of the prospectuses reveals multiple fee levels for the many advisors involved. And when you want to get out, the value could be reduced massively by the ability of the manager to find a buyer – basically these are usually illiquid investments. Tread carefully and pick any scheme with care.

PROPERTY - THE GREAT INFLATIONARY HEDGE ON WHICH YOU CAN BORROW TO INVEST Real assets such as property usually hold value better in an inflationary environment than bonds or cash deposits, so this creates an added incentive to buy property to let. And, of course, it is an investment that allows you to borrow to invest as well as set off interest costs against rental income as you build up a portfolio. (Try asking your bank for a loan to buy shares and you'll be shown the door. Try asking for a loan to buy a house and you will be asked to sit down for a chat!)

But success as an investor in residential property is not as easy as what some of the “financial freedom through property” lobby would have their followers believe.

And all buyers of property, whether investors or buying for themselves, should stress test their investments to see how their cash flow would look in the event of rising interest rates.

Meanwhile, rental inflation has been below the rate of general inflation for much of the last 5 years across most of the UK – not that you would know that from reading the press where the talk is often of “soaring rents” but there are signs in recent months that rents are rising strongly.

At LettingFocus we advise both landlord and organisations that wish to sell to landlords in the private rented sector or develop a successful relationship with landlords or tenants. Clients range from banks to local authorities to property portals. ⌂

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

EXPERT ADVICE

The new entrants also hope to provide a higher standard of product and levels of service than private landlords offer - and also to offer longer term tenancies. Some will succeed - but only where costs can be reduced enough. However, at LettingFocus, we think many of these new big players will have to pedal very hard to compete with private landlords on running-cost efficiencies and on real service levels. And we think much of the “product” on offer is boring and designed to appeal to some design guru’s often odd ideal of a sort of post college common room and communal “living space”.

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YOUR PROPERTY PARTNER

THE SEVEN MOST SIGNIFICANT POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING WHICH MANAGEMENT AGENT TO LOOK AFTER YOUR PRECIOUS PROPERTY Marie Parris - George Ellis Property Services There are a number of landlords who receive a sub-standard service from their managing agents.

Some have never seen nor signed an agency contract, most would not be able to tell you who their tenants are, rents are often paid infrequently, causing rent arrears and much distress to any landlord. Giving your instruction to the wrong management agency, just because they "look good" from all angles is not an indication that they know what they are doing in this highly regulated sector. You have to ask the right questions and do your due diligence.

Here are my seven most significant points to delve deeper into.

1. WHO ARE THE PEOPLE Where possible you want to meet the person/people who will be responsible for managing your property. A voice over the phone or an impressive website is not enough. Are they qualified, and if not do they understand the lettings and management business?

I meet so many people who are potentially “qualified” but clueless. ARLA will be introducing a regulation next year that you will need to have a qualified person in each branch/office at any time. If you are dealing with online agents – do they have an office that you can pop into at any time, without the need to make a prior appointment. The look and feel of the office (papers everywhere is not good equals chaos and sensitive data should be secured) can tell you a bit about their organisational skills. How they make you feel, their soft skills characteristics all play a part to how well they will manage. Being reasonable, flexible, knowledgeable and with clear communication are good key indicators you should be looking out for.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

2. TRANSPARENCY Start with their agreements are they clear and easy to read? Do they tell you about their service agreement levels? How easy is it to terminate the agreement? When sending you a regular monthly statements and invoices do they account for all costs by attaching all invoices from trade professionals?

Data protection must be taken seriously and used appropriately when referencing. A company's privacy policy can inform the subject (the tenant) that you will be passing the information over to a third party (to the landlord).

Therefore, the application form, supporting documents and replies of confirmations can be passed to the landlord, providing the potential tenant agrees and is aware what will happen to their data. This way you have complete transparency that what they say they do, they actually do.

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YOUR PROPERTY PARTNER

3. COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCING Get this wrong and your management is heading for disaster. Knowing who is in your property and whether they have the affordability is essential. Allow me to share a little further with you. Basic tenant checks are worthless as there is no basic eviction process.

We all have to go through the same legal procedure, when requiring possession of our property – so why would you settle for a basic tenant check?

Landlords must familiarise themselves with the process of referencing, whether the agency is doing so in-house or using a third party. No credit check is full proof assurance of someone’s financial ability to pay.

It tells you about their financial history and whether at some point they got into trouble with creditors.

Anyone can fall into genuine financial hardship. A man (or woman), could get divorced and then find that months later they lose their job and go through a period when they can no longer afford to pay the bills – which could result in some adverse information being registered against the individual.

A year later or so, they are back on track. Because of this common life circumstance does this mean they are potentially a bad tenant? The trouble with the PRS it that it has a great herd mentality and whilst I am not saying to anyone that you should take on people with CCJs etc you have to assess your own risk. If insurance companies had a rent guarantee/ legal expense product to support this type of potential tenant would landlords shy away? Perhaps it is time that insurance companies wake up and smell the coffee and step out and be different and get a product like this to the market.

Another great myth is affordability in multiples. How ridiculous and whoever thinks this is a great way to assess potential tenants affordability you need to think again. Because there is no industry standard on tenant referencing (yet), a lot of us are lead to believe (herd mentality creeping in yet again) that this is acceptable it is not! It is to insult a landlord’s intelligence to suggest otherwise. Go back to old fashion affordability. Cash flow surplus. As an agency, we complete all tenant referencing in house, having two people on the same salary is not acceptance of their affordability. The only true way you can measure this is by initially having obtained all the necessary information on application form and in supporting documents and assessing what is the surplus monthly cash flow left over after all expenditure has been deducted.

If a tenant is increasing their rent by an extra £300 a month (London based), but they only have £200 every month between them they clearly may be who they say they are but they do not have the affordability? There are a number of win/win strategies that can be put in place, but are rarely offered and then when things turn sour the outcome is win to the tenant/lose to the landlord. With multiples this type of tenant would have been given the acceptance tick.

Likely to result in them being unable to pay in coming months.

The only way to satisfy yourself that the checks have been done is if the agency would be prepared to share the data with you.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

YOUR PROPERTY PARTNER

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4. METHOD OF OPERATION

7. EXPERTISE

What is their management style? What is their procedure when dealing with repairs? As part of the Deregulation Act 2015 you will all need to ensure that any repairs are logged and dealt with by a reasonable response in 14 days or you could find yourself in a position of not being able to use S21 notice.

As a landlord you should be able to rely on the expertise of the management agent but some are amateurs, others are very good and then you have the mediocre in between. Any letting agency (or online operation) can market a property on the main portals, open a door with a key and show a prospective tenant your property. This is not what any self-respecting landlords should look at when assessing the services of a good management company.

How often are they visiting your property? Do they give you updated interim reports with photos? You want there to be a cleared log of all exchanges with tenants/you/trades in connection with the property.

This is why when you pop into an office and can see this is all in place it makes you feel more secure that the agency is covering all bases. These are just a few of the questions you need to ask there are a lot more besides these.

5. CLIENT MONEY PROTECTION Just because all lettings and management agencies had to join a redress scheme (law since 1st of October 2014) please do not take this that all agencies have CMP. Many do not as it is not a legal requirement and therefore certain redress schemes when applying for membership this is not a problem. However, it is imperative that you see evidence of this being in place and it is valid.

It is a vital protection for landlords that if in the event a company goes into liquidation your money is ring fenced. It is best to ask and seek now, than find out later that it had expired and was never renewed!

Knowledge by itself is useless, what you require is “applied knowledge” if they have no idea how to apply it to their day to day managements and there is no consistency, fairness, professionalism and transparency in their business, you are associating with the wrong management agency. Renting property for many is a business, for some it is a necessity due to family circumstances/commitments changing.

No one wants to lose their investment or home nor face any litigation because of the action or non-action of the management company. Get it right and its great. Get it wrong - give notice to end management and move it on to an agent who exhibits these signs.

⌂ Marie Parris is CEO & founder of George Ellis Property Services, the company operates across six disciplines to include lettings & management across London, an independent tenant referencing service, inventories and sales. Marie provides personal landlord tuition courses – see website for more details.

6. HUNGRY, BUT NOT GLUTTONOUS The landlord is to adopt the role of “interviewer” Finding out what motivates the agency (owner(s) and staff) Ascertain when was the last time the agency went the extra mile for a client and did not charge extra. What sort of things do they do outside of their normal remit and why?

Sometimes understanding the history of an agency and why they set up can give you valuable insight into their culture. Cut throat sales or Caring Sales?

Whilst every business has to survive on making sales, you can still be ethical and do honourable business.

George Ellis Property Services can be contacted on: WEST END 26 Dover Street Mayfair London W1S 4LY Telephone: 0207 763 7200 SOUTH LONDON 261 Beckenham Road Beckenham Kent BR3 4RP Telephone: 0208 778 9686 Email: info@georgeellis.london Web: www.georgeellis.london Twitter: @geproperty

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

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LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

38

PROSPECT INVESTORS CLUB: INVESTMENT

THE SECRET TO CREATING WEALTH THROUGH PROPERTY Peter Licourinos - Prospect Investors Club An interview with Peter Licourinos - Director of the Prospect Group, Owner of Prospect Investors Club, Mentor, Inspirational Leader & Entrepreneur.

IT'S NO SECRET THAT PROPERTY IS ONE OF THE MOST LUCRATIVE AVENUES TO INVEST IN, BUT HOW SIMPLE IS IT TO TRULY BECOME WEALTHY THROUGH PROPERTY? Prospect Investors Club is one of the UK’s only dedicated Investment Clubs and Berkshire's only dedicated Investment Club, completely run by property professionals within an estate agency group. Peter Licourinos, Owner, Director, Mentor and successful Investor himself, talks with us about becoming wealthy through property investment, the goldmine areas, their monthly Property Investors Network (PIN) meetings and the long awaited launch of their new website.

SO PETER, IS IT TRUE THAT PROPERTY INVESTMENT IS AN EASY ROUTE TO BECOMING WEALTHY? Yes, it is! Property investment is easy – IF you seek the correct advice. Many believe that you can buy a property and just watch the money roll in, unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. There are many things to consider when investing in property. Finding an area and a strategy that suits your aims is important, keeping up with the changes in the property market, trends and evolving strategies is imperative.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW INVESTOR? I would recommend you always take your time and seek advice from professionals before investing in a property. This is to enable you to find a strategy that suits you and helps you understand what the local market, schools, unemployment rates, transport links and above all, demand, is in that area.

Often people are uncomfortable seeking advice and that can lead to investing in the wrong property or area. Not to mention costing lots of money!

YOU MENTION INVESTING IN THE RIGHT AREA A LOT, IS AREA THAT IMPORTANT? Area is one of the most important things to consider before investing. Many people used to use sourcing agents to find them properties from all across the UK. Since the crash in 2008, many Investors have stayed closer to home, which we feel is the best option. Investing closer to home enables you to view any properties before purchasing, do your own due diligence with local agents as well as keeping a close eye on demand, unemployment rates and schooling.

Besides all of this, we are lucky enough to live within the top ‘Goldmine Areas’ in the UK – so why would you invest anywhere else?

39

GOLDMINE AREAS? TELL ME MORE!

WOW, SOUNDS ACTION PACKED!

Areas such as Reading, Bracknell and Maidenhead have so many attributes that they have unquestionable Goldmine status; they offer a high return on investment as well as the option to use a variety of strategies and tenant demand increases daily with the new Cross Rail developments.

It is! The property market is ever changing so we try to ensure we cover as much as possible in every meeting. Every day is a school day!

I'M NOT PARTICULARLY 'CASH RICH', CAN I STILL INVEST?

Yes, visit us online! We have just launched our new website www.prospectinvestorsclub.co.uk which keeps you up-to-date with property news, legislation trends of both national and local councils, insights into different strategies we are successfully using, detailed information on the local goldmine areas, top tips and so much more. It really is a one-stop-shop for everything you’ll need when investing in property, and it’s free to join!

Yes you can! Most money makers and Property Investors, believe it or not, started with little or no money at all! So it goes to show, making money isn’t just a dream, it’s a reality which is available to everyone.

YOU SAY THE INVESTORS CLUB IS THE SECRET TO CREATING WEALTH THROUGH PROPERTY. CAN YOU TELL ME YOUR SECRET? I’d love to! You can join me at our monthly PIN Meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at The Holiday Inn, Basingstoke Road, Reading and I’ll be happy to disclose the secrets! You can also arrange a private one-to-one meeting, free of charge, where I’ll not only tell you the secrets, I will work with you to find the right strategy, find you a property (or several!) and really help you on your way to becoming wealthy through property.

WHAT CAN ATTENDEES EXPECT AT THE PIN MEETING, EXCEPT FOR YOUR SECRETS OF COURSE! We believe one of the best ways for you to become more successful is to surround yourself with like-minded successful people, from whom you can both learn and be inspired by.

That’s why we teamed up with Simon Zutshi and his Property Investors Network (PIN) team to create Reading’s biggest and best property networking event. Each meeting brings together some of the top speakers, trainers and investors throughout the UK, gives you great insights of the local Goldmine Areas, including case studies on various strategies with fig-

OKAY, SO IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL ME TODAY?

OH, SO I CAN SEE EVERYTHING ONLINE? Not everything! Our brand new website www.prospectinvestorsclub.co.uk is jam packed full of information, data, resources and certainly gives an insight in to what we do. As I mentioned earlier, it’s quite a simple formula, but it needs explaining in context.

If you are interested in becoming wealthy through property, then I recommend coming in and having an informal, confidential chat about your goals and aspirations. Together, we can tailor make you a plan and work together to ensure you achieve them.

Well it’s clear after speaking with Peter that Property Investment is a sure fire way to becoming wealthy, but how, it looks like we’ll find out at his next PIN Meeting on the 2nd of June! You can find out more information about the PIN meetings at http://prospectinvestorsclub.co.uk/training-events/reading-pin and for people who have never attended before they can get their first event free! ⌂ If you’d like to meet with Peter on a one-to-one basis, then book online here, email Peter at peter@ prospectinvestorsclub.co.uk or call 0118 955 9712

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

INVESTMENT

In and around Berkshire there are some really great areas to invest in. With high yields, continuous demand and excellent transport links these areas offer such lucrative returns, we’ve named them our local ‘Goldmine Areas’.

ures and yields, current market trends, new and upcoming legislations, lettings and investment updates, financial updates and of course the chance to network with other local investors… Plus much, much more!

40

INVESTMENT

BERKSHIRE PROPERTY MEET CELEBRATES EIGHT YEAR ANNIVERSARY Juswant Rai & Sylvia Rai Berkshire Property Meet Tracey Hanbury interviews Juswant and Sylvia Rai, founders of the Berkshire Property Meet.

WHEN & WHY WAS THE BERKSHIRE PROPERTY MEET ESTABLISHED? Way way back in 2004 / 2005 when we first wanted to get started in property there was a perceived lack of places to find out good information about investing in property. Juswant did search a online and found a property networking event.

No idea what to expect or he would meet he went along to see what it was all about. Juswant was very sceptical about what he heard and went away unconvinced. However he did go back and back.

Met some great people and learn’t lots just by listening in on conversations. Sylvia soon joined him in a property networking frenzy across the UK. In 2007 Juswant & Sylvia decided they would like to meet some local people and set something up in a pub to meet a handful of people. They emailed and text a few friends to spread the word.

That first evening was on 2nd April 2007!

Little did they know how far the word would spread and how hungry people were to learn? 50 people turned up. Sylvia & Juswant had never met 48 of them before. As they all left they kept saying see you at the next one!

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

And on 16th April 2007, thus the Berkshire Property Meet was born!

The Berkshire Property Meet was born out a passion for property and a bigger passion for meeting like-minded people for positive association and sharing of knowledge.

HOW HAS THE MEETINGS GROWN OVER THE YEARS? Word of mouth spread like wild fire and the Bekrshire Property Meet grew from 50-100 people within a few short months forcing them to move to a bigger venue. Within 6 months the meeting became the biggest and most reputable Property Networking Event in the UK.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO LANDLORDS/ INVESTOR WHO ATTEND A MEETING AND WHO IS WELCOME TO ATTEND? Whether you are a novice, expert, investor or professional. There is something there for you. Put your ego to one-side and realise you ‘don’t know what you don’t know’. Come with an open mind and be a healthy sceptic. With 200 people in the room. We have done the hard work for you.

People leave empowered and richer in knowledge contacts and belief.

41

ANYTHING TO HIGHLIGHT?

In fact it was quite the opposite – people were literally flocking to our meeting to find out answers on what to do next. What now? Where to next? How do we make this work now? We were putting on 3 events a month to meet the demand of everyone!

HOW CAN THEY HELP NEW INVESTORS? For people new to property it’s a great ice breaker and helps you get to know people. You can ask lots of questions and do your DUE DILIGENCE!

HOW CAN THEY HELP LOCAL PROPERTY RELATED BUSINESSES?

If there is one thing we have discovered during the last 8 years of hosting this amazing event, is that the answer is out there – you just need to ask the question!

Also all of your remaining 2015 dates, address of venue and a link where people can register for tickets. ⌂

We always have people asking us for property professionals from brokers to roofers and all points between people want to meet you and add you to their team.

Our events are on the 3rd Monday of every month (excl August and December).

GUEST SPEAKERS, WHO HAS BEEN THE MOST INSPIRING?

15 June 2015

We were introduced to a gentleman a few years ago who has gone on to change the way the world thinks and behaves. This man had an idea of creating an annual DAY OF PEACE around the world. A day on which there would be global cease-fire and non-violence every year.

21 Sept 2015

After 3 years of his unwavering belief, passion, sweat and tears, this mans idea was presented at the United Nations in 2001 and the resolution was unanimously adopted.

Thanks to JEREMY GILLEY, 21 September officially became PEACE ONE DAY across the world, a day of global cease-fire and non-violence.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE MEETINGS IN FUTURE?

DATES ARE: 20 July 2015

19 October 2015 16 November 2015

LOCATION Maidenhead Holiday Inn, Manor Lane, SL6 2RA

DOORS OPEN 6.45pm. Speaker starts at 7.45pm

WEBSITE www.berkshirepropertymeet.com for more information and to register for tickets

EMAIL EventsTeam@berkshirepropertymeet.com

The aim of our meeting is to help people. That was our mission at the start and that is still our mission now. We are always looking for valuable, ethical partners to work with to help our attendees in the best way we can so that they can grow, create wealth and have a ripple effect to those around them.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

INVESTMENT

Crash in 2007-08 was quite an insight. There were queues forming outside Northern Rock banks and we thought that our newtorking journey may come to an end.

42

LEGAL

THE DEREGULATION BILL - EXPLAINED! Paul Shamplina - Landlord Action The Deregulation Bill came into force on 27th March 2015. Landlord Action were involved with government consultations and giving evidence at Parliament relating to retaliation eviction. The bill contains a number of measures which will affect landlords of residential tenancies in different ways over the next three years.

THE PRINCIPLE AREAS IT AFFECTS ARE: 1. ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES 2. TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION 3. SECTION 21 NOTICES AND DISREPAIR ISSUES. Not all measures were implemented with immediate effect but here Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action explains what has or is changing, when it will affect landlords and which changes should already have been made or will need to be carried out in the future.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES (EPC) Applicable now. All landlords need to provide tenants with an EPC and a Gas Safety Certificate before the tenancy begins. If at a later date the landlord wants to serve a section 21 notice on a tenant, he will need to prove the tenant has been provided with these two documents, without which the landlord will be prevented from doing so.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION Applicable now. The Deregulation Bill clarifies some ambiguities relating to tenancy deposit protection which were not fully spelt out in the Housing Act 2004 and which were subsequently considered and ruled out in the Superstrike case and Ng c Charalambous – both Landlord Action cases. The bill has introduced a number of different measures which cover different scenarios.

SCENARIO:- A fixed term tenancy which started before April 2007 which went periodic after April 2007 – (the Superstrike position)

RESPONSE:

If a landlord has not protected a tenant’s deposit and served the prescribed information on the tenant – he/she must now do so. Landlords now have a period of time ending 23rd June 2015 to do this without penalty. If a landlord does not do this before 23rd June 2015, it will not be possible to do so afterwards and it willl be necessary to return the deposit to the tenant in order to serve a section 21 notice.

43

LIFE SPAN Applicable from 1st October 2015 for all new tenancies created after that date and will apply to all tenancies (regardless of the date they started) from 1st October 2018.

before April 2007 and went periodic before April 2007 – (the Ng v Charalambous position)

RESPONSE:

A landlord must protect the deposit and serve prescribed information on the tenant before serving a section 21 notice.

He/she can protect the deposit and serve the PI at any time and there are no penalties for late compliance, but it has to be done before serving a section 21 notice.

SCENARIO: A fixed term tenancy which started after April 2007 which has been subsequently renewed or went periodic.

RESPONSE:

Provided the landlord protected the deposit and served PI during the first term, then he/she no longer has to re-protect the deposit or re-serve the PI. If the deposit was not protected and PI served within the first term, then the landlord will need to return the deposit to the tenant before serving a section 21 notice.

SECTION 21 NOTICES There are two main changes to section 21 notices – one in relation to the form and length of notice and the other in response to so called retaliatory evictions.

Form of Notice – Applicable from 1st July 2015 Currently, there are two types of notices – a S21(1)(b) which is used during a fixed term tenancy, and a s21(4)(a) which is used during a periodic tenancy, or when a fixed term becomes periodic.

RETALIATORY EVICTIONS Applicable from 1st October 2015. If a tenant serves a written complaint on a landlord, the landlord must respond within 14 days specifying the proposed action he/she is going to take. If the landlord does not provide an adequate written response within 14 days and the tenant then complains to the local authority, who decides to serve an Improvement Notice or carries out emergency remedial action themselves, then until the works are carried out and signed off by the local authority, the landlord will not be able to validly serve a s21 notice.

If no written complaint from a tenant has been received before a landlord serves a s21 notice then it will not be affected by these provisions.

⌂

Landlord Action Public Relations: Helen Evison, Landlord Action T: 01276 62201, M: 07979 537 335 Paul Shamplina, Founder, T: 020 8906 3838

Landlord

PR Action

Going forward, if the tenancy originated with a fixed term, landlords can now use one type of notice regardless of whether it is currently fixed or periodic.

LANDLORD INVESTOR May 2015

LEGAL

SCENARIO: Fixed term tenancy which started

In addition to the changes in the types of s21 notice which can be used, s21 notices now have a limited life span. Currently there is no limit to how long after the notice is serviced it can be relied on in possession proceedings. Going forward (from October 2015) landlords will not be able to serve a s21 during the first 4 months of the originating tenancy. Furthermore, the notice will only last 6 months from the date of service.

If a landlord doesn’t issue possession proceedings during the 6 months from the date of service, it will be necessary to serve a fresh notice and then wait for it to expire.

LEGAL

44

JUST HOW IMPORTANT REALLY IS PRICE IN POTENTIAL CLIENTS' DECISION TO INSTRUCT A SOLICITOR?

I was recently involved in a discussion group online, run by representatives of the legal profession, where this question was raised. I was amazed to see how many commented on this subject.

It is reported that out of 4,500 home movers just 13% choose the cheapest conveyancer. Contrary to belief, consumers are more focussed and now looking for quality and are more likely to instruct on recommendation!

Many comments from participants in the group, of which nearly all agreed that price was very much a secondary consideration. It appeared the more the discussion continued, good old fashioned customer service was a higher priority and good communication appeared to be the number one priority.

It would seem that consumers search for Legal Services and may contact a Solicitor to ask a variety of questions, but it is assumed that price is the key question, when really asking the right questions and striking up a rapour with prospective client, could put the client at ease, hence giving a tick on the communication sought.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

We are extremely aware that clients’ who are well informed by being able to read previous client reviews, understand that client’s feedback is valued by the practice they are reviewing, which then provides confidence and the reassures they are seeking. This is a well-balanced, winning formula.

Being on the internet is crucial, however, as websites become more readily available and these are put together by those selling their own services. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of how dressing a shop window can be inviting to lure in prospective clients, but the question most are demanding answers to is, what my experience will be and what is the quality of the service offered?

Place your practice with a brand which receives over 1.1 million visits per month and has received over 1,660,019 recommendations for our members, making our brand the leaders in the review industry for your clients! ⌂ Call Freephone: 0800 093 8414 or visit www.checkaprofessional.com

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46

LEGAL

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BETTER INFORMED THAN YOUR TENANT

IF YOU ASK YOUR TENANT TO LEAVE YOUR PROPERTY AT THE END OF THE TENANCY AND HE OR SHE SAYS "YES, OF COURSE", YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THIS ARTICLE. If, on the other hand, you ask your tenant to leave your property and he or she says “I am not leaving.

I know my rights” please read on. These pointers might help you.

There have been a number of legal changes in just the last few weeks. However the basic position is still as follows: If you take a deposit, you must “protect” the deposit and you must also serve certain “Prescribed Information” on the tenant and any person who paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf.

PROTECTING THE DEPOSIT This is the easy bit. If you knew you had to do this, the chances are that you will already have successfully done this by yourself as there is plenty of good guidance out there via MyDeposit or DPS and the like.

However if you did not protect the deposit when you should have done so, the most fool proof way to ensure that you are not prevented from seeking possession is to refund the deposit. If you cannot refund the deposit or do not wish to do so, there are remedial steps you can take but none of these steps will entirely eliminate the risk of a financial penalty being imposed on you. The Courts have not exactly been consistent in their approach on this issue.

May 2015

LANDLORD INVESTOR

I would just make the point that if you took a deposit before 6th April 2007 and the fixed term of the tenancy has expired you no will no longer be penalised if you did not protect the deposit. Hurrah! Having made that point, I will now concentrate on the legal bits that in my experience as a landlord and tenant solicitor so many landlords get wrong.

PRESCRIBED INFORMATION Serving Prescribed Information entails more than giving the tenant a copy of the tenancy deposit certificate! (If you don’t know what a tenancy deposit certificate is, you may be in more trouble than you thought). Serving Prescribed Information also entails more than giving the tenant the Deposit Scheme’s information leaflet. You have to set out some further information in writing.

There are slight differences between the different statutory deposit schemes and these need to be reflected in the Prescribed Information you serve. If you are not sure what information to provide, ask!

SECTION 8 NOTICES If you wish to evict your tenant on the basis of rent arrears, you may well wish to rely on a notice under s8 of the Housing Act 1988. Please note that the prescribed form has been changed and not all stationers have cottoned on to this change. ⌂ Simon is a solicitor and Partner at Ormerods Solicitors who are specialists in Landlord and Tenant law

RETURNING TO

LONDON OLYMPIA OLYMPIA CONFERENCE CENTRE, HAMMERSMITH ROAD, LONDON, W14 8UX

Thursday 4th June 2015 FREE ENTRY · 10AM - 5PM

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUY-TO-LET UNDER ONE ROOF! COMPREHENSIVE EXHIBITION MEET INDUSTRY LEADERS GAIN VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES NETWORK WITH PROPERTY PROFESSIONALS MEET WITH OVER 70 EXHIBITORS Over 20 seminars delivered by Industry Experts with more to be announced: Kate Faulkner Property Checklists

Robert Ellice easyProperty.com

Simon Zutshi Property Investors Network

David Sandeman Essential Information Group

David Lawrenson LettingFocus

Paul Shamplina Landlord Action

Marie Parris George Ellis Property Services

David Humphreys Property Investor Online

Susannah Cole The Good Property Company

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