Li Magazine 39th edition

LANDLORD INVESTOR LANDLORD | PROPERTY | INVESTMENT

39TH EDITION | 2018

COULD YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY BE AN HMO? / SHOULD YOU BE INVESTING IN YOURSELF BEFORE YOU INVEST IN PROPERTY? / DUE DILIGENCE ON DEVELOPERS WHEN BUYING OFF-PLAN / THE LATEST MARKET NEWS / IS A NEW ERA DAWNING NOW FACEBOOK HAS ENTERED THE RENTAL MARKET? / INVENTORIES – IT PAYS TO GET IT RIGHT / WHY CARDIFF'S BEING VIEWED AS A GREAT PLACE TO INVEST / PAY LESS TAX AND INCREASE YOUR WEALTH WITH A SSAS PROPERTY PENSION / WHY IS BUILD-TO-RENT BOOMING IN MANCHESTER?

MAN CH E STE R 9 O C T >> C AR D I FF 17 OC T > > L O N D O N O LY M P I A 6 N O V

LANDLORD INVESTMENT SHOW FINAL DESTINATIONS. TURN TO PAGE 4 FOR A REVIEW OF 2018 SHOWS SO FAR.

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WELCOME Welcome to the 39th Edition of Landlord Investor Magazine.

As the days get shorter and we see the last rays of sunshine I’m drawn to reflect upon what a great summer it’s been. We’ve been up and down the country with The Landlord Investment Show and even in the uncertain shadow of Brexit the appetite for property investment seems as hungry as ever. We still have Cardiff to look forward to on 17 October, before heading home to London for the year’s grand finale at Olympia on November 6. As always our speakers and seminars went down a storm and you can find further discussion from some of our resident experts in this issue of our magazine.

Tom Entwistle wonders if your rental property could inadvertently be an HMO? Simon Zutshi poses the question of self-improvement, and asks if you should be investing in yourself before you invest in property? Paul Mahoney examines the recent negative media related to buying off-plan, and developers’ due diligence.

Peter Littlewood has the usual round-up of regulatory issues to keep you on the right side of the law. Gareth Bertram tells us how to use a SSAS Property Pension to pay less tax and increase personal wealth. Michael Hill discusses the importance of an accurate inventory, and I’ll be looking at why Manchester and Cardiff have become buy-to-let hot-spots and going social as we look at the significance of Facebook entering the rental market.

The other big event on the horizon is our very first awards show at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, on November 15. The award submissions have now closed I’m afraid, but you can book your tickets on the dedicated website: www.national-lis-awards.co.uk.

On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy this issue.

C O N T E N T S

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SHOW UPDATE

This summer's shows in review

6

EXPERT ADVICE Could your rental property be an HMO?

11

INVESTMENT Should you be investing in yourself before you invest in property?

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INVESTMENT Due diligence on developers when buying off-plan

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INVESTMENT The latest market news

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TECH UPDATE Is a new era dawning now Facebook has entered the rental market?

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TENANCY DEPOSITS Inventories – it pays to get it right

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LANDLORD INVESTOR MAGAZINE

BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS

Editor Tracey Hanbury editor@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

Editorial Contributors Gareth Bertram Michael Hill Paul Mahoney Peter Littlewood Simon Zutshi Tom Entwistle Tracey Hanbury

Design Marc Riley Advertising Beverley Meliniotis

Why Cardiff's being viewed as a great place to invest

Follow us @LandlordInShow @LandlordInvestmentShow Contact Telephone: 020 8656 5075 landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk Tenants History Ltd, 27 Stafford Road, Croydon CR0 4NG

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 upto-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.

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PENSIONS Pay less tax and increase your wealth with a SSAS Property Pension

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BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS Why is build-to-rent booming in Manchester?

Meet the team TRACEY HANBURY

BEVERLEY MELINIOTIS

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07931 308 875 tracey@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

T: 0208 656 5075 beverley@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

EDITOR & SALES DIRECTOR

STEVE HANBURY DIRECTOR

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07429 683 046 steve@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

ALICIA CELA ACCOUNTS

T: 0208 656 5075 accounts@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

KIERAN McCORMACK

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

CHARLOTTE DYE

HEAD OF CLIENT RELATIONS AND OPERATIONS T: 0208 656 5075 M: +44 (0)7931 308 856 charlotte@@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

MARC RILEY

DESIGN MANAGER T: 0208 656 5075 marc@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

ELLIOTT TOMNEY

SALES & EVENTS EXECUTIVE

T: +44 (0)20 8 656 5075 M: +44 (0)7950 284 615 kieran@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8 656 5075 elliott@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

LES HANBURY

OLLIE HANBURY

DIRECTOR

HEAD OF SECURITY AND ENTERTAINMENTS MANAGER

Subscribe to LI Magazine Landlord Investor Magazine gives property professionals, landlords and investors monthly advice and information on the topics, news and legislation that matter to the industry.

Your subscription gives you the latest industry information in 8 issues per year.

Subscribe today for just £65.00 per year to get news, advice and comment on all areas of buy-to-let: • legal services & tax • insurance • investments • deposit schemes & landlord associations • property hotspots Call the subscription hotline on 020 8656 5075 today or visit landlordinvestormagazine/subscribe Published by LI Media, organisers of National Landlord Investment Show

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LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

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SHOW UPDATE

TRACEY HANBURY

West by North West [then back to London]

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LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

SHOW UPDATE

The National Landlord Investment Show reaches the North West with shows in Liverpool and Manchester, before the penultimate 2018 show in Cardiff and grand finale at London Olympia on November 6th.

As alluded to in my welcome note (see page 2), it’s been quite a summer for the National Landlord Investment Show.

This year’s tour kicked-off on home turf at London Olympia before heading North to Birmingham, then returning to London Olympia for our ‘Summer Spectacular’, which saw over Forty key speakers spread across Five theaters with diverse subjects of discussion. The panel debate regarding the impact of build-to-rent on buy-to-let was hugely popular, with invaluable input and fascinating insight from our quorum of experts. The council & landlord debate saw a lively discussion and the Q&A provided some excellent insight into the factors which influence local authority policy decisions. Given our panel debates are free to attend we strongly advise keeping an eye out for them and registering your interest as soon as they become available – it’s been standing room only at recent events.

With our second Olympia show of the year in the bag, we headedup to Elstree on the North London / Hertfordshire border, before heading Northwest to Liverpool and Manchester. Using the historic settings of Anfield and Old Trafford football stadiums as a venues was always our intention, and we hope this adds another layer of anticipation and interest for both exhibitors and attendees. Manchester marks our 60th show and prompts us to reflect upon how far we’ve come since our modest beginnings in 2013. The increase in scale this year is a major achievement and something which has taken the show to another level. In the spirit in

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

which we’ve started the season our 60th anniversary show at Manchester is stacked with Fifteen-plus seminars across Three theaters and has Fiftyplus exhibitors offering all kinds of useful services and advice.

Moving further West we reach Wales on October 17 and continue the sporting theme with a show at Cardiff City Football Stadium. Again we have a fantastic line-up of speakers and a packed hall of exhibitors. Both Manchester and Cardiff are booming buy-to-let hot spots so we’re thrilled to be bringing the expertise offered by the show to such blossoming markets.

Switching from football to footfall, traffic has remained steady at all shows this year, but the thing we keep hearing is the quality of attendees is excellent.

The intel received from exhibitors corroborates this and suggests this year’s shows have a high percentage of people with very focused needs seeking-out a particular service - which is great news. An investment event like ours will always draw a mix of serious investors and those who are just curious, and our objective this year has been geared towards making it more appealing to attendees with a serious interest or service requirement.

We’ll be setting the satnav South after Cardiff and heading back to London Olympia for the last show of the year on November 6. Watch this space for updates on our seminars and expert panels.

All-in all we’re happy campers at the Landlord Investment Show and hope that you are too.

The council & landlord debate saw a lively discussion and the Q&A provided some excellent insight into the factors which influence local authority policy decisions.

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EXPERT ADVICE

TOM ENTWISTLE LANDLORDZONE

Could your rental property be an HMO? 6

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

EXPERT ADVICE

New licensing rules could potentially affect all landlords.

It’s common knowledge that HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) make very good investments. But HMOs are not all plain sailing, and a whole new batch of HMOs, from 1st October 2018, are to be brought into the HMO mandatory licensing regime in England.

What’s more, even with your single let, if it becomes overcrowded, without your knowledge as a landlord or agent, then you could inadvertently become in breach of the licensing laws with all that implies.

HMOs – the benefits HMOs can achieve yields that are not possible to achieve with a standard single buy-to-let (BTL), simply because the same property asset can return multiple rents. An average UK single let might bring in say £1000 gross rent per month, whereas the same property converted for 6 in an HMO could achieve perhaps £2500 per month, and these figures would be considerably more in the capital.

These guidelines apply primarily to England. This article is not a definitive interpretation of the law, and every case is different, so seek expert advice before acting or not.

Demand for affordable, flexible-let accommodation, as offered by multilet properties, is at an all-time high, including bed-sits, up-market co-living and student lets. But let’s be absolutely clear, nobody should enter the HMO investment business without due consideration; you need to go into this having done some serious research, and with your eyes open. There are

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

many issues involved, and therefore there are some obvious downsides.

bungalow could become a licensable HMO if it meets the 5 or more criteria.

Why do HMOs make sense? The business case:

That’s a bit of a simplification as HMO rules are quite complex and even the enforcing authorities, the local councils concerned, struggle with the interpretation of the rules with some configurations. Most councils have comprehensive details about the regulations locally on their websites, plus instructions on how to register for a licence. Different local authorities can have different criteria for defining exactly what an HMO is. There can be different licensing requirements. There will certainly be different planning regulations in place.

Rental yields can be much higher. Void periods are less disruptive to cash-flow as they affect only a proportion for the property and therefore income.

Likewise, rent arrears have less of an impact as one out of 6 not paying is manageable – it’s a bit like having a portfolio of properties in one. With a single let, arrears can mean serious issues with mortgage payments if rent stops coming, or worse still, there is a long drawn out legal process needed to evict a bad tenant.

With housing affordability at an alltime low, tenant demand for flexible, affordable, shared housing is on the rise. Demographics is also helping, with a bigger than ever student population and a trend (especially in lager cities and towns) for the average size of a households to decline. At the same time, immigration has created a dramatic population increase. All this is leading to an increased demand (in selected areas) for multi-let housing.

Basically, an HMO is any property which is tenanted by three or more people who are not a family unit, where there are shared facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens. These properties come under the HMO management regulations but they are not all licensable unless they are occupied by 5 or more people from two or more households. From 1st October 2018 the three storey rule goes, which means that even a

HMOs can achieve yields that are not possible to achieve with a standard single buy-tolet (BTL), simply because the same property asset can return multiple rents.

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EXPERT ADVICE

So before going out investing in an HMO you should consult your local authority, particularly about planning consent, but also about any conversion work required, and what’s required regarding building regulations to be met, health and safety, room sizes, space for outside rubbish storage, and parking etc.

It’s also worthwhile speaking to an accountant with good tax planning skills. It could well pay new investors wishing to avoid the section 24 tax measures (restriction on mortgage interest relief and the stamp duty surcharge) to incorporate, that is, run the business as a company from day one.

Those are the positives, but let’s take a look at some negatives. The regulations are tightening-up because this is a sector where lots of rogue landlords tend operate illegally. The government is determined to clean the sector up, hence a plethora of new regulations coming on stream, not least the up-dating of the licensing HMO requirements. But there are still opportunities out there to make money from HMOs, despite these negatives, none of which are insurmountable given the right approach. After all, we would all be millionaires if business life was all that simple: Planning consent - Article 4 Directions (Use class C4) are used by local authorities to limit the number of HMOs in a geographical area, for example a maximum of 10% of housing might be HMOs within a particular council ward. Article 4 applies to all HMOs in an area. It does not prevent a landlord from renting to a single family (C3), but multi-occupied will most likely need consent.

Before embarking on any investment for a new HMO, you should consult the local authority about planning, construction, safety, parking and other issues first and do as much “homework” reading as you can about the regulations, and other people’s experiences – there are several good books on the topic available on Amazon.

Mortgage finance – Running an HMO is classed as a business as far as mortgage lenders are concerned, so mortgages attract commercial rates which are slightly higher than a buyto-let loan. Lenders therefore look for a track record, a record of success in managing property, so starters often find it more difficult, without a bigger

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deposit, though it’s not impossible to secure finance. It is also a more difficult if this is a company loan as opposed to a personal loan, especially if the company is new with few assets.

Not every property will work as an HMO, for planning reasons as stated above, but also for configuration reasons, to squeeze in the maximum number of rooms, bearing in mind there are minimum room sizes to consider – the number of HMO potential properties that are suitable in any given area will most likely be limited. There may be existing HMO businesses you can source, which will save a lot of initial work, but bear in mind, if there is good demand for multi-occupied and supply is short, then the selling price will likely reflect this.

HMOs are management intensive, so unless you live nearby you might as well forget self-management, and finding agents willing and able to manage an HMO effectively is not easy.

The initial set-up costs, especially if you are doing a conversion, are not for the faint hearted. Planning and building regulations, room conversions, fire safety, kitchens, bathrooms, furniture etc., all mount up.

Location, as with all property investments, is the key to success: researching the area, making sure it is not being oversupplied is vital. There’s quite a lot of new developments going on by institutional investors and buildto-rent, especially in student towns, so be aware.

Finally, as with any commercial property, as opposed to a standard residential one, income tends to be higher but capital appreciation is often a lot less. You have a restricted market in which to sell into, unless you convert back to a single property.

Managing an HMO effectively and profitably involves putting in place robust systems and processes to manage the tenants, the documentation and the finances.

It’s a real learning curve for the new landlord, but it can be very rewarding and quite lucrative. Progress to a few of these, and you don’t need that many before you could give up your day job.

You need to be ready for the new HMO laws?

October 1 was the deadline for the new rules on mandatory licensing, when

many existing landlords in England will be drawn into the mandatory HMO licensing net.

Previously, only those HMO properties with three or more storeys, and shared by five or more persons from two or more households were included. They must also be sharing facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Failure to register with the local authority when offering these types of facility will land the landlord (or agent responsible for management) in serious trouble – there are severe penalties including criminal convictions for breaching these rules.

So, from the 1st of October 2018 the “three or more storeys” criteria in England goes completely. This means that all those landlords housing multiple occupants – five or more people in two or more households sharing facilities – regardless of the configuration of the property – will need to have a mandatory HMO licence.

Purpose built flats within a block comprising three or more selfcontained flats are excluded, and there are also some Statutory Exemptions: • Any property occupied by just two people who form two households; • Buildings managed by a local housing authority, registered social landlord, police or fire & rescue authority or a health service body; • Buildings already regulated under certain other statutory provisions (Schedule 1 to SI 2006 Number 373) • Certain student halls of residence; • Buildings occupied principally for the purposes of a religious community whose principle occupation is prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering; and • Buildings owner occupied with no more than two lodgers.

New Minimum Room Sizes These new rules are the government’s attempt to remove some of the worst practices in the industry: to put an end to the poorest living standards, particularly in multi-occupied homes; overcrowding and unsafe conditions, as well as rubbish removal and storage and the more common neighbour problems associated with some HMOs.

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

EXPERT ADVICE

In some cases landlords or their agents may be faced with a stark choice when they find more occupants: apply for a licence, or start eviction proceedings against any unauthorized occupants.

New mandatory floor size requirements are part of this, so from October, minimum room sizes will be introduced: rooms used for sleeping by one adult must be a minimum of 6.51sqm (70 sq ft); bedrooms shared by two adults must be at least 10.22sqm (110 sq ft) and bedrooms occupied by children of 10 years or younger must be at least 4.64sqm (50 sq ft).

However, importantly, local authorities will have the discretion to increase these minimum room sizes if they so decide. Having professionally drawn to-scale floor plans is a good way to demonstrate room sizes to the council.

The Licensing Schemes When an affected rental property is unlicensed, whether this is a mandatory HMO license or if the property comes under a local authority additional licensing scheme, a valid Section 21 notice cannot be served.

Landlords with properties falling into this HMO category, and there are said to be many thousands of additional properties now affected, if they have not done so already, should be making arrangements urgently to have them licensed – there is no grace period.

However, the RLA has identified that some councils, for example while Birmingham City Council, Newcastle City Council and Havering Council are well prepared for the change to mandatory licensing, many other councils are still completely unprepared.

Some councils are said to have out-ofdate information on the new mandatory licensing regulations on their websites, while others are issuing licences for a much shorter period than the standard 5-year licence. All new HMO licences

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

issued by Norwich will be for just one year, meaning a vastly increased amount of paperwork that both the council and their landlords have to deal with, says the RLA. With these properties, the HMO “Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006” apply, but they do not necessarily need a mandatory licence unless the circumstances above apply.

There are three types of property licensing schemes operating in England: • Mandatory HMO licensing • Additional licensing • Selective licensing Whereas mandatory HMO licensing applies when required throughout England, additional and selective licensing schemes only apply in certain areas, where the local authority has implemented such a scheme. Landlords and agents should always check with their local authority, where the rental property is based, to see if there is a scheme in operation, as it will have serious implications for letting a property.

The “more than two households” trap Whereas a couple with three children would not represent an HMO, a couple with two children and a lodger (not related) would, and that would require a licence. The difficulty for landlords, or their managing agents, arises when a couple have another baby or take in a lodger, perhaps without the landlord’s knowledge. There should now be a clause in every new tenancy agreement placing the onus squarely on the tenant

to inform the landlord or agent if the rules will be breached.

It is important in any case to regularly inspect rental properties, from an insurance and a Right-to-Rent point of view, but also from an occupancy point of view. With the new HMO rules in place it becomes vital to check. All rental properties are caught in this trap, so you need to put in place a regular inspection regime, and keep detailed inspection records, or face a £30,000 fine, a landlord banning order and potentially a Rent Repayment Order for up to 12 months’ of rent.

In some cases landlords or their agents may be faced with a stark choice when they find more occupants: apply for a licence, or start eviction proceedings against any unauthorized occupants.

There is no doubt many local authorities will have difficulties dealing with a glut of licencing applications all at once, but don’t think you can rely on this to give you more time. Get your application in and you will be in the clear.

So yes, with the new rules now in place you could inadvertently become an HMO landlord without knowing it, and with all the serious consequences this implies.

Houses in Multiple Occupation and residential property licensing reform – see https://bit.ly/2ysNvaS The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 – see https://bit.ly/2PVwJF8 Tom Entwistle is Editor of LandlordZONE® and an experienced residential and commercial landlord.

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INVESTMENT

SIMON ZUTSHI

Should you be investing in yourself before you invest in property?

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

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INVESTMENT

At Landlord Investor Magazine we believe that investing in yourself can be the very best investment you make, followed closely by property, but with so many people offering training / mentoring / coaching, who do you go to for your training?

We have asked Simon Zutshi, who has been in the property education business longer then anyone else, to share his advice on selecting the best training for you.

This would be a rather short article if I said that everyone should just train with us, but you might be surprised when I say that actually, I don’t think everyone should learn from me. For example, no one can just pay to attend our 12-month Property Mastermind programme.

Whereas most training companies would be more than happy to accept anyone’s money, we have a very strong track record of results which we are keen to maintain, and so we want to make sure that we get the right people on our training for everyone’s benefit.

In this article I will explain how you can find the very best training for you (whoever that might be with) and how to avoid making the expensive mistakes by picking training that is not right for you. Reading this article could save you thousands of pounds.

I would love to say that all training is good for you, but unfortunately there are some better than others. Over the last three years we have seen a host of people pop up, who want to try their hand at teaching other people to invest, often only with limited success themselves. There is a lot of hype and BS in the property training world, which is why it does sometimes get a bad name, but equally there are many people who have done very well from their property training, and often put their success down to the training they have attended.

If you have a look at some of the online property forums, there are some people who think that anyone else who spends money on their own education is stupid and foolish, because they think that you can gain all of the information you want for free on the internet, and

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so why would you ever pay someone else for that?

Whilst I agree that there is a huge amount of valuable information available online for free, there is also a lot of rubbish, and if you don’t know what you are doing, how do you work out what is good information and what is not? The main problem with this “learn for free” approach is that although you may not need to spend any money, you do need to spend a huge amount of time, which is actually your most valuable resource.

Some say that education can be expensive but compared to what? I would suggest that ignorance is even more expensive. I have personally made a huge number of mistakes in my first few years of investing, which I may not have made if I had the opportunity to learn from someone else’s mistakes.

This is why I think it is so valuable to attend seminars where you can learn a huge amount of valuable information, in a short space of time, and so accelerate your success. That is as long as you pick the right training for you.

So let’s look at some of the factors you should consider when identifying the best training for you: What do you want to achieve?

You should make sure that the person delivering the training has achieved what you aspire to achieve. For example, if you want to replace your income, then the person training you should have practical experience of having done it themselves, rather than

them being just a few properties ahead of the people they are teaching.

They should be still investing themselves The market changes and so what worked five years ago, or even two years ago, may not work now. I became financially independent at the age of 32, thanks to the passive income from my property portfolio in 2003.

I don’t need any more investment properties but I still actively invest for two reasons: 1) I want to make sure I keep up to date with what is happening in the property market, 2) There are some great property deals out there which offer fantastic returns so why would you not do it? I also think anyone running any sort of education or training, should also be investing in themselves to continually develop their skills, knowledge and mind-set. I am a life long learner and I have found that the more I invest in my own personal development, the more successful I become.

Are they actually any good at training?

It is not enough to be a successful investor, they also need to be very good at teaching you what they have done, so that you can replicate their success. The best way to assess if someone is a good teacher or not, is to see what results their students have achieved. They might be incredibly successful as an investor, but that is no good for you unless they become good at teaching what they have done and how they have done it.

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

INVESTMENT

You want to make sure they have a great track record of successful students. Go online and attend property network meetings to find other investors who have trained with that person; See what results they have personally achieved and are there other people they know who have also benefited as a result of attending that training. Make sure you speak to people who have actually attended the training, rather people who have just heard about it from someone else.

The market changes and so what worked five years ago, or even two years ago, may not work now.

Do they have a support network?

There are lots of individuals who could offer you mentoring or coaching to help support you in your property journey but this can be dangerous, if they are a one-man band. If they are really successful, then there will be times when the are unavailable because they are on holiday, busy working on their own property deals or, maybe something might happen in their personal life, which means that they are not available to help you when you need it. This is one of the reasons I don’t do personal coaching anymore, because I am too busy. Instead we have 25 coaches who have all been through my training, achieved incredible results themselves, and then we have trained them in coaching skills. These coaches then support people on our training programmes. This means that if for any reason there was a challenge with one of our coaches, we could replace them with another one to make sure that there is continual service for the client.

Is there a money back guarantee?

I believe that if you are paying for training, then it needs to deliver everything as advertised, or you should get your money back. This would counteract some of the hype that some people use to sell training seminars. To ensure the quality of our training, we offer a 100% satisfaction, money back guarantee, on all of our online courses and physical 1, 2 & 3 day seminars.

What’s next?

LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

We have noticed that the more we charge, the better results our students achieve because they want to make sure they implement the valuable information that we share with them, to maximise the return on the investment in themselves.

Rather than consider training as a cost, look at it as an investment in your future. The knowledge you gain you will have for the rest of your life, and if you put it into practice should pay for itself many times over.

Pick someone you resonate with!

Ultimately, as long as they meet all of the above criteria, you should pick someone who you personally resonate with as they will probably be the best person to train you.

It’s all about personal responsibility

This means that anytime up to half way through any of these events, any delegate can hand in their course material and get a receive a full refund. Needless to say we don’t get many people asking for their money back, because we deliver more value than delegates have paid to attend the training.

How much should you pay for training?

This really depends. There are some people who offer very low cost or free training but then you should not be surprised when they deliver less content and make more sales pitches to try and sell you further training. After all, they need to make their money somehow.

We prefer to charge a reasonable amount for our training seminars so that we can spend more time delivering valuable content. Besides if something is low cost or free it has no value and so people don’t value it.

And finally, it does not really matter who you train with if you are not prepared to take action on what they teach you. If you fail to take action, then don’t complain when you don’t get results you want. No one is going to do it for you, so you need to be prepared to apply the training otherwise you might as well save your money and not bother.

Investing in property will take time, work and effort. There is no such thing as get rich quick, as this suggests there is no time or effort required for you to become a millionaire. That is BS. If you get the correct specialist knowledge, have the right mind-set and put yourself into a supportive environment, in which you are encouraged to take action and be accountable, then it is far easier for you to become an even more successful property investor.

Best Wishes Simon Zutshi Author of Property Magic

Why not attend your local property investors network meeting and speak to other people who have done the training you are considering doing, to find out for yourself if it meets the above criteria and is suitable for you. There are 50 pin meetings around the UK so there is bound to be one close to where you live or work. You can find your local meeting here: www.pinmeeting.co.uk

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INVESTMENT

PAUL MAHONEY NOVA FINANCIAL GROUP

Due diligence on developers when buying off-plan 14

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INVESTMENT

There's been some recent negative media regarding failed developments and developers, specifically in the North or the North West of England.

Although the case studies raised in the recent BBC episode were true, they touched on two or three worst case scenarios of the hundreds of schemes that are currently underway.

It's important to take these points in context and to make sure that they're not over-sensationalized and in doing so, tarnishing what is actually quite a strong property market in that area. The infrastructure spending, economic and job growth in the Midlands and the North West, and the Northern Powerhouse schemes overall, are all very positive changes.

What is quite important though is due diligence on developers, especially when buying / investing off-plan.

Given past experience, we at Nova Financial Group place significant importance on gaining a thorough understanding of a developer’s track records, financial strength, funding strategy and management philosophy to ensure that we mitigate as many of the potential risks as possible.

Further we make sure that when our clients invest in off plan properties that their deposits are either held in escrow or as stakeholder, or they're covered by a warranty or some sort of bond or insurance policy. This means that the investor's money is safe against the risk of the developer becoming insolvent or not delivering the property as promised which was the issue raised in the abovementioned BBC TV episode.

With the schemes that failed in the North, and where people lost

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money, client funds were being used to actually fund the development without protection in place, which means that the investors were taking the vast majority of the risk. When the developments didn't work, it's the investors that have lost their funds which is a risk that should be avoided.

Now, you might ask, "Well, why invest off-plan if there is potentially extra risk?" The answer is that the risk is able to be mitigated through due diligence on the developer and the development, selecting the right properties with the right deposit protections in place. Further, a lot of our clients have done extremely well from buying off plan with prices increasing over the build period and then performing well thereafter.

By utilising our buying power and getting in early, we get access to the best properties within prime developments.

Firstly, by utilising our buying power and getting in early, we get access to the best properties within prime developments, in prime locations, at the best prices and with strong incentives. Therefore, we position our clients in the best possible way to do well not just over the initial build period, but also over the long term by buying in strong growth areas. This ability to buy desirable properties at the right price results in stronger demand in both the rental and resale market.

If you have any questions about buying off plan, developer due diligence or how Nova Financial Group might be able to assist you, then please get in touch on 0203 8000 600, www.nova.financial or info@nova.financial

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INDUSTRY MARKET UPDATE UPDATE

PETER LITTLEWOOD iHowz

Market update Are you ready? There might be various changes coming up, and the sensible landlords are the ones who get ahead of the change.

Electrical Certificates The Government was given the power to make electrical certificates a legal requirement on all rental properties in the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

Currently it is only a legal requirement for HMO’s (licensable or not) and they have been consulting on extending this requirement to all rental properties.

Although yet to be ratified, it is almost certain that this will come into force next year, possibly April or October. Even if this does not come to fruition for all properties several more properties will require electrical certificates with the proliferation of Selective Licensing.

We are being told that there are not enough people available to carry out the testing required, so we suggest you get ahead of the game and arrange your test now and avoid the possibility of not be able to get the certificate, with the consequential inability to let your property. If you are having any electrical work done to your property it is always a good idea to request a 18

full certificate, even if not required; it’s cheaper to get it done then rather than as a special job.

Don’t forget that there are companies who specialise in issuing gas and electrical certificates.

Even in the unlikely event of certification being extended to all properties, you will have the knowledge that you are the landlord of an electrically safe house.

Fire Safety Regulations It is almost certain that the Government will be reviewing fire safety regulations for blocks of flats, and also individual rental units.

Dame Judith Hackitt conducted a Government-commissioned review into fire safety ‘Independent ‘Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety’.

In the report Dame Judith concluded that the UK’s building regulations are not “fit for purpose” and leaves room for fire safety “shortcuts”.

It is therefore vital to ensure your properties meet the current regulations by updating your current fire risk assessment; this would then prepare you for the possible changes when they come out.

Research shows that those who live in rented or shared accommodation are seven times more likely to experience a fire in their homes than those who don’t. Landlords, therefore, must be aware of the dangers and be proactive in enforcing measures to prevent fires in their properties.

This will also avoid you having to pay a hefty fine or face criminal proceedings.

Don’t forget that current legislation also means that you must have a smoke alarm on every residential floor and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with solid fuel heating – the Government is also considering extending this requirement to any room with a gas appliance.

All alarms must be tested at the commencement of the let.

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MARKET UPDATE

Mandatory licensing now applies to any HMO having 5 occupants or more, regardless of the size of the property.

Three Year Tenancies

Final warning

The Ministry of Housing recently concluded a consultation into introducing three year tenancies.

I’m sure you’ve not forgotten, but the rules regarding mandatory licensing of large HMO’s changed from October 1st.

The Sun newspaper recently ran an article that said the scheme had been killed off by the Treasury and

by Downing Street even before the conclusions of the consultation had been made.

Just to be clear, the definition of an HMO hasn’t changed, just the definition of an HMO requiring a mandatory licensing. An HMO is a unit of accommodation having more than 2 occupants (sometimes expressed as 3 or more); not related who share vital facilities. There are many HMO’s around, especially for landlords not keeping an eye on their property and allowing another resident to move, often creating an HMO. Note that the rules talk about occupiers not tenants.

The Sun reported that the Treasury has concerns that long term tenancies would concern larger investors, stopping them investing. Downing Street are worried that a vote in the House of Commons would be lost; so they want it amended to be a voluntary scheme.

This idea of a voluntary scheme is a bit odd as landlords have the ability to issue AST’s up to 7 years (maximum) now. Consequently landlords are quite at liberty to issue 3 year tenancies if they want. iHowz took part in the consultation.

Like most landlord, we want good tenancies, and don’t want void periods, consequently three year tenancies have a certain attraction. However the main reason most landlords use shorter tenancies (normally 6 months) is that they are concerned about the difficulty of pursuing a Section 8 for rent arrears and/or anti-social behaviour (ASB) to regain their property. Hence the use of 6 month tenancies allowing use of a Section 21 notice to regain the property.

We urged the Ministry to concentrate on the tenancies that go wrong and the difficulty of evictions, especially if for ASB.

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Mandatory licensing now applies to any HMO having 5 occupants or more, regardless of the size of the property. It is critical that if you have one of these larger HMO’s that you have applied for a license in time; to operate without one can lead to a fine and the possibility of you losing the right to manage any HMO. Additionally any Section 21 will fail at court if you don’t have a license.

If you have an HMO of 5 occupants that had previously been licensed on an Additional Scheme the license applies until it was due to expire, after which a mandatory license will have to be applied for. But you will still need to inform the Council you have an Additional License on your property for them to transfer it to a Mandatory license at no cost. Additional Licensing is a scheme that allows a Council to license any HMO not covered by the Mandatory scheme.

Even if you don’t agree with licensing it is critical to get one.

Lib Dems rattle the rental cage The Lib Dems have recently held their annual conference and have passed a motion calling for many changes to be made in the PRS. Their concerns were stated: “Too many people have been forced into the private rented sector which now provides one fifth of all homes in the UK, a third of which fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard.”, adding: “Over the last decade Government subsidies for rent through hous-ing benefit have tripled to around £25 billion (of which £10 billion goes to private landlords) when subsidies to increase the supply of social housing have declined to around £1 billion a year.”

They called for: • Mandatory licensing of all properties, with a publicly available database of rogue land-lords.

• The promotion of longer private tenancies, with inflation or wage linked rents.

• A right to buy (or first refusal) for sitting tenants when a landlord sells.

• A cap on upfront tenant deposits.

• A ban letting agents’ fees.

• Extending the notice period from 2 months to 6 months.

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TECH UPDATE

TRACEY HANBURY

Is a new era dawning now Facebook has entered the rental market?

Tech giant Facebook officially entered the UK property market for the first time recently, announcing a tie-up with leading portals Zoopla and OnTheMarket. Here, we analyse whether this represents a step-change in the industry.

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TECH UPDATE

The majority of the agents in the UK now embrace social media, even those who may have been doubtful about its impact and usefulness in the past.

Speculation has been mounting for a while now about tech giants entering the UK property market, but it finally happened a few weeks ago when it was announced by Zoopla and OnTheMarket that they will both be advertising rental property listings on behalf of agents on Facebook Marketplace.

Given its huge national (and global) reach, power and influence, some might ask why it’s taken this long for Facebook to partner with the property industry. Although online agent Housesimple.com has used Facebook Live to livestream viewings before, and there have been instances of sellers turning to the social media platform as a last resort, an official partnership has never been on the cards until now.

Which, when you consider how many people use Facebook (and how many of those people could be searching for rental homes), seems like an opportunity missed.

What’s actually happened?

Would-be tenants will now be able to search through nearly 300,000 rental property listings from Zoopla Property Group’s websites, plus all of the available listings from OnTheMarket’s tens of thousands of UK agents, via Facebook Marketplace. This platform allows people to search for properties through their Facebook profiles and has proved a considerable success in the US. The reach of Marketplace is quite astonishing – as of April 2018, more than 800 million people across the world had used it to buy and sell things. In the UK, meanwhile, around 30 million people access Facebook every day, and it’s still the social media platform people turn to ahead of any other.

For those using Facebook to browse for rental properties, they will be able to sort listings by search criteria before contacting relevant agents about the LANDLORD INVESTOR 39TH EDITION

homes they are interested in. It will, in effect, be like another portal – albeit with listings provided by two portals that already exist.

We know that the majority of people now start their property searches online – and it’s even more so the case when it comes to rental homes, which tend to appeal most to tech-savvy young professionals and students.

So it makes sense for consumers to have easy avenues by which to find appropriate properties.

Many people in the UK have a Facebook account. An increasing number (20% of all households, in fact, and set to grow to 25% by 2021) now rent. Joining these two things up in some way seems like common sense.

“This is great news for our agent members who will now get wider distribution of their listings as well as increased brand exposure with people looking for property to rent on Facebook Marketplace,” Charlie Bryant, managing director of ZPG Property Services, said.

He added: “We will continue to provide our agent partners with maximum exposure for their listings and brands along with the widest range of services to help them generate additional leads and revenues.”

John Milsom, OnTheMarket’s brand director, said of the announcement: “People can [now] search Facebook Marketplace in the UK and connect with our agents, who update their listings data frequently to ensure accurate availability and pricing.

We look forward to working with Marketplace to create world-class value for property-seekers and value for both of our businesses."

Is this the future?

It’s certainly very possible that Facebook will become a popular medium through which prospective tenants can search for rental homes.

As an extension of the portals, and a way of reaching a huge audience, it seems perfect for landlords eager to have as many eyes on their homes as possible. It’s also a good, user-friendly way for tenants to search for homes on a platform they are likely to be familiar with.

It will be interesting, over time, to see if estate agents start to list homes through Facebook as well – enabling prospective buyers to browse for properties to purchase.

While social media might once have been dismissed as a short-term fad, that very much can’t be said now. The majority of the agents in the UK now embrace social media, even those who may have been doubtful about its impact and usefulness in the past.

What’s more, the increasing use of social media marketing and social media platforms by the property industry is just one example of the rising influence of PropTech – where technology solutions are applied to property-based issues, or where tech is used to enhance, grow and evolve the sector.

For a number of years now, there has been an increasing melding of property and technology, and Facebook entering the fray in an official capacity is just the latest part of that process.

What will this mean for letting agents?

Well, the sales pitch is not a bad one.

Landlord clients can be informed that their properties will be advertised to a large national audience on one of the world’s biggest marketplaces.

Again, those who seek to embrace the opportunities offered by advertising homes on Facebook will be the ones to gain the most.

In an increasingly tech-led, digitallyminded world, we can expect to see more of these announcements in the future, with other tech giants such as Amazon and Twitter perhaps seeking to muscle in on the territory.

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TENANCY DEPOSITS

MICHAEL HILL ADJUDICATOR AT TDS

Inventories It pays to get it right

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TENANCY DEPOSITS

When it comes to tenancy deposits, preparation is better than cure. Last year, TDS’ adjudicators handled more than 14,000 tenancy deposit disputes, many of which could have been easily avoided at the outset of the tenancy.

In a recent case handled by TDS’ adjudication team, no inventory had been carried out, complicating the process and ultimately costing the landlord their claim.

Key documentation, like the tenancy agreement and inventory, should be clear and accurate since they form primary evidence for an adjudicator, should a tenancy deposit dispute arise.

Amongst all the paperwork that goes with a new tenancy, even the most experienced of landlords and professional letting agents can miss the really important details that will be relied on after the tenancy has ended. Taking the time to complete the key documents properly can help support a case should a dispute arise about deductions from the tenancy deposit.

A good inventory should be an accurate snapshot in time of the contents, cleanliness and condition of the property prior to the tenancy commencing. The inventory should then be supplied to the tenant for their feedback on the condition of the property and they should be given an opportunity to challenge points that they disagree on. The inventory should therefore be honest and accurate to avoid lengthy disagreements.

Small changes in managing the tenancy administration and being careful to avoid common pitfalls can make a huge difference to the success of tenancies.

Failing to register a deposit properly can cost the landlord up to three times its value in compensation to the tenant, and poor inventories can be the difference between a claim being upheld or rejected.

The average tenancy deposit in TDS’ Insured Scheme is currently £1,439.32 for England and Wales. In our Custodial scheme the average is slightly different England (£1,118.15 in Custodial) and £731.15 in Wales (£731.15 in Custodial) (correct as of June 2018), so it’s worth investing time and effort into getting your admin right.

Whether you choose to do the inventory yourself, use your letting agent or an independent inventory clerk, there are some key points that will help you get the most out of this document when it comes to negotiating the return of the deposit at the end of the tenancy.

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In tenancy deposit disputes, the burden of proof lies with the party making the claim

It is important to note that the effectiveness of the inventory will strongly depend on a clear and detailed Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement with a comprehensive tenancy deposit use clauses outlining what a tenancy deposit can be used for.

Best practice dictates that the inventory should be signed by the tenant to agree the condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy. This also means that the tenant cannot claim that the inventory wasn’t supplied. In cases where this isn’t possible, an audit trail confirming receipt and agreement of the inventory, including the opportunity to comment or disagree with its contents, should be supplied.

In tenancy deposit disputes, the burden of proof lies with the party making the claim, usually the landlord or their letting agent. Lots of detailed evidence is key to showing why a claim should be upheld.

Ideally, landlords should create a detailed written inventory, including dated, embedded photos to support it and should also show scale and context. Photographs can provide useful supporting evidence as can give a beforeand-after comparison.

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord and tenant disagreed over which kitchen appliances had been there from the beginning and which the tenant had purchased while in residence. Specifically, they disagreed on the removal of an old washing machine and fitting of a replacement.

The landlord claimed that the tenant had disposed of the original appliance and therefore wanted the cost of a new one from the tenancy deposit. The tenants argued that the original washing machine had not worked from the start of the tenancy and they had therefore paid to have a new one fitted and taken it with them when they left.

Due to the lack of an inventory and any written correspondence between the parties, the adjudicator was unable to determine what the original state of the washing machine was and what had happened to it.

The adjudicator could also not establish the agreement made between the parties over who would pay for and keep the replacement appliance.

In the absence of this evidence, the adjudicator was unable to make an award to the landlord for the missing washing machine.

Inventories are a key document for landlords, tenants and agents, and should be clear, concise and accurate for all parties to understand. Taking the time to complete a reliable inventory at the outset will protect landlords against ambiguities that can affect claims for deposit deductions and lead to unnecessary disputes. While inventories will outline the condition of a property and its contents, adjudicators will take into account fair wear and tear to be expected over the duration of the tenancy.

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homeless and hungry

Please support Steve Hanbury On Monday 29th October 2018 I will be sleeping under the London sky at Lord’s Cricket Ground for one night. I wish and hope to raise as much money as I can to help the homeless and those who are living in poverty.

I will be bedding down with CEOs and senior level executives to raise awareness and funds, each pledging to raise over ÂŁ2000 to fight homelessness and poverty in London.

You can help support me and this deserving cause here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stevenhanbury All donations gratefully received.

Thank you Steve Hanbury Co-Founder, Landlord Investment Show

BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS

TRACEY HANBURY

Why Cardiff's being viewed as a great place to invest Cardiff has been described by some as a modern European hub – a city being transformed by significant investment, new developments and regeneration. Here, we take a look at why the Welsh capital is proving so popular.

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BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS

It's one of Europe's fastest-growing cities – and one that is full of ambition – so it's perhaps little surprise that Cardiff is capturing the attention of property investors.

Cardiff has long been a city renowned for its buzzing nightlife, sporting prowess, eclectic culture and studentfriendly feel, but it's also becoming an increasingly popular location for investors.

In recent years companies have moved to the Welsh capital, or expanded their initial workforce, with Deloitte's presence in Wales reaching 1,000 staff this summer and expected to reach 1,500 by 2021. There's also the ongoing Central Square project, which is aiming to revamp the heart of Cardiff's city centre.

Once fully completed, Cardiff Central Square will create an easy link between the main train station, the city and the Principality Stadium, as well as creating new civic space and a new City Quarter – at the heart of which will be the new headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales.

As well as a new BBC Wales HQ, the development will also see a new public sector hub for HMRC, a new bus station, new offices, retail space and a 130,000 sq ft new home for law firm Hugh James and the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies.

The scheme will herald one of the biggest transformations Cardiff has ever seen, with the city's landscape set to look very different by 2020.

Thousands of new jobs will be brought to the area, and it stands as the biggest regeneration scheme in a city that has undergone plenty in recent years.

Rightmove, this is up 6% on the previous year and some 14% on 2015.

This makes it attractive to investors in two ways: firstly, properties are cheaper to buy in the first place than they would be in other, more expensive parts of the UK; secondly, the city's steady house price growth will please those with one eye on capital gains and making a good return on investment over time.

It's also a city where demand for homes – and in particular rental homes – is high. This is due, in large part, to Cardiff's thriving student population.

The city – home to Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University – has a student population of more than 45,000. All in all, students account for nearly 12% of Cardiff's entire population.

For those looking to invest in student accommodation, then, there are few better places than Cardiff in terms of demand. Cardiff University is a Russell Group establishment and one of the UK's leading teaching and research institutions, which sees it attract students from all over the globe, while the city's cultural and artistic standing is boosted by The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Why is it a good investment choice?

Student rents in Cardiff also grew faster than any other in the 2017/18 academic year, up by 5.8% in comparison to the national average of 2.55%. Students are unlikely to be put off, though, with Cardiff also one of the most affordable university cities in the UK. Investors who go down the student accommodation route should have plenty of tenants to target their homes towards if they invest in the right kind of areas, with those close to campuses, green space, nightlife and local amenities likely to be the most in-demand.

Cardiff, despite the significant regeneration it's undergone in recent years, is still a very affordable city.

Currently, it has an overall average price of £232,122. According to

As stated above, the ongoing transformation of Cardiff will bring new jobs and people – many of whom will be looking to buy or rent in the city. Demand for homes to rent and

From a property point of view, the growing popularity of Cardiff among media companies, businesses, government departments and tech firms is making the city increasingly attractive to buyers, tenants, landlords and investors in equal measure.

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buy should be strong and consistent in the coming years, which will appeal to those investors looking for a relative safe haven.

A rising number of visitors The city has worked hard to improve its appeal to tourists in recent years, with an emphasis on modern design, ambitious regeneration projects and high-quality shopping and leisure venues.

The Principality Stadium (previously known as the Millennium Stadium) is perhaps Cardiff's best known icon, playing host to all manner of sports events, exhibitions, concerts and conferences. Another big draw is Wales Millennium Centre, which is the country's national arts centre and offers a wide range of shows, from stand-up and opera to dance, ballet, musicals, comedies and straight plays.

There's also St David's Shopping Centre, Cardiff's largest retail outlet, and Cardiff Bay itself – the city's waterfront which offers a wide range of bars, restaurants and cultural attractions. Additionally, visitors may be drawn to the capital by Mermaid Quay, Bute Park, the National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff Castle and St Fagans National Museum of History.

More visitors, of course, offers a boost to the local economy, which makes the likelihood of further regeneration projects – including improved infrastructure, transport links, pedestrian areas, local schools and public services – much greater.

A city going places It's one of Europe's fastest-growing cities – and one that is full of ambition – so it's perhaps little surprise that Cardiff is capturing the attention of property investors, with the student accommodation sector the most obviously appealing for those seeking long-term, stable returns.

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PENSIONS

GARETH BERTRAM THE LANDLORD’S PENSION

Pay less tax and increase your wealth with a SSAS Property Pension

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PENSIONS

As Director of one of the UK’s leading SSAS Property Pension brokers, I am fortunate to regularly witness how the use of a SSAS pension has helped our clients to pay less tax whilst creating endless possibilities to increase their wealth.

SSAS Property Pensions are still relatively unknown considering the benefits outweigh other pensions substantially, as I’ll go on to explain.

The starting point is that a SSAS pension is a business pension which is established by your company.

This means that the costs (including reclaimable VAT) of the pension can all benefit from corporation tax relief if the client decides to pay them using company funds, rather than personal money or cash, within the pension scheme. SSAS pensions get all the same reliefs and benefits as any other personal pension but there is just so much more control and flexibility available with them.

After a SSAS pension is authorised and registered by HMRC, a process we undertake on behalf of clients, then former pension schemes can be transferred in along with new company contributions if the client wishes to make them. Company contributions to the SSAS also get corporation tax relief and in most cases, when we see company directors looking to reduce their tax liability they realise that a SSAS pension is a great home for sheltering profits from the tax man.

It’s when this sum of cash in the SSAS pension starts to build that things get really exciting for our clients.

With liquid money now in the new SSAS pension and a lower company tax bill the happy client can start to use the money for investment in their own company or for general investment purposes. The growth and gains in both strategies is all tax free.

In the former scenario a client can loan

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money back from the pension to their company for any purpose. So, to put that another way, the company puts money into the pension thus getting tax relief but then loans it back to the company to continue the growth of the company.

The hidden benefit here is that the company has to pay interest on the loan but of course the interest (again benefitting from tax relief) is being paid to their own SSAS pension! In the latter scenario any investment gains are all tax free; whether the client opts for less time (-) consuming hands-off investments or buys land or property for development themselves, it will all attract the wonderful rate of 0% tax.

In a recent case we established a new SSAS pension for a client who transferred in former employment pensions. He then went on to loan nearly £200,000 to his company which was used for investment in property.

The loan took the client only 4 days to arrange. Can any SME business owner seriously imagine walking into a bank and arranging a loan on their own terms to be ready for use within 4 days? And that’s the beauty of using a SSAS to fund your business – it’s your own money. The client still had substantial funds left in his pension and made some investments in secured property bonds which are returning him up to 12% per year.

away from SSAS pensions and stick to traditional pensions and basic stock market investments, which isn’t going to help any aspiring entrepreneur. To support this statement, we even had a recent client, a former financial advisor himself, who knew almost nothing about SSAS pensions. This is a niche sector and requires expert advice, not the “one solution fits all” approach.

Put simply, if you are a company director, there is no reason not to have a SSAS pension. Speak to our consultants today for free advice or visit our comprehensive website for downloads and free guides.

SSAS pensions get all the same reliefs and benefits as any other personal pension but there's just so much more control and flexibility.

The Landlord’s Pension continues to bang the drum about SSAS pensions and all the great benefits, but it’s really up to business owners themselves, to make the first move and get in touch. Most financial advisors shy

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BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS

TRACEY HANBURY

With a National Landlord Investment Show taking place in Manchester this month – at Manchester United’s world-famous Old Trafford stadium – we take a look at why Build to Rent is the latest thing to be booming in a city made famous by industry, football and music.

Why is build-to-rent booming in Manchester?

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BUY-TO-LET HOTSPOTS

Along with Liverpool, Manchester has long been regarded as a key part of the government’s much-talked about Northern Powerhouse agenda – a growing, thriving city that is becoming increasingly appealing to young professionals, tenants, students, investors and businesses alike.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that it’s also leading the way when it comes to Build to Rent, a growing phenomenon in the rental sector which sees intuitional investors create large-scale, purposebuilt privately rented accommodation – typically large blocks of flats, let out and managed by one company rather than being sold off to individual landlords.

A Build to Rent hotspot One of the key drivers behind the Industrial Revolution – which turned Manchester from a small town into a global powerhouse – the city has in recent years been most famous for football, music, culture and being a more affordable location than London for those looking to buy or rent a home.

In recent times, though, it has also become a hotbed for property investment - and none more so than when it comes to Build to Rent.

Legal & General, one of the leading players in this burgeoning market, recently acquired West Tower in Manchester’s Deansgate Square development – which is set to become the UK’s tallest Build to Rent scheme.

The 44 storey development, which overlooks the River Medlock, consists of 350 units, ancillary commercial space and 147 car parking spaces.

The latest deal means Legal & General now has more than 750 units in the development pipeline in Manchester alone.

The Deansgate Square development is Legal & General’s second Build to Rent scheme in Greater Manchester, following on from the Slate Yard development in Salford, which is now in its third and final phase of construction.

In common with other Build to Rent schemes, the developments aim to offer tenants a number of perks, including a residents lounge, a gym and free WiFi, as well as a creating a positive and vibrant community feel.

The Deansgate development, when complete, will also offer access to a swimming pool and tennis court.

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Legal & General has partnered with urbanbubble – a fast-growing North West based property management company – to manage many of its Build to Rent schemes. They first started working together on The Slate Yard and, by 2019, urbanbubble expects to be managing some 2,500 residential units in Manchester.

Elsewhere, global real estate investor Heitman recently agreed a deal with developer Brickland for a new Build to Rent scheme in Manchester’s city centre. The development will be made up of two towers of 16 and 19 storeys respectively, and is set to create 363 one and two-bedroom homes, alongside a number of duplex and townhouse apartments. What’s more, the scheme will include co-working space, a gym, a library and resident lounge areas, as well as ample green space including two rooftop gardens.

The scheme, which is expected to complete in 2020, is situated to the south-west of the city, a short distance from Old Trafford, Manchester Metropolitan University and two of Manchester’s busiest rail stations. It will also sit across the River Irwell from Salford, home to MediaCityUK and The Lowry arts complex.

A challenger to London According to the British Property Federation’s quarterly Build to Rent map, there are currently 124,037 Build to Rent units either completed or planned across the UK. This includes 22,531 completed, 33,454 under construction, and a further 64,052 with planning permission. The majority are found in London – 62,016 units – while 62,021 units are located outside the capital.

Aside from London, Manchester is the leading hotspot for purpose-built, professionally managed rental homes seeking to offer tenants a better renting experience. There are a sizeable number of units either complete, in construction or in the detailed permission planning stage. About 15% of all Build to Rent units in the UK are found in Manchester, which is helped by the city’s attractiveness to renters, in particular young professional renters looking for a better class of rental home.

Manchester is the UK’s second most populated area and plays host to a very diverse economy, from banking, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, to

services, information processing and a growing number of start-ups and tech firms.

It’s also a city that has a strong demand for rental accommodation – with a large student population and an army of millennial renters. And this is only expected to grow further. The population of Greater Manchester is anticipated to rise by 14% over the next 20 years, with 3,465 rental households forming every year. However, demand is failing to keep pace, which is where Build to Rent is trying to fill a void.

It’s still a very small, niche part of the marketplace, but it is growing – and Manchester is one place that has embraced it more than most.

How big will Build to Rent be?

According to Knight Frank, the Build to Rent sector is set to be worth £70 billion by 2021 – a figure helped by the growing number of households renting privately. The most recent English Housing Survey found that the private rented sector now accounts for 20% of all households, up from 2.1 million in 1996/97 to 4.7 million in 2016/17.

There has been a particular increase in families and middle-aged people renting, although it’s a sector that is still dominated by those bracketed as millennials.

Certain studies suggest that a quarter of all households will rent privately by 2021, and this rising demand should see further growth in the Build to Rent sector. The desire for a better kind of renting experience should also expand the reach of Build to Rent schemes, which include features such as concierge services, on-site gyms, on-site maintenance teams, cinema rooms, co-working spaces and communal gardens.

They also offer longer tenancies – typically three years – to try and entice tenants looking for longer-term security and the chance to put down roots. With the government’s recent announcements regarding minimum three-year tenancies, it could be argued that Build to Rent is ahead of the game in this respect.

Like anything, Build to Rent has its upsides and downsides – and it’s not without its critics – but it’s becoming an increasingly integral part of Manchester’s landscape, with new deals taking place on a frequent basis and construction starting on projects as we speak.

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