Tag: Property

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Property View Virtual Reality Tours

360' panoramic photographs

Property View is a new venture bringing fascinating technology to the property world. Whether you are selling, developing, renting or building this technology can help with various processes which normally take time and resources to complete. They can scan, and download virtually any space and have it viewable and shareable within 48 hrs.

They create a link to the virtual reality tour so you can share it  worldwide instantly. Totally interactive and immersive content that can act as a virtual open house 24/7, allowing prospective buyers to view and explore any given property from their smartphone/ipad/ tablet or PC.   Get in touch for more exciting features

 

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Stamp duty could be lowered by Chancellor

A London estate agency says one of its buyers wants to delay completion until November 1 “just in case stamp duty is changed in October”. Aylesford International director Brendan Roberts says one of his firm’s buyers made the request following speculation that stamp duty could be lowered by Chancellor Sajid Javid.

“Anyone looking to sell is unlikely to conclude a sale much before late October even if they found a buyer early September, so agreeing a delayed completion to allow for any changes in SDLT shouldn’t create too much inconvenience and with buyers thin on the ground it is useful to be flexible and adapt to help buyers commit” explains Roberts.

The move follows widespread speculation by government ministers that stamp duty will be reformed – but without saying when or how. Other agents report alternative tactics pursued by purchasers keen to avoid paying more SDLT than they need – but these raise questions over whether conveyancers would help.

“We have had a pronounced increase in enquiries from clients seeking to utilise the existing ‘mixed use’ stamp duty concession. This concession is still not well understood but can yield dramatic savings on higher value properties” explains Gideon Sumption of Stacks Property Search.

“There is a huge and obvious incentive to look at mixed use property where the maximum rate of SDLT is five per cent. There is no current legal definition but such is the amount of money involved there will almost certainly be some case law soon” Sumption continues.

“The current understanding is that for mixed use SDLT to apply, the property needs to have a commercial element, namely enjoy commercial income from land or buildings that from part of the whole. This could be a self-contained annexe let on an assured shorthold tenancy, some pasture let to a farmer or some buildings let as workshops. What won’t qualify are extensive grounds used purely for the enjoyment of the house.”

Another Stacks agent, Bill Spreckley, says buyers are becoming “more and more aware “ not only about the mixed use option but also how so-called ‘multiple dwellings’ can attract lower SDLT.

“If you buy a property with ‘Multiple Dwellings’ – that is an annexe, cottage or flat – then there are discounts available. One takes the price of the whole property, divide it by the number of properties, work out the SDLT per property and then multiply that figure by the number of properties again” he says. He says a principal property sold with two cottages counting as ‘multiple dwellings’ – each sold at a notional £666,666 – would attract stamp duty of £69,999 but sold as one unit at £2m it would incur SDLT of £153,750.

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Labour to allow private tenants to buy their rented homes!

The Labour Party could bring in a radical “right to buy” scheme if it gains power at the next general election which could help millions of private tenants in the UK to buy their rented homes at a reasonable price, the shadow chancellor has suggested.

John McDonnell is promoting the idea as a way to make it easier for workers to buy the homes they live in, while also tackling what he calls the “burgeoning buy-to-let market” and the problem of landlords who do not maintain their properties.

John McDonnell wants to see tenants have a better chance of buying their homes from landlords (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

In what would be a day of reckoning for many of Britain’s 2.6 million landlords, the mooted right-to-buy scheme in the private housing market would echo Margaret Thatcher’s policy of the 1980s relating to government housing, under which millions of council tenants bought the property in which they lived. Mr McDonnell set out some loose guidelines for the Labour idea – first suggested by Jeremy Corbyn during his 2015 bid for leadership of the party – based on the premise that the sum paid by tenants wishing to buy their dwelling would not necessarily be the market price.

“You’d want to establish what is a reasonable price, you can establish that and then that becomes the right to buy,” he told the Financial Times. “You (the government) set the criteria. I don’t think it’s complicated.”

Mr McDonnell suggested the plan would be a way of redressing problems such as landlords refusing to invest in their properties while making a “fast buck” at the cost of their tenants and the community.

“We’ve got a large number of landlords who are not maintaining these properties and are causing overcrowding and these problems,” he said.

Mr McDonnell also detailed a bold share transferal proposal, under which a Labour government would confiscate some £300 billion of shares in 7,000 large companies and hand them to workers, in what would be one of the largest ever raids by a government on the private sector seen in a western democracy. Under that plan, every company with more than 250 workers would have to gradually transfer 10 per cent of their shares to their employees, the paper said.

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Leeds BS launches 10-year fixed rate mortgage range

Leeds Building Society has this morning launched a new range of 10-year fixed rate buy-to-let products. There is a product available at 2.49% up to 60% loan-to-value (LTV) and 3.29% deal up to 70% LTV. Both products are subject to a £999 product arrangement fee and come with free standard valuation and fees assisted legal services.

Matt Bartle, director of products at Leeds Building Society, commented:

“Our new ten-year buy-to-let products provide additional choice for landlords, and follow our recent rate reductions and the introduction of new cashback incentives in our range.

“Longer term fixes provide landlords with the opportunity to budget for their mortgage costs over a decade, as well as saving any fees associated with remortaging during the period.

“In the current rate environment, fixing for a longer term offers landlords some security at a time of economic uncertainty.”

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Are you entitled to a stamp duty rebate

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Primas Law is urging landlords and property developers to seek legal advice about potential stamp duty rebates on ‘uninhabitable’ second properties after a landmark tribunal case. A recent ground-breaking case, between P N Bewley Ltd and HMRC, held that properties that are not immediately habitable at the time of completion do not constitute as a “dwelling” for the purpose of the Finance Act 2003.

This finding could have major implications for the UK housing market, according to Primas Law, as the decision meant that P N Bewley was not liable to pay the additional 3% stamp duty surcharge applicable to second homes. It could mean that those who have paid stamp duty on similar uninhabitable properties – including potentially thousands of landlords and developers – may have paid an inappropriate level of tax and could seek to reclaim them.
Consequently, Primas Law is being instructed to act for a large and growing number of landlords and developers seeking to recover stamp duty paid for properties that, potentially, should not have attracted the additional tax.

Daniel Thomas, Head of Litigation at Primas Law, said: “To provide more context to this particular case, the property that P N Bewley purchased was a bungalow and a plot of land in Western-super-Mare.

“The company’s intention was to demolish the bungalow and build a new dwelling on the land with planning permission already being granted. The bungalow was essentially a derelict building that had been unoccupied for around three years.

“The tribunal was provided with photographs of the derelict building and these demonstrated the heating system, radiators, floorboards and pipework had been removed, and that the property – both internally and externally – was in a very poor condition.

“It was also provided with reports from surveyors that concluded asbestos was present in the property and urgently needed removing.”

COMMENT

If you are a developer and are buying property unfit for habitation, then this law could definitely apply, but you may need to use a solicitor who is up to date with property law, as most who simply deal with run of the mill conveyancing may not be aware of this law, or not familiar with the process of appeal, meaning that you could potentially pay out many thousands that you need not pay.

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Rental rate freeze could sink UK property market

terraced street.preview

Germany’s rent controls place strong restrictions on in-tenancy rent increases, while the ‘rent brake’ introduced a couple of year ago makes it harder for landlords to charge higher rents when re-letting a property. But would a similar system work as far as the UK’s rent control system is concerned?

Last week the German finance minister Olaf Scholz voiced his support of a controversial five-year rent freeze to tackle the increasing cost of living in the city.

The aim, according to Scholz, is to ensure that Berlin does not ‘end up like London’.

In the last five years, London rents have increased from an average of £1,530 a month to £1,679 – an increase of 2.44% annually.Should this growth trend persist for a further five years, it would push the average rent in the capital to £1,894 a month.

However, the implementation of a five-year rental rate freeze would see London tenants save a total of £7,620 in rental costs, according to the research. Tenants in Newham stand to save the most, with rents increasing by 6.95% on average in the borough over the last five years, an increase of £329 in the monthly rent. If this continues, the average rental price could hit £1,977 a month in five years, but a freeze would see tenants save a notable £19,413 as a result.

A five-year rental rate freeze would also see a five-figure saving for tenants in Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, Kensington and Chelsea, the City of London, Havering, Lewisham, Southwark, Enfield and Ealing.

Oxford tenants would benefit with a rental freeze saving totalling £17,746 over the next five-years. The average rent in Oxford over the last five years has increased at an average of 7.3% a month, second only to Manchester at 8%, which could see Oxford’s rental costs hit £1,741 a month.

Bristol has also seen a sharp increase in rental prices, up 6.75% annually over the last five years. A similar growth trend would see the average monthly rent hit £1,489 however, a five-year rental freeze would save tenants a total of £14,294. Tenants in Manchester, Oxford, and Newcastle would also enjoy a five-figure saving.

Tom Gatzen, co-founder of ideal flatmate, said: “The figures suggest that should such a rental rate freeze be introduced in London and the wider country, the saving for tenants could be considerable. This saving could go some way towards a mortgage deposit and a foot on the ladder, while at the same time helping to alleviate some of the pressure on the rental sector.

“Any pro-tenant initiative can, of course, be viewed as a positive, but the mere suggestion of a rental rate freeze in Berlin seems to have sent the property market into meltdown. There is every chance that the same could happen here as a recent string of government changes to the buy-to-let sector have already diminished landlord confidence levels.

“This further dent on profitability could see more opt to invest elsewhere, however, the meteoric rise of the build-to-rent sector is providing a viable alternative to traditional stock supply and could therefore be the answer, stomaching a static rate of rental growth far better without any detriment to the tenant.”

COMMENT

The massive increase in the build to rent sector is beginning to filter through, but there needs to be more money made available for this. As it stands, there is not enough private funding of build to rent, but with amendments to tax rules, this could change rapidly. If legislation were introduces to allow people to plough their pension funds in to build to rent, but under strict return guidelines, to ensure affordability, this could not only give our ageing population a source of income, but it would also help to create more housing stock, thereby distributing demand and curbing spiralling rents. As build costs on a large scale are less than property on the open market, this would give the investors a fair return, without the need for excessive rent costs.

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Holiday rental market looks set to boom this summer

holiday lets

The holiday rental market in this country looks set for another busy summer as the weak pound persuades millions to opt for a staycation.

The fall in the UK pound since the Brexit vote three years also means Britons get less for their money abroad.

Meanwhile, more tourists than ever before are visiting the UK. VisitBritain figures show that 2018 was a good year for inbound tourism to the UK, with spending by overseas visitors to the UK reaching almost £27bn.

The strength of the UK tourist industry is paying dividends for holiday property owners, according to Bournemouth-based holiday letting agency, Bournecoast Holiday Agents, which reports that holiday lets are on the rise.

 It has been known for a long time that owning a holiday let can be very advantageous in the holiday letting industry. Not only can it provide a potentially lucrative additional income for buy-to-let landlords, but it also offers certain tax advantages to holiday let owners.

There are specific requirements a property needs to meet in order to be classed as a furnished holiday let, such as its availability, actual bookings and level of furnishings.

Capital allowances can be claimed on a furnished holiday let property. This means the cost of kitting out a holiday property to a luxury standard (and in return, increasing the potential rental income) can be deducted from pre-tax profits. This is not an option available for long-term rental properties.

Income generated from a furnished holiday let property is classed as ‘relevant earnings’ which means a landlord can also make tax-advantaged pension contributions.

If the landlord should come to sell the furnished holiday let property, they may be able to claim certain Capital Gains Tax reliefs. These are unavailable to long-term rental properties and include Entrepreneur’s Relief, Roll-over Relief and Hold-over relief.

With long-term rental properties, profits would be distributed according to the official ownership split (e.g. if they owned 50% of the property, they would share 50% of the profits). With a FHL property, they can portion the profit however they decide.

A self-catering property which is available for short-term lettings for more than 140 days in any given year, is subject to Business Rate property tax. Since all furnished holiday let properties must be available to let for a minimum of 210 days, they fall into this category. However, this isn’t necessarily bad news as the landlord can claim Small Business Rate Relief, which can be up to 100%, dependent on what area you are in.

Des Simmons, Bournecoast’s managing director, said: “The holiday let market has gained considerable momentum over the past year, as evidenced by the growing number of lenders now offering mortgages suitable for this type of investment.”

Phil Wadham, director of Elite Financial, added that “the range of products for holiday letting is improving and more borrowers are thinking it’s a market to look at.”

 

COMMENT

Personally speaking as a small private Landlord, after the difficulties I have faced with the last possession, which is still not finalised as I write this,  I can say that the days of my letting out on AST are over…..at least under the current  anti-landlord legislation. It appears that I am not alone, many landlords have sold up, are planning to sell up, or have decided to switch to other options, either rooms on a licence or short term holiday lets.

I am sure it is only a matter of time before they try to pull the rug from beneath the short term letting market, but it will be very difficult to enforce. I for one, believe that the measures taken over recent years to punish landlords is having a detrimental effect. In the first instance, those at the bottom end are now very unlikely to find a property to rent, certainly in the South East, where there is demand, because there is increased likelihood that they may have problems, the local authorities advise them to ignore notice to leave, because they will consider them to have made themselves homeless, this means that the landlord has no other option but to go through the courts, which is expensive, the tenant finds themselves with a CCJ against their name as well as the likelihood of them finding another property will then be zero, and then, the landlords may well decide not to re-rent on AST, as I have.