Archive for September, 2009
If you have residential property you rent out, or are thinking of entering this market, one of the best ways to keep property fully let and income producing, is to look after your tenants. Surprisingly, many landlords don’t do this, and ultimately they lose out. Here are my five top tips for new landlords.
1. Neutral decor is easier to let and maintain
You don’t want fussy wallpapers and neither do you want over bright colours that make properties look smaller than they are, and quickly go out of fashion. It is the easiest thing in the world to touch up neutrally painted walls and you also know when you need extra supplies, your DIY store will not have gone out of stock.
2. Research the letting market thoroughly, then purchase property accordingly
If the demand is there to buy one and two bedroom apartments buy those, but you may find detached houses rent better in your locale. Don’t buy small apartments if there is a glut of similar empty properties in your area, as there are in so many.
3. Vet your letting agents thoroughly
If you are using an agent, check them out thoroughly. Many agents are very good and work very hard for relatively small rewards. Other agents are a nightmare waiting to happen. Don’t let them explode in your face. Try and speak to some of their existing landlords and tenants. Good reputable agents are always willing to discuss their business and their clients. It is only the dodgy agents who have something to hide who are reluctant to provide appropriate information. If an agent stalls on being forthcoming, find another one, there are plenty more fish in the sea.
4. Treat your tenants well
If you do that, not only will they rent from you again, but they will pass your name round to their friends, business acquaintances, and relatives, and before you know it, you will have more good tenants than you know what to do with. If you treat your tenants poorly don’t be surprised if they treat your property in the same fashion, and don’t be surprised too, if they up and off at the earliest opportunity, leaving you with an empty property and dead money to boot.
5. Join landlord organisations
These can be very useful bodies and their fees are often incredibly low. They usually offer cheaper landlord insurance policies and always provide you with more guff and information than you can handle. At least if you have this information you can’t please ignorance of the law, never an acceptable defence in the event of a dispute. Landlords’ groups often supply inexpensive letting agreements and legal assistance too, should anything go wrong with your let.
Despite consistent warnings the buy-to-let bubble is about to burst, there are more properties being let and available for rent in Britain than ever before. Interest rates may have risen, but the rental market remains busy. If you are thinking of buying and renting in your area, make sure you thoroughly research every aspect of the market before you take the plunge.
By: David Carter
Bloomsbury, the residential district in the suburbs of London, has been compared to Paris’ Left Bank. Bloomsbury’s reputation was further established in the early 1900 when it became home to the ‘Bloomsbury Set’ – a small exclusive group of people, ie. English writers, philosophers and artists who frequently met and resided within Bloomsbury properties. The creative type still thrives in the present day as the beautiful garden squares, cafes, village atmosphere and many educational institutions continue to inspire.
Since early 1940’s Bloomsbury has remained largely unchanged although some parts of the area were severely bomb damaged. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Bloomsbury began to regain a reputation as a central residential district.
The area is dominated by large institutions including the University of London, several hospitals, publishing houses and barristers’ chambers. At the beginning of the new century, new media, international hotel groups and Warner Bros have moved into the area around Holborn.
Like Paris, Bloomsbury has wide boulevards of tall trees and taller buildings petering out into maze-like lanes of antique book and map shops, galleries, small hotels and innumerable caf
There has never been a better time to start a residential property lettings business. Why? Because there are more properties available for renting than ever before and there are more potential tenants looking for homes than ever before.
Add to that the worldwide credit crunch that is forcing property prices sharply lower, and the huge numbers of real estate agents shutting up shop and going out of business. Why is all that good for potential residential letting agents? Because many of those real estate agents operated flourishing lettings businesses too, and when they disappear, that dead business will need to be picked up by someone.
Some of those departing agents have been forced out of business because they took on too much overhead. Not to put too fine a point on it, some of them thought the gravy train would last forever. Big expensive cars became the norm, and flash top end office accommodation was booked up on long-term and high big ticket leases. Expensive overstaffing only added to the headaches. It couldn’t last forever, and it didn’t.
In Britain more than 150 Estate Agents are closing their doors every week (Source: The BBC) with little sign there is any improvement around the corner. Recently the boss of HBOS, one of Britain’s biggest housing finance banks, gave a stark warning that the credit crunch could well last for at least another 18 months, making it hard to see where and when any improvement in the property sales market is going to come from.
But that depressed state is not mirrored in the lettings industry where things are enjoying something of a boom. The established lettings franchise companies are all gearing up for another solid round of hectic expansion. No one can be surprised at that given the current stats on residential property. The lettings market is here to stay, and the percentage of occupiers who are renting their homes is set to rapidly increase. Whether we like it or not, we a living in a completely different world, and if falling house prices give first time buyers the opportunity to buy their own home, perhaps for the very first time, who is to say that that is all so dreadfully bad?
By: David Carter
