Major changes to crackdown on long-term empty homes fast approaching

Homeowners now have clarity

Starting from 1 April 2024, there will be stricter rules in place to double council tax on long-term empty properties. This is aimed at freeing up more existing housing stock. Instead of the current two years, the rules will now apply when a property has been empty for 12 months. Additionally, councils will have the power to introduce a tax premium on second homes in their area from next year, which will bring in more funds for public services or help keep overall council tax bills down. 

After a public consultation, the Department for Levelling Up has confirmed a few exceptions to ensure fairness for homeowners. These exceptions include uninhabitable properties undergoing extensive renovation, second homes with planning restrictions that cannot be used year-round, and homes inherited by grieving families for up to a year. 

Homeowners now have clarity on the changes and can plan accordingly, while councils can budget for increased funds to spend on public services. 

Simon Hoare, the minister for local government, stated that long-term empty properties are preventing local families and young people from accessing the housing market in their own community. As part of the government's long-term plan for housing, action is being taken to deliver more suitable homes in the right locations and give councils more authority to provide local people with the homes they need. 

These changes are part of the government's goal to deliver one million homes this Parliament, supported by a £10 billion investment, and will help unlock more of the homes needed in the country.

To Rekey or not to Rekey?

Did you know that right now there could easily be several people who you don’t know who have keys to your house? 

The people who you bought the house from could still have keys as could their friends, family and old roommates who were maybe leant a key at some point in the past. In addition to this a previous estate agent or any workman who may have been trusted with a key could have a copy of your door key and you would never know. This is true for new build homes as well. 

However don’t worry, you don’t need to change all your locks and incur a massive bill. Rekeying your locks is a great alternative to changing the locks and is less expensive especially if there are several entry doors to the property. 

Rekeying is a process which involves changing the order of the internal pins within the lock and creating a new key for the door. By doing this you are getting peace of mind that even if there are keys you don’t know about, they will no longer work.

Rekeying is a relatively simple and low cost process that any qualified locksmith can carry out and it shouldn’t take them too long to do. When choosing a locksmith you should always ensure they are members of the MLA (Master Locksmith Association) to avoid employing a cowboy rogue trader. 

You can also get them to make it so all entry doors use the same key which means you only have to carry one key instead of several to access your home. 

One huge advantage to getting the locks rekeyed is that it would be really hard to make an insurance claim if the burglar used an old key and there were no signs of forced entry. 

For your peace of mind Ian Perks highly recommend you do this otherwise you could be compromising the overall security of your home. 

If you do decide to do this, remember first to ask for permission for the change. It will not be refused and we can recommend local locksmiths.

The same goes for alarm codes but remember to let us know first.

Floor plans help to let your property

Sellers have long seen the wisdom of using floor plans as they most probably have been, or are, purchasers. Interestingly we have recently noticed that many more of our landlord clients are now asking for floor plans of their properties. This is not just isolated to us, many leading suppliers of floor plans have reported a strong surge.

Recent research by Rightmove found that 43% of landlords said that they would not instruct an agent if they could not provide a floor plan. This research also revealed that tenants ranked the ability to view floor plans as more important than main image and summary text and second only to a selection of images for the property.

The Rightmove research tells us that tenants might completely ignore a property without a floor plan so I am not altogether surprised that we have seen such a strong level of growth in the use of floor plans in the rental market. After all the need to view the individual layout of a property, often for purely practical reasons such as furniture layout, is equally important for a tenant as it is a purchaser.

25% of people are useless at moving home

I have just read an article about new research done by a London removal & storage company. Their headline drew my attention but what they really meant was that 1 in 4 Britons pack unwanted clutter they'll never use when moving house and over half still have unpacking to do by month 10 (304 days) of being in a new place.

They quoted a whole raft of statistics and if you can stick with, some make quite interesting reading – maybe you'll recognise yourself somewhere below:

Over a quarter of people who've moved house in the last year have a 'mystery box' of unwanted clutter than remained unopened for their entire duration of their stay in their last property,

It takes most Britons the best part of a year to fully unpack and settle in after moving home,
 
A survey of more than 1,000 people who’ve moved home in the last five years revealed over half of people (51%) hadn’t finished unpacking their belongings by month ten of living in their new home - equating to an average of 304 days - with those aged between 30-35 most likely to take the task somewhat slowly. Waiting to decorate was the most common reason given for the delay in feeling settled in.
 
75% of those who hadn’t fully unpacked by month ten or later said they found having belongings still in boxes stressful, while half of those said the boxes had started to cause arguments.
 
18 percent of movers said it took them between 12 and 18 months to get things fully organised, while a small minority of seven percent said they still had things in boxes after two years of living somewhere.
 
At the other end of the spectrum, a super organised and motivated three percent claimed to have fully unpacked within a day of moving in, while seven percent said they’d got the job done within a week.
 
The biggest cause for failing to unpack was the need to decorate, with almost half (44%) saying they’d planned to unpack once they’d completed decorating tasks.

A third (31%) said the delay in unpacking was due to having insufficient storage, while 12% said they couldn’t agree with their significant other on where to put things.

13% blamed themselves, with 7% saying they were too busy to fully unpack and 6% admitting to being too lazy to finish the job.

Men living on their own are the most likely to have full boxes lying around, with 79% saying they still had unpacking to do by month ten in their new pad. Single women were far less likely to let their belongings gather dust, with just 21% with unpacking to do by month ten. Single women were also most likely to get the job done inside week one, with 20% claiming to have successfully found a home for all of their belongings.

Items most likely to remain packed
Non essential kitchen equipment (Sandwich toasters, juicers etc)
Personal paperwork and documents (passport, bank statements, insurance documents)
Glassware
Books
Spare bedding
 
Items most likely to be unpacked first
Kettle
Bathroom essentials
Cups and plates
Laptops, tablets and chargers
Bedding

Reasons for not unpacking
•    Need to decorate first - 44%
•    Need to get more storage - 31%
•    Can’t agree on where to put things - 12%
•    Too busy - 7%
•    Can’t be bothered - 6%

---

If a quarter of people are saying they’ve got boxes they never unpacked since their last move, you’ve got to wonder if they really need what’s inside. How about having a thorough de-clutter prior to moving house so you don’t end up paying to move, then storing or living among items you don’t actually need. In most cases, if you haven’t used it in the last six months, you can most likely do without it.

Source: Property Reporter

Letting Agents just want to make money out of me!

At the end of a tenancy we will often hear the accusation “You letting agents just want to make money out of me”.

Well, this actually isn’t true, in fact the reality is the exact opposite. Letting agents actually lose money at the end of tenancies when deductions from deposit are necessary. Here’s why:

The landlord
Let’s imagine a tenant has damaged a door, badly stained a carpet and left the kitchen in a dirty state. The landlord has to pay for these to be put right ready for the next tenant. The landlord is entitled to reimbursement of the costs (loss) from the deposit. The landlord is not entitled to make money (profit) out of any deduction – this is law.

The Letting Agent
At the end of a tenancy we have to thoroughly inspect the property, comparing the before and after condition and, if differences are found, record the detail of the differences as evidence and negotiate between landlord and tenant. We are duty bound by regulations to be fair and ensure the landlord does not profit. The evidence has to be detailed and accurate just in case negotiations fail and the matter goes to arbitration or court. The worse the condition difference, the more time we have to spend – this process is very costly for us. We do not charge the landlord for the time spent. Likewise, we do not charge the tenant for time spent (with the exception of a specific event, such as meter changing, referred to in the tenancy agreement).

To sum up
The landlord is fairly compensated for any loss due the breach of contract by the tenant.
We make a significant financial loss if a property is left in anything but a perfect condition. Take it from us, the last thing we want at the end of a tenancy is all that extra work. We would much rather tick all the boxes, return the deposit to the tenant and move the next tenant in.

Top tips for buying property with friends

Sometimes first time buyers need to share with friends in order to buy their first home and often asked us for guidance. Although we are not able to offer financial advice we can pass on a few tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls.

In general co-borrower mortgages are ‘fairly straightforward’ to process as there should be no discrimination from lenders towards co-borrowers who are not married or related. However, as with all things legally or financially related, you should carry out thorough research. Here are some of our tips to point you in the right direction:

1. Seek expert legal advice
Anyone buying with a friend should ensure they have formal agreements in place from the outset. In the case of co- applicants, taking expert legal advice is arguably even more important than in cases where applicants are bound by family ties or marriage as the parties are not formally ‘committed’ to one another in any other capacity. Such an agreement should take into account all eventualities where personal circumstances may change. One example might be in the case of a disagreement or where one or the other party decides to marry or sell the property for some unforeseeable reason.

2. Maintain honesty and transparency in your finances
Discussing financial matters with a friend can be more difficult than with a relative or spouse, especially if you have significantly different incomes. However, if you are buying a property together you have to be prepared to be upfront and honest about every aspect of your finances. If you are not prepared to disclose personal financial information with your co-borrower then you may need to seriously rethink your decision about who you are buying with. Furthermore, you need to be aware that when you link together on a mortgage, you are also linking your credit profiles. Therefore, if there are any negative points on your credit profile they will also reflect on the other person too.

3. Shop around for your mortgage
For friends buying together in their twenties and early thirties, it doesn't make sense to choose a longer term fixed rate product as their situations are likely to change in the short to mid-term future. Similarly, there may be advantages to choosing one particular product over another for each individual case. That is why it is important for borrowers to seek expert financial advice from an independent mortgage broker who can advise on the best options available from across the whole of the market.

4. Set up a joint account
Having a joint account for bills and expenses takes the responsibility away from just one party and therefore minimises the possibility of any disputes.

5. Draw up an inventory for shared items
Drawing up an inventory of shared items in your formal legal agreement is strongly advisable before you complete on your purchase. This will avoid any possible conflict if one party decides to move out for whatever reason.

We could go on but we think these are the important points to consider. Without doubt though, the single most important point must be to ensure you get the best financial and legal advice available.

Good luck!

Private landlords stressed to the limit

Ever mounting issues such as regulation, rent arrears, tenant complaints, tax and inland revenue are causing more stress and strain than the day job, according to a new report that examined stress levels of landlords.

The *study revealed that 66% of landlords find managing their properties without an agent more stressful than their full, or part time jobs.

The research also reveals that rent arrears (87%) and dealing with tenant complaints (80%) are the top two causes of stress, followed by sorting out repairs to properties (43%), the new immigration legislation (40%) and securing finance to expand their buy-to-let portfolios (28%).

A quarter of landlords cite tax and inland revenue as a major reason for getting worried and anxious, while a third say it is void periods. 

So, if you don’t have the time to find the tenant, do the viewing, take on the daily management of the property, do the correct referencing, deal with the contract, put the deposit into an appropriate scheme, arrange the inventory, ensure the EPC and gas safety certificate are up to date, deal with tenants’ complaints on maintenance and chase any issues such as non-payment of rent – then get your property managed. If you don’t do this, it will only be a matter of time before you run into trouble.

A good managing agent is the key to having a more profitable return on your property investment, to achieving a good yield and more importantly, taking the stress away from you.

An important point to remember when choosing an agent is that it is very easy to become a letting agent. Letting agents are not regulated in the same way estate agents are, which is why we, Ian Perks Estate Agent, are pleased that the Government is addressing this issue and bringing in measures that will mean all lettings agents have to belong to a re-dress scheme.

Check out our credentials – we belong to NAEA, RICS, NALS, The Property Ombudsman and The Safe Agent Scheme.

Be wary if you are being offered cheap fees, it may be because the staff do not belong to an association, have not been trained properly or are not insured.

Remember, a good managing agent and can save you money and help you run a very profitable buy-to-let business.

*Source: Property Reporter

Is your home up to standard?

New energy performance (EPC) regulations set improved standards for rental properties. After 1 April 2016, tenants living in F and G rated homes will be able to request improvements, such as more insulation. The landlord will then be legally bound to bring the property up to an E rating.

After 1 April 2018, landlords with properties rated F and G will be unable to let them out to new tenants.

Almost 10% of England and Wales’ 4.2m privately rented homes currently fall below the E rating. (Source: Government statistics, February 2015).

Under the new legislation, if a tenant requests a more efficient home and the landlord fails to comply, the landlord could ultimately be forced to pay a penalty notice. Landlords will be able to let out F and G rated properties beyond 1 April 2018 for the remainder of existing rental contracts, but will not be able to renew a contract, or let the property to someone else until it is brought up to an E rating.

OnTheMarket hits the ground running!

The UK's newest property portal has hit the ground running! OntheMarket.com went live on Monday 26th January and displays the housing stock of around 4,600 estate agents offices from across the UK.

Ian Perks Estate Agent have joined thousands of other prominent national, regional and local independent estate and letting agents in supporting the most important new venture of its type in many years. We pride ourselves on our progressive approach to marketing and we firmly believe that OnTheMarket.com will rapidly become a major player in the market and a “must view” destination for serious property-seekers.

OnTheMarket.com is launching with a multi-million pound marketing budget which will include sustained and heavy-weight TV advertising on the main terrestrial and digital channels. In addition, it is running in a high-profile press campaign in titles such as the Daily Telegraph, Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Scotsman, Glasgow Herald and Western Mail as well as in key magazines such as Country Life, The London Magazine and Fabric.

As a mutual organisation, OnTheMarket.com has no external shareholders. Profits are ploughed back into improving the property-searching experience and into efficiently connecting motivated buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords. The state-of-the-art website will provide the most uncluttered, user-friendly and modern UK property search service. There’ll be no distracting ads for other products, no spam mail, no information over-load – just a pure focus on properties, with hundreds of thousands of homes to buy or rent at all price points all over the UK.

Most importantly, buyers will now be able to contact an estate agent directly to discuss a property and/or visit their website, which some other national portals do not allow. Thanks to OnTheMarket.com the communciation process is now greatly improved for both buyer and seller.

OnTheMarket.com is probably the most important change in the last few years to shake up the marketing of UK housing stock. We are delighted to support an organisation that benefits the customer rather than shareholders.

Stamp duty reform - at last!

The big news in property this month has been the Autumn Statement and the changes to how stamp duty is administered. It's great news for most people looking to buy or sell a property. Stamp duty used to be stepped so that, for example, if you went one pound above the cut-off mark of £250,000, you’d suddenly pay three per cent rather than one per cent — of the whole price, not just the money over the limit. That was totally unfair and ridiculous, and essentially used to mean there was a logjam of prices at these thresholds. Under the new system, announced by Chancellor George Osborne if you go over a band, you only pay the higher level of duty on the money over the limit.