First Move Finance

09/07/2020

Great news for Landlord and first time buyers.

Stamp Duty News: For Landlords, First time buyers and Home movers.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced new measures that help landlords. Here's a quick breakdown of the key policies.

The threshold above which stamp duty must be paid has been raised from £125,000 to £500,000. Landlords buying properties under £500,000 will pay only the 3% additional home surcharge, while those buying for their primary residence will pay no stamp duty.

This is good news for landlords looking to buy properties, as they will now face lower costs. Meanwhile, landlords looking to sell will find their properties are affordable to a larger number of potential buyers. The change applies to sales completed between 8th July and 31st March.

Also announced was a £2bn fund to make homes more energy efficient. From September, homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for vouchers to make their homes more energy efficient. The grants will cover at least two thirds of the cost, up to £5,000 per household.

The announcement contained further support for industries hit hardest by the lockdown, including support for hospitality sector jobs. Landlords with tourism or hospitality accommodation may also benefit from a cut in VAT for these industries from 20% to just 5%.

For more information, you can call me on 07946009161

Moustafa Ali

21/08/2019

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04/07/2019

Boris Johnson to abolish Stamp Duty for homes under £500k in no-deal Brexit scenario
by: Victoria Hartley
28/06/2019 • 2
Boris Johnson to abolish Stamp Duty for homes under £500k in no-deal Brexit scenario
Stamp duty could be scrapped for all homes worth under £500,000 in an earlier emergency Budget in September if Boris Johnson becomes the next UK prime minister and Britain exits Europe with no deal, according to reports.


Analysis from Yahoo Finance UK confirmed the move could save first-time buyers up to £10,000 on their first home and give buy-to-let landlords and second homeowners a £30,000 tax cut.

Johnson is also looking at reversing former chancellor George Osborne’s stamp duty hike on more expensive homes from 12 to seven per cent, according to The Times.

The stamp duty increases are widely seen to have cooled the London property market in recent years.

Three sources in his campaign told The Times he was considering an ‘emergency budget’ including stamp duty cuts, large tax breaks for business investment and an “assault” on regulation.

31/05/2019

With the Tenant Fees Act coming into effect tomorrow agents and landlords need to ensure they are prepared to avoid a large fine, David Cox, chief executive, ARLA Property mark has warned.
The Act bans letting fees paid by tenants. Landlords can charge a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or more.
Cox said: “The Tenant Fees Act comes into force tomorrow, and agents should already have implemented the correct changes within their business in order to be compliant with the law.

Letting agents will have to make up for lost income
“Members should refer to our Tenant Fees Toolkit for relevant advice, information, and legal documents that have been produced with the ban in mind.
“Although the Tenant Fees Act has been front of mind for a while, it’s important members stay up to date with other laws and local licences that are being introduced, as a breach of the ban can result in a large fine, so it’s vital agents get this right.”
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19/04/2019

The number of buy-to-let mortgages used for purchasing new properties fell by nearly 8 per cent in February compared to the same month last year, according to the latest UK Finance figures. The trade body says that only 4,800 BTL purchase loans completed, compared to 5,200 in February 2018. The valu...

01/04/2019

Rents rise as landlords look to sell up
The average rent in the UK was 0.4 per cent higher in February than last year, according to Your Move data.
However, the firm pointed out that the annual rate of growth has dropped sharply, from the 1.4 per cent registered last month.

As a result the average rent now stands at £861.

The south west saw the fastest rises, with rents jumping by 4 per cent in the year to February, reaching an average of £703. The West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber saw strong growth too, with rises of 3.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

Despite this, Yorkshire & Humber remains the second cheapest region in which to rent, with average rents of £588, a little ahead of the North East at £540, a region which saw rents rise by 1 per cent over the year.

At the other end of the scale, London was one of two regions to see annual falls, alongside the East of England. The East saw prices drop 1.8 per cent to an average of £878.

According to Your Move, around 9.4 per cent of all tenancies were behind on their rent, up from the 8.8 per cent in January but down on the 10.5 per cent registered in December.

Martyn Alderton, national lettings director at Your Move, noted that the south west was performing so well in large part due to cities like Bristol, which has seen a boom in build to rent which has driven up both demand and average rents across the area.

He continued: “Private landlords meanwhile have tended to prefer the charms of the north of England, a region where yields are significantly higher than elsewhere. But returns in all regions have remained steady compared with January, meaning landlords across the country have enjoyed solid yields.”

Landlords leaving the market
A separate study from ARLA Propertymark noted there had been an increase in tenants seeing rents rise, with 34 per cent of letting agents witnessing rent increases in February, up from 26 per cent in January.

This is the highest figure since August, when 40 per cent of agents saw landlords hike rents, the largest on record.

However, the firm pointed out there has also been an increase in landlords selling up, with the number of landlords exiting the market rising to an average of four per branch in February, up from three in January.

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: “The Chancellor’s Spring Statement included a number of initiatives aimed at growing housing stock for buyers, but it didn’t offer any solutions to increase the supply of properties in the private rented sector.

“Unless the Government commits to making the prospect of investing in the PRS more attractive, and introduces measures to increase supply, tenants will only continue to feel the burn.”

31/03/2019

Re-mortgage
Let us take you through everything you need to know about the process, including how much re-mortgaging your property might cost and what you need to consider before going ahead.