TPS Property Consultants

06/05/2016

How do you reduce the risk of problem tenants?

If you’re a landlord, then it’s fully understandable that you’ll want the best possible tenants for your property.
In order to find the best tenants, there are a number of pre-emptive steps that you can take before they move in, as well as decisions you can make during the tenancy to ensure all is running smoothly and any issues are stopped at source.

Tenant referencing:

Tenant referencing gives you a keen insight into tenants who are interested in your property and whether they have the ability to pay the rent.

It can tell you more about their credit history, their background and their employment status.

In doing so, tenant referencing allows you to assess the suitability of your potential tenants and have background checks carried out by experts.

With tenant referencing, you get to know more about who’s moving into your property, allowing you to make an informed decision about the tenants you choose.

With fast and thorough checks, you’ll be able to ensure that you’re accepting the most suitable tenants for your property. Buy to let properties are big investments – so you don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

Carry out regular inspections:

By carrying out regular inspections, as you’re legally entitled to (if you give your tenants plenty of notice), you’ll be able to stop any problems before they become serious.

For example, if you inspect quarterly, it’ll be unlikely that condensation will develop into mould before you can deal with it, as a simple reminder to your tenants to open the bathroom window for a short period of time each day could be enough to save you both time and money later on.

Additionally, inspections are a great way of discovering whether the tenants are treating your properly well, and they’re also a great way of building a rapport with the tenants themselves.

Keeping in touch:

By keeping in touch with your tenants regularly, you stand a much greater chance of the tenancy being a success and your tenants being respectful of both you and your property.

Building a good relationship with your tenants is important, as it means that they’ll be much more likely to contact you if any issues arise during the tenancy.

This way, you can get them repaired quickly, before the problem worsens.

Staying in touch doesn’t require detailed phone conversation on a daily or weekly business, but a quick text message every month or so, just to check in, never goes amiss.

06/05/2016

How to maximise your rental income:

Of course you want to make a decent income from your property, but setting your rent too high can put tenants off – especially if they have lots of properties to choose from. Even just £25 a month extra can deter them so it’s essential to charge an appropriate rent for them, which still gives you a good return:

Location. Where your property is based can have a big impact on rent.

Furnished or unfurnished? Are you including full furnishings and appliances, part furnished or completely unfurnished?

Desired tenants. Who are you trying to attract?

Amenities. Local schools, parking availability and parks and recreational facilities all need to be taken into consideration.

Desirability. You need to factor in the condition, size and accessibility of your property when setting rent.

To give you an idea of what other landlords are doing in your area, check out some property websites (such as Rightmove or Zoopla). The HomeLet Rental Index will also give you some up-to-date market information.

06/05/2016

Landlords relax after tax hike as rents rise;

New data from HomeLet has revealed that fears over higher Stamp Duty charges on purchasing BTL rental property might weaken the market have so far proved unfounded.

HomeLet’s figures show that rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK over the three months to the end of April have continued to grow at remarkably consistent rate.

The April HomeLet Rental Index reveals that rents on new tenancies signed on a UK rental property outside of London over the three months to April 2016 were, on average, 5.1% higher than in the same period of last year. That was barely changed from March’s figure of 4.9%, with rent rises having remained in a very narrow band since the beginning of the year.

In the capital, meanwhile, rents on new tenancies signed over the three months to the end of April were 7.7% higher than a year ago, the third successive month that London has registered this rate of increase.

The latest figures show that rents in Scotland are currently rising faster than anywhere else in the UK, with new tenancies costing 11.4% more than in the same period a year ago. However, the East Midlands, registering a rise of 7.9% in rents compared to last year, is hot on Scotland’s heels – the area, currently revelling in the success of Premier League football champions Leicester City, also tops the table of English regions by rental inflation.

London’s rental market, where the average rent on a new tenancy is now £1,543, also continues to see rents rise more quickly than in most other areas of the country. The 2.6 percentage point gap between rent rises on new tenancies in London and the rest of the UK, where rents average £764, is barely changed on last month (2.8 percentage points).

Read more at: http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/landlords-relax-after-tax-hike-as-rents-rise.html

Written by Warren Lewis (Property Reporter)

07/04/2016

Right to Rent:

The purpose of the scheme is to deter those who are illegal resident in the UK and to target the minority of rouge landlords who are acting outside the law. The penalty for a landlord who fails to complete the adequate tasks can be served a civil penalty of up to £3,000.

The main part of the new rules is covered by Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014. A landlord will be required to vet all prospective tenants by establishing who will be living at the property and see originals of the relevant documentation. like UK passport, or a passport form any EU country, a document from the Home Office giving conformation that they have the right to rent.
The landlords must request that the applications bring photocopies of the documents and the should be checked against the originals.

07/04/2016

Landlords operating in the private rented sector face in a new wave of unprecedented challenges posed by increased responsibilities from Right to Rent rules as well as changes to wear and tear allowance, mortgage interest deductions, and a higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Wales and Land & Building Transaction Tax in Scotland.

07/04/2016

Are there any exemptions?

Yes - you don't have to pay SDLT if a property is left to you in a will, or if you're buying a plot of land from a neighbour. Also, if you are going through a divorce you can buy an additional property without paying the stamp duty surcharge before the divorce is finalised.

SDLT does not apply to the purchase of caravans or mobile homes, houseboats, non-residential or mixed-use properties (e.g. a flat with a shop downstairs) or properties worth less than £40,000.

It has emerged there is a loophole - parents buying properties for their children can set up a trust of which their child is a beneficiary and won't have to pay the extra tax.

07/04/2016

What are stamp duty changes?

Existing stamp duty rates are increasing by three per cent for buyers who are considered to already own a property. This includes if you're buying with a partner and only one of you owns a home.

07/04/2016

So what exactly is stamp duty?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is the tax you pay when purchasing a property. You have to pay the full amount within 30 days of completing the purchase and you're not allowed to add the bill to your mortgage and pay it off in increments.

07/04/2016

From 6 April, 2016, you’ll...
...get more tax relief available on the interest you earn on cash saved for a deposit

Saving for a deposit is no easy feat, especially in the parts of the country where house prices are climbing faster than your savings balance. One obvious way to fight back is to make sure you’re not paying tax on the interest you earn.

Thankfully, the new personal savings allowance which lands on 6 April, makes this task easier than ever before. From here on in, basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000 in savings interest before being charged any tax at all and higher-rate tax payers will be able to earn £500.

The start of the new tax year also brings with it a fresh new tax-free ISA limit. Although for 2016/2017 it does remain frozen at £15,240.

Remember also that you can now choose between paying into a standard ISA and paying into the Government’s property-specific Help to Buy ISA which launched in December 2015.

Finally, if you’re still aged under 40 by April 2017, the new Lifetime ISA scheduled to launch then is something of a no-brainer. It’s a tax-free savings account in which those specifically saving for a deposit (or retirement) can stash up to £4,000 a year and receive a further £1,000 boost from the Government.

07/04/2016

https://youtu.be/j-4TtMJX-NQ

Halifax Bank explains in under 60 seconds what to expect from the Mortgage process when you buy your first home. For more information on how you could buy yo...

07/04/2016

https://youtu.be/BpZcq7mG-vc

http://www.natwest.com/mortgages From renting to buying- Alice wanted to stop renting and buy her first home . SUBSCRIBE: http://www.youtube.com/subscription...

07/04/2016

Key Changes To Property Taxation Over The Next Few Years

Some of the changes will include;
Disallowing Tax Relief for Mortgages
Companies and Increased Taxes on Dividends
Abolition of "Wear and Tear Allowance"
Inheritance Tax Uplift on the Main Home
Rent a Room Relief Increase