Monthly Archives: January 2012

Landlord and Letting Show Dates 2012

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

The ever popular Landlord and Letting show have announced their dates for 2012. The Barbican, London 13th-14th March 2012 Lancastrian Suite, Gateshead 2nd-3rd May 2012 EventCity, Manchester 27th-28th June 2012 The Barbican, London 4th-5th September 2012 SECC, Glasgow 10th-11th October 2012 NEC, Birmingham 27th-28th November 2012 Visit www.landlordshow.info for more information Continue Reading

Co-op to Increase By-To-Let Lending

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

The Co-operative Bank’s intermediary mortgage lender, Platform, has announced plans to increase its buy to let lending by 33%, to provide £600m of buy to let loans in 2012. Platform saw strong growth in 2011, with the demand for private rented accommodation continuing to outstrip supply, and investment in the sector increasing. “Our commitment to… Continue Reading

Elderly Downsizing Could Reduce the Housing Shortage

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

Housing minister, Grant Shapps, has put forward proposals that would see councils helping elderly people to move to smaller, more manageable accommodation and their houses rented to families. The council would arrange and manage the rental, with the income going directly to the elderly person. They would then pay the rent for their smaller property,… Continue Reading

Subletting your council house could see you re-housed at her majesty’s pleasure

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

Under government proposals, council tenants in England who are convicted of sub-letting their homes, could face up to two years in prison. The new criminal offence of tenancy fraud could also incur a fine of up to £50,000. Sub-letting a council property is not currently a criminal offence, and official estimates are that around 160,000… Continue Reading

Buy To Let Yields for 2011

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

“Vanilla” buy to let mortgages had a good year in 2011, exceeding the expectations of the CML. Buy to let figures for 2011 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Average loan size £116,238 £126,522 £144,006 £126,240 Average property size £175,819 £187,708 £224,639 £198,529 Average loan to value 66% 67% 68% 65% Average yield 5.6% 5.8% 6.3% 6.13% Continue Reading

Buy To Lets Boom in 2011

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

At the start of last year, the council of mortgage lenders predicted that buy to let mortgage lending would reach £11 billion in 2011. In actual fact, the figure was closer to £13 billion, nearly 10% of the overall mortgage lending market. There are many reasons why the buy to let market continues to flourish,… Continue Reading

Gas Safety: Make Sure You Are Compliant

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

As a landlord, you must make sure that any pipe work, appliances and flues that you provide for tenants are maintained in a safe condition. You must have a gas safety check every 12 months. This must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, who will then issue a gas safety certificate, which… Continue Reading

Rent Your House for the Olympics

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Eleanor • 0 Comments

Many homeowners are planning on cashing in on the 2012 Olympics, by renting out their homes for the period. A four bedroom house in Muswell Hill is currently on offer for £3,500 per week during the Olympics. With this sort of cash incentive, it is easy to see the appeal. However, making a quick buck… Continue Reading