LANDLORD NEWS AND ADVICE FROM UK'S LARGEST ONLINE LETTING AGENT

Year of the optimum tenant

Publication of the long awaited 2011 England & Wales census figures painted an accurate picture of the UK housing market today and indeed how it has changed over the last decade. The 6% drop in home ownership (with a mortgage or loan) from 8.4 million in 2001 to 7.6 million in 2011 and the simultaneous 6% increase in those renting from a private landlord or letting agency (3.6 million as of... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on December 17th, 2012 in Property Rental

Mayor: I want to empower landlords and tenants

The Mayor of London has outlined new proposals to empower landlords and tenants. Due to the Private Rental Sector's growth over the last 10 years, now more than 25% of Londoners are renting; set to rise to 37% by 2025. Because of the rise in renters, the Mayor has called for a new deal between landlords, letting agents and tenants, based around the “London Rental Standard”. This will... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on December 14th, 2012 in Buy-to-let, Property Rental

3 Comments »

Clamp down on landlords with empty homes

The government has announced plans to increase the amount of council tax payable on second or empty homes. With the country desperately needing new housing, the sight of these largely unoccupied properties has been a slap in the face for all those struggling to find a place to live. Currently it is estimated that there are around a million empty homes in this country. The proposed plan for... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on December 6th, 2012 in Finding a Home, Property Rental

Guest Post: Bill Gates vs. Your Average “Entrepreneur”

There’s only one big difference between Bill Gates and your local one man band barber. It’s not what you might think. It’s certainly not born skill. It’s not born into wealth. Despite how smart Bill Gates is perceived to be, it’s not necessarily intellect either. It’s as simple as this: Your local one man band has no one working for him. If he cuts hair at £10ph, he earns £10ph.... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on November 30th, 2012 in Property Rental

Comments Off

Landlord’s view: the green deal

Home owners, tenants and landlords are encouraged to save money on energy bills and help to save the planet with the new Green Deal initiative. Chere Di Boscio, a landlord in Primrose Hill, explains how and why this works. Having coffee with my tenants in the north London flat they’ve rented from me since 2010, two thoughts persisted in my head: one, they made the smoothest, strongest cafe... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on November 8th, 2012 in Energy Saving, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

6 Comments »

Landlord’s eye: finding tenants

Background I am a London based investor and Landlord with a number of properties in Central, West and South West London. As I have rented out this particular property located in the City, I have tested an array of different channels over the years in a desperate attempt to try and avoid the extortionate letting fees charged by most City based Letting firms by marketing the property myself... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on October 31st, 2012 in Listing Case Studies, Property Photography, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

Comments Off

Great news for buy-to-let investors, bad news for home-owners

With house prices down in the dumps, buy-to-let yields have risen even further according to a new report by Mortgages for Businesses. HMOs in particular have seen a large rise from 9.2% to 11.1%. This is great news if you are looking to invest in buy-to-let properties. With house prices falling you should be able to pick up properties cheaply, and gain a good rental income in the process.... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on October 19th, 2012 in Buy-to-let, Property Investment, Property Market, Property Rental

Deeper rent arrears troubling landlords

There are some worrying statistics being bounced around at the moment. The most concerning being that nearly 100,000 tenants are now in arrears by at least two months: not a good sign for landlords. Hopefully your tenancies are running as smoothly as ever, but it is good to be aware that rent arrears are a growing and significant problem. The official figures from LSL property services are... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on October 12th, 2012 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Diagnosing the damp

If you believe your home is suffering from damp or condensation problems (but you’re unsure of whether it’s condensation, rising damp or penetrating damp) it’s incredibly important that the problem in your home is diagnosed correctly in order to ensure a precise treatment. So, which of the three types of damp is your home undergoing? Rising damp is one of the most common problems in the... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on October 5th, 2012 in Property Management, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

Comments Off

Staging the perfect viewing

As with most things in life, it’s best to be prepared when showing a potential tenant around. Here is what you need to know in order to stage the perfect viewing: 1. Be ready for tenants’ questions 2. Consider asking some pre-qualifying questions 3. If you have a lot of interest, think about holding group viewings Other things to think about: Help your current tenants tidy up, if... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on September 28th, 2012 in Finding Tenants, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

The difference between amateur and professional photos

Just how important is professional photography to finding the right tenants fast? Our statistics show the professional photos considerably increase your response rate. To prove this, we advertised the same property under separate adverts and compared them. One had the original photos taken by the landlord; the other has professional photos taken by one of our photographers. Here are the... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on September 14th, 2012 in Finding Tenants, Property Advertising, Property Photography, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

How to take great property photos yourself

Great property photos are essential if you want to make the most of your listing. They can increase the number of tenant enquiries you receive by up to 400%. But how do you go about taking great property photos yourself? Here's how... Preparing your property Arguably the most important part of taking photos of your property is preparation: make sure the rooms are set up in a way that makes... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on August 31st, 2012 in Finding Tenants, Property Advertising, Property Photography, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

Case study – how to present your property: Manchester, M14

About the property… Our case study of the week is a 3-bedroom house in Fallowfield, Manchester. Fallowfield is a popular student area of the city, with plenty of pubs, shops and clubs, as well as great links to the University campus on Oxford Street. If buy-to-let investors are looking for student investments in Manchester, then they should look no further than Fallowfield. What we like... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on August 31st, 2012 in Listing Case Studies, Property Advertising, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords

Comments Off

Case study – how to present your property: West Molesey, KT8

About the property… Our case study this week is a 3-bedroom house in West Molesey. This landlord is clearly after a family judging by the key features (located in quiet cul-de-sac, close to local shops and schools). Knowing what type of tenant you are marketing to helps you phrase your description and orientate your key points towards them. What we like about the listing… The description... Read more

Posted by Simon @ Upad on August 23rd, 2012 in Finding Tenants, Listing Case Studies, Property Advertising, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords