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50% of Landlords will reduce lets to housing benefit tenants

A survey by the National Landlords Association (NLA) reports that over 50% of landlords will be reducing the number of properties they let to housing benefit tenants. According to the survey, 58% stated that they would cut the properties they let to tenants on housing benefits. 90% of those landlords plan to do so in the next 18 months. One third revealed that they would be taking action... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on July 7th, 2011 in Housing Benefit, National Landlords Association NLA, Property Rental

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Upad’s commitment to customer service

James Davis, CEO of Upad writes about the investment Upad is making in to providing excellent service to landlords: "When I meet landlords and talk to them about Upad, one question gets asked again and again: "can an online company compete and provide customer support standards at a high street level?" I always answer the question in the same way. We're not just an internet company. Yes,... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on June 7th, 2011 in Property Rental

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41% of private rental properties are in poor condition

41% of properties are in a "non-decent" condition, according to the English Housing Survey released by the government. 15% of private properties were also shown to have serious damp problems. The private sector may be booming but standards of accommodation remain low. 1.4 million privately renting households are living in properties rated as "non-decent". That's 41% of the 3.4 million households... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on March 16th, 2011 in Property Management, Property Market, Property Rental

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Nick Clegg – accidental landlord?

Nick Clegg should consider letting out his Sheffield house if he can’t sell it, says James Davis, Upad's CEO. Earlier this week, the Daily Mail carried a story about how the Deputy Prime Minister’s constituency home has failed to sell, despite being on the market since September. The 3-bedroomed house in the leafy suburb of Ecclesall doesn’t have a for sale sign outside it, nor does it... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on January 27th, 2011 in Property Market, Should I use Upad?

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james7

2011 will be the year of the tenant

WalesOnline featured a story last week claiming that 'people aren’t embarrassed to rent anymore'. Upad's CEO, James Davis, gives us his response. This year is going to be the year of the tenant – renting being the smart thing for our 20- and 30-somethings to be doing. Aspiring to own your home isn’t what it once was; a 3 bed in Swansea cost c. £25,000 ten years, when a secretary... Read more

Posted by James @ Upad on January 17th, 2011 in Property Rental

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Vanessa from PropTribes talks to James about Upad

Thanks again to the lovely people from PropTribes.... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on January 2nd, 2011 in Upad

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Rental arrears a worry for landlords despite rising demand

The year ends on a high note for the buy-to-let industry, as an increasing number of residential landlords say that they are confident in the marketplace. Findings from the December Upad Landlord Confidence Index show that 60% of residential landlords are more confident than last month, up from 54% in November. 404 landlords responded to the question “Are you more confident or less... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on December 13th, 2010 in Property Market, Property Rental

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Vanessa from Prop Tribes interviews James from Upad

... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on November 29th, 2010 in Upad

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What I wish I’d known before I became a landlord

We had a chat with Upad CEO James Davis and asked him what he wished he’d known before he became a landlord. He’s a landlord himself and lets several properties in London. James said: “I became a landlord by accident. When I was a student I took the plunge and bought a place and took in lodgers to cover the mortgage. Now I have several properties and with scale comes added... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on October 11th, 2010 in Tips for New Landlords

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Student lets are opportunity for landlords

Upad is advising landlords to embrace the student opportunity this autumn as the university year starts once more. With fewer undergraduate places up for grabs this year, landlords will have to work harder to attract the best tenants to their properties. Upad CEO, James Davis says: “Today’s students will be in debt up their eyeballs when they graduate, but they often have more ready cash... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on September 7th, 2010 in Buy-to-let, Property Management, Property Market, Upad

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Ask Upad: How friendly should I be with my tenants?

You know what they say. Never mix business with pleasure. What’s the right balance for landlords and how friendly should you become with your tenants? When you’re a landlord, perhaps with tenants who live nearby, or who have been living in your property for some time, you’ll naturally start to get to know them. Upad CEO James Davis thinks keeping a positive relationship going with... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on August 3rd, 2010 in Ask Upad, Tips for New Landlords

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Private landlords fear effects of housing benefit changes

Private landlords remain generally confident in the state of the industry, despite concerns about a double dip recession and the effects of the changes to benefit payments announced in the Budget. That’s the finding from the latest Landlord Confidence Index survey from Upad.co.uk. 60% of the 284 landlords responding to the survey said that they were more confident this month than last. From... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on July 13th, 2010 in Property Market, Upad

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UK’s rents are most expensive in Europe

A new report from Easyroommate.co.uk says that rental prices in the UK are higher than anywhere else in Europe. The average rental cost of a room in a shared house in the UK is £348 a month; the next most expensive rooms in Europe are in France, at £285 per month. James Davis, Upad's CEO, isn't surprised: "students leave university with thousands of pounds worth of debt, and then they're... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on June 30th, 2010 in Property Rental, Upad

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Government abandons national register for landlords

The Housing Minister announced yesterday that he is scrapping plans to introduce more regulation of private landlords in England. Proposals to introduce a national register of landlords, compulsory written tenancy agreements and regulation of letting and managing agents, are now being dropped, though the AST threshold is still being raised to £100,000 from October. Grant Shapps told... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on June 11th, 2010 in Property Rental

Businesswoman signing the contract.

Why let to tenants on benefits?

When Upad's CEO James Davis started renting to social tenants, it began as a purely financial decision – but he soon found that there are more advantages to this sector than simply higher rents. James admits that originally it was simply the higher rental rates offered by housing benefit that attracted him. “I knew that HB has a bad reputation with some landlords,” he says, “but the... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on June 9th, 2010 in Property Market, Property Rental, Tips for New Landlords