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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE RENTAL MARKET TODAY?

Today’s rental market is hugely buoyant in both Buckinghamshire and Oxford. Demand is always high at this time of year and 2018 is no different. The market has seen numerous changes in legislation
in recent years, the most significant being the introduction of the new tenancy agreements.

It’s now 6 months plus since its introduction so Tenants and Landlords are becoming more familiar with the changes. The 2 crucial and key points to remember are that there is no fixed term; just the start date, which can be as much of a surprise to tenants as to Landlords, and secondly, the notice period for both tenants and landlords has changed. Typically, tenants can give 28 days’ notice. Depending on how long the lease has been running, in certain circumstances, the landlord can give either 28 days’ or 84 days’ notice. Of course landlords and Letting Agents have to contend with compliance to numerous pieces of legislation and necessary certification, all of which are all mandatory and need to be renewed at different intervals. However, with our full management service, you can be assured that Kingdom Estates will keep up to date, supervising the renewal and completion process for all of these, making sure both tenants and Landlords are aware of what is happening. Kingdom Estates will ensure that each client has a single point of contact for all maintenance issues so no getting passed from pillar to post – just a nice quick resolution!

WHAT ABOUT ON THE SALES SIDE?

It is, without doubt, a seller’s market just now, particularly in Edinburgh where it would be widely agreed within the industry that there is a shortage of good quality property coming onto the market. This does mean that properties are (on the whole) being sold for great prices. Average time for a sale would be 2 months from start to finish. Kingdom Estates have fantastic contacts and can recommend quality solicitors for the sale of your property and can take any stress or hassle away from you by managing everything from start to finish. The beauty of dealing with a company which manages both sales and rentals is that the tenants can remain in residence, whilst the property goes onto the sale market, therefore minimising the vacant period of a property and ensuring continuity of rental income.

THINKING ABOUT BECOMING A LANDLORD OR INVESTING IN PROPERTY?

In the current economic climate, property is a great investment and even with the changes in tax and the increase in tax, property still makes sense with returns on property being on average 8% but quite possibly 10%. Only an experienced agent, however, will be able to recommend the “right type” of property to invest in and this may well surprise future investors.

Kingdom Estates provides a bespoke service where we offer and can advise, recommend and source both on and off-market investment properties. You tell us how much you would like to invest and we offer you a fantastic package. Guaranteed!

STEP 1 – WHY DO YOU WANT TO INVEST?

Be clear on your goals – do you want a specific monthly income stream, is there a minimum you need per month, do you prefer to work towards a specific rate of return ( or yield ) or are you more focused on getting a property which might increase in value over time? These are all normal goals but you need to pick why YOU want to invest.

STEP 2 – DECIDE ON A BUDGET AND AREA/AREAS AND GET LOOKING!

Start looking, set up alerts through portals and keep an open mind! Photos are useful but don’t always tell the full story so viewing is vital. Remember the home report will tell you a lot about the property and also what the sellers are expecting to achieve (price wise!).

STEP 3 – VIEW THE PROPERTY

The exciting bit – view during the day so you can see what it’s like in the light – keep a close eye on communal areas, don’t focus too much on the decor or be fooled by furnishings, how are the windows, the heating system, electrics, kitchen etc because these are expensive to sort – a coat of paint is not ! Remember renting is heavily regulated in Scotland so meeting certain standards is essential. Are you happy doing some work on the property yourself or do you know tradesman who can help? Many people think getting works arranged is easy but getting good reliable tradesmen is much more difficult than you might think!

STEP 4 – BE CLEAR ON YOUR RENTAL MARKET AND HAVE A REALISTIC CLEAR IDEA OF WHO WILL RENT IT AND WHAT RENT THEY WILL PAY.

This step is so important – don’t listen to what the agent selling the property is telling you, get independent advice as to the potential rent of the property. Think about who will rent the property – is a family really likely to rent a 4 bed flat on 3 rd floor with no lift in town? Are you happy with students living in your property? Think about your target market.

STEP 5 – DO YOUR FIGURES AND ONCE YOU ARE READY, MAKE AN OFFER

Work out what your immediate expenditure will be, ongoing monthly expenditure (repairs, factor, second homes tax, solicitors fees, management fee if using an agent, vacant period allowance, tax impact) then once you are comfortable, make your offer! Remember to stress your position if you are a cash buyer and also if you are not in a chain (so have nothing to sell) – this will impact on any sellers decision.

STEP 6 – CONGRATULATIONS!

Let’s assume your offer is successful, the normal time from offer to completion is about 6 weeks. That’s means you’ve got 6 weeks to get the cash and get ready to get to work making sure your property is ready for a tenant! Use this time wisely to either line up an agent or prepare tradesman for works. In 6 weeks time, you will be a property investor!

Bathrooms and kitchens are usually the most important rooms in the house when it comes to renting and selling. So, it’s no surprise that when would be renters are looking round your rental property the bathroom is high up on their list of priorities! It’s vital that the bathroom (or shower room, and we’ll come to that!) is presented in the best way possible, looks clean and hygienic and is also going to be tough at withstanding any potential areas where leaks could occur. Some tenants can be less careful than you might like about where the water is going when they are in the shower!  It’s also usually an expensive area to upgrade but with a little bit of thought, there can be some cheaper ways to update your bathroom.

Update the basics – if you have a really limited budget then a really deep clean throughout will help enormously along with updating the small things – so a new shower curtain makes a huge difference, new toilet roll holder – even a floor standing one- chuck out the manky old toilet brush (urgh!) and make sure the grouting and sealant are clean. The number of times I visit properties with discoloured sealant is amazing – its really easy to fix and definitely something you can do yourself! Perhaps new storage – so many cheap options – https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/home-and-furniture/bathroom/

See below before and after:

Coat of paint – bathrooms and normally pretty small spaces so a  lick of paint will make a huge difference and shouldn’t take long –  particularly if there are signs of any mould spots or flaking paint. It will smell fresher and be much more appealing to tenants.

Wet Wall Paneling– If you have a low or mid range rental property then wet wall paneling might be your saviour! These large water proof panels can be installed over old tiles and if done properly, can look great. They can go on walls or ceilings and there are loads of different designs to choose from – plain, glittery, shiny, matt, tile effect. (see https://www.wetwall.com/)

They are really cost effective to install, means you don’t have to remove old tiles usually or worry about the condition of the walls behind and because there is no grouting involved , they substantially reduce the chance of water penetrating through the grouting at the tiles, so less chance of leaks!  It also reduces the need to re-grout every so often and they are wipe clean. The wipe clean is important particularly for small internal bath or shower rooms because any mould/ condensation gathering on ceilings can be easily cleaned , so more hygienic and less maintenance. We are using these more and more in rental properties as for landlords –  less upfront cost, less maintenance cost + more hygienic for tenant+ attractive look = happy all round!

Here are some examples of wet wall before and afters.

Why switch from renting to owning?

Renting can be a great way to gain your independence. Whether you’re moving out of your family home, or moving to a different area, you can experience what it’s like to fend for yourself, such as managing the household bills, cleaning, cooking etc. However, if you’ve been renting for a while, you might now want to spread your wings, step onto the property ladder and consider buying somewhere you can call your own.

What do you need to know about home ownership?

In all honesty, aside from the financial commitment, there isn’t a huge difference between renting and buying, as you’ll still have to make a monthly payment, but it will be a mortgage payment to your lender rather than a rent payment to your landlord.

The main things to be aware of are:

• Paying the deposit upfront – For many, this is the biggest hurdle when it comes to buying your own house.
• Taxes and insurance – Land & Buildings Transaction Tax may need to be paid some property purchases. Insurances, such as life cover and building and contents will also need to be considered.
• Extra fees, such as surveys and solicitors – Make sure you have enough money left in the pot to cover the costs of surveys and solicitor fees.
• Maintenance costs – In rented accommodation you can fall back on your landlord if you have any maintenance issues, e.g. if the boiler stops working. However, when you own your own home, you are the landlord! Therefore, if anything goes wrong, you need to make sure you can pay to get it fixed, so you’ll need to keep an emergency fund to one side.

Your credit score

Although you would have needed a good credit score in order to rent, there will be further affordability checks that you’ll have to pass before a lender agrees to grant you a mortgage. Speak to an adviser about what improvements you can make if you’re worried about your score.

Life events

You’ll often find that it is the unpredictable nature of life events that can push you from renting to buying. Perhaps your landlord is deciding to sell the property, perhaps you’re having a baby and need somewhere with more space, or perhaps you want to move to the next stage in your relationship and live with your partner.

Commitment

One thing that’s for sure when buying a house is the long-term commitment that it requires. For many, a mortgage will be the largest financial commitment you ever make so you need to make sure that you’re absolutely ready and know how much you can borrow. However, it’s not just the financial commitment you need to be sure about. You need to be ready to settle down in one area and know that this is the right decision for you.

Mortgage Advice Bureau

We’re here to help get you started on the journey to owning your own home. If you’re feeling unsure where to start then please contact us today and one of our specialist advisers can answer any questions you may have:

Call 0800 652 6649

Email [email protected]

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam ut diam accumsan, porta odio in, tempor risus. Aenean molestie elit a gravida laoreet. Fusce quis porta mauris, ac posuere sem.

Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Cras sagittis accumsan leo sollicitudin posuere. Donec at vestibulum dolor, in tincidunt augue. Vestibulum malesuada tortor at convallis iaculis.

Phasellus arcu lorem, vulputate id maximus a, varius a leo. Suspendisse non erat turpis. Aenean sed ligula varius, commodo turpis vel, porttitor quam. Morbi leo turpis, vestibulum nec turpis ac, tempor tincidunt libero. Nulla facilisi.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam ut diam accumsan, porta odio in, tempor risus. Aenean molestie elit a gravida laoreet. Fusce quis porta mauris, ac posuere sem.

Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Cras sagittis accumsan leo sollicitudin posuere. Donec at vestibulum dolor, in tincidunt augue. Vestibulum malesuada tortor at convallis iaculis.

Phasellus arcu lorem, vulputate id maximus a, varius a leo. Suspendisse non erat turpis. Aenean sed ligula varius, commodo turpis vel, porttitor quam. Morbi leo turpis, vestibulum nec turpis ac, tempor tincidunt libero. Nulla facilisi.

Nunc nec fermentum diam. Nam scelerisque odio enim, interdum maximus turpis auctor convallis.