Buying, selling and letting - September, 2007

Most people rent because they believe they cannot afford to buy. But what if there was an option to own a place for the same or less than what it costs to rent? Amanda Shiel spotlights one such competitively priced development.

Milliners Place combines the conversion of a former hat factory three new buildings on Midland Road to create 119 luxurious one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Situated in the town centre, Milliners Place is a five-minute drive to the M1, making the North and South of England easily accessible. It’s also a short walk to the train station, which offers the town’s commuters fast trains to London’s St Pancras in just 23 minutes and an easy commute to Luton Airport. 

Redeham Homes has sensitively converted Milliners Place to retain the building’s original Georgian architecture, while creating stylish apartments that maximise the available space and light. The apartments have been built to a high specification including a choice of kitchen designs incorporating an integrated stainless steel oven, extractor hood, fridge/freezer and washer dryer. A choice of layouts includes open-plan and semi-open plan styles as well as those with separate kitchens.
The contemporary bathrooms include Roca Laura wall-hung white sanitaryware complemented by Grohe fittings, thermostatic showers and heated towel rails. To provide purchasers with an added level of style and luxury, a range of the apartments include en suite facilities to the principal bedroom. Some of the apartments also benefit from balconies or terraces. Private parking is also available at the development.
Milliners Place is ideally situated for Luton’s wide range of facilities and amenities including the Arndale Centre, which is within easy walking distance.

Prices for the remaining apartments at Milliners Place start at £130,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and from £170,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. For further sales information contact Redeham Homes on 01582 456692 or visit redehamhomes.co.uk.

We look at a no-nonsense guide for landlords who let to students
 
The Landlord’s Guide to Student Letting is an invaluable guide to understanding the continuous flux of a profitable market and the legislation attached to it.

Written by seasoned student landlord Catherine Bancroft-Rimmer, it is candid about the pros and cons of student letting, making complex and confusing legal procedures easier to understand and act on.
Sample letters, forms and useful addresses of organisations are included to help the landlord. Rimmer also takes into account the long-term view of the student letting market nationally and shares her knowledge about potential future changes made by the government which will have a long term impact.
If you’re interested in investing in student housing, The Landlord’s Guide to Student Letting will arm you with information about your rights and responsibilities and prepare you for the highs and lows of landlord life.
 
The Landlord’s Guide To Student Letting by Catherine Bancroft-Rimmer is published by How to Books Ltd and is available at £10.99 in major bookshops and online retailers.  
howtobooks.co.uk

Lettingagent.com offers advice for those considering entering the student property market.

Letting to students is a popular way to realise value from your property investment. But there are things you should keep in mind to help ensure success.

Think carefully about location Local knowledge is invaluable. Know where the ‘student areas’ are and be wary of up-and-coming areas. Similarly, avoid places where students wouldn’t want to live in or would not be welcome. Not all university towns are equally profitable. Do research by talking to local agents about what yield to expect.

Choose a reliable letting agency An efficient, experienced and professional letting agent is crucial for landlords with demanding full-time jobs. A third party can save the hassle of dealing directly with tenants when things go wrong – and can save a considerable amount of money in property repairs. Landlords should choose letting agents that are registered with an official organisation, such as the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Register with the uni accommodation service Being on the university database is an easy way to advertise a property directly to students and offers them a quick, hassle-free way to access property details and managing agent’s contact details.

Be aware of health and safety regulations Landlords should pay particular attention to the HMO Licensing and Housing Act legislation to ensure that they comply with the rulings and any recent amendments. Those renting flats to students should check this information carefully as some are exempt from certain clauses.  

Insert a clause in the lease to allow for potential damage This will allow for circumstances where students fail to follow the procedures required (for example, where damages are caused). Students should be given a clear inventory and a flat inspection should be carried out the first day of tenancy so that breakages or damages can be noted at the end of the term. A list of emergency numbers and useful contacts and dates (e.g. ‘bin day’) can also prove very helpful.

Get referencesTenants must have a reference from their previous landlord. An untrustworthy tenants means hassle, worry and expense. Make sure the rental contract clearly states when the rent is due – and in what format – to help avoid any problems over rent payment.

Consider what a student needs Student properties don’t need to be cluttered with accessories that are more than likely to be broken during the course of their tenancy. The interior should be comfortable, clean and functional with desks, chairs, bookshelves and lamps in each bedroom.

Avoid false economies Though no one would advise buying expensive carpets, curtains or sofas, the furniture provided for students does need to be hardy and able to withstand a bit of ‘wear and tear’.

Get building insurance This is important for all buy-to-let properties. Make sure your property is adequately covered – even something as small as a burst pipe could end up causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Building insurance will sometimes cover a limited amount of public liability, so landlords should check the wording of agreements carefully.

Sort out council tax forms Properties occupied only by students are exempt from council tax. Ensure all tenants fill out the relevant forms and return them as soon as possible.

mform.co.uk analysis reveals average first-time buyer could be borrowing £200,000 by 2012.

Analysis of industry data by online mortgage company mform.co.uk reveals that between 1996 and 2006, the average mortgage taken out by first time buyers has increased by 173.6% or around 10.7% a year.  If this continues, mform says that by 2012, the average mortgage taken out by a first-time buyer will top £200,000, up from around £120,500 today or £39,811 in 1996. 

Year    Estimated median first-time buyer mortgage    
2008    £133,468.32   
2009    £147,746.94   
2010    £163,553.11   
2011    £181,050.25   
2012    £200,419.25   
2013    £221,860.37   

Francis Ghiloni, mform.co.uk marketing and business development director, said: “First- time buyers increasingly need to find huge sums of money in order to get on to the property ladder.  For a first-time buyer to take out a mortgage that is three times their salary today, we estimate that they would need to be earning £40,190, but by 2012, it would need to be a staggering £66,806.

mform.co.uk, which allows customers to compare mortgages based on the true cost including rate, fees and other features, says that many first-time buyers can dramatically cut the cost of their mortgage by making sure that they search the entire market for the best deal for them.

mform.co.uk offers consumers a free, unique and innovative online service enabling them to conduct the most comprehensive search of mortgages available. It allows people to identify all of the key features and benefits of every mortgage, and calculate its true cost in terms of rates and charges. This helps consumers develop a personalised list of best-buy mortgages that meet their specific needs.
The search process is free of confusing sponsored links and there are no distracting adverts from lenders during the mortgage search process. mform.co.uk is completely independent and it feels that adverts might unfairly influence a person’s choice of mortgage. Users of the service are able to link through directly to lenders’ mortgage application departments.
The service, which is free and easy to use, can be found at www.mform.co.uk.

Property investors are gaining in experience and confidence, according to a specially commissioned London Landlords’ Day survey from Landlord magazine. Even as the stock market felt the effects of the US sub-prime crisis, the reponses point to was optimism in the market.

Among the findings of this survey was the fact that readers of Landlord are fairly evenly divided in terms of the value of their portfolios; 21 per cent own between £250,000 and £500,000 worth of property, while the same percentage controls a portfolio spanning the £1 million to £2.5 million range and a further 20 per cent bridged the gap with ownership of property totalling between £500,000 and £1 million.
Among the remainder, representing the extreme lower and higher ends of the value spectrum, only six per cent owned under £100,000 worth of property, while a surprising number possessed a portfolio of £2.5 million to £5 million (nine per cent) and nearly as many (eight per cent) owned over £5 million worth.
The ratio of male to female readers is 65:35 and the average reader owns 9.5 properties.
Concerning the recently introduced tenancy deposit protection (TDS) system, almost half (49 per cent) of those who have agreed an AST since its April start have used Deposit Protection Services, while 17 per cent have opted for Tenancy Deposit Solutions. Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) have opted not to take a deposit at all, and nine per cent prefer an insurance-based alternative.

Optimism is the rule of the day for Landlord readers. Forty-seven per cent of the landlords expect positive performance from the private rental sector over the next 12 months, while 14 per cent expect very positive perfomance and three per cent go so far as to say the future is extremely positive. Thirty per cent expect no change, while six per cent are expecting poor performance.