September 16, 2009

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One in three landlords fail to register deposits

Permalink: One in three landlords fail to register deposits
by Gill Montia

A new survey by The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) has revealed that almost one in three landlords are at risk being fined for failing to register tenants' deposits. However, the research shows an improvement on a year ago, when twice ...

September 15, 2009

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First-time buyers need less deposit, research shows

Permalink: First-time buyers need less deposit, research shows
by Kay Mitchell

First-time buyers will be happy to learn that mortgage lenders are asking for lower deposits. According to Mortgageforce, the average deposit required in August was 21.25% - down from 25% the previous month and 28.6% in June. Katie Tucker, technical manager at ...

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Letsure launches rent guarantee insurance

Permalink: Letsure launches rent guarantee insurance
by Gill Montia

Letsure has launched a combined reference and Rent Guarantee insurance product for landlords. The new package, named Rentsure Complete, includes legal protection for eviction for non-payment of rent, as well as other breaches of tenancy when there are reasonable grounds to evict. The policy ...

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Rics and NAEA bring good news to the housing market

Permalink: Rics and NAEA bring good news to the housing market
by Kay Mitchell

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) has today announced that more surveyors had reported a rise, rather than a fall in values, in August. According to Rics, a net balance of 11% of surveyors reported an ...

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Lloyds slash funding for landlords’ portfolios

Permalink: Lloyds slash funding for landlords’ portfolios
by Gill Montia

Professional landlords have just had their funding options reduced, The Daily Telegraph has reported. According to the newspaper, Lloyds Banking Group is reducing the maximum number of mortgages that can be held across all its brands to nine, with a total value ...

September 14, 2009

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Rise in mortgage lending but CML cautious

Permalink: Rise in mortgage lending but CML cautious
by Kay Mitchell

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a rise in mortgage lending but the group is cautious that the rise may not be sustained due to the current problems within the mortgage market. Mortgage lending for house purchase ...

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Influential group provides gloomy outlook for housing market

Permalink: Influential group provides gloomy outlook for housing market
by Kay Mitchell

The Ernst & Young Item Club, a respected group of economists, has described recent house price rises as a “false dawn”. The gloomy prediction from the influential group comes just a few days after a report from Jones Lang LaSalle ...

September 12, 2009

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Sleepless nights for buy-to-let landlords

Permalink: Sleepless nights for buy-to-let landlords
by Gill Montia

Nearly a third of buy-to-let landlords are losing sleep over the current economic climate, fearing that tenants may run up rent arrears. New research from Direct Line for Business also shows that 22% of landlords surveyed are worried about their cash flow and ...

September 10, 2009

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Shares in Redrow down as housebuilder reports loss

Permalink: Shares in Redrow down as housebuilder reports loss
by Kay Mitchell

Redrow, which is one of the UK's largest housebuilders, has today announced a 54% decline in sales to £301.8 million in the 12 months to 30 June. The fall in sales was due to the selling of fewer homes, ...

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Halifax reports 0.8% rise in house prices in August

Permalink: Halifax reports 0.8% rise in house prices in August
by Kay Mitchell

According to the Halifax, house prices rose by 0.8% last month compared with the previous month - the second consecutive month that prices have risen. The latest rise takes the annual rate of fall to 10.1%, from 12% in ...

September 9, 2009

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New tracker deals from Northern Rock and First Direct

Permalink: New tracker deals from Northern Rock and First Direct
by Kay Mitchell

Northern Rock and First Direct have both launched new tracker mortgage deals but they are only available to those with a hefty deposit. Just last week, HSBC launched a low rate mortgage deal at only 1.99% but it is ...

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Councils prefer building to improving homes

Permalink: Councils prefer building to improving homes
by Gill Montia

The social housing sector has come in for some stick with the Audit Commission accusing Councils of focusing too much on building new homes at the expense of improving existing ones. According to the Commission's Building Better Lives report, 94% of councils ...

September 8, 2009

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Tenants lose bargaining power as property market improves

Permalink: Tenants lose bargaining power as property market improves
by Gill Montia

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has reported a slowdown in the number of properties coming onto the rental market. In its survey for the three months to July, the body also found that while rent continued to fall, ...

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Buy-to-let mortgage market shrinks by two-thirds

Permalink: Buy-to-let mortgage market shrinks by two-thirds
by Gill Montia

The demise of the buy-to-let mortgage market is highlighted in recent research by moneysupermarket.com. According to the price comparison website, the number of products available has fallen by over 70% during the past year, while enquiries for buy-to-let loans have increased by ...

September 7, 2009

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NLA issues rallying call over LHA problems

Permalink: NLA issues rallying call over LHA problems
by Gill Montia

The National Landlords' Association (NLA) has accused the Government of wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money by replacing Housing Benefit with the Local Housing Allowance (LHA). LHAs were introduced last year for new tenancies, with the aim of increasing tenant ...

September 2, 2009

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HSBC launches 1.99% mortgage for those with a sizeable deposit

Permalink: HSBC launches 1.99% mortgage for those with a sizeable deposit
by Kay Mitchell

HSBC has launched a low rate mortgage deal at only 1.99% but it is only available to borrowers with a 40% deposit and comes with an arrangement fee of £1,199. The deal is the latest of many to ...

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British ex-pats fight for pensions justice

Permalink: British ex-pats fight for pensions justice
by Gill Montia

Campaigners for pension rights for retired Britons living abroad are to have their day at the European Court of Human Rights. This week a case that could affect the pensions of thousands of ex-pats retired abroad will be heard at the ...

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Landlord Assist opposes new NLA database

Permalink: Landlord Assist opposes new NLA database
by Gill Montia

As the National Landlords' Association (NLA) proudly launched it online database of members, tenant arrears and eviction specialist, Landlord Assist, came out against the idea. Mynlalandlord.org.uk has been designed by the NLA to allow tenants to check whether an existing or ...

September 1, 2009

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BoE: Mortgage approvals continue to rise

Permalink: BoE: Mortgage approvals continue to rise
by Kay Mitchell

According to the Bank of England, the number of mortgages approved during July rose to its highest level since April 2008 and represented the sixth consecutive month that approvals rose. According to the Bank, the number of mortgages approved grew to 50,123 ...

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NLA reassures tenants with online database

Permalink: NLA reassures tenants with online database
by Gill Montia

Prospective tenants are being advised to look out for landlords who lack even the most basic understanding of how to manage their lettings businesses, yet falsely claim to be members of a professional landlords' association. To combat this form of deception, The ...