A Shock Stamp Duty Increase & More – Budget Roundup
Hello readers, Today is the day we have all been nervously waiting for – the first Labour budget in 14 years. Dubbed a bombshell budget, stuffed full of tax rises (£40bn to be precise), this budget outweighed those of Rishi Sunak in 2022, George Osbourne in 2010 and Gordon Brown in 2002. This budget lays […]
Labour Unveils EPC Upgrade Cash Grants For Landlords, But There May Be A Sting In The Tail
Hello Readers, One policy that the Conservatives scrapped, but Labour has brought back in is in relation to EPC ratings for privately rented properties. In very simple terms, the proposal is for homes in the private rental sector to have a minimum requirement of EPC C by 2030 to continue being let. Along with this […]
Medway Flats Underperform Other Types But Still Get The Best Yields
Hello readers, I’ve been reading about the performance of the property market and am pleased to see things starting to turn a corner with UK house prices increasing by 1.4% so far this year, being on track to achieve 2.5% by December. This is certainly welcome news to investors who have seen an extremely challenging […]
The Kings Speech – A Conservative Start For Labour?
Hello readers, I don’t doubt that you will have heard that today was the King’s speech as Parliament was opened for the new term. This was the first of the new government and our first glimpse into how Labour might carry out their duties. Before we get into the details and my thoughts, I came […]
Labour Government Quick Fire Roundup
Hello readers, It’s now official. We have a Labour government, new prime minister in Sir Kier Starmer, new housing minister in Matthew Pennycook. I know that landlords are waiting with bated breath to see what the next steps will be. Quoting from LanzlordZone of Matthew Pennycook’s appointment I read how: “… the relief that someone […]
4.5% – The New Normal For Mortgage Rates?
Hello Readers, As we (hopefully) come up to a bank of England rate drop in the next few months, many of us will be looking forward with a hopeful outlook that mortgage rates will start to decline. Remember how we saw rates in excess of 6% and whilst they have dropped somewhat, they’re still a […]
Section 21 evictions up by 19% as rent arrears worsen
Hello readers, Whilst the renters reform bill has been thrown away, I don’t doubt that the incoming government will resurrect it in some form and with that proceed to ban section 21 evictions in favour of a beefed-up section 8 process. Recent data shows that evictions by bailiffs in England via a Section 21 ‘no […]
Babies and HMOs – Everything Medway Landlords Need To Know
Hello readers, Something that comes up from time to time is what HMO landlords ought to do should a tenant become pregnant. This is a delicate area and one that is not often thought about, however does happen from time to time. The point about having a child in an HMO room is that the […]
What types of insurance do landlords need to have in place?
Hello readers, A common question I get asked is what types of insurance you should have in place as a landlord. I often find this being an area that landlords want to scrimp and save on, however whilst it’s always recommended to use the services of a quality broker to get you the best deal […]
The Leasehold Scandal, A Suboptimal Conclusion?
Hello Readers, What a week! We’ve seen a snap election called, the renters reform bill thrown away (however, I suspect it will quickly be revived), a wash up to finalise as much policy as possible before parliament is dissolved and in that, the leasehold reform bill having passed! This is a huge deal, however in […]
