Monthly Archives: December 2016

There are so many factors that affect the profitability of a landlord that has either one or more investment properties that they are letting out. For instance, the property could remain vacant for quite some time or additional expense could be incurred to replace fixtures and/or fittings. The changes in the taxation of landlords that are being introduced in a few months could also have such an impact. So, what could a landlord do in order to mitigate a drop in profits? Well, a lot of landlords utilize the services provided by letting agents around the UK and, apparently, the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) has undertaken some research that would indicate that a large percentage of landlords would feel it necessary to stop using letting agents to help them manage their property/properties that are let out to tenants. Apparently, 57% of landlords use a letting agent’s services. You may find it surprising that the research revealed that 47% of landlords in the UK would stop utilizing such a service no doubt in the hope that their profit levels would improve. Scotland, at 56%, was the region in the UK that had the highest percentage of landlords that would…

If you are a landlord you may find it interesting to read The Kent Reliance Buy to Let Britain report – Edition Five. It covers a number of key things that are happening in the buy-to-let mortgage market and private rented sector some of which we highlight below. It is interesting to read that, of 900 landlords that took part in a survey in Q3 of 2016, it found that 54% of those landlords felt positive about their investment property portfolios. This was a considerable improvement on their feelings in the second quarter of this year when only 39% felt positive. It is also interesting to read that 23% of those landlords were intending to buy more investment properties to let out to tenants in the next 12 months. If this happens it will be welcomed by many including the Government and prospective tenants looking for properties to rent out. One of the reasons for this is because there is believed to be a shortage of residential properties available in the UK for people to live in. A high percentage of landlords are concerned about intervention by the Government in the lettings market. In the third quarter of 2016, 76%…