Many landlords have an issue with getting the right type of tenants. Quite naturally, Landlords want tenants who will pay on time, take good care of the property, and keep open lines of communication with both the letting agent and the landlord.
Using Energy Performance Certificates to attract tenants
June 2nd, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in EPC, Guest Articles, Landlords 3 Comments »
Are Residential Sales Shaping up for 2010?
May 28th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Market, UK Property News 1 Comment »
After a tough couple of years for the UK property sales market, it has been reported healthy figures so far for 2010. They are seeing residential properties for sale remain on a steady footing and in some cases even return to peak levels last seen in 2007 which results in a confident outlook for the rest of the year.
Why does the UK have such an obsession with buying rather than renting property?
May 6th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Market 2 Comments »
As the saying goes ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’. And only in the UK with its obsession with owning your home could such a thing be said. On continental Europe and even in America, owning your own home is for the few with the majority choosing to rent.
Landlord Licencing – Why Residential Management Needs It
March 2nd, 2010 Sharon Crossland Posted in Guest Articles, Landlords, Property Conveyancing 9 Comments »
There is currently plenty of opposition to the idea of private landlord licencing by their powerful lobby organisations with objections ranging from a blanket ‘we don’t need any more legislation’ to ‘it’s just a scheme to make more money out of landlords’.
Is This What London Will Look Like in 2012?
February 15th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Market 2 Comments »
On a global scale, the United Kingdom simply doesn’t compete with having any significantly tall buildings. In fact, the UK’s tallest building is not even a third as high as the world’s tallest man made structure (Burj Khalifa – Dubai).
Government Tax Levy on Banking Bonuses will impact UK Housing & Mortgage Market
January 25th, 2010 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products, Guest Articles, Property Market 2 Comments »
After the government bail out of the UK banking system in 2009, there is a now 50% tax levy on all future bonuses. Traditionally we enter “bonus season” in Q2, we expect to see buyers to start investing from this point and despite the new tax constraint the majority of banks have announced their intent to assign significant bonuses.
However, it is estimated that the bonus payments will be lower than in previous years and a larger proportion of payments will be made in shares and other types of investments. Looking to 2010, it is yet to be apparent what extent this will negatively affect sales volumes. In essence, bonus money will continue to play a central factor in the housing market and many cash rich individuals will still invest in the UK and abroad.
How has social media affected the property industry?
December 7th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Market 3 Comments »
There’s no doubting that business participation on social media is the flavour of the month, with almost every established brand now having a Twitter page, a Facebook group and a frequently updated blog, we can assume that there must be some very significant benefits to business’ getting stuck in with social media.
Landlord Licencing – How Much Longer Do We Wait?
November 30th, 2009 Sharon Crossland Posted in Guest Articles, Landlords, Property Conveyancing 6 Comments »
For this article I have decided to write about the debate surrounding the proposal of landlord/letting agent registration and licencing. It’s not a new issue as some parties have been calling for it for a number of years but it raised its head again when the Law Commission made recommendations on buy-to-let reform, tabled in Parliament in mid-August of 2008.
Managing Anti-social behaviour in rented properties
August 27th, 2009 Sharon Crossland Posted in Guest Articles, Landlords 4 Comments »
Anti-social behaviour is a subject close to the hearts of many and it is more complex than it appears on the surface, particularly when it is viewed from the perspective of management. We have recently been faced with the issue of excessive noise created by neighbouring tenants hosting parties and every website I look at says that it is recommended that the neighbours be approached first. I can see some merit in that, as sometimes they genuinely don’t know that they are causing a bit of a disturbance to others and respond accordingly. This is what we always do as the resident management company but what happens when reasonableness doesn’t provide the hoped-for response?
Property conveyancing and legal process – Part 2
October 13th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Conveyancing, Property Market 2 Comments »
In part 2 of our property conveyancing guide we look at what is involved in the closing stages of the home buying and selling process. You may wish to read Part 1 of the Property Conveyancing Guide here.
Signing the contract
Once your lawyer is satisfied that all of his enquiries have been dealt with; he has seen satisfactory search results and he is in possession of his copy of the formal offer of mortgage you will be invited to sign the contract and various other papers. This will either be in person or through the post. You should also receive a report, often called a “property report” at this stage which will set out any salient points arising from the searches and enquiries.
Property conveyancing and legal process – Part 1
October 8th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Guest Articles, Property Conveyancing, Property Market 4 Comments »
What is “conveyancing”? – Simply, it is the legal process of transferring ownership of land and property.
Instructing a lawyer
Once you have decided on a property, made an offer and had that offer accepted it’s time to instruct a lawyer. This can be either a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. You should try not to pay over the odds for property conveyancing work. When obtaining a quote you should be given a fixed fee but ask for a list of any additional fees charged for different aspects of the transaction.
Some firms might charge an extra fee for completing the SDLT1 form for example, even though this will not need to be done in every case. These additional fees can really push up the final bill. An average bill for professional fees only (i.e not including addtional search fees, land registry fees etc) would probably be around £300-£400 at the moment.
