Reeds Rains Property Blog

The Reeds Rains team from our recently opened flagship City Living Liverpool Branch, attended the prestigious '"Your Move Magazine Property Awards" on Thursday 1st November.  Staged at the Metropolitan Cathedral, the awards are the most talked about event in the industry's calendar and are attended by all that contribute to Liverpool's vibrant property market. 

Reeds Rains City Living were awarded 'Best Lettings Agent 2012' which is a great achievement by the team in their first year of trading.  All of the city agents were mystery shopped on their service by an independent company and this award is a real testament to all the effort that has been put in by everyone at the branch. Darren Carter, Branch Manager commented, 'I'm so proud of my team, to achieve something so respected within the area in our first year is fabulous!" 

From Left to Right Maria Coran from Let Support ( award sponsor) with Ian Taylor, Darren Carter and Kelly Drummond 

So if you are a seasoned landlord looking for a proactive agent to source tenants, or a first time landlord that requires an agent to give guidance throughout the letting process, our award winning Liverpool team are here to help. Reeds Rains products range from 'Let Only', 'Rent Collection' and 'Full Managed'.  All you have to decide is what level of involvement you would like.

The City Living Liverpool branch is situated on North John Street within walking distance of Liverpool ONE shopping quarter and nestled close to the heart of the city's business district, primarily dealing with the sale and letting of City Centre apartments and flats in the core postcodes of L1, L2 and L3. Darren adds "We also have houses to sell and let in all compass directions from the city centre, as well as offering a prestige service for the more challenging and executive market of the L17 and 18 postcodes.

To contact our award winning lettings team please call 0151 227 2027   or email liverpool@reedsrains.co.uk

Terry Robinson, Sales Director for Reeds Rains Estate Agents in Leamington Spa and Kenilworth is to appear on the Channel 4 TV programme Come Dine With Me.

When not selling properties, Terry, who has been a local estate agent for over a decade, is also a very keen chef and spends lots of time cooking and hosting dinner parties.

Terry commented: “I have always loved cooking and eating in good restaurants. I love trying new dishes and so when the opportunity came up, I couldn’t say no!”

“I have made four great friends (yes we really did get along) and it was a wonderful experience so I am looking forward to it going out on TV.”

Reeds Rains' Terry Robinson

The five dinner parties will be shown at 5:30pm each night next week, 22nd to the 26th of October, with Terry hosting the second night on Tuesday with a rather interesting theme.

To mark this occasion, Reeds Rains Estate Agents in Leamington Spa and Kenilworth are offering a 50% discount on their standard fees for anybody that books a valuation between the 19th and 27th of October 2012.

Article featured in Warwick Courier on 20/09/2012 @Warwick_Courier

A few years ago, the government introduced a new scheme that aims to protect the deposits tenants have paid to their landlords.

But research from the charity Shelter claimed that the majority of UK tenants remain unaware of their rights when it comes to such initiatives, with disputes over deposits having risen sharply in recent years. Current rules state that any deposit paid to a landlord by a new tenant must be put into a protection scheme within 30 days of the start of the tenancy. With the economy slowly recovering from what has been a difficult few years for the property sector, some local estate agents have unfortunately gone out of business - something which has added to the growing concerns help over the protection of tenants' deposits. But what else is there to know about such protection schemes and what steps can tenants take to ensure they get their deposit back in full?

This week's expert, Hannah Gretton, Branch Manager of Manchester's Reeds Rains estate agents, gave us an overview of such schemes and explained why they were brought into effect:

Reeds Rains' Hannah Gretton

Since April 2007, deposits taken for tenancies that are AST's (assured shorthold tenancies) under the Housing Act 1988 must be protected by one of the Tenancy Deposit Schemes. This means that, if held by the agent, the deposit will be help in the capacity of a stakeholder. There are two types of approved schemes, either the custodial scheme (DPS - Deposit Protection Service) or an insurance-based scheme (MyDeposits and the TDS - Tenancy Deposit Scheme). Deposit schemes were brought in as legislation under the Housing Act 2004 covering deposits on AST's to promote good practice in deposit handling, assist in the resolution of disputes relating to deposits, and encourage landlords and tenants to make a clear agreement at the start of the lease about the condition of the property.

Inventories and schedules of conditions are not mandatory. However from a landlords' point of view, it will make any claim for damages against deposits at the end of the tenancy much easier to establish if there is an inventory and schedule of condition.

If there are any disputes at the end of a tenancy, and the landlord and tenant cannot agree where the deposit monies are to go, an independent adjudicator will look at all the evidence provided and make a final decision on what proportion of the deposit will go where. So the need for an accurate and detailed in-going inventory and out-going check out vital.

Tenants are expected to behave in a 'tenant-like manner' which means tenants are expected to take reasonable care of the property and have an obligation not to commit waste (damage of the property). Fair wear and tear will be allowed which means tenants are not responsible for dis-repair that occurs as the fabric and fittings age, as long as the property is being used in a tenant-like manner. The property should be returned in the condition it is given at the start of each tenancy, as long as tenants adhere to their obligations under their tenancy agreement then the full deposit should be returned once the tenant has moved out and within the required timescales under the protection laws.

Shelter has launched a deposit scheme tracker to check if your money is safe. Visit england.shelter.org.uk for more details. You can also gain information from Citizen's Advice at citizensadvice.org.uk.

Article featured in Urban Life 11/10/2012 @UrbanLifeMcr

Following the announcement of Government plans to shake up the housing market, the house building industry has once again come under the spotlight. In its latest New Build Index, LSL considers what the plans are and highlights again the changing regional picture in terms of new build prices.

James McAuley, Director of LSL Land & New Homes commented: “Although it was hoped that the Government may introduce further measures, such as a three year ‘holiday’ for affordable homes, the new plans recently announced should go some way in helping boost activity and, we believe, should to be welcomed.

“At the moment one of the main obstacles to house builders is the sheer lack of buyers who are in a position to buy due to their ongoing difficulties in raising deposits and mortgage finance. Hopefully the reported success of NewBuy and the extension of FirstBuy will help but, in the meantime, it’s clear that some developers have had to respond with price reductions - with some regions now better placed than others.

“Comparing average prices in the period September 2010 to August 2011 with September 2011 to August 2012 we see that only three regions are seeing price rises across all property types namely East Anglia, the West Midlands and the South East. In contrast Greater London, the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humberside have generally seen price falls. An indication, possibly, of the steps developers are having to take to attract new customers.

“In terms of popularity terrace properties look, in some regions, to be particularly sought after as prices in the West Midland, Wales and Scotland suggest –increasing by 5%, 9.1% and a staggering 16% respectively.

“Only time will tell what impact new Government plans will have to future prices but hopefully with the relaxation of planning rules, the extension of FirstBuy and, of course, the fact that developers will have access to capital more easily – we’ll see a more positive picture in the future. Until then, however, we hope that mortgage lenders will play their part in kick starting the market and make credit available, not only to first time buyers, but also the wider market.”

Keith Osborne, editor of new homes portal whathouse.co.uk, says: “Comparing these figures to last month’s, there seems to be a settling down of regional markets – there haven’t been many dramatic changes from positive to negative, or vice versa. This would suggest some sort of stability, something which is worth monitoring over the coming couple of months. It will be interesting too, to see whether the dramatic 16% increase in terrace home prices in Scotland is an anomaly or whether that heralds a longer-term trend north of the border.

“The launch of MI New Home in Scotland as a counterpart to England’s NewBuy scheme has been widely welcomed. Though recent figures suggest that first-time buyers have it a little easier in Scotland, it is a common theme with the house builders I see and talk to that without some sort of significant financial assistance from family, government or developers, meeting the lending criteria to buy a first home is incredibly difficult for anyone on an average salary. Let’s hope the Funding for Lending initiative leads to many more affordable mortgage options at the bottom of the market."

Graph shows average new homes prices in the period September 2011 to August 2012 and % variation over same period 2012/2011.

The Tenant Arrears Tracker for the third quarter of 2012 from LSL Property Services and Templeton LPA has been released today, providing a measure of tenants who are in arrears.

• Quarterly growth in severe tenant arrears slows to 1.6%
• 99,000 tenants in severe arrears
• Number of court orders to evict tenants down 6% on last quarter
• Fall in buy-to-let mortgage arrears accelerates, down 7%

The rapid growth in the number of tenants in severe arrears is slowing, according to the latest Tenant Arrears Tracker by Templeton LPA, the specialist practice of LPA Receivers and part of the LSL Property Services plc Group.

In Q3 2012, the number of tenants in arrears of more than two months grew by 1.6% on a quarterly basis. This represents a slower rate of increase than the 4.6% quarterly rise seen in Q2 2012 .

Despite slower growth, the number of tenants in severe arrears is now 99,000, the highest number on Templeton LPA’s records, which extend back to 2008.  Following the steady quarterly rise, the level of severe arrears is 15% higher than the average for the previous 12 months.

Tenants in Severe Arrears

A particularly strong performance from tenants’ finances in Q3 2011 has contributed to an annual growth of 45% in the number of tenants in severe arrears, rather than a sudden deterioration in Q3 2012. In fact, tenants in severe arrears represent 2.5% of tenancies in England and Wales, the same proportion as in the previous quarter.

Although severe arrears cases (tenants with arrears of more than two months) steadily climbed last quarter, overall tenant arrears fell slightly in August, with 9% of all rent late or unpaid, the first improvement in this measure in three months.

Paul Jardine, director and receiver at Templeton LPA, comments: “Rising rents have kept the pressure on tenants’ finances, but it is tenants with the lowest incomes that are feeling the pinch the hardest. While the majority of tenants have shown a slight improvement in their ability to cope with the bigger rent cheques, the minority of renters who are months behind with rental payments is still expanding.

“Nevertheless, it’s encouraging news for landlords that the rate of growth is slowing. The labour market has held up well recently, and if it strengthens further, it may well keep a lid on the number of tenants unable to pay the rent in the short-term.”

Despite the steady growth in severe tenant arrears so far this year, there was a slight reduction in the number of tenants who faced eviction through court order on a quarterly basis. In the second quarter of 2012, 25,422 tenants faced eviction notices, a quarterly fall of 6% compared to the previous quarter, reversing the previous 6% quarterly increase. However, evictions remain 8% higher on an annual basis.

The number of buy-to-let mortgages over three months in arrears fell by 7% to 22,000 by the end of the second quarter of 2012, compared with a previous quarterly fall of 4%. On an annual basis, cases of buy-to-let mortgages more than three months in arrears fell by 21%.

Paul Jardine continues: “With significant capital gains unlikely in most regions, the onus is currently on rental income to provide the lion’s share of an investor’s annual return, not to mention pay the mortgage each month. In this context, many landlords have been acting earlier to resolve payment problems before severe arrears cases result in eviction processes or mortgage arrears. Record low interest rates have also been pivotal for keeping a lid on mortgage arrears. Rock bottom mortgage payments are giving investors the financial breathing room to absorb short-term financial shocks, and allow tenants to get finances in order before an eviction becomes the only option. However, there are still further austerity measures to come. If these result in job losses, we are likely to see an increased level of tenant arrears spill over into a greater number of evictions and mortgage arrears cases.”

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, commented: “Arrears management and prevention is a crucial consideration for any sensible property investment strategy. Landlords need to have a plan in place for identifying and tackling tenant payment problems early, or face the prospect of a property that is neither providing an income, nor able to be quickly filled. With this in mind, landlords should balance getting the best possible rental income from their property with making sure rental payments are affordable for prospective tenants in the long-term.”