Forget Boris! This is the real problem

Heard the one about the Ladlord & the Taxman?

Are you a Landlord? If so, do you have an accountant looking after your general tax affairs and your rental property income & expenditure?

 

I want to tell you that it's not just the Labour & Liberal Democrat parties; and it's not just charities like Shelter; NO - HMRC are also ‘gunning’ for Landlords!

HMRC have stated that there are only 500,000 of their estimated 1.5 million private Landlords who have informed them that they get additional income from renting out property.

HMRC have said that they are setting about discovering those million or so private landlords who are, in effect, evading tax.

Sadly, HMRC can get data from Land Registry, Local Authorities & Utility companies. They can also force accountants and Letting Agents to hand over details of their Landlords and how much they have been paid going back several years.

The fines for not telling HMRC about your rented properties can be substantial.

The good news is that there are a number of expenditures that can be off-set against the rental amount to reduce your tax liability, for example, Cass Properties fees and repair costs (but not improvements or refurbishments).

A rental knowledgeable accountant will help you navigate the tax pitfalls and deal with HMRC on your behalf.

So, if you own rental property in the Saffron Walden, Cambridge, Haverhill, Royston or Bishops Stortford areas, not only can Cass Properties increase the yield on your investment but we can recommend an experienced accountant if you need one as well.

 

Call me on 01799 668233 for a chat about the rental market and our unique combination of service and fees -  no obligation of any kind of course.

 

Steve Cass

Landlords - are you leaving yourselves open to a scam?

As you may know, if you have purchased property in the last 15 years it should automatically have been registered with Land Registry by your solicitor. (If you aren't sure it has, it is well worth checking!).

However, you need to safe-guard your registration from being tampered with.

All proprietors registered at the Land Registry have an ‘address for service’ – this is an address that the Land Registry use for official correspondence. They would use this address, for example, if they received an application that needed verification from a registered proprietor.

Examples would be a change of ownership or notification that the property is being sold.

If your address for service is out of date or, even worse, the address of the property that you have rented out, then it is possible that any official correspondence will not be passed on to you.

A tenant with a criminal mind is unlikely to pass on any official looking correspondence from the Land Registry. Such people may use the opportunity to steal your identity AND your property.

You can have up to three addresses registered, one of which can be an address abroad and one can be an email address (although do bear in mind that an address for service is in the public domain, so take care with the email address you use).

If in doubt, go for the ‘belt and braces’ approach.

A few years ago the Land Registry introduced a particular kind of restriction that you can enter against your property title. This restriction requires any application to the Land Registry to be accompanied by a certificate by a conveyancer that the person who has signed a document is in fact the registered proprietor.

Whilst this doesn’t protect against a dishonest lawyer, it is an additional layer of protection which may make all the difference.

Of course criminal tenants are rare - but why take the chance when it is so easy to prevent?

I was talking to a couple last week who are considering moving into the area. They had been told by someone that CB10 was a ‘better’ postcode than CB11, although what that was based on they didn’t know.

Never having had anyone say this to me before I thought I would take a look at the two postcodes and see what the latest statistics say about the property market in each one*

In CB1O, the current price/earnings ratio is 11.14** against a national average of 9.36**

In CB11, the current price/earnings ratio is 11.61**

In terms of change in value***, over the last year, CB10 sold property shows an increase of 5.45% whereas CB11 sold property shows a higher increase of 7.11%.

Over 5 years, CB10 sold property shows an increase of 22.76% whereas CB11 sold property shows a slightly lower increase of 20.25%

 

 

I gave the couple this information and explained that there was very little to choose between the two postcodes statistically and they should decide where to live based on ease of travel, amenities and the quality & location of the specific property, not by postcode.

*All figures correct at the time of writing but will change over time.

**Source mouseprice.com. The average current value of property (price) divided by the average annual household income (earnings). It is one indicator of affordability. Figures will change over time.

*** Source Zoopla. Figures will change over time.

SaffronWalden or Haverhill - JUNE 14 EDITION

Where is the best place to buy a rental property?

Over the last few weeks, a number of first time investor Landlords have contacted me for my thoughts and opinions on what (and what not) to buy.

I give an objective view on the property markets of Saffron Walden and surrounding towns & villages within 15 miles.

Some Landlords want high yields, others best capital growth and some aren’t sure what they want.

I don’t charge for my advice, even though I am exam qualified and have over 10 years’ experience.

I take the view that if we build a relationship based on mutual respect then you might consider allowing me to look after your property for you, but there are no strings attached.

You get honesty and professionalism no matter what.
________________________________________________________________


Saffron Walden or Haverhill?

EXPERT ADVICE TO HELP YOU CHOOSE YOUR IDEAL BUY-TO-LET INVESTMENT*

Last week a landlord with a small property portfolio contacted me. He has property in both Saffron Walden and Haverhill and is looking to add another. The landlord wanted my opinion on the property market in both towns. This is what I told him.

 

Looking at the Haverhill area (CB9), the average property price is £203,500 and the average rent £950 per month. In the Saffron Walden area (CB10 & CB11) the average price is £392,000 & the average rent £1050 per month.

The average annual yield in Haverhill (CB9) is therefore 5.6% whereas in Saffron Walden (CB10/11) it is 3.21%.

However, investing in property is not just about yield. We must also consider the increase in value of the property itself. Interestingly, property values in Haverhill (CB9) have risen by an average of 7.75% over the last year whilst in Saffron Walden (CB10/11) average property value has risen by a slightly smaller 6.35% over the same period.

Whereas, medium term, since 2009, Haverhill average values have risen by 21.3% while Saffron Walden have fared slightly better at 22.7%.

Remember these are average values and hide large differences within each area. 

So both areas are good for an investment property and it depends on your view of future employment & housing developments in those towns as to which is the better investment.

 

How to Sell your House! part 1

Hi,
There is a mass of information and advice out there in the mainstream and social media about how to choose an estate agent and how to get that perfect buyer to fall in love with your home.

Most of it is basic common sense or a relatively short step on from it.
And of course, because it’s fairly obvious stuff, 80% of this information is right.
However, a lot of this information is looking at the detail and ignores or takes for the granted the key fundamentals.

There are also some things that get trotted out with which I take issue in 2014, e.g. you won’t sell without professional photos.

This is a series of blogs which takes you through my personal view of what’s important to buyers and therefore what you should be doing to attract them. It’s a sensible, practical guide, not marketing speak. Enjoy!

Steve Cass, Director, Cass Properties

 

 

Part 1
THE THREE FUNDAMENTALS

BUYERS BUY LOCATION, LIVING SPACE AND PRICE – NOTHING ELSE

 

You can help them to see the benefits of buying YOUR home (as opposed to someone else’s) with presentational changes but in the end they buy the right combination for them of LOCATION, LIVING SPACE AND PRICE

1) Location, Location, Location - it’s a long-standing maxim but it’s right – location is vitally important and it’s important on THREE different levels:

High level Is the house within x minutes walk/drive or train journey to work/school or whatever’s important to them and their family?

Medium Is it in a nice part of town/a nice village? Neighbours appear OK? (No rusting cars, rotting windows, etc) Road noise?/On flight path? Flood-plain/building development plans nearby? Mains water, sewerage? Gas or Oil? Broadband speed? Mobile phone signal? Drive/garage/scope for extension? Is there green space/playground near for the kids?

Low Level Does it have some private garden? Does the private garden face south or west for evening sun and relaxation? What’s the view like? Are we overlooked? Does it have enough shade or too much? Shop/pub in walking distance?

Now,some of these may be of no importance to the next potential buyer to look at your house on the internet and the truth is that you can’t do much about these things anyway!!

BUT

you should expect your agent to vet all enquiries with these issues in mind.

Agents should anticipate buyer questions, anticipate objections and have a more positive spin ready if they are voiced. Test the agent out with any obvious objections that occurred to you when you bought it or that have occurred to you since!
Are they on the ball and quick-witted? Or was there hesitation? Or worse, is it obvious they hadn’t even thought about it?

(Next time – Living Space)

Estate & Lettings Agents that truly benefit their clients

Estate and Lettings Agency – the Third Way

As far as members of the public are concerned, there are only two models of estate and lettings agency.
The traditional & expensive model with a shop on the High Street or the new online agent, doing everything remotely and charging peanuts.

But there is a third business model which is taking hold in some areas and that’s the Home Agent.
Basically, the Home Agent works from an office in their home or garden thus reducing their running costs by around 50% (or more) compared to the traditional High Street agent. But because they are local, they can give the same local accessible service that a High Street agent can give.
The reduced running costs are passed on to their clients. Hence a win-win scenario:

Professional, local & face-to-face service but at a much reduced price

 

Pre-internet, there were only three ways to advertise a house for sale or rent.
a) the agent’s shop window;
b) the local newspaper;
c) the For Sale/To Let board

So to get the detailed information about a house, you had to go into the agent’s shop and get a copy of the printed details.
Now, ALL of this detailed information is available in a few clicks via property portals such as Rightmove.co.uk. And it seems that almost 90% of buyers and tenants first find out about that dream property in this way.

So, in 2014, the extensive use of the internet, social media, smart-phones and cloud technology mean that the High Street shop and its equally outdated accomplices, the printed details and the newspaper advert, no longer have much to do with selling or renting your property. The internet now rules!
Yes, they’re a great brand advert for the agent but why should their clients – remember them? Yes, they’re the ones who pay – why should they have to pay huge fees at least half of which are to cover the running costs of the shop, printed details and newspaper ads?

It’s so last century!!

So Sellers and Landlords, ‘Move with the times’! Stop paying for stuff you don’t need anymore. Seek out a Home Agent and give yourselves that win-win scenario: 'Online prices with High Street service'
Seek out Cass Properties - go on! You know you want to