Property Investment

need some information about mortgages? Then check out the Alphabet Mortgages blog.

The Business Opportunities and Ideas blog has lost of great ideas for property businesses. John also runs a blog about making money online.

The BBC reminds us that new laws affecting HMO’s come in tomorrow:

 On 6 July new rules governing the upkeep of large rental property, such as student houses, in England come into force.

Residents in houses in multiple occupation (HMO) suffer a higher incidence of death and injury as a result of accidents than other types of property.

In response to this fact, the government introduced legislation in the Housing Act 2004 to improve the quality and safety of rental properties.

HMOs must meet rigorous fire standards. They need fire doors, emergency lights, alarms in the mains power supply, signs on the walls for the escape routes and door locks will have to be fitted.

And some types of HMOs will require a licence to be granted by the local authority.

Call me a skeptic but how does charging a landlord upto £1100 for a license make the house safer?

According to The Fair Investment Company:

According to figures released by Paragon Mortgages, average rents achieved in buy-to-let mortgage properties remain steady this month.

The average landlord was quoted as receiving £10,189 gross rental income on each property in May, the equivalent of £849 a month and a rise of 0.8 per cent on the April figure of £10,113.

Investment property prices also continue to show strength, up 2.9 per cent from £164,247 in April to £168,935 in May. The past 12 months have seen a total investment property price increase of nearly eight per cent.

I wish my properties were paying £849 per month! Though it’s good to hear that the capital values are climbing slowly.

Assetz carries the story:

The UK’s buy to let sector is continuing to see huge growth, according to new figures released today.

Research carried out by specialist lettings agents Paragon Mortgages has revealed that the UK’s landlords are pouring more money into property than ever before. Investment property prices rose by 2.9 per cent during May alone, the figures show, while rental yields have remained relatively stable.

It appears that rental income is not the prime motive for many people buying properties, as the research revealed that although rental yields have not increased significantly in recent months, the demand for property among buy to let landlords has increased substantially. This suggests that many investors are keen to put their money into property as an alternative to taking out a pension scheme.

though as the stock market is higher than it’s been in the last few years where would you put your money if you did sell the property?

Fistrung is reporting:

According to ARLA conflicting reports about the state of the housing market have had no effect on buy to let investors. This is shown by the second quarter’s survey - conducted last month from among the 10,000 subscriber landlords on the ARLA Buy to Let website - published today, 27 June 2006.

Nearly two thirds of all landlords expect to acquire further investment property in the next twelve months and even if house prices fall, nine out of ten will not sell. Instead, the expected lifespan of a buy to let investment is 16.2 years while the average age of investors is 46.

Though as they use their member data it’s perhaps a bit skewed towards the more “professional” landlords rather than those that have jumped on the bandwagon.

Welcome to my property investment blog - more coming soon, just as soon as I learn to configure Wordpress!