Could fall in house prices present opportunity for landlords?
Posted on January 16th, 2012
Rented property insurance may be in demand if landlords take advantage of the falling cost of buying a home.
Land Registry’s House Price Index showed the average value of abodes in England and Wales in November dropped to £160,780.
This represents an annual decrease of 1.9 per cent, although the amount being charged by residential real estate sellers was up 0.3 per cent compared with October.
Some landlords may have spotted an opportunity to extend their portfolios while prices are down, with the data also showing a six per cent rise in complete house sales in September to 61,031.
However, those with properties in London may want to stay put and hold on to their capital gains, as this is the only city that saw an increase in the value of abodes.
Residential real estate in the capital added 1.4 per cent in price over the 12 months to November.
Furthermore, director of estate agent Housenetwork.co.uk Graham Lock recently predicted house prices in London will add another five per cent in the first six months of 2012.
ARLA warns of changes to legislation for landlords
Posted on October 23rd, 2011
Landlords who may have chosen to protect their property with buy to let insurance are being reminded about changes to the categorisation and regulation of homes in the rental sector.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) has highlighted legislation which means landlords will require planning permission to make changes to properties where there are between three and six unrelated tenants who share facilities, such as a bathroom.
Previously, the law applied only to those properties which housed six or more unrelated tenants
Ian Potter, operations manager at Arla, said: “It is …