High-earners looking to rent expect more from landlords
Creating the right look for tenants
Landlords need to create the right look if they wish to target the best tenants, it has been explained. According to Ideal Home magazine, high-earners looking to rent want more than just basically furnished, drably decorated accommodation.
Renters will not invest into property that they do not own, so the responsibility lies with landlords. The best tenants are looking for more than white emulsion and basic beige carpet, and an interior designer can add just the right lifestyle touches to entice them to part with a top rent.
Landlords with a number of properties to let can call in the professionals to create the right look for their target tenants, it's a smart move if you want to target high-earning young professionals.
New-build properties
New measures aimed at bolstering lender confidence
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has introduced new measures to help bolster confidence lender confidence in the new-build property market, it has announced.
From September 2nd, builders and developers of newly-built or renovated properties are being asked by lenders to complete a 'disclosure of incentives' form documenting any discounts being offered by developers to ensure that mortgages are granted on a precise valuation.
In the past, lenders have often felt that the valuation and conveyancing process often failed to capture the various discounts and incentives that affect the valuation of a property.
It is hoped that the new regulations will have the effect of reducing the risk of mortgage fraud while providing borrowers and lenders with more protection.
Commenting on the new system, website SmartNewHomes welcomed the greater transparency that the new valuation process will bring. At a time when mortgage availability is limited, this latest initiative will restore lenders with some much needed confidence when looking to lend on a new build home.
New regulations for rental properties
Comprehensive system could benefit landlords
Landlords could benefit from the introduction of new regulations covering rental properties that draw existing rules together into a comprehensive system, it has been claimed.
According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), such regulations, if introduced, could tie various aspects of the private rental accommodation market together without necessarily rising prices.
A spokesperson for the group, elaborated there are a lot of good regulations, but because they have come out intermittently it's possible, particularly for a private landlord rather than an agent, to forget about them. If everything is drawn together you have a straight forward checklist.
Recently, a report from the Law Commission entitled Housing: Encouraging Responsible Letting demanded the establishment of a central regulator to oversee landlord associations and professional lettings bodies in England and Wales.
It also called for a landlord code of housing management practice and a pilot scheme for home condition certificates.
Energy performance certificates
The law requires commercial property energy efficiency ratings
From October 2008 any property owner building, selling or letting out commercial property by law needs to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
These certificates will rate a property's energy efficiency with grades from A-G (A being the most efficient) and are there to help distinguish buildings for prospective purchasers and tenants.
The regulations on EPC's from October, apply to all remaining buildings apart from a few minor exceptions. Public buildings over 1000 sq.m. will be required to have Display Energy Certificates.
Whilst there is no need to provide a certificate for an existing tenancy, on a sale or letting the EPC must be given free of charge to a prospective buyer or tenant.
Certificates must be provided by energy assessors who are accredited and registered with a commercial property scheme and the cost will depend on a number of factors and will need to be factored in when selling or leasing a property.
