Performer of the Month for August!
Congratulations to Sienna Vincent in our Great Yarmouth office who is our Performer of the Month for August.
Sienna only joined us as a trainee five weeks ago at a very busy time and how well she has done. Taking car of the administration in our Great Yarmouth office and helping us through a very very busy holiday period.
Congratulations Sienna
Shock fall in Landlord income according to HMRC
According to HMRC, landlords’ income has dropped by 4% for traditional private sector landlords but numbers of those renting via Airbnb has increased.
While 4% may not seem like a significant figure on the surface, for many landlords that is the difference between making a profit or having to subsidise their investment every month.
Despite rising rents an HMRC report on lettings activity shows that income from private landlords fell by 4% between 2021 to 2023.
This goes some way to explaining the steep increase in landlords selling their rental homes. According to Rightmove 1/5 of current London homes for sale on the portal were previously rented.
Higher interest rates, increased costs, removal of mortgage interest relief coupled with forthcoming tax increases in the next budget and looming legislation are all individual factors. However, add them all together and the mystery of why landlords are leaving the Private Rented Sector at the current rate is clearly solved.
Unfortunately, as always there are ‘knock on’ effects of well intentioned Government tinkering with the Private Rented Sector which ultimately impact on tenants. Increased rent and a sharp fall in available stock means it is ever more difficult for tenants to secure and afford their rental homes.
Still time to move in 2024!
It seems a crazy thing to say on a sunny September day…..but if you want to be eating your Christmas turkey in a new home you really need to get your skates on!
Properties that are sold stc in September should (on average) complete before Christmas all being well. However, if you aren’t for sale yet and want to move this year you should be listing now to give you time to find a buyer and for the conveyancing process to work through.
Thinking of selling – call us now to book your visit from one of our expert team
How is the market?
A question as estate agents we get asked a lot.
An interesting way to gauge this is by looking at total sales in an area over a year and comparing it with previous periods.
In the years between 2020 and 2022 yearly sales agreed in the NR31 postcode were always in excess of 1000. This dipped in 2023 to just over 600. A drop of 40%.
This year has been better. Sales agreed over the last 365 days in NR31 currently sit at 804. A big improvement on what we were seeing in 2023 but still way off what was seen immediately ‘post covid’.
This tells us we have a recovering market but in our opinion one that still requires careful pricing and excellent marketing.
Rise in inflation threatens further interest rate cuts.
Inflation went up slightly in July to 2.2% up from 2%. A small rise and inflation still way below the double digit inflation we saw in 2023. However, we will have to see how the Bank of England views this rise when its monetary policy committee next meet!
Performer of the month!
Congratulations to Chris Fielding who is Aldreds Performer of the Month for July.
The amount of work Chris gets through in a month is absolutely phenomenal and his passion and commitment to his clients is clear to everyone.
To be honest he could have won it lots of other months this year.
Well done Chris!
More news on renters reform bill!
There is some very sensible news coming from Whitehall regarding the Renters Reform Bill and its bumpy ride through parliament.
After the 3rd reading the Renters (Reform) Bill was voted through yesterday evening to its next stage. Housing Minister, Jacob Young confirmed that Section 21notice won’t be abolished until the court system is deemed ready. The government will require the Lord Chancellor to assess the county court possession order process in England and its enforcement before the end of Section 21 (no-fault evictions).
The other good news is another key amendment – only allowing tenants to give notice after six months (rather than the originally proposed two months) – was also approved, with exemptions such as death of a tenant or victims of domestic violence being considered.
These sensible amendments, despite Labour’s objections, will give landlords considering their options some confidence and will no doubt go some way to stem the flow of landlords selling their rented properties due to concerns about this new legislation.
We will keep you informed of the developments as they are announced.
Sienna joins the team!
A big Aldreds welcome to Sienna Vincent who has joined us as a trainee in our Great Yarmouth office!
Sienna is a GY girl! She has already been with us a week and has settled in well!
We hope you have a long and enjoyable career with us!
Aldreds turns 167 years old!
Happy birthday to us! In July Aldreds hit the ripe old age on 167! I know we don’t look it.
Our Directors Mark & Dan have had a fun day delivering birthday cakes to all the offices. If you are quick there might be some left!
I want to sell my house but have a tenant, what is the best process….
Firstly, you must serve formal notice. Tenants are only contractually obliged to allow access for viewings in the last 2 months of any tenancy.
You then have two options, both with their pros and cons.
If you decide to market with the tenant still in situ, then you have the benefit of rent coming in, all utilities and Council Tax being covered by the tenant and the additional security of an occupied property.
The downside is that you will have no control over access as notice and tenant agreement must always be obtained. You will also not have any control over how the property is presented. Always remember that there is absolutely no benefit to the tenant to display the property to look its best.
If you decide to wait to market until you have vacant possession, then you benefit from certainty that you will have vacant possession ready for exchange. The current shortage of available properties means that tenants are often struggling to find alternative properties and often stay on past the end of the notice period, which could easily de-rail an ongoing sale.
The other benefits are unrestricted access for viewings and complete control over how the property is presented at the time of the viewings. The only negatives being that you would need to cover all the bills until completion.
The key decider is the existing tenant and how good they are in terms of flexibility and how well they look after the property. However, once a tenant knows a property is for sale they feel unsettled and often leave well before the end of the notice period.
For more advice, talk to the experts, speak to Aldreds…..
