Southampton's next property auction has some interesting lots!

The next round of auctions are upon us and Fox and Sons are holding theirs on the 26th of March. A couple of lots have caught the eye.

This modern 2 bed detached house is on at a guide of £145k plus. It is currently tenanted at £850 pcm and is well located in Portswood. It will be attractive to under and post grad students, people working in the area including both universities. Gross yield based on guide price is good at 7%. I feel it will go for more than guide.

The other lot of interest is this 2/3 bed semi-detached modern property which is discreetly located back from the roadside in the popular Inner Avenue area of Southampton. The property has good proximity to both the main Southampton University and Solent University. The property is also perfectly positioned to allow access to the centre of Southampton, with its excellent shopping, leisure and educational facilities. This property will appeal to students and professional alike. The property benefits from off road parking and a good sized rear garden making it suitable for families. It is currently tenanted at £795pcm which gives a gross yield of 6.36% based on guide price of £150k.

Both these properties are well located and will let well, clearly you will need to do your homework before bidding, if I can help in any way please drop me a line.

Prices rise but election effect kicking in - Rightmove

The one per cent rise in asking prices announced today by Rightmove is the smallest increase at this time of year since 2012 according to the portal.

It says the average asking price this month - £281,752 - is still a fraction below the portal’s highest recorded average, back in June last year. 

“The distraction and uncertainty of an election typically force sellers to price more keenly, though this is often short-lived. The MMR introduced in April 2014 laid out a much needed longer-term framework for responsible lending, but within a year its dampening effects have been muted by high demand outstripping supply in many locations, and by buyers putting down larger deposits” says Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s resident analyst and commercial director.

“With new-build levels remaining low and only a small increase in properties coming to market compared to last month, the supply side is still a critical but missing part of the jigsaw if pent-up demand is to be satisfied” he says.

Other key data from Rightmove includes:

- first time buyers pay an average of £169,414 (up 7.6 per year-on-year)

- average properties for sale per estate agent 59 (58 a month ago)

- average number of says to sell 79 (87 a month ago)

- prices falling in London boroughs of RBK&C, Westminster, Richmond and Barnet.

http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2125:prices-rise-but-election-effect-kicking-in-rightmove&Itemid=583

Who does your letting agent really work for?

Initial conversations between landlords and agents tend to focus on quality of service and price.   Yet when a landlord picks an agent the landlord expects the agent to act in their best interest at all times- but is that always the case?

In our local lettings market here in Southampton we have a large number of corporate agents, large independents and smaller family businesses. However the larger the agent, the more processed the systems becomes, the owners are removed from the business and the staff at the coal face are commission driven - it tends to become more important to secure a quick let, so the staff can pick up their commission rather than getting the best rent / tenant mix. It is all about feeding a lettings machine rather than doing whats best for the landlord. Is this really in the landlords long term interest?

We consistently see properties which are offered at a low rental level compared to the rest of the market. Just today an agent has put a top floor 2 bed unit on the market at £895 in very good condition - we have let two units in the same block in the last 6 months, a ground floor at £950 and a top floor at £975. Our properties let quickly to great tenants and we have very happy landlords.

So if you would like to check if you are getting a good rental on your property and your agent hasn't become lazy then please drop me a line or give me a call and I would happily chat it through.

Southampton set to have a reprieve from blanket selective licensing

Local councils will no longer have the clout to licence landlords across a whole borough or city after housing minister Brandon Lewis announced reforms of selective licensing, restricting local decision-making powers.

Since 2010, local councils have had the power to licence landlords across an entire borough or jurisdiction in order to combat issues such as anti-social behaviour in so-called ‘hotspot areas’. This has led to a sharp increase in the number of schemes being introduced.

However, the changes mean that councils will require government approval before implementing a licensing scheme if they plan to license a large area or proportion of the market – likely to be above 20% of either the geographical area covered by the council or the local private rented sector. The changes will come into effect on 1 April 2015.

The decision comes after sustained lobbying efforts by the National Landlord Association (NLA) since 2010 and after the NLA published its report on the state of landlord licensing across the country, in February.

The report points to a boom in the number of blanket licensing schemes since 2010 but highlights a lack of enforcement actions being taken by local councils. It also shows a correlation between the political control of a council and their tendency to license landlords.

Richard Lambert, chief executive officer at the NLA, said: “We’ve argued solidly since 2010 that councils have been abusing their power to push through blanket licensing schemes.  Today’s announcement means that if a council intends to licence a large proportion of its housing it will first need to show the case stands up to independent scrutiny.

“The Government was the first to see a copy of our licensing report, and we’re delighted they have listened to our case because at present the driving force behind licensing landlords seems to be the political will of a given local council, regardless of the evidence.

“Many local councils won’t like this decision one bit because until now they’ve been their own judges, and the only way for landlords to challenge them has been through the difficult and complex route of judicial review.

“Landlords are getting fed up with being unfairly targeted and made responsible for problems such as anti-social behaviour when in reality they have little effective control over the issue, except by eviction. Hopefully this now means that councils who are serious about tackling poor property standards and anti-social behaviour will first look to the extensive existing legal powers they already have to combat the issues.”

http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Victory-for-landlords-regarding-selective-licensing

Landlords smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are to become law later this year in Southampton

Landlords will be required by law to install working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their properties, under new measures announced by housing minister Brandon Lewis. The government says the move will help prevent up to 36 deaths and 1,375 injuries a year. The measure is expected to take effect from October 2015, and comes with strong support after a consultation on property condition in the private rented sector.

England’s 46 fire and rescue authorities are expected to support private landlords in their own areas to meet their new responsibilities with the provision of free alarms, with grant funding from government.

Lewis said: “In 1988 just 8% of homes had a smoke alarm installed – now it’s over 90%.

“The vast majority of landlords offer a good service and have installed smoke alarms in their homes, but I’m changing the law to ensure every tenant can be given this important protection.

“But with working smoke alarms providing the vital seconds needed to escape a fire, I urge all tenants to make sure they regularly test their alarms to ensure they work when it counts. Testing regularly remains the tenant’s responsibility.”

The proposed changes to the law would require landlords to install smoke alarms on every floor of their property, and test them at the start of every tenancy.

Landlords would also need to install carbon monoxide alarms in high risk rooms such as those where a solid fuel heating system is installed.

Those who fail to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms would face sanctions and could face up to a £5,000 civil penalty.

Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association said: “This is a policy that we campaigned hard for, and was a key part of the RLA’s manifesto for the private rented sector.

“Proposals for funding to provide free alarms to landlords are particularly welcome and I look forward to seeing the details of this.”

http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-to-become-the-law