Archive for General

Should landlords lower rents to fund housing benefit cuts?

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is already a bit of a mess, with many landlords choosing to shy away from this sector of the rental market (see 2 reasons why landlords say “no” to housing benefit tenants). Now, with the Government’s budget cuts, even more landlords will be turning away housing benefit tenants. Read more of this article (Should landlords lower rents to fund housing benefit cuts?) ...

The 2 reasons why landlords say “no” to housing benefit tenants

Because there are more tenants around than properties available to rent, landlords and letting agents are quite rightly, selecting the tenants in the best position. And given the choice, landlords would rather rent their properties to people in employment than people claiming housing benefit. Here, we discuss the reasons why. Read more of this article (The 2 reasons why landlords say "no" to housing benefit tenants) ...

Landlords and Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a tax payable on a profit. The profit is calculated when an asset is disposed of e.g sold or given away. As landlords, we pay CGT when we dispose of a property other than our main residence. Profits are subject to an 18% tax for basic-rate taxpayers and 28% for higher-rate taxpayers. There are many exemptions and reliefs available to landlords to help reduce the amount of CGT payable. Read more of this article (Landlords and Capital Gains Tax) ...

Lack of properties to rent in East and West Sussex causes higher rents

Tenants are seeing an increase in rents due to a lack of supply in the rental market.

As the number of available properties to rent remains low, compared to the number of potential tenants looking for property to rent, rental prices are pushed upwards. Read more of this article (Lack of properties to rent in East and West Sussex causes higher rents) ...

Emergency Budget 2010 – implications for Landlords and tenants

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove.

So what does the Emergency Budget delivered yesterday mean for landlords and tenants? Here are some of the key points Read more of this article (Emergency Budget 2010 - implications for Landlords and tenants) ...

Rental yields rise on buy to let properties

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove. 

Landlords are achieving a better rate of return on their property investments than they have since December 2009. The latest Buy to Let Index from LSL Property shows that landlords are yielding an average of 4.8% on their buy to let properties. Read more of this article (Rental yields rise on buy to let properties) ...

Property Ombudsman disappointed at lack of letting agents’ regulation

Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove is among the 7,500 letting agency offices which has already adopted the standards in the TPO Lettings code. Read more of this article (Property Ombudsman disappointed at lack of letting agents’ regulation) ...

Landlord’s optimistic about property rental market

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove.

The latest quarterly research from BDRC Continental reveals that private landlords are at their most optimistic since the financial crisis first started to take effect in 2007.

BDRC, says that almost a third of the 519 landlords taking part in the research are making Read more of this article (Landlord's optimistic about property rental market) ...

Landlord and tenant dispute service celebrates success

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove.

The Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS) is celebrating after the results of it’s latest customer survey show that it exceeded it’s target for customer satisfaction.

The RPTS act as the umbrella organisation Read more of this article (Landlord and tenant dispute service celebrates success) ...

Tell us what you think of Phillip James!

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing & Brighton & Hove.

If you are an existing client of Phillip James Letting Agents you are invited to let us know how we’re doing by completing our online Customer Satisfaction Survey.

The survey only takes 3-4 minutes to complete.

We always welcome your comments and suggestions which we will use to make improvements to our Read more of this article (Tell us what you think of Phillip James!) ...

Refer a landlord to us and earn £100!

From Phillip James Letting Agents in Worthing and Brighton & Hove.

Earn £100 or reduce your management fee by referring your friends!

Landlords not reponsible for tenants’ water bills

A new report from the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been welcomed by landlord bodies.

It was proposed last year that landlords be automatically charged the unpaid water bills of their tenants. Read more of this article (Landlords not reponsible for tenants' water bills) ...

Buy to let makes 4.1% for landlords in 2009

Buy to let investment has ended the year on a positive, according to property-giant LSL Property Services.

The average landlord acheived a rental of £7,600 per property over the year – a yield of 4.6%. Although they also made an average £600 loss on the capital value of each property (in 2008, average capital losses were £23,000). Read more of this article (Buy to let makes 4.1% for landlords in 2009) ...

Brighton & Hove rental prices to rise

Phillip James Letting Agents in Brighton & Hove report that many landlords and tenants believe the price of renting in Brighton & Hove will rise next year, resulting in a record number of lets being completed this November. Read more of this article (Brighton & Hove rental prices to rise) ...

A Landlord’s relationship with a Letting Agent

Within the rental industry, a Letting Agent is considered to play a most important role. The level of service received from your Letting Agent could be the difference between a great experience and one of which you would rather not talk about again. Taking this into consideration, what are some of the responsibilities and duties you should expect a Letting Agent to take on? Read more of this article (A Landlord’s relationship with a Letting Agent) ...

7 reasons why tenants should rent through a Letting Agent

Whether you’re hunting for your first rental property or need an upgrade to accommodate your growing family, it’s a good idea to find yourself a knowledgeable, professional and established Letting Agent to increase your chances of finding that dream home worthy of your hard-earned pound.

Here are 7 reasons why you should rent through a Letting Agent: Read more of this article (7 reasons why tenants should rent through a Letting Agent) ...

Evicting a tenant

Being educated on the eviction process is a crucial skill that should not be overlooked by Landlords. Not only will mastering this skill save you headaches and phone calls, it will also save you from financial losses.

Let’s take a look at some important points to consider: Read more of this article (Evicting a tenant) ...

Landlords urged to make sure they use quality Letting Agents

The Property Ombudsman has said that complaints about letting agents is currently the number one reason that people contact him for help.

In his latest report which covers the second quarter of 2009, the Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, says that 110 people a week have been contacting him about problems with their letting agents. Read more of this article (Landlords urged to make sure they use quality Letting Agents) ...

Landlords and mortgage arrears: a harsh reality

It has been reported that Landlords experiencing difficulty making their mortgage payments are being charged an average of £25–£50 for each month they are in arrears. In addition to this, many of the major mortgage lenders – like Halifax and Abbey – have the right to take a monthly ‘administration charge’, usually within the same range, in the event of arrears. Read more of this article (Landlords and mortgage arrears: a harsh reality) ...

Worthing rents rise for the first time this year

Rents in Worthing have risen for the first time this year, according to the latest Phillip James Letting Agents rental survey.

The survey analyses advertised rental prices from Worthing postcodes on popular property sites such as Rightmove, Findaproperty, Propertyfinder and Primelocation.

Rents advertised by Landlords and Letting Agents in Worthing have been falling since January 2009 when the Read more of this article (Worthing rents rise for the first time this year) ...

6 million young people rely on Landlords, Letting Agents or parents for rental properties

Despite the recent falls in house prices, millions of young people remain forced to rent properties or continue living with parents, according to a recent report by The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit. Read more of this article (6 million young people rely on Landlords, Letting Agents or parents for rental properties) ...

Follow Phillip James Letting Agents on Twitter!

We’ve just signed up to Twitter!

For those of you who may not know, Twitter is a great way of keeping in touch with family, friends, customers… whoever!

There are some other great Twitterers in and around Sussex (trust us, you’d be suprised) so come and follow us! Read more of this article (Follow Phillip James Letting Agents on Twitter!) ...

Declining rent prices ’set to moderate’

Landlords have been advised that the rental sector could be set for recovery despite further declines in average rent prices.

Figures from the Rics Lettings Survey have revealed that 85 per cent of surveyors in London saw a fall in rents in the last month Read more of this article (Declining rent prices 'set to moderate') ...

Property price increases predicted

The Nationwide Building Society is predicting that property prices in the UK will increase over the next several months, as home values continue to rise steadily. June turned out to be the third straight month of price increases in the residential property sector and values rose by 0.9 percent compared to figures released in May 2009. Read more of this article (Property price increases predicted) ...

Increase in tenants facing rent difficulties

There has been an increase in tenants struggling to meet their rental payments, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents(ARLA).

Two thirds (65%) of ARLA members surveyed said they had noticed an upsurge in the number of tenants having difficulties paying their rent in the last six months. Read more of this article (Increase in tenants facing rent difficulties) ...

Landlords ‘placing tenants under greater scrutiny’

Landlords seeking tenants for expensive properties are becoming increasingly exacting in their scrutiny of prospective tenants, according to a property agent.

Knight Frank told the Financial Times that letting agents are looking to perform thorough financial background checks on those enquiring about London flats amid rising fears of rent defaults or renegotiations. Read more of this article (Landlords 'placing tenants under greater scrutiny') ...

Landlords ’seeing increase in rent payment issues’

Landlords are finding that an increasing number of tenants are struggling or unwilling to pay rent, according to new research by Arla.

A survey conducted by the letting agents association has revealed that 93 per cent of its members have seen an increase in tenants attempting to secure rent reductions, with the figure rising to 98 per cent in central London. Read more of this article (Landlords 'seeing increase in rent payment issues') ...