Everyone Appears To Be Taking A Pop At Landlords
I don’t think I am becoming paranoid but have you noticed that public attitude towards landlords has changed over the last couple of years?
I know opinion can be like the property cycle and generally rolls around, but have you spotted a few subtle and […]
UK landlords are societies new favourite target for criticism
Everyone Appears To Be Taking A Pop At Landlords
I don’t think I am becoming paranoid but have you noticed that public attitude towards landlords has changed over the last couple of years?
I know opinion can be like the property cycle and generally rolls around, but have you spotted a few subtle and not so subtle digs being aimed at our profession?
Targeting the private rental sector and the landlords who provide tenants with much needed housing used to be the reserve of newspapers such as the Daily Mail, but now the derision is much more widespread.
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UK Empty Property Numbers At All-Time Low
According to campaigning charity Empty Homes, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of empty residential properties in the UK.
The new research shows that the number of empty residential properties in the UK dropped by 75,000 during 2013, the largest-ever annual fall in numbers.
The substantial […]
Dramatic Fall In Number Of Empty UK Properties
UK Empty Property Numbers At All-Time Low
According to campaigning charity Empty Homes, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of empty residential properties in the UK.
The new research shows that the number of empty residential properties in the UK dropped by 75,000 during 2013, the largest-ever annual fall in numbers.
The substantial fall has reduced the total number of empty properties in the UK to 635,127, the lowest recorded level ever, according to campaigning charity Empty Homes.
The biggest falls in the number of empty properties were observed in the North West of England and London.
There was also a large fall in the number of long-term empty residential properties, with figures dropping by over 27,000 to a new record low of 232,600.
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Will Your Property Be Affected By Fracking?
Fracking Concerns Ignored By Local Authorities And Government
There is a great deal of speculation and controversy surrounding the latest methods for extracting natural gas from under our feet, a process known as “Fracking” where a toxic mixture of chemicals are pumped into well heads to release gases trapped in the underlying bedrock.
The process is designed to fracture the rock strata, allowing gas to escape and rise to the surface and the controversial method is already being exploited widely in some states in the USA, with alarming results. Minor earth tremors are being caused and ground water is becoming saturated with methane and other flammable gases and some residents living near the remote drilling sites have to rely on bottled supplies to be able to drink and water cattle, however the companies controlling the drilling are happy to pay people off and ignore what they are being told.
Here in the UK, gas companies have identified potential sites that they reckon hold enough natural gas reserves to last for the next 30-40 years, unfortunately these areas are also heavily populated, not like in the USA.
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SMTC in rehearsals for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Dwarf Shortage Hits SMTC Panto!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 11th-14th December 2013 – The Little Shakespeare Theatre – Shakespeare Crescent – Eccles Manchester M30 0PE evenings at 7.30pm with a Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm
It’s time to gather the family and head to Salford this week as Salford Musical Theatre Company prepare to put on the classic pantomime fairytale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs… with a twist!
Writer, Director & Producer Mike Clarke wasn’t able to find any vertically challenged people under 3 feet tall within the Salford area of Greater Manchester to play the seven dwarfs, so he decided to rewrite the tale giving it an unusual angle!
Even the local press picked up on the challenges faced by SMTC prompting the “Dwarf Shortage” headline and article in the Manchester Evening News and a similar article in the Salford Advertiser, in the same week!
Mike Clarke said “I put out an appeal for adults under 4ft to come forward via social media at the start of September and unfortunately there were no takers, so I decided to re-write the story using acronyms and a little bit of clever wordplay to explain why adults ranging from 5’4 to 6’3 were playing the parts of the seven dwarfs. In this story D.W.A.R.F.S. stands for Drillers, Well Borers, Architects, Rubble Shifters, Fossil Hunters and Skilled Workers! Its just a little bit different, but we are still telling the traditional story of Snow White”
Tickets start at just £5 for children under 12, £7 for adults and £25 for a family ticket for 2 adults and 3 children.
Tickets for Thursday 12th and Friday 13th December have already sold out and seats are limited on all other performances.
To book please call the dedicated Box Office number 07565685671 or book online at https://smtcsnowwhite.eventbrite.com (fees apply)
SMTC presents Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 11th-14th Dec 2013
This years eagerly anticipated panto production follows on from SMTC’s award winning pantomime ‘Puss in Boots’, also written, directed and produced by Mike Clarke, which won the NODA District 1 Best Pantomime in 2012!
Fresh Warnings Over Rent-To-Rent
Rent-To-Rent Contracts May
Breach Mortgage Agreements
National newspapers are claiming that the Rent-To-Rent strategy for maximising profits from rental properties is immoral and illegal
Private rental sector landlords who utilise a rent-to-rent strategy, by which a property investor agrees to rent a property from the owner with the intention of sub-letting it to tenants for a profit, are being urged to check with their mortgage lenders that the practice will be allowed.
The warning was printed in The Sunday Times and follows last week’s news published by The Guardian newspaper and landlord news portal LandlordToday.co.uk, on the rent-to-rent phenomenon, which drew a mixed reaction.
Some lenders will not allow sub-letting, including The Mortgage Works (TMW), although BM Solutions does permit sub-letting.
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Is Your Rental Property Safe?
Landlord fined for ignoring dangerous hazards in rental property
The national press have recently reported that a landlord was handed a £2,745 (GBP) legal bill for renting out a dangerous property to tenants, highlighting the need for all landlords and their appointed lettings or property management agents to ensure that their rental property is safe to live in.
According to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), landlords and lettings agents ignore potentially dangerous and potentially life-threatening hazards all too often.
The AIIC report that the most common dangers found in a rental property are:
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Help To Buy Could Boost UK Property Market
The Help To Buy mortgage indemnity scheme proposed by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, in the budget announcement made last week is expected to raise both property transaction levels and property prices.
The Help To Buy mortgage indemnity scheme which kicks in next January is designed to generate £3.5 Billion (GBP) of new lending, could be administered by ‘bad banks’ Northern Rock Asset Management and Bradford & Bingley, now in the umbrella of UK Asset Resolution.
Lenders would have to pay to participate in the scheme, but the price has not yet been set.
Estate agents expect Help to Buy to enable people to buy both existing properties and new build homes with 95% mortgages.
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