Nottingham Letting Agent Property Blog

Nottingham letting agents are urging Nottingham landlords to remember that if they intend to make energy-saving improvements to their buy to let properties they could reduce the amount of tax paid through the Landlords Energy Savings Allowance (LESA). Now is definitely a great time to make properties more eco-friendly, as energy costs look set to increase even more.LESA isn't a payment, but has to be claimed as a tax allowance, and can be claimed by landlords renting out residential property in the UK and abroad. Unfortunately anyone letting out holiday homes or a room through the Rent a Room Scheme doesn't...

If you loved the Lord of the Rings films, and can remember reading the Hobbit, then you may have briefly fantasised about living in such a cosy sounding home. However some people always have to take it one step further and Simon Dale has actually designed a very Hobbit like home in Wales. Apparently the idea was to build an affordable and eco-friendly home which would blend into the hillside.To achieve this, the house has been constructed from an oak frame and its roof is made out of mud and turf. The appliances are powered by solar panels, and the water...

Proposals by the EU over the regulation of mortgages in Europe are causing concern, and five industry trade bodies recently signed a note asking the EU not to over regulate this sector. At the moment this latest directive is worded to include buy to let mortgages as they are being regarded as a consumer activity rather than the commercial activity. If this directive goes ahead then there are worries that it could constrain the buy to let sector because these types of mortgages are based on rental returns rather than affordability and income.The British Bankers Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders,...

Applications for the government’s new £15 million Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme will begin to be accepted from August 1 onwards, and the scheme will run until March 2012, supporting up to 25,000 installations. This particular scheme is aimed at households who are not heated by mains gas, and who are forced to rely on heating which produces a higher carbon footprint and also costs more. This includes the use of electric fires and oil fired central heating systems to heat homes.Potential participants of this scheme will be able to apply for up to £1250 of funding which will help towards...

Latest figures show increasing numbers of property transactions are falling through, with an incredible 29% of transactions failing to exchange, up from 21% in 2009. Although this may often be due to lack of finance, somewhat surprisingly this isn't the major reason. The data shows that 15% of the time, the buyers is forced to drop out as they can't obtain the necessary finance, while 7% of deals collapse due to a problem in a different part of the chain. In 8% of cases it's due to bad surveys, and just 1% of deals collapse due to gazumping. Some 23% of...

The recent conviction and jailing of a conman who stole landlords identities has brought the need for adequate protection into sharp focus.  In this particular case, the thief impersonated the real owner of the property to take out a mortgage against it, and of course once they received the money they vanished, leaving the real owner with substantial debts.It would be nice to think this recent case was a one off, but according to Landlord Asssist, this type of identity fraud is becoming far more common, and during the last five years the Land Registry has been forced to pay out...

The holiday season is in full swing, so if you haven’t yet booked and are looking for somewhere a little different then how about a night or two in jail? The Liberty Hotel in Boston was formally the Charles Street Jail during the 19th century. However it has been so extensively renovated that it's very difficult to believe it was ever a home for hardened criminals.If you like to get away from the heat then the Hotel de Glace in Québec, Canada is just the place for you. With just 36 rooms and suites it's the only ice hotel in North...

The chance of interest rates rising in the near future has diminished, according to the minutes from the rate setting committee at the Bank of England. Apparently the committee voted 7 to 2, to keep rates the same at the last meeting, with only the bank’s chief economist, Spencer Dale and an external member, Martin Wheale voting for a rate increase.This news comes on top of claims that landlords are pushing out first-time buyers. A large number of mortgage deals are now aimed at buy to let investors leading them to purchase properties which would normally be bought by first-time buyers.Between...

The accreditation scheme for private landlords which is run by the National Landlords Association is being feted as a success and is currently being used by 28 local authorities. The scheme was launched just over a year ago and is free to local authorities. A massive 85% of landlords who have completed the scheme say it is very good. It allows landlords to self-regulate, and to keep up with current legislation, and this allows local authorities to utilise their resources more efficiently in chasing up those landlords who give the rental sector a bad name.According to David Salusbury, who is the...

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) have both just elected new presidents.Tim Hyatt is to become the new president of The Association of Residential Letting Agents, and he will replace Susan Hughes-Thomas. Tim began his career in the property world in 1991, and is now head of lettings at Knight Frank. He has been involved with the Association for many years and regards it as a great honour to become its president. He is looking forward to the challenges presented by the rapidly changing private rented sector, and is encouraging members to...

According to a report from the Association of Residential Lettings (ARLA), there is a lack of good quality rental property, and this is probably due to the shortage of available homes to buy in the UK. This is forcing people to rent as the more flexible alternative to purchasing.Ian Potter, operations manager of ARLA thinks that the government should be looking at ways of making investment into the private rental sector more attractive so that the number of properties available to rent increases. He also thinks that the time is right to explore new ways of regulating the private rental sector...

Owning your own private island is something quite a few of us may have fantasized about, especially when stuck in the rush-hour traffic on a Friday evening, but for most of us it will remain merely a pipe dream. However a pirate island called Sully Island, off the Welsh coast is up for sale for just £95,000 which appears to be an amazing bargain since the original asking price last year was £1.25 million. Your £95,000 will buy you a 14.5 acre island which is just 400 m off the Welsh Glamorgan coastline. It is accessible by boat, but if you...

Property is one of the biggest investments most people make, and whether you are a landlord or just someone who is renting out their home while working elsewhere for a while it's really important to make sure you choose the best Nottingham letting agent you can find, who is prepared to get maintenance issues sorted out quickly.This doesn't necessarily mean choosing the cheapest service available, but rather one which will ensure your property and your tenants are well looked after. If your tenants complain about something requires fixing, then it's good to know that this will be done quickly and efficiently....

A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers says that the property market in the UK is entering a ‘mini ice age,’ with those who bought property between 2006 and 2008 being amongst the most badly affected. The report warns that prices may take a decade to recover to their former peak, and that when adjusted for inflation there is nearly a 50% chance that prices could still be under water in 2020. When prices were at their peak the average home cost £200,000, while that figure is now and just £160,000, and John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC says "There is a near 50%...

You might think you have done relatively well at the property market game, and that it hasn’t lost value since you bought it, but the truth is that rising inflation means that anyone who has bought a property after 2006 is likely to have lost money on it. According to figures from LSL Property Services, the average house price has increased 11% since 2006, which all sounds pretty good, until you take into account the fact that inflation has risen by 17% during the same period. Average salaries have gone up by 15%.In certain areas of the country the situation is...