What another action packed week, the market remains positive and my team at Martin and Co have been focusing on compliance for our clients and trying to review opportunities to increase profitability.
Stamp Duty – this will of course have a huge impact over the Stamp Duty relief holiday payment. I have reviewed the facts and done some working through numbers to see how it will affect you locally. Just note the average price of a semi-detached property in Blackpool is £132 588, and Stamp Duty not payable upto £125 000 anyway. As a Landlord buying an additional property, you will still have to pay the 3% additional stamp duty. If you were looking to invest in a higher value property then it maybe worthwhile to do so whilst the relief is available.
The Green Homes Grant – I have had many conversations with Landlords over the last few weeks since the announcement of this grant. Applications are due to start in August, and details are still vague. However, everyone seems excited about the Window and Door element of the funding. From my understanding the funding and what you are eligible will be based on the Energy Performance Certificate, the lower the rating the higher the chance of benefiting of new doors/windows. Funding seems to be applied to items such as insulation (cavity and loft) first, then if there is anything of the £5000 limit left and Windows will make a big difference to improve the property then you maybe eligible for a contribution towards it (for every £3 spent, grant will fund £2 towards it). A blog on this topic is below:
I would recommend:
- Review your portfolio and see which properties have a low EPC rating, E or below
- Highlight what potential works can be done to improve rating, have you got an old boiler? Single Glazed windows
- Get ready to submit application
- If your buy to let doesnt have gas heating (electric heating currently) and your tenant receives benefits, you may qualify for a free boiler insulation under another scheme, let me know if you want more information on this front
Mortgages/Buy-to-Let Purchases – have you considered reviewing your mortgages. We have partnered with Connect, who have saved a lot of our landlords significant amounts on their existing mortgages and we have several applications for our Clients who are purchasing to lets currently. Mortgage rates are at a record low rates, are you taking advantage of it? When did you last review? Connect are a All Market broker, and are guaranteed to search and find the best deal for yourself. If i can help on this front, just let me know 🙂
Our focus this week in our Letting offices is securing higher rents on our existing tenancies. Landlords costs are increasing and there is a lot more legislation involved in renting and more to come, so we feel it is only right for the market to have rents increased, below is a chart showing rent increases in the Blackpool compared to North West and you can see the Blackpool area is well behind the average. A terraced house in Blackpool has only increased by 1.2% over the last 12 months, compared to 5.3% rent increase for the North West average. I
My recommendation:
- Renew your tenancies, so you can review rents and have a rent increase strategy (in my portfolio i look to increase rents by 3%, to secure this increase i may have to add value, ie improving property)
- Market your properties with a good agent so they can maximise the rent you achieve for your property
- Dont put off that conversation with your tenant! Eat that frog!
I love speaking to fellow Landlords and Investors, if you want to book a call and have a property related chat, follow link below:
https://calendly.com/hamza-anwar/15min
The Blackpool Property Blog 