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Phil Spencer reveals his top tip for snapping up the best rental properties

A tenant passport isn’t quite a little red book that allows you to jet off to a far-flung destination. However, it could help secure your ticket to the home of your dreams.

If you’re a renter, Phil Spencer’s new podcast series of MoveIQ should be mandatory listening. The property guru kicked off the first episode with his top tip on how to make sure a landlord picks you to be the next tenant.

Due to a combination of new legislation that has reduced the number of investors buy to let, and an increasing number of renters, renting has become a competitive business.

Tenant Passport

‘There are more tenants chasing fewer properties,’ explains Phil Spencer. ‘Up go the prices and up to the competitiveness in the market.’

So with more potential tenants chasing one property how do you make sure you stand out from the rest?

‘All landlords want a good tenant,’ says the Love it or List it, presenter. ‘There is quite a lot of chat out there about tenant passports and that is certainly a way that you can proactively demonstrate to a landlord that he or she should rent the property to you.’

Phil Spencer goes onto explain that a tenant passport will typically include a landlord reference from wherever you’ve lived before and an employment reference. There will also be some history of the rent and council tax you’ve paid in the past, along with ID and a visa if you need one to live in the country.

‘Having a tenant passport does give you a competitive advantage,’ adds the presenter.

Tenant passports are typically a digital rental profile that includes all the rental history that you can share immediately with a new landlord. There are plenty of options for creating one, some might charge you, however, Rental Step and Mudhut both offer free rental versions.

If you’re looking to move, do you have your tenant passport in order?

 

Original Source: https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/tenant-passport-phil-spencer-234945

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This is the most expensive street in Britain – do you live near it?

On the most expensive road in Britain, the average property price is more than £35 million

For the 11th year running, Zoopla has revealed that Kensington Palace Gardens in London still holds the top spot in its list of the most expensive streets in Britain

It comes as no surprise that the luxurious W8 postcode, just a stone’s thrown from Kensington Palace is one of Britain’s expensive streets. The average house price on this street will set you back a staggering £32,870,284.

However, outside of the capital, you may be surprised to find out that Surrey is home to the most expensive street outside of London.

Zoopla has revealed that Montrose Gardens in Leatherhead, Surrey has an average property value of £6,500,070. We imagine it can’t be cheap keeping up with the neighbours on this Surrey Street.

Temple Gardens in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire scooped up second place. Houses on this street were found to have an average value of £4,364,016. While Phillippines Shaw in Sevenoaks, in Kent slid into third place with the average cost of houses on the street coming in at £3,884, 016.

Overall, Southern England was found to be home to the largest number of the most expensive streets in the UK. The south was found to have 91 per cent of streets with an average property price of £1million or above.

In contrast, Northern England, Wales and Scotland had drastically fewer expensive streets. Wales was found to have just 31 streets with an average property price of £1 million or more. The North East of England had just 73 streets at that price point, while Scotland has 165.

When grouped by towns, 19 out of the top 20 towns with the most expensive streets are all in Southern England. However, Altrincham in Manchester disrupted the trend and managed to sneak into the top 20. It also secured its crown as the Northern town with the most expensive streets.

‘Outside London, it’s exclusive pockets of the well-heeled home counties, such as Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire that boast the priciest streets,’ says Laura Howard, Consumer Expert at Zoopla. ‘And, being one step removed from London’s cooling market, some property values are even higher than last years, such as Montrose Garden in Leatherhead.’

‘Ultimately, our Rich List is a fascinating insight not into how the ‘other half’ lives, but into how the other ‘one per cent’ lives,’ she adds.

Is your hometown on Zoopla’s rich list?

Original source: https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/most-expensive-streets-britain-183516

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Report shows further growth predicted for HMO sector

Newly released data from specialist lender, Precise Mortgages, has revealed that over a fifth of landlords are planning to expand their portfolio with the addition of an HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation).

HMOs are proving to be an attractive proposition in a time of market uncertainty, with HMO landlords achieving the highest average rental yields at 6.3% compared with the market average of 5.5%.

The research shows average rental yields across the market as a whole are at their lowest for nine years, highlighting the attraction of HMOs. Average yields for all property types dropped 0.3% in Q2 from 5.8% in the first quarter of this year and are now at their lowest level since 2010.

The most popular type of property to buy are terraced houses with 50% of landlords planning to buy a terraced property. However, the research also shows 40% of landlords also plan to sell terraced houses in the year ahead. By contrast, just 8% of landlords holding HMOs in their portfolios plan to sell them.

Blocks of flats are also set for growth, with 8% of landlords planning to buy compared with just 5% planning to divest.

Landlords with between 11 and 19 properties are earning the highest average yields at 5.9% with the North West the best area of the UK for yields, earning an average 5.9%. Landlords with 11 or more properties have an average of three different property types in their portfolio.

Alan Cleary, Managing Director of Precise Mortgages, said: “In a time of market uncertainty, HMOs are an attractive option for professional landlords looking to maximise yields. As HMOs attract multiple tenancies, gross rental income tends to outstrip single lets meaning the rental income is more secure if one tenant leaves a void.

The expansion of the HMO sector underlines how experienced landlords are rebalancing their portfolios. It also demonstrates the opportunity for brokers to work with specialist lenders who have expertise across the widest product set to support clients who are reassessing their portfolios.

To help landlords explore new opportunities, we’ve extended our top slicing feature across our entire Buy to Let range. It means landlords can now use their surplus HMO income for future property purchases to expand their portfolios. We also offer Refurbishment Buy to Let for works being completed under permitted development rights, provided there are no structural alterations or changes to the footprint of the property. This is a really exciting development as it allows landlords to change the use of a property from a C3 dwelling house to a C4 HMO of up to six bedrooms.”

Source: https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/further-growth-predicted-for-hmo-sector.html