Section 21 research: Join the fight for fairer repossessions

Axing Section 21 repossessions will see some landlords leave the sector while others will refuse to rent to those who are not in work.

The RLA’s largest ever research project saw almost 6,400 of you share your thoughts on the controversial government announcement that Section 21 is to go. Thank you to all those who took the survey.

This research refutes common claims tenants are routinely evicted for ‘no reason’ and the RLA believes it is the poor and vulnerable that will lose out as a result of the changes.

It has found that of the landlords that had used Section 21:

84% had used it because their tenant hadn’t been paying rent
56% had used it because of damage to property
51% had used it because of anti-social behaviour
26% said that they had served a Section 21 notice at the tenants’ request – to enable them to seek social housing to avoid them being classed as intentionally homeless

A huge 84% of landlords said they will be ‘more selective’ in who they rent to if the government goes ahead with its plan, over fears they would not be able to swiftly regain possession if and when there were problems.

The RLA has warned this means landlords will be less likely to rent to those considered to be of higher risk of rent arrears or causing damage to a property.

These groups include tenants claiming benefits and tenants with pets.

At present, landlords can repossess properties using two routes, Section 21 and Section 8.

Section 21 allows a landlord to repossess at the end of a tenancy and requires two months’ notice to be given but without providing a reason.
Section 8 allows a landlord to repossess under a number of set ‘grounds’ including rent arrears and anti-social behaviour.

One of the issues is the Section 8 process can take a long time – a period of time in which a problem tenant may refuse to pay rent or could be causing a nuisance to other tenants or neighbours.

It currently takes an average of over five months from a landlord applying to court for a property to be returned to them and many landlords responding to the survey said they were dissatisfied with the courts, citing numerous delays and problems.

The government now plans to consult on proposals to scrap Section 21 repossessions in favour of an as of yet undefined system – with the consultation yet to go live.

How to sell your home FAST, and for more money

There are 3 principles that work when selling a home – Presentation Price and Promotion. Decisions house sellers make on these principles can avoid underselling their home.

Preparing your home for viewers and making the right choice of estate agent, will not only ensure your property is sold faster, but can potentially add thousands of pounds to its value.

Let’s start with Preparation

Watch this video to find out more

Declutter

Get rid of all the excess stuff that has accumulated in every nook and over the year. Use the garage or your loft or give it to a friend
People need to imagine what the property would look like if they were living there – so make it easy for them to see all the fantastic living space you’re offering
Consider removing any bulky furniture that makes the room feel small and replacing it with smaller furniture into storage or the garage.

A fresh lick of paint

Giving your walls a fresh lick of neutral paint will make your home seem lighter and bigger
It will enable the viewers to imagine how they would adapt the rooms to their needs
It will be easier for the buyers to move in and use the rooms immediately than if the walls were bright purple or lime green
Create a good first impression – the garden gate to the front door

Fix and clean

Make any minor repairs necessary – holes in walls, broken door knobs, cracked tiles, torn or threadbare carpets. The majority of buyers want to move in without making changes.
Clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, get rid of all odors, hang up fresh towels.
Moving out to the garden: cut bushes back, clean the patio and furniture of lichen and dirt, and cut the grass. While this doesn’t add much value to your home it makes it more likely to sell as people visualise downtime

Light and airy

Mirrors make a room look much bigger and lighter. Consider putting some up, especially in smaller rooms or hallways
Clean windows inside and out, and replace any broken light bulbs. Making the place feel light and airy makes rooms feel bigger and the property more attractive
Ensure that you have lamps on in any dark corners

Make it look pretty

Plants and flowers bring colour, life and light to a room and also smell wonderful. So does that fruit bowl on your kitchen counter

Get the right smells

Bad smells are the single biggest turn off for prospective buyers. Don’t just cover them up, fix the source of the smell. Conversely, good smells can make a property feel alluring. Clear drains, wash bins, open windows and air the kitchen from old cooking smells.

Promotion

Only ever choose the agent who can demonstrate the most marketing techniques and tools to attract the highest number of buyers. Afterall, more buyers equal more viewings equals higher bids.

The photo’s need to be professional to showcase your home in the best possible way. Ask the agent to show their examples of photography.

Virtual reality viewings are becoming more popular and floorplans are a must.

One very important marketing tool is video. Ask your agents to show you what videos they have recently promoted. Video is a great way to sell the lifestyle of living at the home to buyers – something pictures and floorplans cant.

In this new age of social media, more and more buyers are locating the property on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Videos are the new commodity to sell homes – if a picture tells a thousand words, then a video tells a thousand pictures.

Showing the property
You chose a great estate agent – so let them show the property
It’s an agents job to know what things to say and what to highlight – great agents are trained with techniques to deal with objections and extracting offers
On the other hand…when buyers are shown homes by the owner, buyers compliment everything! – this is known in the UK as being polite. Owners are often left unnecessarily optimistic and the buyer disappears – never to be found again

Price

Choose the agent who can demonstrate the most experience, research, evidence and facts, when it comes to pricing your home. That is the agent who knows the most about your area. There is a wealth of information the agent should be showing you – the homes you are currently competing with – evidence of sold homes in your area – size comparisons – and their own local results.
Don’t be romanced by the agent with the highest asking price when it comes to choosing which agent to use.
The marketing price of the home is very important as 40% of properties reduce in price according to my local rightmove statistics
Rightmove also demonstrates that if a home doesn’t sell in the first 4 weeks, the interest severely drops and often doesn’t sell. The home then reduces its asking price to then create new interest.
What happens then is buyers will see that the home has reduced its price and can be forgiven for thinking the home hasn’t sold because of lack of interest or there is something wrong with the home…this is then often reflected in the offers the home and the home sells for less than getting the price right the first time.

So these are all of the tips we can give you for selling your home faster and make it more valuable, thank you for watching the video – Im Brendan Petticrew, reporting for Newman Property Experts

If you need me to answer any other property related questions regarding your home, please call me on 07989 596836.

Visit our blog: https://rugbypropertyblog.co.uk/ to learn more about Rugby Property market or you may listen to our podcast below:

Only 38.3% of Royal Leamington Spa Households are Eco-friendly

Improving the energy efficiency of Britain’s 27.2 million homes, which are responsible for more than a quarter of the country’s CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, is seen as key to tackling the issues of climate change, fuel poverty and our country’s energy security. This is particularly important as in June the Government announced they were going to make the country carbon neutral by 2050, meaning Britain’s homes need some enormous retro-fitting to meet these ambitious climate targets.

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University said it would cost on average £17,000 per property to retrofit an average UK home to make it carbon neutral with renewable energy and insulation (if done en masse and not piece meal). That would cost the Country £462.4bn (interesting when the NHS costs £154bn per year). Now of course 22.7m homes are privately owned so that would be the responsibility of the owners, but if we look at publicly owned council housing, that would cost the Government in excess of £76.5bn – HS2 is ‘only’ £56bn!

The benefits of making homes carbon neutral go further than saving the planet, as occupants would have much lower gas and electric bills (which total £31.824bn per year), warmer households and a much-lower strain on the NHS, which currently spends about £848m a year treating conditions that arise from cold housing. Also, local authorities would have to spend a lot less than the £5.2bn a year for ongoing property maintenance by the installation of extra insulation and renewable energy such as ground source heating, wind or solar panels.

To improve efficiency ratings, last year the Government banned landlords from renting property with an energy performance rating of F and G (the lowest ratings), yet I don’t think there is an appetite to force private homeowners to do this work (although you never know in the future??). Homeowners would be unenthusiastic to take on the bother and cost of such building works, yet the Government could offer incentives and grants, which along with the funds saved on their energy bills could make the plan more appealing?

So, what about eco credentials of the properties of Royal Leamington Spa homeowners and landlords?

Every home that has been built, rented out or put on to the market in Royal Leamington Spa since 2007 has had to have an Energy Performance Certificate (E.P.C), giving it a rating between A and G (rather like those stickers you see on fridges and washing machines). A is highest rating (i.e. most efficient and greener) and G is the worst energy performance rating. So, looking at Royal Leamington Spa first, then comparing us to the rest of the UK, this is the result…

So, 38.3% of Royal Leamington Spa homes are in that eco-friendly A to C energy performance banding ratings, which is proportionally 3.28% higher than the national average.

So, what next? Well the Government will endeavour to make the green revolution as painless as possible with technology developments like LED light bulbs, for example, saving greenhouse gases without people noticing. In the future we might have hydrogen central heating instead of mains gas, all have solar panels for electricity, all triple glazed windows and even ground sourced heating … sounds pie-in-the-sky? Well who would have thought some of the most wanted cars would be electric and hybrid 10 years ago, built by the likes of Tesla?

There is no doubt that the energy efficiency of a property will rise in the coming years as the cost of fuel and people’s opinion on going green changes. You don’t need to spend £17,000 to find out what you can do to make your property greener. Look at your E.P.C and it will tell you what small changes you can make to improve your Royal Leamington Spa home’s energy efficiency rating and ultimately save yourself money.

If you want to find your E.P.C rating of your Royal Leamington Spa home, go to http://www.epcregsiter.com 

Leamington Spa & Warwick Property Market Update

Leamington has always been a town which benefits from its central location, just a short drive from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Kenilworth and Coventry, Leamington is also well-connected by rail to business hubs including London and Birmingham.

Let’s start with some fun facts

Overall prices have continued to grown by 0.7% since the end of April.

An average price per square foot for property in Leamington is currently between £300 and £400 depending on condition and location.

There has been a shift in the most expensive roads in Leamington, previously held by Northumberland Road and Cloister Crofts

The top 3 best selling streets in Leamington are measured by the proportion of sales in the last 5 years versus the amount of houses in the street.

top the bill Was Gullimans Way at 61% of homes in the road changing hands in the last 5 years
Chapman Close – 58%
Clapham Street – 55%

Watch this video to find out more

Strong local employment is also a major draw, with Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin both based nearby, as well as the National Grid, Warwick University and a host of digital media companies.

Streets including Lansdowne Circus, Binswood Avenue and Milverton Terrace, typified by large Georgian and Regency homes, are highly sought after among young professionals and families. Our analysis of listings data shows a gradual rise in the number of properties listed for sale over the last year, particularly at the top end. Leamington’s strong track record of house price growth and the appeal and convenience of town centre living should help underpin prices and activity going forward.

The underlying economic environment also remains favourable, with buyers able to take advantage of historically low interest and mortgage rates.

Having lived in Leamington all of my life, I know why it was voted the happiest town to live in the UK. I love the surroundings, the shops, the countryside, the villages, the restaurants……its such a great place to bring up my family…I will never move out of this area.

So I hope you enjoyed watching this video, and if I can help you answer any further property questions, please call me on the number at the end.

If you need me to answer any other property related questions regarding your home, please call me on 07989 596836.

Visit our blog: https://rugbypropertyblog.co.uk/ to learn more about Rugby Property market or you may listen to our podcast below: