Richard Blanco

After a few weeks lull from 24/7 commentary on when
and whether we will leave the EU, it’s back to uncertainty and Brexit fog.  Boris Johnson’s premiership and new cabinet
looks like the relaunch of the Leave campaign team.   With so many unhappy ex ministers on the
backbenches and the parliamentary mathematics looking even more unworkable now,
it looks pretty clear to me that Boris and his cabinet are revving up for an
election.   The first YouGov opinion poll
since Boris got his feet under the prime ministerial desk has bounced the
Conservatives to 31% […]

I was alarmed to learn today that house prices in
London dropped by 4.4% in the 12 months to May 2019 according to Office Of
National Statistics and Land Registry data. This is the 11th month
in succession that London has recorded negative house price data and 4.4% is
the biggest decline since 2009.  As The
Times reports today “political uncertainty is weighing heavily on demand
and supply.”  Last month’s fall in London
was 1.2%.  I thought we had seen the
worst with minus 2.7% in January 2019 and that prices were gently drifting
down.  […]

It’s back to the 1970s as the government announces
the abolition of fixed term tenancies and no fault evictions, known as section
21.  The government argues that it is
unfair that tenants can be evicted without a reason.  But the reality is that around 90% of
tenancies are ended by the tenant and most that are ended by the landlord are
because of rent arrears.  These have
increased in recent years largely because of the freezing and capping of
housing benefit and the fact that it is paid directly to the often struggling tenant.  But […]

Your relationship with your tenant is a valuable
asset.  As soon as you hand over the keys
they have exclusive possession and you can then only access the property with
their permission or a court order, so getting on well is imperative. They are
your eyes and ears in the property and will help you protect your asset.  They are also your customers and you need to
keep them happy to maintain your cashflow. Falling out can be painful and
expensive and getting on well with them will feel good and make you
happier.  Good […]

Property Investor Show At Excel In London

I’m looking forward to meeting lots of landlords
and property professionals at this year’s event and in particular exploring
some of the key challenges that we face. 
These are my top ten challenges for London landlords as we move into
Autumn 2018:

1. Your Tax
Strategy:  Do you have one?  We are now in year 2 of the section 24 tax
changes which restrict the tax relief on mortgage interest payments even though
they are a reasonable cost of running our businesses.   Worryingly, only 49% of landlords fully
understand […]