April 2021 Newsletter
March has been a difficult month for Tulip and we would like to thank all our clients for their patience during our COVID crisis. On the 8th March two of the Tulip Team tested positive for COVID. We are glad to report that, although being very ill, both have made a full recovery and have returned to their duties. We were very pleased that the COVID measures, that had been implemented, restricted the spread and no other members of the team, after being tested, were positive. Eight of the team did have to self-isolate for 10 days and returned on the 19th of March. The remaining four people who had not been in contact with an infected person manned the office and three people worked remotely, insuring that the tenants and our clients’ interests where protected.
Tulip Sales
The Hull investment market is experiencing a boom, we think there has never been a better time to buy or sell. For a free property valuation, please contact the sales department at sales@tulipestateagents.co.uk
Tulip sales saw a record high in March. With 12 sales agreed and two portfolios sold with a value of £1.8 million, the sales department have never been busier or happier.
Kingston upon Hull is a popular hotspot for property investors. Hull has the attractive combination of low property prices, great returns and percentage yields. The city has undergone a significant regeneration and is described as an up-and-coming area.
The property market in Hull grew by 8% in 2019 – a couple of years after it was named the UK City of Culture 2017. This prestigious award, active throughout 2017 and through to the end of 2020, gave the city a huge boost in terms of regeneration projects, tourism, funding and development.
The city has been famous throughout history, for many reasons including as the birth place of William Wilberforce, who was instrumental in ending slavery in the U.K., for having the largest fishing fleet in Europe in the 1960s and being the second busiest port in the U.K. now it is aiming to reinvent itself, as one of the forefronts of the clean energy revolution. The fast-growing renewable energy sector is taking advantage of Hull’s location. The city is located where the River Hull meets the Humber Estuary and puts it in position as a ‘world-class hub’ for businesses of all types, with ports and logistics still at the forefront of much of the city’s economic activity.The renaissance of Hull can be seen in the numbers, with five million visitors to the city during its time as UK City of Culture, while there has been £250 million investment into the city centre’s retail and leisure offerings. Since 2013, public and private investment has topped £3 billion and there has been £300 million investment in cultural infrastructure. There have also been more than 3,000 new homes built since 2015.
Bespoke Business Finance
We are pleased to announce that Tulip has become an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) for Bespoke Finance.
Although we have a low fall through rate, the majority of sales that do not complete, do so because the purchaser is using the wrong financial product. The correct mortgage lender for the correct type of property is essential.
We have seen a number of potential purchasers attempting to buy H.M.O.’s using a standard B.T.L. mortgage: this does not work. There are variations of investment (B.T.L.) properties and they require different types of funding.
Bespoke Finance specialises in the funding of tenanted property purchases for:
1.) - B.T.L.’s with complex ownerships.
2.) - Commercial and mixed commercial/ retail
3.) - Blocks of apartments.
4.) - Unlicensed Houses of multiple occupation (no more than 4 tenants)
5.) - Licensed Houses of multiple occupation. (more than 4 tenants)
H.M.O.s fall into two category types: ‘Cohesive’ i.e. student style tenancies, single contract multiple tenants, and ‘Non Cohesive’, where the property is let to multiple tenants on an individual room basis on separate agreements, often with lockable bedroom doors. The latter require a higher standard of fire protection and a different type of lender.
For further information please contact Tulip Sales: sales@tulipestateagents.co.uk
Alternatively, contact Bespoke Business Finance and quote: Tulip Estate Agents
46 Stafford Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 9AY
Office: 020 8647 2457
Email: steve@bespokebusinessfinance.co.uk
More can be found by clicking here
It is your decision whether you choose to deal with Bespoke Business Finance. Should you decide to use Bespoke Business Finance, you should know that we would receive a referral fee of 20% of the fees or commission they receive for recommending you to them.
Tulip Lettings
We are often asked if the lettings side of the business has been adversely affected due to Brexit, the reply in short is no. A lot of Eastern Europeans left England in 2016, when the pound fell in value, it became more attractive for them to work in Europe. Since then, the Hull letting market has readjusted with the principle change being the increasing of the standard of the properties. Tulip only manages high standard compliant properties and will only manage for professional Landlord/clients, and as such have not seen a downturn. What has happened is that the better tenants have chosen to use Tulip to find a place to live, which is good for Tulip and our clients.
Tulip has agreed 18 lets in March, 4 single dwellings and 14 rooms. We currently have in excess of two thousand tenancies. With an even split between H.M.O. tenancies and single dwellings. We are, as always, looking to increase our management of good quality houses of multiple occupation, flats and family houses and have good tenants waiting.
EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report)
The deadline to have an E.I.C.R for all tenanted properties is upon us, from the 1st of April 2021 it is law to have an E.I.C.R. Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords must now get wiring, light fittings, plug sockets and other electrical installations in renters’ homes checked at least every five years by a “qualified and competent” person.
Landlords can be fined up to £30,000 if they do not comply with the rules.
If you require assistance in organising an inspection of your property please contact Tulip and we strive to help. contact@tulipestateagents.co.uk
RHE Global HHSRS Review: Regional Focus Group Landlords North.
Craig Hitter, 'Tulip General Manager' and an 'Environmental Health Officer' was asked by R.H.E. Global to join the zoom stakeholder consultation focus group for the North of England.
Craig was delighted to have represented property owners and agents in Hull, in what was a very productive consultation re updating and improving the HHSRS system. The Housing Act 2004 introduced HHSRS in 2006 and along with the general improvement in housing standards, the statistics proving the foundation to HHSRS are not really fit for purpose. Craig was joined by other private sector property professionals, but was the only ex-local authority/Agent/Landlord/EHO. We reviewed the HHSRS Operating Guidance and training for assessors and other stakeholders. Discussed a simpler means of scoring and banding housing hazards, including the use of recommended minimum standards and the amalgamation or removal of existing hazards. Ways to simplify the assessment tools and how to improve publicity/accessibility to landlord and tenant guidance also were discussed. Craig spoke at length about local authorities working in partnership with landlord association and private sector EHOs for accreditation/self regulation and for this to be reflected in the updated HHSRS Enforcement Guidance and local authority enforcement policies. The findings are being fed back to the government to inform the updates/improvements.
