July 2021 Newsletter
Welcome to July 2021’s Newsletter
The last month has been an interesting one to say the least. The end of the first stamp duty holiday, an England Euro final, an Estate Agent sacked for racist comments regarding the football players. Covid cases soaring and restrictions being lifted, an Estate Agent charged with assault against the Chief Medical officer and Propertymark advising that Agents still wear masks after July 19th.
We as Landlords and Agents sometimes feel like we are the butt of all jokes and are often are villainised. I am the first to admit that there are Rouge Landlords or as I prefer to describe them as incompetent, illegal or criminals. The majority of the private Landlords offer good quality accommodation and fulfill a need where social housing is lacking.
Figures from the English Housing Survey for 2019/20 report that 83 per cent of private renters were satisfied with their current accommodation, a figure that has remained constant over the past 10 years.
In comparison, the proportion of social renters satisfied with their accommodation stands at 78 per cent, having fallen from 81 per cent in 2018/19.
The survey reports also that 75 per cent of private renters are satisfied with the way their landlords carry out repairs and maintenance, the highest figure for around a decade.
In contrast, 66 per cent of social renters were satisfied with the way their landlords carried out repairs and maintenance, down one percentage point from the previous years.
Corporate Landlords
The new trend of B.T.R. (Build to Rent) has seen two new players entering the private rented market. Lloyds’ Bank and John Lewis. John Lewis propose building 10,000 homes on ex store and distribution sites and offering furnished properties using the brand, Gimmick or the future?
Recruitment
Due to our ongoing growth Tulip are recruiting we are looking for an experienced Sales Negotiator. Interested please send a CV to contact@tulipestateagents.co.u k.
Lettings Market
The North of England has carried on performing well in comparison to the rest of the UK according to recent data with the North East showing the highest yield versus average house price. East Yorkshire and Humberside coming a close second, where the average house price is £179,408 and the average rent is £631 per month, delivering a good yield of 4.2 per cent.
Stamp Duty Holiday Extension
The Stamp Duty Holiday ended on the 30th June 2021. Duty will not be due on property purchases of up to £250,000 until September 31st 2021. The expected crash does not seem to have happened although a slowing of the market as predicted has been reported showing a fall in prices of 0.5 % over a month.
Sales Market
Despite a fall of 0.5 % in a month as a result of the first Stamp Duty deadline passing, prices are still up 8.8% year-on-year. We at Tulip have not seen any evidence to suggest that the thirst for Investment properties has slowed selling both portfolios and individual investments. We are seeing the greatest prices achieved for fully compliant, licensed HMOs with certificate of Lawful use in place. The appetite for investment properties is fuelled by the lack of return from more conventional investments such as bank savings and the availability of BTL funding. Specialist lender Landbay has launched two new buy to let mortgage products for first time landlords who want to invest in HMOs.
Employee of the Month
We would like to congratulate Aneta as Tulip Employee of the month receiving flowers, a bottle of fizz and £100 bonus. Aneta has been rushed of her feet managing our busy maintenance team. The maintenance team have had an unprecedented time with general repairs and call outs, full refurbishments. We have also helped a number of our clients with completing works that were done badly by their own own contractors. Everyone is welcome to use Tulip Maintenance not just existing clients please feel free to contact Aneta by emailing maintenance@tulipestateagents. co.uk.
We decided for the first time to award a second person 'Employee of the Month', receiving the same gifts. It has been pointed out it should have been called 'Employees of the Month'. This was awarded to Karolina, who with a dedication and determination which needs complimenting. made the transition of the rental data from our outdated system Winman to the modern slick software Alto. Alto allows our clients 24 hour 7 days a week access to all their information, including copies of historic rent statements and real time rental information.
Stamp Duty Sales Promotion
Our current commission rate of 2% is being reduced significantly to encourage sellers to list their property despite the end of the stamp duty holiday.
We are offering online prices but real agent services.
1.) Instruct Tulip to sell any tenanted / H.M.O property for a flat fee of £1800.
2.) Less than Purplebricks’ charge to sell any vacant or owner occupier property for a flat fee of £995.
No sale no fee.
Offer available during the Stamp Duty Extension period. (July 1st to September 30th 2021) T & C apply.
For more information please contact sales@tulipestateagents.co.uk
For more information of services please see:
https://www.tulipestateagents. co.uk/landlords
J. R Austin and the Team
