News

Welcome to the latest news from Redwood Estates. We have the following News articles available: 32

Full Regulation For Letting Agents Would `Stifle Innovation And Competition` 19/04/2013 The housing minister has praised the government`s plans to amend the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (ERR) and dismissed the need for further regulation of letting agents. In a speech given to the Estates Gazette Residential Summit, Mark Prisk said that despite calls from bodies such as RICS, Which? and the Office of Fair Trading for a full set of new legislation to cover the industry, this would be an "excessively burdensome approach".... Click to Read

Silver Fox Generation Turn To Rental Sector, Says Belvoir 19/04/2013 Elderly people are investing in rental property to boost their retirement funds, according to Belvoir. The head of the letting agency`s Skipton branch said the `silver fox` generation is "almost stumbling" into private buy-to-let housing, local newspaper the Telegraph & Argus reports.... Click to Read

Prudential Enters Rental Sector 15/04/2013 Financial services provider Prudential has invested in the private rental sector. Prupim, the property division of the organisation`s asset management subsidiary M&G, has purchased a residential property portfolio from developer Berkeley in a £105.... Click to Read

Renters `Need 23 Years To Save For Own Home` 15/04/2013 The majority of property renters will never be able to afford their own home, according to new research. Scottish Widows` annual Savings and Investment report found that the typical tenant would require 23 years to save for the average house deposit, which is now £50,845.... Click to Read

Fresh Rise In Number Of Tenants In Serious Arrears 12/04/2013 The number of tenants in the most serious rent arrears is rising again despite an overall fall in arrears, a firm of receivers has warned. It says that the number of tenants most behind with their rent is now 20% above the long-term average, with court orders for possession creeping up.... Click to Read

Mayor Of London Backs Letting Agent Regulations 12/04/2013 The mayor of London has backed calls for the introduction of new regulations for letting agents. This represents a change of direction for Boris Johnson, who has previously been against adding more legislation to the private rental sector, the Financial Times reports.... Click to Read

Buy-To-Let Mortgage Applications Skewered As Rents Are Down Valued 12/04/2013 Buy-to-let mortgage applications are failing because surveyors are ‘down valuing’ the rental income and advising lenders accordingly. In some cases, they are even down valuing the rent already being received. The claims come in a story in The Sunday Times, which says that some lenders are rejecting landlords’ rental estimates.... Click to Read

Fresh Rise In Number Of Tenants In Serious Arrears 12/04/2013 The number of tenants in the most serious rent arrears is rising again despite an overall fall in arrears, a firm of receivers has warned. It says that the number of tenants most behind with their rent is now 20% above the long-term average, with court orders for possession creeping up.... Click to Read

60 Per Cent Of Renters Expect To Never Buy A Home 26/03/2013 Six out of ten tenants do not think they will ever own a home, according to a report by Castle Trust. The housing investment and mortgage provider found that three million social renters and 1.5 million private tenants do not expect to buy a property.... Click to Read

Investors Flock To Private Rental Sector 26/03/2013 The private rental sector is attracting a high number of investors both large and small, according to the latest research by CBRE. The commercial property and real estate advisor found that the total value of rental stock is now £750 billion, compared to £550 billion five years ago.... Click to Read

February Sees Fall In Rental Costs 26/03/2013 The cost of rent fell in England and Wales during February, according to a new report by LSL property services. Compared to January, the average rental cost dropped by 0.1 per cent to £731 per month. However, rents have shown annual growth, as they were 3.... Click to Read

One In Three Landlords `Dodging Tax` 16/03/2013 One in three buy-to-let landlords avoid paying tax on their rental income, according to Exaro. The investigative journalism website found that around one million private landlords failed to declare any income last year, compared to the 1.9 million who did.... Click to Read

Impressive Start For Green Deal 16/03/2013 More than 1,800 property assessments have been carried out in the first month of the government`s Green Deal scheme. Figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that 1,803 people have had their home assessed for funding since the initiative was launched in England and Wales on January 28th.... Click to Read

Brits Choose Renting Over Mortgages 08/03/2013 There has been a drastic increase in the number of people renting as opposed to taking out a mortgage, according to figures from mortgage provider Castle Trust. The number of renters in the private sector reached 3.8 million in 2012, which is an increase of 23 per cent on the 3.... Click to Read

Islington Mp Introduces New Rental Sector Bill 01/03/2013 A proposed bill for the regulation of the private rental sector was announced to the House of Commons on Tuesday. The bill was read by Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington, and calls for new legislation to cover both letting agents and landlords.... Click to Read

Slight Fall In January Rental Costs 01/03/2013 Rental costs fell by 0.3 per cent in January, according to a new survey by LSL Property Services. However, rent is still more expensive than it was last year. The average monthly rent in England and Wales is now £732, which is 2.8 per cent more than in January 2012.... Click to Read

First Time Buyers Hang Fire 01/08/2012 The number of sales to first time buyers decreased to its lowest level in seven months during May. Based on The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) market report for May, which shows that just 17 per cent of overall sales mad during the month went to those buying their first home this compared with 24 per cent in April 2012.... Click to Read

Rental Registration See 24% Rise 2011 13/02/2012 New figures show interest in renting a home rose by nearly a quarter in 2011, with more than 275,000 tenants registering for private accommodation. Data from lettings agent and property services group Countrywide revealed a 24 per cent increase on the number of people renting in 2010.... Click to Read

Most Inventories Would Not Stand Up In Court 13/02/2012 The majority of the inventories presented to deposit scheme adjudicators are not worth the paper they are written on, leading to landlords losing deposit cases, the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks has claimed. The AIIC adds that most inventories would not stand up in court, were disputes to get that far.... Click to Read

End Of Stamp Duty Holiday For First-Time Buyers (Ftbs) - March 2012 Looms 20/01/2012 To avoid hefty tax charges, FTBs need to have completed their purchase before 25 March 2012. Relief is available if all the following apply: - The effective date is on, or after, 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012 - The consideration given is £250,000 or less - They buyer intends to live in the property and it will be their only, or main home - They have not previously owned property or land either in the UK or anywhere else in the world - including property bought with anyone else.... Click to Read

2012 Set To Be A Strong Year For Tenant Demand 18/01/2012 When asked whether they thought rental income would increase during the next 12 months, 45 per cent of landlords surveyed said that levels will increase, whereas 53 per cent said that it would remain stable - only two percent said that it would decrease.... Click to Read

Enormous Investment In The Borough 02/12/2011 Autumn brought news of major investment in the borough`s affordable housing. £11m of funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has been secured for the third phase of Southmere Village regeneration in Thamesmead, thanks to extensive lobbying by the Council and Gallions Housing Association.... Click to Read

Banks Come Under Fire Over 1st Buyer Mortgage Rates. 30/08/2011 Banks have come under fire for charging FirstBuy applicants hefty premiums. The scheme, launched at the beginning of the month, aims to provide 10,000 loans to first-time buyers helped by equity being pumped in by developers and the Government.... Click to Read

Improvements And Insurance 30/08/2011 When reassessing the insurance value of their home, major factors to be taken into consideration tend to be the geographical location of the property, the value of the physical structure of the property as relates to its potential selling price and the value of the items contained within the four walls that make up your property.... Click to Read

Woolwich Station Box Project For Crossrail 16/05/2011 Crossrail is the new high frequency railway which will link Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels and stations under central London, with Shenfield and Abbey wood in the east. It will act as a catalyst for regeneration across London.... Click to Read

Fixed Rate Mortgages Are The Way Forward 12/03/2011 A property expert has claimed that fixed rate mortgages are the way forward for property buyers who are looking for stability and who want to budget ahead of the predicted base rate increase. Taking out a mortgage is an important decision and those trying to get the best deal need to consider the current and upcoming economic situation.... Click to Read

Epcs Are Of No Interest To Homebuyers And Tenants 02/03/2011 Energy Performance Certificates that should help people cut their bills are having no inflence on four out of five homebuyers who see them, according to new research by Consumer Focus. This comes as no surprise to Estate agents as we all know that people who buy or rent houses that they can A) afford and B) like.... Click to Read

January Sees An Increase In Registered House Hunters 23/02/2011 The National Association of Estate Agents has released figures showing that the demand for houses has reached a 6 month high in the UK this January. The first month of the year traditionally brings more house hunters to the market and 2011 is no exeption.... Click to Read

Zoopla Is Now No. 2 Property Website! 16/02/2011 According to the latest independant data for January from Experian Hotwise, Zoopla.co.uk is now the 2nd most popular property website in the UK. Zoopla.co.uk, which has now broken into the top 100 websites in the UK, was ranked 98th by Experian Hitwise in January for share of total web pages viewed viewed by UK users, putting it ahead of its longer-established rivals including Findaproperty (ranked 125th) and Primelocation (ranked193rd).... Click to Read

£5.65 Million Link Thamesmead Centre Underway 02/02/2011 Work has begun on a £5.65million state-of-the-art community centre for teenagers. The Link Thamesmead centre, currently under construction under the roundabout on the Harrow Manor Way flyover, South Thamesmead, will be used for teenagers aged between 14 to 19 years old, offering them a selection of activities and services.... Click to Read

House Prices Rise By 91% Over The Last Decade 02/02/2011 Over the past ten years UK property prices have increased by over 91%, according to a latest study by Halifax. The average house price went up from £86,095 in 2000 to £164,310 at the end of 2010. Seren Thiru, Halifax housing economist, stated: "The turn of this century marked the start of a period of strong house price growth across the UK.... Click to Read

Expert Claims House Prices Expected To Stay Stable Throughout 2011 20/01/2011 Despite low figures in the second half of 2010, house prices are predicted not to slump over the next 12 months. It has been claimed that a lack of available properties alongside rising rent will apparantly sustain the property market this upcoming year as people will be pushed to buying instead of renting.... Click to Read