Not all landlords set out to become landlords. There are lots of reasons why someone might end up letting out a property without aiming to make a living from it, or to build an empire. Every year, lots of people end up becoming landlords because of changing situations – needing to move somewhere temporarily, say, or simply not being able to sell their homes.
The UK’s unstoppable rise in property prices continued throughout 2021, with the average English property now valued at 10% more than it was at the end of 2020. But what’s an average property? Look into the data and there’s a lot of variation between the regions and property types, which means that this figure isn’t telling the whole story.
2021 was a good year for home building in the UK. Despite the financial challenges of the pandemic, and the widely reported shortages of building materials, 49,470 new-build homes were built in England in the first three months of 2021. This was the highest figure in over 20 years and a 4% rise against the preceding quarter.
Blue Monday – officially the most depressing day of the year – is approaching. After the excesses of Christmas and the New Year, it’s normal to be feeling at least a little flat and it’s not surprising that many of us are dreaming of elsewhere, of new lives in new places that are more inspiring than surroundings that might be feeling a little drab right now. So here’s a roundup of some homes to dream about.
At this time of year, there’s a lot of speculation about the near future, and with everything changing so fast at the moment, and the surprise rise in interest rates – albeit a tiny one – what are we to expect?
For most buyers, the pace of 2021 has been frantic. The combination of a shortage of stock and a high demand for houses, particularly those with outdoor space, has left lots of disappointed people all over the country finding themselves outbid, or simply too slow off the mark. With more people than ever currently chasing each available property – twice as many as pre-pandemic levels – competition is fierce to say the least.
What are your plans for Boxing Day? If your agenda is no more ambitious than to watch films and eat leftovers, then you might not be aware that 26 December is in fact a significant day in the property calendar. Year on year, figures show increasing numbers of people searching for properties online and making enquiries before they’ve even tried the turkey soup.
That good landlords attract good tenants is a basic truth of property. Equally, the opposite is true too: bad landlords and bad tenants go hand-in-hand. So how to make sure that you land in the first camp? How to go about being a good landlord?
Find out about the current state of the mortgage market and what products are available, including cheaper first time buyer mortgages, 40 year fixes, and record low pricing in the buy to let market, in our latest mortgage update from Trinity Financial.
Winter is definitely upon us, and with it, as all landlords know, comes the season of boiler problems. With energy prices rising improbably fast (global wholesale gas prices have risen by an astounding 250% since January 2021), it’s time for everyone to make sure that their properties are functioning as efficiently as possible, with everything in good working order before the big freeze happens.
Is buying property ever simple? How the conveyancing process in England and Wales compares to other countries
Do you know your architecture? Here’s a brief guide to the UK’s most widespread housing styles
