Reed Residential News

Buy to Let tax changes, what they mean to you?

Feb 2016
I have speaking to a number of our landlords recently regarding the recent changes in taxation for landlords and how this was going to affect them. There has recently been a number of confusing press reports about this subject and a lot of landlords are worrying about how this is going to impact their investments.

As a Landlord myself I wanted to be sure that I understood all of the facts first and be able to lay this out insimple terms to our clients.

So what will be the changes, The first change is stamp duty. Currently, you pay no stamp duty on the first £125,000. You then pay 2% between £125,000 - £250,000, 5% between £250,000 - £925,000,10% above £925,000 up to £1.5m and then 12% above £1.5m. The proposed changesmean that as of April 2016, if a landlord buys a property for buy to let, their stamp duty bill will face a 3% surcharge.

In 2017, Landlords' tax relief is going to be affected as they will no longer be able todeduct mortgage interest from their rental income before it is assessed for tax, but will instead get a flat rate of 20% tax credit. This means that thosepaying a higher tax rate will lose half of their relief, while some others will be moved into this bracket and will likely see their tax bill soar.

Why have these changes been made? The reports state that it is a way of trying to slow down buy to let landlords snapping up property, freeing them up for first time buyers. The council of mortgage lenders revealed in November 2015 that the number of buy to let mortgages granted had increased by 36% in the previous 12 months, whereas mortgages granted to first time buyers was up by just 10%.

So what does this mean for the future of buy to let? I believe that we will see a few landlords initially dispose of their investments but nothing that will great impact the market. With the stamp duty changes, landlords will end up factoring this in to their initial investment and end up retaining property for longer to re-coop some more rental income and in turn maximize their capital growth when it comes to selling.

Personally I can see this have an impact of the value of rents with prices increasing throughout the market.

To summerise, whilst these changes will impact how buy to let works for landlords and for those with propertiescurrently let out, there is an element of recalculating and re-jigging finances. But for new landlords it will become ‘the norm' and will be something that potential landlords will factor in to their investment when doing their calculations.

I have also attached a further information leaflet provided my our accountants Wilkins Kenedy.

If you have any further questions on this matter please do not hesitate to contact me on 01702 606888 or email adam@reedresidential.co.uk

Greenways Summer Fayre

Dear Adam

The Friends of Thorpe School (FOTS) would really like to thank Reed Properties for your support in sponsoring our Summer Fayre event this year. Your kind sponsorship of the children face painting was very much appreciated and contributed to a great event.

Greenways has a very special link with the local community and working with you this year has only strengthened that. We are delighted to tell you that we have raised £6,202.74 towards our minibus target of £27,000 – which is a fabulous start from a single event.

We have already set our Summer Fayre date for next year (Sat 2nd July 12-4pm) and hope that you’ll consider us for further sponsorship nearer the time!

Once again, our sincerest thanks for supporting us.

Regards,

Hannah Valentine (Secretary FOTS, Charity no: 1109778)

Sponsor

This year we sponsored the Thorpe Greenways school face painting stand and raffled off a new mountain bike , raising £165.00 in the process.

Pictured is our lettings negotiator Callum sporting his minion look with Adam Reeds assistant Sky.

Its great to work with the local community.

Buy-To-Let Borrowing Rates Dive To New Low

Buy-to-let borrowing rates are now back to their lowest levels since before the recession.

Some rates are fixed as low as 2.4%, though these types of deals do require a large deposit of around 40%.

Rates have been driven down partly by the growing number of people renting city properties, while lenders are slashing rates to attract new customers.

David Whittaker from Mortgages for Business told Sky News: "Landlords were squeezed out of the market at the onset of the credit crunch.

"They wanted to be borrowing and they wanted to be acquiring properties but there was no funding available to them.

"The extent to which we are seeing a boom today, it is now their chance to borrow funds from more lenders in the market who are active in the buy-to-let space."

The reduction in rates, and steady rise over 2013 in buy-to-let lending, is fuelling fierce competition between landlords and would-be first-time buyers.

The rental market is also contributing to the competition due to a wider reversal in the trend of home ownership.

Roughly 10 million people now live in homes rented from private landlords. That's double the number who did back in 2000.

In addition, lenders are increasingly keen to attract new business and are reducing their rates.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, the Government's preferring think-tank, forecasts house prices will rise by 27% by 2018 and property investors want to profit from that growth.

Research by Mortgages for Business found that 57% of buy-to-let landlords wanted to buy more properties this year alone.

While many economists expect interest rates to rise sooner than expected, and that would help slow the buy-to-let boom, it's unlikely to come soon enough for first-time buyers currently facing such stiff competition.

LITTLE HAVENS

This year We have decided to donate our Christmas card fund to Little Havens  our nominated charity.

Havens are an amazing Charity that provide care for terminally ill children and adults.

We would like to thank all of our clients for their support.

Click to see more details

SOUTHEND BUSINESS AWARDS

We once again were entered into the prestigious Essex Business awards , the awards are hosted at the Cliffs Paviliion and are a show case for all of Southends businesses from small business all the way to large corporates.

In 2010 we were delighted to be voted as a finalist in three different catogries, staff development and training, excellent customer services and business man of the year, although it was disappointment not to come home with an award it was still an huge achievement for Reed Residential to even reach the final three.

In the 2011 Southend awards we were voted into the finals for both Small Business of the year and staff training and development and were pitched against some very well known businesses.

I am absolutely delighted to announce that were voted as winners in both categories and proudly have our awards displayed in our Westcliff office.

The awards are an indication of have far we have come in such a short space of time. Reed Residential are dedicated and passionate in ensuring that our staff receives the very best in house and external training on every level as well as becoming a licensed Estate and Letting Agent this year.

Reed Residential continues to grown despite a difficult economy and I would to take this opportunity to thank The hardworking team at Reed Residential and all of our clients that have entrusted us to Let manage and sell their properties.

TOP ESTATE AGENTS IN THE UK ANNOUNCED

Reed Residential has been shortlisted as a TOP 10 Estate Agent in the Southend, Westcliff and Leigh Region of the Estate & Letting Agent Awards sponsored by ZOOPLA.CO.UK

The Estate & Letting Agent Awards, the largest and longest running awards in the estate agent industry have announced their shortlist for 2011.

Known in the trade as The ESTAS, the competition determines the best estate agents in the country through research carried out amongst customers who are asked a series of questions about the service they have received from their agent. Over 26,000 questionnaires were completed by customers during the competition. The regional categories are Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, North East & North West, Yorkshire & Humber, Wales, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South West, Southern, South East and London.

The Westcliff based agency has been shortlisted as a TOP 10 estate agent in the Southend, Westcliff and Leigh region.

www.theestas.com/vote/

The top three estate agents for each region, as well as the national awards, will announced by Phil Spencer from Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location at a lavish ceremony in London on 15th April. Phil Spencer said, “All agents have to drive standards higher, raising the bar in terms of the quality of advice offered and the level of customer service they deliver and the ESTAS help to do just that!”.

Simon Brown, who runs the awards every year said “Every agent who takes part in the ESTAS puts their reputation on the line. As an ESTA agent they’ve committed to having their customer service levels independently reviewed and that says a lot about the type of agency they are. Making the shortlist is a huge effort and every agent that has done so should get the credit they deserve”.

Adam Reed managing Director of Reed Residential said “We take our levels of customer service very seriously because we know clients have a choice. We have always been very proud of the personal service we provide so this is great way to demonstrate how good we really are.”

Other Quotes from our ESTA Partners;

Alex Chesterman, Founder & CEO of Zoopla.co.uk “We are really excited to support and be part of this key industry event. Our business objectives are precisely aligned with those of the ESTAS, which are to help agents across the UK maximise their efficiency. The ESTAS focus on providing valuable customer feedback and we focus on providing valuable marketing services, both with a view to ensuring that agents win more business.”

David Dalby, Residential Director at Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors “This is the fifth year that RICS have been involved with the Estas, which we support because, unlike others, the results are based solely on customer satisfaction rather than the opinions of a judging panel. To win an Estate or Letting Agent of the Year Award, an agency has to demonstrate a consistently high level of service and, to achieve this, will be ensuring that staff follow standards of efficiency, good communication and transparency that differentiate the exceptional agent from the ordinary one.”

Nat Daniels, Publisher of Estate Agent Today “These are the only awards that really matter, because they are judged by the only people who really count – the public. Any agent looking to build reputation can do no better than to take part in this scheme.”

John Boyle, Managing Director of HomeLet “We’re delighted to be associated with the Estas. The number of innovative agents driving improved customer service is undoubtedly increasing each year and the competition gets fiercer. It’s a real honour for everyone who has been shortlisted, not just because of the competition they face, but because the awards are judged by customers who’ve experienced their service first hand.’

Joshua Rayner, MD of Rayner Recruitment “We share the same values as the ESTAS in that we offer a simple, transparent service which offers excellent value for money to our clients. ESTA agents sign up to those same values and clients recognise that.”

Moneypenny Director, Joanna Swash “Agents who use our service provide outstanding levels of service for their customers, gaining a competitive advantage in the local marketplace. For this reason, we are delighted to be associated with such a highly-regarded scheme as the ESTAS, and wish all entrants the very best of luck.”

The Awards are organised by Awards for Business Ltd. www.estateagentoftheyearawards.com

Adam Reed appears on Southend's edition of Come Dine with Me.

Click here to view details of Adam"s TV appearance

Canvey Island Office Open

We are delighted to welcome on board Guy Judd our new branch manager of our Canvey Island lettings office, guys brings a wealth of experience to our lettings team with excellent knowledge of the Canvey, Hadleigh and Benfleet areas, this is the next step in Reed Residential development which has grown with great sucesss over the past 3 years.

The property management office remain centralised at our impressive Westcliff head office where our high experienced team of property managers shall continue to manage our portfolio of clients properties.

Canvey Island Office, 374 Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0JU
t: 01702 606888 f: 01702 437553
e:canvey@reedresidential.co.uk

It’s a record……………………….

We are pleased to announce that we have made a donation to Little Havens Children charity after a recent team event at Reed Residential offices.

The task set by Adam Reed, was for the Sales team to make a combined 1,000 calls in one day to all of our existing customers registered.

Robert Hinton , Sales advisor topped the rankings by making the most amount of calls in that day. Robert said “this was a task that myself and my colleges in the sales team were very keen to complete, I am very pleased that we were able to contribute to a worthwhile charity.

Adam Reed was delighted to pass the donation to Little Havens representative Angela Clements, saying, I am extremely pleased with the team contribution to hit the target set for a charity that does fantastic work with very poorly children, I hope to make this an annual event and make further contributions to Havens in the future.

Caring Community

On Saturday 1st December Trinity Family Centre held our annual Frost Christmas Fair and an amazing £1055.38 was raised.

A record number of people attended and this was due to the generosity of Reed Residential Estate Agents.

We had tried virtually every Estate Agent in the town asking if they would put advertising boards up for us, some refused, some would have helped but were, for various reasons, unable to. And then we contacted Reed, on their opening day, and explained our situation.

Our Family Centre, run for the local community, depends to a large part, on fundraising by grants and donations but however much fundraising that we do, including money raised from our shop, we always need more. Its businesses like Reed Residential that give us hope for the future.

Managing Director of Reed Residential, Adam Reed, explained, We are proud to have sponsored Trinity Family Centres annual Christmas fair and as a great believer in community support we were delighted to help. We are now looking forward to next year!!