Recent Articles

Time to replace licensing with a Property MOT – let’s look after tenants, not keep failing them! (in: Tenant and Landlord Property Checklists)
Nov 1, 2019

A while ago I started, on behalf of The Lettings Industry Council, to look at how well licensing was working, and at that point was fairly happy to remain neutral on whether it was a good idea or not. Sadly, though, my research has resulted in my feeling that licensing is an utter waste of time and money, and not really helping tenants at all. Few councils have prosecuted at anything like the level Newham have achieved, and some have introduced schemes and granted licences without ever having seen the property! Read my article to find out the reasons for taking this view  and take a look at  the TLIC’s solution/alternative - the Property MOT.

Summary of latest rental report from Zoopla Q3 2019 (in: Tenant and Landlord Property Checklists)
Oct 24, 2019

BIG NEWS STORY:
Rental affordability is ‘spot on’, not that you’d know that from the headlines! The real story from the rental report is that all the headlines accusing ‘greedy landlords’ and ‘letting agents’ of charging extortionate rent and rents ‘sky rocketing’ are incorrect.

A return to a more sustainable pace of price growth? (in: Buying and Selling Property Checklists)
Oct 17, 2019

Regionally, huge differences still remain with London, despite the recent falls still showing almost double the price growth since 2007. For those investors ‘leaving’ London for more ‘northern’ climes, they need to seriously think if this is the right decision. At the other end of the scale, affordability for those in the Midlands and North and even some in the South since the falls, has improved for many first time buyers – at least from a mortgage lending vs average wage front. Not something you’d think had happened with the constant ‘it’s impossible to afford a home’ headlines! Read my article to find out more.

The impact on the property market of elections, recessions and latest forecasts (in: Kate's Presentations)
Oct 10, 2019

At the recent Property Investor Show  I made two presentations, one covering the changes to the property market during elections and recessions, and another discussing the latest forecasts for both the next twelve months and the next few years.

Properties are more affordable today than 12 years ago (in: Tenant and Landlord Property Checklists)
Oct 3, 2019

I never quite understand why many property companies and much of the media think that only ‘bad news’ stories about property sell.  I also don’t understand why very few property companies, charities or property organisations aren’t telling people how affordable property is today, particularly for first time buyers, and still insist on making tenants feel so ‘miserable’ if they rent. I was asked to present at the recent RICS Housing Hub and chose the topic ‘how we can afford to put a home over everyone’s head’. To me that’s a question we should be asking and answering, rather than constantly shoving out ‘bad news’ stories. To find out more, read my article.