Events
Discover Property Finders Secrets property Mastermind
It's happening Tuesday 10th March!!!
You can't afford to miss out
Mark it down now before you forget
Special Guests for March
Great news we have two guests for March, one to talk about an emerging market deal and the other to offer to you unique property deals at up the 40% below market value
Guaranteed you will find both very interesting and profitable
You simply can’t afford to miss out on this special event
This year is of opportunity don’t sit on the fence come along and discover and learn the opportunities that can create YOUR wealth in 2009
At Property Finder Secrets Mastermind 10th March
Come along and get the answers!!
Good news!!
You qualify for a FREE VIP ticket at The Cumberland Hotel – full address details are below. Email david@davidjsalmon.co.uk with the message "yes from landlord Journal " plus your name.
When:
Tuesday 10th March 2009 6.30pm (for 7pm sharp start)
Where:
At the
The Cumberland Hotel
Great Cumberland Place
London W1H 7DL
Phone: 0871 376 9014
Nearest Tube: Marble Arch
Just round the corner from Oxford Street in Great Cumberland Place
http://www.guoman.com/hotel-collection-page/map/
Mortgage Market
Mortgage lending picked up slightly in January, though the start of 2009 also saw a drop in personal saving, new figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA) reveal.
According to the latest report into the state of the UK property market by the professional body, net mortgage lending grew to £2.9 billion for the month, with a total of 23,376 mortgages and 30,710 re-mortgage deals approved by lenders.
Commenting on the slight upturn, David Dooks, director of statistics at the BBA, explained that the growth in demand for home loan products is being driven by a combination of falling interest rates and falling house prices.
"Lower borrowing costs and falling property prices have underpinned demand at high street lenders, who are providing over two-thirds of all new mortgage lending," he stated.
Despite this relative optimism, some property observers fear that further house price falls could be just around the corner, with HIS Global Insight stating that it is "skeptical that this will lead to a marked rise in actual sales anytime soon".
At the same time, the BBA figures show that personal deposits were down in January as consumers steer away from savings accounts offering low interest rates.
© Houseladder Ltd
Safety
A new online application has been created that can help those with buy to let mortgages ensure their properties have high fire safety standards.
The Fire Safety Logbook from the National Landlords Association (NLA) is available on the internet and allows investors to keep a record of their precautions.
This can make it easier to check that all the appropriate measures have been taken to protect tenants from the hazard, the NLA stated.
It features a template that landlords can use to carry out risk assessments and keep note of instances where a fire alarm has been set off, as well as fire equipment defects.
"Fire safety in the private rented sector is clearly an issue of vital importance and one that all landlords must take seriously," commented NLA chairman David Salusbury.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents also offers information for landlords on fire precautions in a leaflet entitled 'Let's make it safe'.
We have some very interesting property deals available for you from all over the world . Just click the Latest Property Deals on the left hand menu
Sale and rent-back schemes, sold to homeowners who cannot afford their mortgages, are to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The schemes are widely advertised, and are promoted as a way of swapping a mortgage for an affordable tenancy.
The authorities are worried some people have been tricked into unfair deals.
The FSA will regulate the sale of these schemes from July this year, which will give it the power to ensure they are fair to home owners.
At the Berkshire Property Meet, there was a very interesting presentation by Phil Martin of the Rent Back Charter, about the ideas proposed by the Government to regulate the sale and rent back market . It may well be that sale and rent back becomes so regulated that the individual investor is unable to purchase these type of investments.
Unfortunately for everyone I think this means that many people who would have been saved from repossession thanks to a sale and rent back investor will no longer be rescued. Ironically, the Government’s planned regulation to help people will probably result in more people being repossessed
Have your questions answered by top property entrepreneurs
What is your strategy for building your (property) business in 2009?
When do you advise investors to put money into a property deal?
How do you finance your deals?What is the most effective or successful way of marketing for you?
What is your biggest challenge?
What mistakes have you made and how did you learn from them?
What systems do you use for purchasing property?
What are you medium and long term goals?
How does one protect their asset in these volatile times?
Click here for first part of interviews
News
Interest rate cut predicted - buy to let mortgages
04 February 2009
Analysts have predicted that the Bank of England is due to make another interest rate cut when its monetary policy committee (MPC) meets this week.
In a poll 11 out of 12 economists forecast that the MPC will trim the base rate on Thursday - something that could lower the cost of mortgages
the majority of those questioned said they expected a cut of between 50 and 100 basis points to be made.
"Whilst the Bank still has room to cut it should do so," commented Mark Swift of business organisation EEF.
And Charles Davis from the centre for economics and business research said: "Everything seems to be supporting the downturn at the moment. That might well push them into even stronger action than a 50 basis point cut."
But Simon Rubinsohn of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors predicted that the MPC would hold the rate, claiming that the committee will cut in March instead.
Following a reduction of 0.5 per cent in January, the base rate currently stands at 1.5 per cent.
The Bank of England is likely to employ a number of measures to stimulate increased lending, it has been suggested.
Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, stated that interest rates are likely to reach zero, or very close to zero, in the coming months meaning the Bank will turn to other methods to improve the economic situation.
"They are going to want to try virtually anything as far as a policy stimulus is concerned," he remarked.
Mr Loynes suggested that the Bank of England will begin to buy corporate bonds as well as bonds from the government to lower interest rates in the long term.
An increase in lending and lower interest rates could benefit holders of mortgages
The Bank of England will reveal the outcome of its two-day February interest rate meeting next Thursday, with the possibility that the interest rate might be further lowered from its current level of 1.5 per cent.
Landlords who are willing to be flexible are most likely to emerge from the economic downturn in a strong position, it has been stated.
According to the Residential Landlords Association, the fact that tenants are struggling in the credit crunch does not necessarily mean that those with mortgages will suffer the consequences.
Director at the body Chris Town noted that opportunities still exist, with knowledge of the local area being key to ensuring that these are maximised.
"There's no doubt in my mind that some will find it really tough, however there is generally a strong demand for rental property in most markets," he said.
Rates
Current Rates- 02.02.2009
Bank of England Base Rate: - 1.50%
UK 3 Month LIBOR: - 2.16% (-0.01%)
(The above LIBOR figure is provided by BBA, rounded to 2 decimal places)
UK Swap Rate :-
1 Year :- 1.77% (+0.06%)
2 Year :- 2.12% (+0.05%)
3 Year :- 2.44% (+0.04%)
5 Year :- 3.01% (+0.02%)
7 Year :- 3.40% (+0.02%)
10 Year :- 3.78% (+0.02%)
Compiled by David Salmon
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