Savills have recently produced their 2011/2012 Winter report on prime rental markets.

Their key findings are:

• In the face of economic uncertainty, prime rental growth has slowed.
• However, stock levels have been contained as renewal rates have remained high and tenants have sought increased tenancy lengths.
• Over the medium term, tenant demand and rent levels will remain driven by limited mortgage availability and increased demand from those delaying house purchasing.
• In the short term this will be tempered by the outlook for the financial and business sector, which is a key component of rental demand.

The report states that whilst growth has recently eased in the prime rental market of London, rental growth is expected to outperform the UK over the next five years.

Residential Land has all of its residential investment portfolio in prime central London and continues to experience high levels of occupancy and growing rent levels.  The company continues to look for new investment opportunities.

If you have any residential property opportunities within Prime Central London please contact one the Residential Land’s acquisition team or email enquiries@residentialland.com

To download a copy of the Savills report, visit:
http://www.savills.co.uk/research/residential-research.aspx

Former government minister and CBI head Lord Digby Jones was the subject of this weeks ‘Fame and Fortune’ interview within the Money Section of the Sunday Times.

When asked “Is property still a good investment?” his response was “Yes , especially in London. I don’t think you can go wrong buying a flat in London and putting in a tenant . I will look to invest again, perhaps in the prime market , where the value is most likely to rise , though probably at the lower end of prime, where yields are higher “.

Residential Land are prime central London experts and we are actively seeking to increase our portfolio. If you have any opportunities for us, contact one of our acquisition experts or email enquiries@residentialland.com

RESI 2011 was the best RESI yet. More than 1,000 people attended this year’s residential property event at the Celtic Manor in Wales. The highlight of this year’s conference was the RESI Dragons’ Den, a take on the popular TV show where residential property business ideas were pitched to a panel of influential experts.

Bruce Ritchie, CEO of Residential Land, was the panel chair and judge – bringing with him fellow residential property experts Tony Pidgley, Nick Candy and ex-Dragon himself, James Caan.

Entrants to the competition were required to submit a 500 word proposal about their business idea. The judges were looking for innovative, serious and determined proposals. A short list was drawn up and 4 finalists were chosen to present their pitches to the panel and audience at the RESI conference in the Canaerfon Suite. Property Week filmed each of the pitches:

Lucky Wu: A Chinese property portal setup by Sherry Madera to showcase overseas property to Asian investors

Click-to-Purchase: A website created by Neil Singer that provides real-time property auctions

My Space Pod: Affordable custom built accommodation made from recycled shipping containers, presented by Sam Minionis

CheckYourLet: A ‘TripAdvisor style’ review website for private rental properties pitched by Howard Morgan

Each of the confident pitches had business merit in their own right, but it was Howard Morgan, Managing Director of consultancy firm RealService whose idea for a private-rented sector review site won the support of the four RESI dragons’.

The audience too seemed to be behind the idea as Morgan confidently pointed out that such site already existed in the US and said “Something like this would come to the industry anyway and therefore it’s much better to be organised professionally, co-ordinated and supported by the people in the industry.” After Morgan successfully swayed the judges and walked away with a prize trip to Austria, he was quickly cleaned out of business cards by potential backers in the audience.

Residential Land was pleased to be a platinum sponsor of RESI 2011. It was the best attended RESI conference to date and confirms it as the premier residential property event in the UK property calendar.

Against a gloomy global economic background, there was much debate about the new coalition planning proposals and the Conference was fortunate to have Secretary of State Eric Pickles to address the conference and to answer questions. Bruce Ritchie also chaired a residential focused Dragons Den which was a highlight of the conference. The residential sector is still struggling with a shortage of mortgage availability, and affordability challenges for first time buyers in particular. What came through clearly though was the strength of the Private Rented Sector and the Central London Market.

RESI 2011 - Busiest conference to date

Residential land operates exclusively in this market place and is well placed to grow its business accordingly. The Company is in buying mode and anyone knowing of blocks of flats for sale should get in touch with a member of our acquisitions team. If you have any opportunities worth discussing, email sales@residentialland.com or visit http://www.residentialland.com/property-required.aspx

Bruce Ritchie, CEO and founder of Residential Land is set to chair a new and exciting panel at the RESI conference held at Celtic Manor Hotel in Newport, South Wales. Alongside fellow property specialists and entrepreneurs Nick Candy and Tony Pidgeley and former Dragon James Caan, Bruce will be quizzing presenters on all aspects of their business propositions. The event organisers are currently looking for innovative proposals from serious candidates to present to the four judges. All ideas are welcome; whether it is an investment proposition or a new concept in design or something to assist house building. This will be a great platform to get your ideas out into the market and to get some great ideas from people who have been in your position.

Submit your proposals via www.resievent.com/dragons by 30th July when Bruce and the other judges will shortlist the top four to present their ideas.

Good Luck, we look forward to seeing you at the event in September!!

Tenancy Deposit Scheme - Threshold increased to £100,000.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme was first introduced in April 2007, where residential landlords holding an assured shorthold tenancy with a rental income upto £25,000 were required by law to hold their tenants’ deposits in an authorised scheme for the first time. The scheme was introduced to protect deposit monies and to ensure that residential landlords were held fully accountable for the deposits they took from tenants at the start of the tenancy.

Now 3 years on, the rental income threshold has increased to include all tenancies with annual rent up to £100,000.  The changes came into force on 1st October this year and any residential landlords who earn a rental annual income from a single tenancy of £100,000 need to ensure that their tenants’ deposits are placed in one of the three authorised schemes.

The new threshold applies to existing tenancies where the deposits were taken after 6 April 2007, not just those created after October 2010 when the laws come into force.

Landlords holding an assured shorthold tenancy to which the legislation applies are required to register the deposit taken from the tenant with one of the three statutory protection schemes within 14 days of receiving the deposit and provide prescribed information to the tenant.

Residential Land has over 1,200 rental properties in central London and with the AST threshold being increased to £100,000 per annum and many of Residential Land’s existing contractual tenancies exceeding £25,000 per annum our lettings team had to ensure that current deposits held within this bracket were all registered prior to 1st October.  Residential Land uses My Deposits deposit protection which is an insurance based scheme, for full information please visit www.mydeposits.co.uk

Residential Land are Prime Central London’s largest private landlord, specialists dealing in flats for rent, property investment sales and acquisitions. To view our latest rental properties click here

Residential Land are attending the Imperial College Private Housing Talk 2010

Monday 8th March
Queen’s Tower Rooms, South Kensington Campus

Residential Land have hundred’s of flats to rent in London and are the ideal choice for students looking for quallity central accomodation in the capital.

Roland House Apartments, located in South Kensington is minutes away from the Imperial College South Kensington Campus. The fully equiped flats are spacious and reasonably priced, with free broadband and free on-site residents gym, sauna and spa.

Students studying at Imperial College can benefit from special rates when renting with Residential Land. Rent directly from us and pay no agency fees. For more details about any of our properties, email enquiries@residentialland.com or click here

Residential Land Rent, Sell and Buy Prime Central London. We are a responsible Landlord with the widest selection of rental properties in the Capital, all managed in-house by a dedicated team.

We acquire London properties to build our extensive portfolio and offer a number of investment properties for sale.

Today we added interactive property tours to three of our properties using Microsoft’s new Photosynth technology. Over the last few weeks have been working with Microsoft, and our mapping partners Earthware, to create these amazing photo tours and show them on our new Photosynth map.

Photosynth has allowed us to quickly create tours that allow you to immerse yourself in a property, walking around the property and zooming into the tiniest of details.

Photosynth is currently featured on the following Residential Land properties:

Kew Bridge Court, Chiswick W4

Portobello Lofts, Portobello Docks W10

Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead NW3

You can also take a look around the three property tours by visiting our Photosynth Map page.

Residential Land have over 1,200 flats & houses for rent in London and exciting techonolgies like Photosynth makes the process of renting a flat easier and very interesting.

Residential Land, Prime Central London’s largest private landlord, put together some useful tips for people looking to Rent in London that were published on homesandproperty.co.uk…

Make sure your deposit is protected
Tenancy deposit law was introduced on 6 April 2007 and provides protection for tenants by preventing landlords and letting agents from unfairly withholding a deposit. The scheme protects all Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales. Ensuring your deposit is protected allows you extra comfort for when your tenancy ends and you want to move on. As long as rent and services are paid up to date and the property is in the same condition as when you moved in (allowing for wear and tear) your landlord is obliged to give back your deposit, this is usually within ten working days of moving out.

Speak up - if you don’t ask you won’t get
Remember to communicate with your landlord or managing agent - don’t be shy in reporting any difficulties in your rental property. Landlords are obliged to fix these problems at no cost to you as one of the privileges of being a tenant. A good landlord will also appreciate knowing if something needs doing – after all, it is their investment you live in.

Check out the hidden agency costs
Letting agents will charge you certain costs before you move into a property. These costs include charges for checking your references, preparation of inventory, drawing up tenancy agreements, administration costs, etc. They can amount to £200-£500, depending on the area, agency and property. Be aware that agents should not charge you for looking at properties or holding your details.

Location, location, location
Ensure that your rental property is commutable to work, close to friends and places where you socialize. You may find the perfect property but it could be a long walk from the tube station - fine in the summer, but no so nice on a wet, dark evening - leaving some with the added expense of taxis. There will be compromises with any property rental so you need to ensure that the ones that you make are right for you long term.

Check out the living costs
Remember that rent is not your only outgoing so it is sensible to put together a budget to ensure that your rental is affordable. In most properties you will be responsible for water rates, gas central heating, electricity, contents insurance, television license and of course council tax. Ask the lettings agent or landlord for an estimated cost of these bills so that you can ensure that they are affordable. For council tax costs you can visit www.voa.gov.uk to find out what banding your property will be in.

Check if parking is available
If you have a car in London you know the difficulties of parking. If a private parking space comes with the property that’s all well and good, but if it doesn’t, remember to ask about the opportunities to get residents parking. The majority of properties allow you to apply for a residents parking permit for a small charge by visiting the local council offices with a copy of your tenancy agreement and your vehicle registration details. However, be careful, as some newly built properties only have permission for the council to offer less parking permits than there are units in the property - it is worth checking this with the landlord or agent before moving in.

Ensure the landlord has the correct documents before you move in
Not only is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme essential but there are also further legal requirements that your landlord must meet. Your landlord must obtain and show you a Gas Safety Certificate and an Energy Performance Certificate. Building Insurance is also obligatory and this should be mentioned in your tenancy agreement. It is advisable that you take out your own contents insurance as your landlord will not be obliged to provide this for you.

Carefully comb through the tenancy agreement and inventory
You are responsible for looking through the tenancy agreement and inventory before you sign. Make sure you understand each clause and that the inventory is accurate. It is wise to have a third party look at it too, so ask a friend or family member to read through it and let you know if they have any queries. It is also important that a third party witnesses the tenancy agreement when you come to sign.

Be careful of false adverts on the internet
We have all heard about the terrible situations where people are falsely rented properties over the internet only to find out when arriving to view or even move in that not only is the property not available but that they have lost their deposit. To combat this, ensure that you use a reputable agent or landlord who have established offices - do not agree to send money anywhere without meeting someone and viewing the property. Also, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

In November, BBC News reported that Property sales rose by 8% in October, according to the latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

At 65,000, sales were 5,000 higher than in September, the first monthly increase since May.

However, they were still 50% down on a year ago, with banks and building societies reluctant to lend because of the credit crunch.

Some experts are worried that sales may start falling again because the economy is heading for recession.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said the figures were evidence that the dramatic slump in sales over the past year had stabilised recently.

“This improvement is broadly consistent with CML mortgage lending data and the Rics new buyer enquiries,” he said.

“Falling house prices and lower interest rates are encouraging some buyers back into the market but the big risk is the worsening economic climate and the knock-on impact on employment,” he added.

Mortgage tap

The recent peak in sales was in December 2006 when 154,000 homes were sold.

But transactions started to collapse in September last year, as lenders turned off the mortgage tap in response to the growing credit crunch, in turn triggering the most rapid fall in UK house prices since the early 1930s.

Banks and building societies found that the market for borrowing money from other financial institutions closed down, and the mortgage market imploded.

This was highlighted by the near-collapse of the Northern Rock bank and the more recent government rescue of the Bradford & Bingley and HBOS.

With the economy now widely believed to be heading for recession there is the obvious possibility that would-be buyers will be deterred further, either by a lack of confidence or by losing their own jobs.

The article concluded that as a result, many commentators believe that prices will continue falling well into next year.