Over the same period, the value of mortgages advanced in the sector grew by 19%. The data shows that the pick-up in buy-to-let lending that began in the second quarter has continued.

In the three months to September, a total of 34,500 buy-to-let loans were advanced, an increase from 29,700 in the preceding quarter. The value of lending totalled £3.8billion, up from £3.2billion. On both measures, buy-to-let lending was at its highest level since the final quarter of 2008.

The number and value of outstanding buy-to-let loans also continued to grow. At the end of September, there were 1,378,700 loans outstanding, worth £157billion, up from 1,296,700 (worth £150billion) 12 months earlier.

In the third quarter, there were 18,580 loans for the purchase of buy-to-let properties, accounting for almost 12% of all house purchase loans. But the proportion remains significantly lower than the former peak in the first quarter of 2008, when 32,650 mortgages for buy-to-let property purchase accounted for 19% of all loans for house purchase.

In the third quarter, the number of buy-to-let mortgages more than three months in arrears declined from 28,300 (1.57% of the total) to 26,300 (1.45%). There was, however, a small increase in the number of buy-to-let properties taken into possession (from 1500 in the second quarter to 1600) although, as a proportion of all buy-to-let properties, the figure remained unchanged, at 0.08%.

CML director general Paul Smee said: “With tenant demand remaining strong in the rental sector, some existing buy-to-let landlords have been expanding their portfolios and the growth that returned to the sector in the preceding quarter has continued. The recovery of buy-to-let from its low point in 2009 has helped improve supply and choice in the rental market. Despite recent improvements, however, buy-to-let lending volumes are still only around one-third of their former peaks.”

Source: Property Talk Live

Steve Harriott, the Chief Executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, TDS,  was commenting on the suspended jail terms given to Brandon Weston and David Williams of lettings firm Premier Places, which traded in both Worcester and Redditch.  They were sentenced following conviction for defrauding clients of deposit money despite claiming to hold it in ring-fenced client accounts.

Amounts defrauded from tenants ranged from £400 to over £1,000 in some cases.  The Tenancy Deposit Scheme paid out over £63,000 to tenants as a result of this case.  “Not only were their actions fraudulent they served to undermine the excellent work of properly self-regulated agents,” said Steve Harriott.

Mr Harriott said it was shocking that stealing deposits and making false claims to the accreditation bodies for the lettings industry should result in only a few hours community service.  “Criminals like this should go to jail, not have their sentences suspended.  They have defrauded private individuals and brought disrepute to the private rented sector”.

“The law requires deposits to be protected through authorised tenancy deposit schemes and this case highlights once again the need for regulation of the private rented sector and for the courts to take these frauds and the protection of consumers more seriously,” he added.

27th September 2011

In an article update the following summary was published by Estate Agent Today

Simply Lets Finance Manager David Fenwick together with four colleagues is preparing to undertake a huge challenge;

 To complete the notoriously difficult 3 peaks walk in under 24 hours!

This self-organised charity event has the aim of raising as much as possible for two important charities, both dear to the hearts of the team who have strong links to each of them: The Colour Wheel Appeal and Alive and Well. These courageous volunteers will put their minds, strength, speed and stamina, not to say organisational skills, to the test in a challenge not only against the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales, but also against the elements and the clock: 24 hours is the time to beat to summit all three peaks and complete 480 miles of driving in between.

The Team will head up to Scotland on June 22nd / 23rd 2011, and subject to mountain weather information forecasts in all three regions, they will begin the challenge at 4.00pm on Thursday 23rd June.  With a great deal of endeavour and no doubt a few blisters and aching muscles, they hope to complete the challenge before 4.00pm on Friday 24th June 2011.

Simply lets will be sponsoring the attempt by assisting with the costs associated with the hiring of the van, fuel and accommodation so that individuals sponsoring the event will know their money will go directly to the charities the team are collecting for. Clicking on the above link will take you to Dave’s home page where you can learn more of the event and the charities they are representing.

All sponsors are greatly appreciated and can donate by visiting Dave’s home page and following the links. Simply Lets are very proud to have the opportunity to be associated with them in this event and wish them every possible success.

Simply Lets are delighted to announce the opening of their prestigious new offices situated in the heart of Redditch town centre on the walk way between Church green East Church and Redditch College.  Simply Lets pride themselves as being one of Worcestershire’s longest established and most professional residential letting agents.  Established over 20 years ago Simply Lets are not estate agents who ‘also do’ lettings, they are a specialised, dedicated, professional and expert team who have developed an exclusive range of products and services offering the most comprehensive support to landlords and the most competitive value.

With prestigious offices already in Worcester and Bromsgrove, Jonathan Sugden Managing Director of Simply Lets said ‘Redditch forms a natural extension to our group, enhancing the advertising coverage and the marketing capacity of the company thereby allowing us to offer unbeaten coverage across the Worcestershire area’.

He went on to say ‘The primary remit of the company, with its recently re-designed striking new corporate image, is to continue providing the most professional service of any agency. We feel our expansion into Redditch will enhance our profile so we can continue to progress as a company and improve the range of services and value we offer to our clients, both old and new’.  Maxine Kelly agreed and added ‘ The letting market is growing rapidly, the rise in tenants is a positive sign for the industry and Simply Lets look forward to the challenge of providing a constant supply of good quality rental properties to meet the increasing demand from our discerning tenants’.

The Redditch Office is headed up by the new Manager Maxine Kelly, an ARLA qualified professional who has worked for the company for in excess of 4 years.  Maxine has lived in the Worcestershire area all her life and is excited to be able to take on this new challenge in her career.  She has the motivation and determination to succeed in an industry within which she has a wealth of experience and great passion, and is looking forward to putting her knowledge and ambition to good use and succeeding in being able to provide the constant customer care that will ensure any letting venture proves to be a smooth and trouble free experience for landlords and tenants alike.

The new Redditch Office is now fully open and provides a comprehensive range of landlord services which include superior marketing and advertising, careful tenant vetting and selection with comprehensive specialised referencing, full rent guarantee, detailed inventories and much more. They are open 6 days a week and welcome their much valued existing clients as well as new landlords and tenants to drop in to see the offices.

As part of the launch of the new office Simply Lets is offering a substantial discount for the first 50 new Redditch landlords who wish to take advantage of our comprehensive Managed Service. Mr Sugden said ‘We believe that no other agent offers the level of cover, marketing, advice and protection that Simply Lets can provide, please telephone us, see our web site www.simplylets.co.uk,  or drop by any of the offices for more details.

If you want to learn of all the latest instructions as they come onto the market, simply go to the twitter website, www.twitter.com, register as a user and look for Simply Lets. When you find us simply click on the follow button and you will receive updates of new properties as they happen.

couldn’t be easier … happy tweeting

‘Some three years ago critics doubted the strength of the Worcester’s residential development market which was being propped up to a notable degree by the ‘Buy to Let’ investment landlord, yet throughout 2006 new homes and apartments in Worcester achieved record-breaking prices of well over £300 per square foot. In 2007 new homes experienced a 12 – 18 per cent price inflation which, rather than deterring buyers, further increased demand. But this final steep escalation of property prices was imediately curtailed by sudden onset of the economic crises some two years ago which has shaken the foundations of the property market and which has been reflected by a drop in capital values of up to 35% in some areas.

How has this affected the residential rental market? Jonathan Sugden, a Fellow of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and Managing Director of one of Worcesters leading letting and management agents Simply Lets, suggested that a demand is still there, “There is little doubt that the Buy to Let investment market ended abruptly with the dramatic fall of property prices in 2008, however the stock of properties available to let has actually increased due to the needs of those unable to sell. The work place has become a harder environment in this climate and people looking for work have a need to be transient.  Some fluidity is essential to provide for movement of itinerent workers and those individuals or families who have personal needs.  When such home owners have been unable to sell they have looked to the letting market to provide a vehicle to facilitate their move”

Mr Sugden explained  “As values fell, there was initially a large influx of available property and it took some 6 months before the demand caught up, but it is evidently now a thriving market with Buy to Let landlords reconsidering their options. Whilst the levels of capital growth as seen in the boom years is not immediately likely, yeilds from property are being seen to be a better investment than money invested in the bank bearing in mind the prevailing low interest rates.  With property prices falling and repossessions increasing there are some opportunities for those who have cash investment sums to find respectable yeilds and a potential long term capital growth.”

Jonathan Sugden added “Apartment living took off in Worcester in 2002 with many of the major builders embarking on ambitious schemes of flat development through either new build or conversions of older properties. The beautiful waterside quater of Diglis, the city centre and smaller pockets of opportunity within the core city areas have all yeilded a diverse and interesting range apartments and due to the large number available, prices are suppressed. It is evident that these have recently been considered as suitable investment opportunities. Whilst apartments do have ground rents and service charges which negatively impinge on yeilds, purchased at the right price they are easy to maintain, relatively trouble free letting units which when managed correctly can retain good continuity of occupancy”.

Whether property prices now stabilise, increase or continue to suffer further slides, is uncertain. No one knows whether the Government has provided enough financial support to generate sufficient confidence to prop up the housing market on a longer term basis, but the investment market for property looks set for the time being to remain a viable option and qualified professional letting agents such as Simply Lets seem optimistic that long term investment in property is a worthy consideration.’

Article kindy authorised for publication 12/07/09

Caroline Pickering of NALS has expressed her wish for them to be the choice of the Government to carry out independant agent regulation “there can be no doubt that the mandatory regulation of lettings agents will propel the sector forward in achieving best practice, enhancing consumer protection and implementing increased provision and security for both tenants and landlords” she stated.

Over the last 10 years ARLA and NALS have been two of the professional bodies who have highlighted a requirement for tighter regulation and accountability.

Comparing the second quarter of the year to the opening three months, there were nearly twice as many ARLA members who reported that landlords bought more properties.

One of the reasons cited for this increase was the record low interest rate set by the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC).

The MPC brought the base rate down to 0.5 per cent in March and it has stayed at that level for the last three months.

Operations manager at ARLA Ian Potter said: “Each quarter we glimpse a bit more activity as the bargains get snapped up and confidence is restored in buy-to-let as a viable long-term investment vehicle, particularly if the returns are rising too.”

Government officials are starting to realise that the private rented sector can play a vital part in the success of the overall property market, he added.

Gas certification undertaken up to that date by a CORGI registered engineer will remain valid however any future inspections must be carried out by someone registered with Gas Safe and the credentials of engineers verified.

The Health and Safety Executive reviewed the situation under CORGI and decided that there was a strong case for modernising the gas registration scheme to provide a clearer focus on gas safety.  For further information or additional clarification, please contact Simply Lets

For some years concerns have been expressed both by professional organisations and the general the public about Letting Agents demonstrating poor ethics, fraud or committing criminal action in relation to client monies.  There has recently been public outrage after accusations have been levelled at directors of certain companies where it has become apparent that there has been abuse of the system resulting in substantial discrepancies in their client accounts. Unqualified agents rarely have any client protection. Sadly even as close to home as Worcester there are ongoing accusations of theft, misappropriation and money laundering in relation to the activities of one prominent company.

As a consequence of various examples of criminal activity there has been an increased demand for licensing and a tightening of working practices. Whilst licensing has always seemed sensible, it would appear this is now enevitable and all residential letting agents in the UK will soon need to be registered and licensed to continue trading. ARLA is promoting this and lobbying parliment, and in this regard the following ‘early day motion’ has been submitted by James Plaskitt

“That this House notes with concern that the private lettings sector is currently unlicensed, a situation which poses risks to both landlords and tenants; further notes that without rules and standards, many people could be putting their money in the hands of people who are not members of a professional body, not obliged to maintain separate client accounts with rent money and tenants’ deposits as well as other clients’ funds, do not offer consumer redress, are unlikely to have professional indemnity insurance, are not professionally qualified, or are not members of a tenancy deposit scheme; believes the licensing of letting agents is necessary to eliminate unprofessional, unqualified and unethical agents from the rental market, and to protect the consumer from unscrupulous letting agents; believes that the Association of Residential Letting Agents licensing scheme will provide a model that will drive up standards and can inform the Government’s thinking on the licensing of letting agents; and urges the Government to consider making the licensing of letting agents mandatory.”

 as of this morning this motion has been signed by 36 MP’s.

Please return to this news section of our web site for further updates