London property price boom is slowing, says Savills
Upmarket estate agency says many families have cashed in and decamped either to the home counties or moved eastwards across capital.
Upmarket estate agent Savills says the rampant price growth for homes in London has been slowing and that many families are selling up and moving into the home counties.
Savills' chief executive, Jeremy Helsby, said that rising numbers of people are cashing in and moving out of the capital into Surrey and Kent, and as far out as Cambridge and Oxford – as he himself has done. "People are selling up in London – they've had a very strong rise over the last two to three years – especially families with kids who decide they can't get the right schools and want more space."
Contract exchanges outside London are up 20%, helping Savills post a 15% rise in pre-tax profits to £24.7m for the first half of the year. The estate agent raised its half-year dividend by 7% to 3.75p a share. Savills, which is based in Mayfair, conducted twice as many sales outside the capital than within, although in revenue terms its business is still skewed towards London where values remain much higher.
Article worth a read - http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/07/london-property-price-boom-slowing-savills
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
UK Taxman Turning Up The Heat (Telegraph Article 4 Aug 2014)
UK Taxman is turning up the heat on landlords who may not have declared their rental income and/or have under-declared.
See this article - (dated 4 Aug 2014)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10999633/HMRC-turns-up-heat-on-landlords.html
The taxman will send 40,000 letters to landlords it suspects are not paying enough tax this year.
The Revenue has begun gathering information from a wider range of sources, accountants said. Mark Giddens, a partner at UHY Hacker Young, said HMRC had gone beyond the Land Registry and the electoral roll. “It was not until April this year that the taxman sent out notices to letting agents in which they asked for details to be provided of everyone on their books,” he said.
Looks like the UK Taxman is now getting information directly from lettings agents. With such information, they can easily match the records with the tax filing and then go after the landlords who have not declared their income.
Best to file your returns honestly and accurately!
Happy Investing!
See this article - (dated 4 Aug 2014)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10999633/HMRC-turns-up-heat-on-landlords.html
The taxman will send 40,000 letters to landlords it suspects are not paying enough tax this year.
The Revenue has begun gathering information from a wider range of sources, accountants said. Mark Giddens, a partner at UHY Hacker Young, said HMRC had gone beyond the Land Registry and the electoral roll. “It was not until April this year that the taxman sent out notices to letting agents in which they asked for details to be provided of everyone on their books,” he said.
Looks like the UK Taxman is now getting information directly from lettings agents. With such information, they can easily match the records with the tax filing and then go after the landlords who have not declared their income.
Best to file your returns honestly and accurately!
Happy Investing!
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Rental Dispute - TDS Adjudication - Getting Money Back from Deposit
All landlords please be reminded that it is your responsibility as a landlord to ensure that your tenant's deposit is protected. Read this page on Tenancy Deposit Protection for more information. If you’re in a dispute with your landlord, then your deposit will be protected in the TDP scheme until the issue is sorted out.
In our case, our lettings agents will deal with this issue for us. However, remember to ask for written evidence that the tenant's deposit has been properly deposited. We have been cheated before by wayward lettings agents before, who told us that the deposit was protected when it was not.
This post deals with our dispute with a tenant and how it was resolved.
Background to Dispute
The tenancy in one of our flats was ending. Towards the end, this tenant who had otherwise been a very good tenant the past couple of years, suddenly did not co-operate.
Unpaid Utility Bills
Our lettings agents informed us that the tenant did not fully pay the utility bills. The outstanding amount was about £522.
Rent Arrears
The tenant also refused to pay the rent for the final 10 days of the tenancy, which amounted to about £280.
Simple enough? We think so. Therefore, after the tenant left, we had to quickly file a case with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Dispute Service, to claim these amounts from the tenant. Otherwise, the TDS will remit the deposit to the tenant directly and we would have no recourse to claim any money from the tenant.
The Process
The process of filing the claims as well as doing the paperwork was relatively simple for us. Most importantly, we had a very good lettings agent who helped us along the way. You need to provide documentary evidence to the TDS Dispute Resolution Service, e.g. rental agreement, utility bills, details of correspondence etc; otherwise your case may be hindered
I append the final adjudication outcome (taking away personal details) for your reference . It is a short document but interesting to read! Happy Investing!
In our case, our lettings agents will deal with this issue for us. However, remember to ask for written evidence that the tenant's deposit has been properly deposited. We have been cheated before by wayward lettings agents before, who told us that the deposit was protected when it was not.
This post deals with our dispute with a tenant and how it was resolved.
Background to Dispute
The tenancy in one of our flats was ending. Towards the end, this tenant who had otherwise been a very good tenant the past couple of years, suddenly did not co-operate.
Unpaid Utility Bills
Our lettings agents informed us that the tenant did not fully pay the utility bills. The outstanding amount was about £522.
Rent Arrears
The tenant also refused to pay the rent for the final 10 days of the tenancy, which amounted to about £280.
Simple enough? We think so. Therefore, after the tenant left, we had to quickly file a case with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Dispute Service, to claim these amounts from the tenant. Otherwise, the TDS will remit the deposit to the tenant directly and we would have no recourse to claim any money from the tenant.
The Process
The process of filing the claims as well as doing the paperwork was relatively simple for us. Most importantly, we had a very good lettings agent who helped us along the way. You need to provide documentary evidence to the TDS Dispute Resolution Service, e.g. rental agreement, utility bills, details of correspondence etc; otherwise your case may be hindered
I append the final adjudication outcome (taking away personal details) for your reference . It is a short document but interesting to read! Happy Investing!
DBS Housing Loans Not Affected by Softer Property Market
DBS CEO was asked why DBS's loan book was not displaying pressure from a softening property market when UOB revealed that its Non-Performing Loan had climbed as payments by some high-end property buyers deteriorated.
Mr Gupta elaborated that DBS's quantum of financing for property loans is determined by the client's debt burden ratio and repayment capability based on an interest rate of 3.5 percent. DBS sees no stress in housing loans.
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MAS Comments
On the issue of property curbs, Mr Menon (MD of MAS) pointed out that while property prices have jumped 60% over the past 4 years, they have fallen by merely 3.3% over the last 3 quarters.
So, it was not time yet to lift the tightening measures aimed at stabilising the market.
Mr Gupta opined that property prices could drift down a further 5-7 percent over the next few quarters.
DBS went on to say that they do not see a big issue, even if prices fall 30%.
Happy investing!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Malaysian Developers Keen On London Properties (New Straits Times)
Local developers keen on London properties (Bernama) [July 2014]
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian developers are keen to tap the London property market with a handful of new players sizing up the market there.
Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd associate director, Herbert Leong, said these companies were looking for sites of less than two hectares which offered them the opportunity to regenerate the property. “The developers are keen on central London and the real estate consultancy had brought a few companies for site inspection,” he said at a media briefing on the London property market, here, yesterday.
Leong said one of them was an infrastructure company eager to make a foray into the property sector. “Many Malaysian companies want to divert their focus overseas, and London offers them a lucrative return despite the requirement of a huge capital investment,” he said Among established developers with a foothold in London are SP Setia Bhd, Berjaya Group and Eastern & Oriental Bhd. Meanwhile, Knight Frank Asia-Pacific Head of Research, Nicholas Holt, said East London was a rising area that developers and investors should look into.
“The ongoing large-scale redeve-lopment projects mean that in East London, such as Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich boroughs, there’s demand for both new homes and jobs,” Holt said. The Crossrail project, to be completed by 2018, was expected to boost the property prices in East London by 23 per cent, outperforming a 19 per cent rise of Greater London, he said. The project, costing around £15 billion (RM81.3 billion), is one of the most ambitious transport construction projects undertaken in London since the original underground was built over 150 years ago. Bernama
------------------------------
Not surprising, as Malaysians do like London. Projects like Battersea Power Station and IJM Land's Royal Mint Gardens all sold very well.
Let's see what other developments there are in the future, from Malaysian developers.
Happy investing!
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian developers are keen to tap the London property market with a handful of new players sizing up the market there.
Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd associate director, Herbert Leong, said these companies were looking for sites of less than two hectares which offered them the opportunity to regenerate the property. “The developers are keen on central London and the real estate consultancy had brought a few companies for site inspection,” he said at a media briefing on the London property market, here, yesterday.
Leong said one of them was an infrastructure company eager to make a foray into the property sector. “Many Malaysian companies want to divert their focus overseas, and London offers them a lucrative return despite the requirement of a huge capital investment,” he said Among established developers with a foothold in London are SP Setia Bhd, Berjaya Group and Eastern & Oriental Bhd. Meanwhile, Knight Frank Asia-Pacific Head of Research, Nicholas Holt, said East London was a rising area that developers and investors should look into.
“The ongoing large-scale redeve-lopment projects mean that in East London, such as Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich boroughs, there’s demand for both new homes and jobs,” Holt said. The Crossrail project, to be completed by 2018, was expected to boost the property prices in East London by 23 per cent, outperforming a 19 per cent rise of Greater London, he said. The project, costing around £15 billion (RM81.3 billion), is one of the most ambitious transport construction projects undertaken in London since the original underground was built over 150 years ago. Bernama
------------------------------
Not surprising, as Malaysians do like London. Projects like Battersea Power Station and IJM Land's Royal Mint Gardens all sold very well.
Let's see what other developments there are in the future, from Malaysian developers.
Happy investing!
Crossrail CEO Bullish on Crossrail
CrossRail CEO is understandably very bullish on CrossRail.
I think he's right. Crossrail is going to make a significant difference, but just how big a difference? According to the CEO, it will add a whopping US $71bn to the UK economy.
If the video is not working properly, you can go to the bloomberg page here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/crossrail-ceo-sees-71-bln-boost-to-u-k-economy-9qV~0cH6RkWfHV1dYm5QZQ.html
Crossrail Operator
Guess which rail company has been awarded the contract to run Crossrail? SMRT? Nopes. It is Hong Kong's MTR! Impressive. See this news article.
Extract -
"Transport for London (TfL) has awarded the train operating contract for its Crossrail service to the Hong Kong based MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited (MTR). The deal is estimated to be worth £1.4 billion over eight years and there is an option for a two year extension in the deal. Mass Transit Railway (MTR) will operate the new Crossrail services between Reading, Heathrow and through London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood employing around 1,100 staff including up to 850 new jobs. MTR requires around 400 train drivers and will sponsor 50 apprenticeships for people from communities along the route.
"From 2019 when the full timetable is running, Crossrail will increase rail based transport in the capital by 10%. The intention is that it will also provide the best ‘passenger experience’ as it is now called, on European metro services achieving internationally recognised high standards of reliability, train frequency and customer service. Crossrail has been sponsored and funded by the Department for Transport and TfL and will become part of the latter’s extensive and intensively operated network. Crossrail’s stations will be integrated with London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and National Rail stations."
happy investing!
If the video is not working properly, you can go to the bloomberg page here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/crossrail-ceo-sees-71-bln-boost-to-u-k-economy-9qV~0cH6RkWfHV1dYm5QZQ.html
Crossrail Operator
Guess which rail company has been awarded the contract to run Crossrail? SMRT? Nopes. It is Hong Kong's MTR! Impressive. See this news article.
Extract -
"Transport for London (TfL) has awarded the train operating contract for its Crossrail service to the Hong Kong based MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited (MTR). The deal is estimated to be worth £1.4 billion over eight years and there is an option for a two year extension in the deal. Mass Transit Railway (MTR) will operate the new Crossrail services between Reading, Heathrow and through London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood employing around 1,100 staff including up to 850 new jobs. MTR requires around 400 train drivers and will sponsor 50 apprenticeships for people from communities along the route.
"From 2019 when the full timetable is running, Crossrail will increase rail based transport in the capital by 10%. The intention is that it will also provide the best ‘passenger experience’ as it is now called, on European metro services achieving internationally recognised high standards of reliability, train frequency and customer service. Crossrail has been sponsored and funded by the Department for Transport and TfL and will become part of the latter’s extensive and intensively operated network. Crossrail’s stations will be integrated with London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and National Rail stations."
happy investing!
Opening a Lloyds TSB Account - Experience Sharing by forum member
I am reproducing the sharing by forum member westwind on the topic of opening a Lloyds TSB bank account in person, in the UK. Member westwind had gone to the UK recently.
This is extracted from my community forum - http://londonproperty.vbulletin.net/forum/singapore-property-news/712-lloyds-tsb-account
Opening the Lloyds Account in Person - Documents Required
"Opening the account in person was relatively quick and painless. Before I went to London, I called and asked about the documentation needed to set the account up. The person I spoke with on the phone told me that they would only accept a recent (received within the last 3 months) utility bill or credit card bill from a large international bank as proof of my Singapore address. I brought along credit card statements from 2 banks and this year's notice of assessment for my income tax since I just received that in June.
The Actual Process - Quite Quick
"I walked into the Lloyds branch in Chelsea (any Lloyds branch would have been ok) and it was a little strange because the branch personal banker still had to dial into the Lloyds TSB phone line, get me to speak with the banker on the phone to get my account set up. What did help was that the banker on the phone was able to email my application immediately to the branch personal banker. He then printed it out for me to sign and took copies of my passport, credit card bill. That was it... all done. I was told that it would take 3 to 5 working days to process my application and I would get an email notification once the account is set up. The account details and debit card are supposed to arrive by post. The branch personal banker gave me a great tip... apparently the Lloyds TSB account charges a fee to use the debit card at an ATM machine but I can use it for purchases at supermarkets and ask for extra cash without any fees as Lloyds registers that as a regular supermarket transaction.
Amusing!
"What I found to be really amusing was that they could not accept my notice of assessment as proof of residence. Obviously they trust other banks more than governments... Happy that this was so much easier than I thought it would be.
No Deposit Needed
"There's no deposit needed at opening and in fact, I was not able to deposit anything into the account until I receive the account details by post so it will have to be sent by T/T I guess. They offer the first 3 months without fees so I have 3 months before I have to transfer at least the minimum sum into the account. I could have left the money with a friend and asked him to deposit the money for me once I had the account details but honestly, I didn't think of it at that time."
No Further Questions Asked About the Need for This Account
"Yup, owning a London property was good enough reason and no further questions at all about my need for the account. No attempt to even verify if I did own a London property. The branch banker did recommend that once I have settled on a property management agent, I inform Lloyds to put the agency's bank account details on file for my account so they won't hold up the payment for validation checks in case of money laundering. Don't know what kind of property he thinks I'm holding that will give me such a big monthly rental..."
If you have any more questions, please drop by our community forum and ask away!
Happy Investing!
This is extracted from my community forum - http://londonproperty.vbulletin.net/forum/singapore-property-news/712-lloyds-tsb-account
Opening the Lloyds Account in Person - Documents Required
"Opening the account in person was relatively quick and painless. Before I went to London, I called and asked about the documentation needed to set the account up. The person I spoke with on the phone told me that they would only accept a recent (received within the last 3 months) utility bill or credit card bill from a large international bank as proof of my Singapore address. I brought along credit card statements from 2 banks and this year's notice of assessment for my income tax since I just received that in June.
The Actual Process - Quite Quick
"I walked into the Lloyds branch in Chelsea (any Lloyds branch would have been ok) and it was a little strange because the branch personal banker still had to dial into the Lloyds TSB phone line, get me to speak with the banker on the phone to get my account set up. What did help was that the banker on the phone was able to email my application immediately to the branch personal banker. He then printed it out for me to sign and took copies of my passport, credit card bill. That was it... all done. I was told that it would take 3 to 5 working days to process my application and I would get an email notification once the account is set up. The account details and debit card are supposed to arrive by post. The branch personal banker gave me a great tip... apparently the Lloyds TSB account charges a fee to use the debit card at an ATM machine but I can use it for purchases at supermarkets and ask for extra cash without any fees as Lloyds registers that as a regular supermarket transaction.
Amusing!
"What I found to be really amusing was that they could not accept my notice of assessment as proof of residence. Obviously they trust other banks more than governments... Happy that this was so much easier than I thought it would be.
No Deposit Needed
"There's no deposit needed at opening and in fact, I was not able to deposit anything into the account until I receive the account details by post so it will have to be sent by T/T I guess. They offer the first 3 months without fees so I have 3 months before I have to transfer at least the minimum sum into the account. I could have left the money with a friend and asked him to deposit the money for me once I had the account details but honestly, I didn't think of it at that time."
No Further Questions Asked About the Need for This Account
"Yup, owning a London property was good enough reason and no further questions at all about my need for the account. No attempt to even verify if I did own a London property. The branch banker did recommend that once I have settled on a property management agent, I inform Lloyds to put the agency's bank account details on file for my account so they won't hold up the payment for validation checks in case of money laundering. Don't know what kind of property he thinks I'm holding that will give me such a big monthly rental..."
If you have any more questions, please drop by our community forum and ask away!
Happy Investing!
Friday, August 1, 2014
10 Mil Population - Singapore Should Plan For - Mr Liu Thai Ker
Singapore should plan for a population of 10 Mil, says Mr Liu Thai Ker.
Mr Liu was CEO of HDB from 1979 to 1989, and then CEO of URA from 1989 to 1992. See this - http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_584_2005-01-22.html
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I think Mr Liu knows full well that our tiny island can take a population of 10Mil. We just need to carve out more space, and perhaps devote less space to certain industries that require a lot of land.
Anyway, before you think that 10Mil is way too many people for Singapore, do consider the fact that for our little island to be relevant to the rest of the world, we need a sizable population. This world is all about cities.
Many large cities (5Mil and above) are sprouting all over the place, especially in China and India. The urbanization trend is not stoppable.
Anyway, planning for 10Mil doesn't mean that we will necessarily get to 10Mil. However, I think with the recent squeeze and jams, it would be much better to build the infrastructure in advance, rather than try to catch up later on.
Why do we need to many people? Well, I leave that discussion for another day.
Happy investing!
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