liverpool

It’s the October Market Update  

It’s that time again, it’s the October Market Update! 

And what a busy month it’s been, Rob & Rob have got plenty to cover and we’ve got a shedload of news stories for you to sink your teeth into. 

We’ll be covering everything from eviction notices, mortgages, tax and party conference headlines. 

So, settle in as The Robs to talk you through this month’s latest headlines. 

Here’s all the links you need: 

Market: 

• UK House Price Index – August 2021 
• Michael Gove set to pause contentious planning shake-up 
• Labour to give first-time buyers exclusive access to new properties 

Rents: 

• Rental void times lowest for six years: Arla Propertymark 
• Surging rents in Manchester 
• Rental demand set to stay high as first time buyer age rises 
• New generation rent: Why baby boomers are selling up and choosing a more flexible lifestyle 

Holiday Lets: 

• Holiday Lets may be the next Buy To Let, says Moneyfacts 
• Devon confirms 70% drop in PRS as ‘terrifying’ Airbnb trend bites 

Mortgages: 

• Buy-to-let bonanza: Landlords can now bag a sub-1% mortgage rate as TWO lenders launch super-low interest deals - but beware the fees 

Tax: 

• HMRC gives landlords more time to comply with new ‘making tax digital’ rules 

Evictions: 

• Landlords hit back as Welsh Government extends notice periods again 

Licensing: 

• UK’s most expensive ever HMO licensing scheme to launch in London 

Let’s get social 

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do. 

Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week!  

If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob we’ve got two great questions around location and using the bounceback loan scheme to fund your deposit. Is it a good idea?

It seems a number of people are turning their head towards Liverpool for investing in property right now, and this week we’ve got another question regarding properties in the area.

So let’s get to it.

The first question is from Mohammad. He’s recently acquired £50,000 from the bounceback loan scheme through his limited company and he’s now wanting to know if he can use this money as a deposit for a buy-to-let property? 

There’s been a bit of confusion and uncertainty around this topic as it’s not really been clear as to whether you can use the bounceback loan as a deposit. 

So, do The Robs think it’s alright to use the loan as a deposit or do they think Mohammad should reconsider?

Our second caller of the week is Harry from Bristol. He’s asking if £70,000 is too cheap to purchase a decent property in Liverpool? 

If Rob & Rob think it’s too low, Harry wants to know what they think would be the minimum they’d pay for a property in this location.

Naturally, there was only one Rob to take on this question, so it’s over to Rob B to answer this one.

Does Rob B think that Harry should be looking at paying more than £70,000 to get himself a good investment property? 

Tune in to find out.

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply). 

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours. 

Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, the guys are helping one caller decide on which location they should be looking at, and a landlord who’s got damp issues in his property. 

Our first caller, Harry from Bristol, is currently preparing to make his first property investment. He’s only interested in receiving cash flow at the moment, so his strategy is buy, refurbish and refinance.

He’s in the process of scouting for locations so he’s turned to Rob & Rob for advice. He’s keen on the North West or South Wales however, South Wales is closer to home. 

With Harry's strategy, should he be investing in an area closer to home or taking the risk and investing in the popular North West? 

The second question this week comes from Boris. Boris has a tenant that is due to vacate his property and has discovered that there’s quite a bit of mold and damp. This is partly due to how the property is built, with lack of ventilation. 

He wants to know if he’s entitled to ask the tenant to pay for redecoration where it’s needed in the property. 

In addition to this, Boris mentioned he wants to change to a new lettings agent, but what happens about the money held in deposit? 

So, Boris wants to know if both letting agents new and old can work together to get the work on the property completed. Can he charge the tenants or will he have to pay himself?

Tune in to find out...

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply). 

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours. 

Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week on The Property Podcast, Rob & Rob gave you their predictions for 2020. And this week they’re back for their annual rundown of the top UK property investment hotspots to help you decide where to invest next.  

It’s an episode that many of you look forward to at the beginning of each year. So now the wait is over - here’s a run-down of which locations made The Robs’ 2020 hotspot list, along with places should be on your radar to watch…

Cities:

1. Liverpool
2. Manchester 
3. Nottingham/Leeds

Towns:

1. Crewe
2. Doncaster 
3. Greater Manchester 

Up and coming:

1. Sheffield 
2. … you’ll have to listen to find out the rest. 

So, there you have it, Rob & Robs property hotspots for 2020. Some of them may come as a surprise, so make sure you hit that play button to find out why The Robs reckon these should be on your radar.  

Our news story this week is actually a positive one! (New Year, new Rob & Rob?) and the headline reads ‘Buy-to-let investment sentiment remains strong as 2020 kicks off’. According to a recent survey, 75% of people were positive about buy-to-let - rising to 83% if you include millennials.

Apparently a lot of young people have a positive attitude towards property investment, whilst those who have been in the game for a while are a bit more sceptical due to recent changes over the past few years. But, nevertheless, no matter whether you’re about to start or you started 10 years ago, property will still come out on top as the best investment model. 

For Hub Extra this week, we thought that this podcast episode on our 2020 hotspots just wasn’t enough. So, we’ve also done a new YouTube video where Rob & Rob go into more detail on these locations, allowing you to get even more of an insight on what made these locations capture their attention. 

So head on over to our YouTube channel to check the video out, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button and turn on those post notifications. 

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.

Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our YouTube channel where we upload new content every week!

If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, the guys are back again with two different questions that they’ve not covered previously. They’ll be talking about what to do in the event of there being a lack of comparables discussing if properties that have lost value are worth investing in now.

Our first caller today is Paul from Burnley. At the beginning of the year Paul purchased his first buy-to-let property and now he’s hoping to soon complete on property number six! 

That’s pretty good going for less than 12 month’s work! 

Paul’s strategy is buy-refurbish-refinance with a difference - he focuses on  bungalows. So not your usual property choice, but clearly it’s working for him.

However he’s now ran into a bit of an issue. Because it’s such a niche strategy, he’s having difficulties when it comes to searching for comparables in order to remortgage the properties. 

Obviously Paul’s end game is to have made as much profit as possible on the properties, so he’s wondering what he can do to prepare that information when the valuations take place? 

Luckily, Rob D is on hand to offer Paul some pointers on how he can go about this.

The second question comes from Luke in Liverpool. He has a small portfolio himself and is continuously looking to add to it. 

He’s been keeping his eye on the local market in and around Liverpool, in different areas and has noticed that some developments that were priced between £130,000 - £140,000 are now on the market for around £90,000. 

So now he’s wondering if these kind of properties are a good investment opportunity or if they are just going to continuously lose value and he should stay well away? 

Naturally, there was only one Rob that could offer advice on the Liverpool market, cue Rob B.

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply). 

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours. 

Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week The Robs are talking about an important calculation. They’ve never talked about it before, but it’s one you need to start using. 

That’s right, they’re talking about how you can make money from property and the different ways you can achieve this. 

There’s a popular debate on whether you should optimise your goals based on the monthly rental income you need or the capital growth potential. But what they’ve not really talked about in detail is the total return that you’re going to make from property over time.

So this week, The Robs are covering the total return that you can make from your property investment, including how to calculate it and ultimately, why it matters. 

Want to know how you can work out the return on investment for your potential property? Tune in to listen to how The Robs break it down. 

In the news this week we’re looking at the latest figures from Hometrack and the House Price Index for May 2019. When you look at the top cities in the country, The Robs are pretty pleased that they tipped four of the top five as ones to invest in this year. Especially Liverpool with prices being up by 5%! 

The report looks at the most affordable cities as a first time buyer and no surprise that London, Cambridge and Oxford were at the bottom of the list. But what was surprising was that the most affordable location in the UK for a first time buyer is Liverpool!

Now this is fantastic news as it sets the indicator that the growth Liverpool is currently seeing is set to continue and has the furthest to grow, even though it’s a current hotspot. 

Check out the report and see what other cities tick the affordability box. 

We’ve also got ANOTHER new video up on YouTube for you. This time The Robs are talking about using a limited company as a buy to let investor, and if they’re really necessary.

Head on over to our channel to check it out, leave us a comment on what you think about limited companies (and if you use one), and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button.

And finally, this week’s Hub Extra is a Google Chrome extension called Just Read. Essentially it strips all of the rubbish out of a webpage so you can read it properly. If adverts and pop ups drive you mad, this extension will be your new favourite tool! You’re welcome!

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s Property Podcast over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You might even have a topic you’d like us to cover in the future - if so, pop us a message on social and we’ll see what we can do.

Make sure you’ve liked and subscribed to our brand new YouTube channel where we upload new content every week!

If that wasn’t enough, you can also join our friendly property community on the Property Hub forum.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ask Rob & Rob, we’ve got another two great questions for you about student accommodation and EPC ratings.

Our first caller is Dawson who is looking at investing in student accommodation. She’s based in the south but has a clear understanding that yields are better in the north.

She’s looked at Manchester and Liverpool but she’s finding that they’re getting quite saturated with a lot of properties left empty - she thinks this is mainly due to the new rules and the amount of new developments becoming available.

So where would Rob & Rob recommend she look for a good student let with a high yield? Or is this market not worth getting into? 

The next question is from Thomas who has been looking at a property to buy up north in Barnsley. 

He’s had the EPC come through showing a rating of 9, which has obviously sparked concerns of how much it’s going to cost to get the property up to standard so they can rent it out. 

Do Rob & Rob know the best way is to get this improved? Are there any grants or funding that Thomas can apply for to give him a helping hand?

It’s safe to say that Rob B is absolutely baffled by such a low rating but answers Thomas’ question regardless and gives him some guidance. 

Tune in to find out what he suggests.

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply). 

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours. 

Have you joined us over on the Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re back again with two great questions on this week’s Ask Rob and Rob podcast.

Andrew’s question is first up and he asks Rob & Rob whether he should re-finance or sell his two properties. Here’s the details:

• Two properties, one worth £300,000 and the other worth £200,000
• Outstanding mortgage: £100,000 on each with £300,000 total equity available
• One rents for £1,000 pcm and the second for £750 pcm
• 15 year repayment mortgage on both

Andrew explains how he just breaks even each month and that his properties aren’t achieving a good ROI. However he has made £100,000 in capital growth over the last 5 years, so it's not all bad!

Should Andrew re-finance both to interest only mortgages and release about £100,000? Or should he sell one or both and have up to £300,000 to invest on more sensible investments with a higher ROI? Listen to find out what Rob and Rob think…

The next question is from Scott, who wants to know whether he should be investing in Northern Powerhouse cities, or whether London is still a good place to invest. Rob & Rob discuss the best time to invest in London based on the 18 year property cycle.

Press the play button to listen!

Do you have a buy to let or property investment related question for Rob & Rob? You could feature on the next episode by giving us a call on 013 808 00035 and leaving a message with your name and question (normal UK call rates apply).

Or if you prefer, click here to leave a recording via your computer instead.

The next question on Ask Rob & Rob could be yours.

Have you joined us over in The Property Hub Forum yet? Our online community is friendly, informative, and the members are waiting to welcome you with open arms. So get yourself over and introduce yourself.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s better?  Flats or houses?  North or South? Yield or growth?  We get asked these questions all the time.  New builds or older property is no different.

In this week’s episode we have a look at the pro and cons of old vs new in each stage of an investor’s process; from setting your initial goals to what to expect long term - to help you decide which strategy is for you.

We also look at our own portfolios to reflect on what’s worked well and what hasn’t.

NEWS THIS WEEK

Britain’s best and worst yielding areas have been revealed.  We’ve both happy about the results for different reasons, but as always we take our news with a pinch of salt.

IF YOU ENJOYED THE PROPERTY PODCAST, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON ITUNES

Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air.

If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here.

Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Late last year in episode 249 we made our predictions for 2018.

We harnessed all our psychic ability to glimpse into the future to look at which cities would enjoy the highest growth, what would happen to London or would interest rates rise.  We were even bold (or foolish) enough to predict the future of Bitcoin.

Now that we’re at the halfway point in the year, it’s time to see if our predictions are on track.  Fingers crossed!

NEWS THIS WEEK

An article this week claims that Manchester tops list of best UK cities to be a landlord.  This certainly bodes well as we review our predictions, but does this list have some unexpected surprises?

JOIN THE CONVERSATION OVER IN THE FORUM

Share your stories with us - Join the conversation in the forum.

IF YOU ENJOYED THE PROPERTY PODCAST, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON ITUNES

Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air.

If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here.

Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the 201st episode of The Property Podcast and this week we're focussing on where to invest in the UK this year. Some of them you may be expecting from us, but there's a couple of wildcards thrown in for good measure. Listen to find out more.

Property Geek

A quick plug for Rod D's Property Geek Podcast - the latest episode talks about new mortgage rules which haven’t had much coverage elsewhere. Take a listen to get up to date. 

Rents are hitting an 'affordability ceiling'

Rob D chose this news story because it proved him right (again). The idea is that rents are getting so high in some areas that if they go up any further, tenants wont afford them, which will only produce more void periods in the end. Rents can't just rise forever as salaries are not rising at the same rate. This is obviously more of an issue in places such as London where tenants are reportedly paying up to 75% of their disposable income on rent. Check out the article here. 

Resource of the week

Tinder for business (apparently). Shapr.co will give you the ability to swipe left or right and make interesting business contacts. Check it out. 

Join the conversation

What do you think to our predictions? Do you want to make any of your own? Head to the forum to have your say.

If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes

Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air.

If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here.

Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Due to the great response to the last 'listeners' deals' podcast, we're happy to say we're bringing you more of these this week, which is brilliant news for us because we love this format!

This week we check out deals from Tom, Hannah, and Jamie, and these three deals vary greatly!

Resource of the week

It's another Trello based resource of the week, but bear with us because Trello aficionados will love this one. Butler for Trello will help automate a ton of the things you do manually - and you can set this up using plain English commands. Play about with it and see what it can do for you. Check it out here.

News this week

£5bn of Northern Powerhouse projects made available to Chinese investors - well this is one we will add to the 'told you so' file! 

We’ve been talking about overseas investors looking outside London and this backs it up. We doubt this will be the last good news story for The Northern Powerhouse, but check this one out here.

Join the conversation

Which of these deals would be the one to pique your interest? Head over to the forum to discuss this more.

If you enjoyed The Property Podcast, please leave a review on iTunes

Reviews are really important in helping other people to find the show, so by way of thanks we read out every single review we receive on air.

If you’d like to hear your name on the show, leave us a review on iTunes here.

Not sure how to leave a review? This video shows you how to review and subscribe on iTunes.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.