Belvoir acquires Crown Lettings

Belvoir is delighted to announce the acquisition of Crown Residential Lettings in early July. All the Crown employees are now located in Belvoir’s Bridge Street offices and will continue to offer an exceptional service to landlords and tenants alike.

Belvoir now has the largest lettings team in the company’s 20 year history. The department has seen some restructuring with each individual member of the team now focusing exclusively on their particular area of expertise. With these lettings specialists delivering first class customer service, Belvoir continues to be the favourite lettings agent amongst Andover landlords* 

Vicky Bowman, Belvoir’s Lettings Manager said “We now manage a significant portfolio of Andover rental properties and we were thrilled to see that according to figures provided by Rightmove, in 2018 we have listed more available properties in Andover than any other agent. This means that we can offer prospective tenants a much greater choice** and this in turn is good news for our landlords.”      

For more information on Belvoir’s lettings service or available rental properties, please call 01264 366611 or email lettings@belvoirandover.com

*Rightmove stats for 2018 – Most New Instructions
**Rightmove stats for 2018 – Available Stock      

Belvoir Property Clinic launches

We have introduced our monthly Property Clinic, which promises to answer many of the questions we get asked in the office.This month we look at tax changes for Landlords.

If you have a question for our monthly Belvoir Property Clinic, please send to info@belvoirandover.com

Q Can you explain the tax changes that have been introduced for buy-to-let landlords as I am about to file my tax return

A This is a question we have been asked a lot at Belvoir, and it’s not an altogether simple one to answer.

The tax changes only apply to individual landlords who let property in the UK, those who let in a partnership or Trustees of a trust directly holding UK residential property. The new tax rules won’t apply to companies or landlords of furnished holiday lets.

In short, the main change being made under the new tax rules, is that landlords will no longer be able to fully claim tax relief on their mortgage interest payments and related finance costs.

Previously, landlords have been able to deduct a number of allowable expenses along with mortgage and other finance expenses from their rental income and just pay tax on the difference. Now however, tax relief on finance costs will be restricted to the basic rate of Income Tax with the restrictions being phased in gradually from 6 April 2017 until fully in place from 6 April 2020.

You’ll still be able to deduct some of your finance costs when you work out your taxable property profits during the transitional period. These deductions will be gradually withdrawn and replaced with a basic rate relief tax reduction.

Tax year	Percentage of finance costs deductible from rental income	Percentage of basic rate tax reduction
2017/18	75%	25%
2018/19	50%	50%
2019/20	25%	75%
2020/21	0%	100%

We would advise you to take some professional advice regarding how this will affect you based on your particular personal circumstances. There is also more information on the full impact of the changes and case studies published by HMRC which can be accessed on www.gov.uk

No Deposit? No problem!

Belvoir is now offering a Nil Deposit Scheme for new tenants

Here at Belvoir, we know that it can be a struggle to raise a large deposit to put down on a rented home, so our new Nil Deposit Scheme offers an alternative option which will allow you to move quickly and easily into your chosen new home. 

Rather than paying the usual six week’s rental as a deposit, you can now choose to pay a non-refundable fixed fee of just one week’s rent plus VAT*

At the end of the tenancy, the property will be inspected in the usual way.

No need to save for months for that large deposit – yet another reason to Be with Belvoir!

How does it work? Pop in and see one of our Lettings team to find out if you qualify for Nil Deposit and to understand the full terms and conditions of the Scheme, or call them on 01264 366611


*Terms and Conditions apply

Introducing Vicky Bowman

We are delighted to announce that Vicky Bowman has joined Belvoir as Lettings Manager. Vicky will head up our very successful lettings team and she brings a wealth of experience to the role; having been a Lettings Manager in Andover for over 14 years.

Vicky said 'I am delighted to join such a busy and well-regarded lettings agent and I am looking forward to meeting and working with the many landlords that rely on Belvoir to manage their properties'

Belvoir Andover Shortlisted For ESTAs Award 2016

Belvoir Andover has been shortlisted in the biggest awards for estate & letting agents in the UK, known throughout the industry as The ESTAS.

Belvoir Andover has been recognised for its outstanding customer service to its clients by the largest and longest running award scheme in the UK residential property industry.

The ESTAS sponsored by Zoopla determines the best estate & letting agents in the UK through research carried out amongst customers who are asked a series of questions about the service they have received from their agent.  This year saw record entries making the competition the toughest yet and one of the biggest surveys in the UK property industry with just over 30,000 customers completing one of the online questionnaires.

Estate and letting agents have been shortlisted in 22 regions around the UK.  The regional and national winners will be announced at the 13^th annual ESTAS ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 15^th April.  The awards will be presented by TV property expert Phil Spencer in front of 1,000 of the UK’s top property professionals, Spencer said “Any firm that enters The ESTAS has already sent a clear message that they are passionate about customer service so to make it on to the shortlist is a huge achievement in itself”.

Simon Brown, founder of the awards says “Its client feedback which determines who is shortlisted and ultimately who wins that makes The ESTAS so valuable.  We’ve introduced categories for conveyancers, mortgage brokers and developers so The ESTAS now recognises the best firms across the whole of residential property sector.”

Jon Notley, Chief Commercial Officer of headline sponsor Zoopla said, “This is our sixth year sponsoring The ESTAS and we are delighted to be once again supporting this key industry event. Customer feedback is essential to any organisation and it is fantastic to see the best in the industry being recognised for their efforts. Good luck to all those taking part and I look forward to meeting the winners on stage in April!”

Ann Osman - Property Manager for Belvoir Andover said “We’re absolutely delighted to have made it on to this year’s shortlist. We are passionate about the level of service we deliver to our clients and this proves all the hard work the team put in has paid off”.

The Awards are organised by The ESTAS Group Ltd.  www.theestas.com

For more information contact Simon Brown on 01892 610245 at The ESTAs or Greg Greatbatch 01264 366611 at Belvoir Andover

Tenants could lose their home if Labour win election

A million tenants could lose their rental properties as a result of Labour’s policies, predicts Belvoir 

Belvoir, one of the UK’s largest property management agencies, predicts that Labour’s pledge to introduce new anti-landlord rental policies could result in up to a million tenants losing their rental properties.

We are by no means a political business here at Belvoir, but when a blatant policy decision is set to effect the lettings industry is such a drastic way, we feel compelled to communicate it to our clients, tenants & friends to ensure they understand the implications of their voting actions. 

“I am shocked at Ed Miliband’s proposals and his decision to ignore industry experts who have issued dire warnings about the unprecedented suffering that his party’s policies are likely to cause to tenants,” says Phil Pinkney, Belvoir Andover Director.
 

“Under a Labour Government, landlords will be forced to commit to three-year tenancies and banned from raising rents above inflation. You don’t have to be a mathematician or property expert to work out how deeply flawed these policies are.
 

“There are currently eleven million people renting property in the UK, which amounts to about 20% of the population and includes 1.5 million families with children. There are around four million rental properties available and if just 10-15% of landlords decide to withdraw from the rental market because they are uncomfortable with Labour’s proposals and feel unable to manage their risks – particularly when mortgage rates rise - these homes will no longer be available. 

“I would like to know where Ed Miliband suggests these tenants should live? These tenants will either become homeless or face the appalling consequences of having to move in with family and friends on a long-term basis. 

“Looking at housing proposals for new builds from all the main parties, the most that any party has pledged is 300,000 properties in the next five years and clearly this figure will not even begin to satisfy current demand, which is the reason that we’re facing a housing shortage. 

“We should not forget that it was the Labour Government’s incompetence that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, which resulted in a credit crunch that has left millions of people unable to obtain mortgages or save for a deposit to buy their own home. It is therefore very shortsighted and totally irresponsible of Labour to introduce policies that will drastically reduce the number of available rental properties. 

“Landlords are very tired of being made to look like criminals who are constantly looking to rip off tenants and provide low quality housing. In our experience, 99.9% of landlords are decent people that provide decent housing for tenants on a long-term basis. Belvoir’s rental index confirms that in most parts of the country there has not been the major rental increases that Ed Miliband speaks of. However, if we look back over the past five to ten years and apply Labour’s proposed inflation rule for rental increases to many parts of the UK then tenants would indeed be paying much higher rents than they are today.  

“Labour’s proposals are full of loopholes and have clearly not been thought through, but merely put forward as a way to attract votes. One thing is certain - Labour’s policies will not raise standards or increase tenant security. They are likely to cause a housing crisis that will result in millions of people left with nowhere to call home.”

If you too feel strongly about the above, make sure you vote with your feet and get to a polling station near you and vote against a Labour government.

Non-UK Resident Landlords: Change to Capital Gains Tax

Further to a number of enquiries from our landlords regarding the introduction of the New Capital Gains Tax for Non UK Resident Landlords, we have researched this in depth and we have found the following salient points and a useful government link which you may find useful.

The new Capital Gains Tax came into force on the 6^th April 2015. Any sales of UK residential property made before that date, whether of a main residence or an investment home, owned directly by non-resident individuals should not incur a tax charge. However, from 6th April 2015, a charge to CGT will arise on non-UK residents who dispose of UK residential property. The charge will only be applicable to gains accruing after 6^th April 2015.

To summarise capital gains will apply: To non-UK resident individuals, trustees, certain closely-held fund structures and companies on the disposal of UK residential property, including rental properties, and Capital gains tax will be charged on the increase in value of the property from 6^th April 2015 onwards. Capital Gains Tax rates of 18% and 28% apply dependent your circumstances.

The general advice seems to be that Non-UK residents should get their properties valued now, even if they have no intention of selling. Failing to get a valuation could possibly mean paying more tax when the property is eventually sold.

If you do sell in the future, HMRC may query the amount of tax due on a sale and they will refer the matter to their District Valuer who will then determine the value as of the 6^th of April this year. The landlord can of course employ a surveyor at that point to do the same and they will negotiate with the District Valuer. This would obviously cost more than getting your property valued now.

For further information please view the following link https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax-for-non-residents-uk-residential-property#