Forced To Sell Their Homes At Any Price

 Homeowners stuck in flats they cannot sell due to a red-tape nightmare are now so desperate they are flogging their properties at enormous discounts of up to 40 per cent on their asking price. Lenders have been refusing to offer mortgages on tens of thousands of homes after new safety rules were introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. But homeowners say they face bankruptcy if they cannot sell their properties, as many expect crippling bills for repair work and rising mortgage payments. The fiasco means growing numbers are now turning to firms that pay cash for unwanted properties at cut prices. Read more on the Thisismoney website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-8860203/Banks-refuse-mortgage-flats-cladding-fears.html

Cut Stamp Duty For Elderly Downsizers

Top housing and pension bosses have written to the Chancellor calling for a new Help to Downsize scheme to boost a property market recovery and put pensioners in safer, more suitable homes. In a letter addressed to Rishi Sunak, leaders from across the housing and retirement industries have pleaded for stamp duty to be waived for older homeowners who move to smaller, more suitable homes, thereby freeing up large family homes to those in dire need of more space.  Without drastic action to slash the tax bills faced by would-be downsizers, they warn, pensioners will remain stuck in homes that no longer meet their needs. Read more on the This Is Money website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-8479463/Cut-stamp-duty-downsizers-property-bosses-urge.html

Persimmon Is Named Britain's Worst Builder Again

The challenges facing Persimmon's new bosses have been laid bare after the firm was named Britain's worst major housebuilder again. In a survey of 60,955 people, it was awarded three stars out of five by the Home Builders Federation for the fourth year running. The rankings put it behind FTSE 100 rivals Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, who both received five stars. Read more on the thisismoney website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-6853915/Persimmon-named-Britains-worst-builder-amid-criticism-fat-cat-pay-shoddy-workmanship.html

Housebuilders To Pay Record £2.6Billion To Investors – Despite Housing Shortage

Britain's biggest housebuilders are poised to dish out a record £2.6 billion in dividends to shareholders this year – despite failing to tackle the housing crisis. The staggering amount to be handed out mainly to City investors in 2019 – largely as a result of taxpayer-funded schemes – is enough to build 11,400 houses. It is vastly higher than the £50 million paid out in 2012 – a year before the controversial Help to Buy scheme was launched. Critics say the scheme has fuelled house price rises, boosting the profits of builders who now have so much spare cash they have heavily ramped up returns to shareholders rather than building extra homes. Read more on the Thisismoney website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-6660745/Housebuilders-pay-record-2-6-BILLION-investors-despite-housing-shortage.html

£230m Windfall For Top Builders Since Start Of Help To Buy

The bosses of Britain's biggest builders have been paid more than £230million since the Help to Buy scheme was launched five years ago, the Mail can reveal. The chief executives of seven leading companies including Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey have seen their pay triple on the back of the taxpayer-funded subsidy. Profits have also jumped fourfold since George Osborne's housing programme was introduced in April 2013. But the number of new homes built has grown by just 50 per cent. Read more on the This is Money website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-6364383/230m-windfall-builders-start-Help-Buy.html

Slum Landlords Can Be Prosecuted From Next Month

Landlords who rent properties to multiple tenants face tough new licensing rules designed to protect tenants from next month.  HMO licensing already applies to landlords who rent their properties to five or more tenants from two or more different households where the property is three or more storeys. But from 1 October, any property let to five or more tenants from two or more households will be caught by the rules - regardless of the number of floors.  It means that 177,000 landlords across the UK will have to meet new minimum standards on room size and safety or face fines up to £30,000 and even criminal prosecution. Read more on the This is Money website.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-6063461/HMOS.html

A Buy-To-Let Register By The Back Door?

Increasing numbers of local councils are introducing licensing schemes for landlords, costing them up to £1,000 to register. One in five boroughs are now operating such schemes, which can require all landlords in a given area to obtain a licence or face criminal charges.  Their introduction leads to the question of whether councils are ushering a potential buy-to-let register by the back door, as calls for national landlord licensing have so far not been acted on. n some cases, landlords could have to fork out up to £1,000 to gain a licence, at a time when tax and regulatory changes are forcing many smaller landlords out of the sector. Read more on the This is Money website.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-5945643/Brits-spend-time-searching-holiday-mortgage-research-finds.html

A Third Of Landlords With Just One Buy-To-Let Are Considering Selling Up

Two years on from sweeping tax reforms to buy-to-let, the Government's aim of limiting small-scale amateur landlords appears to be closer to fruition. Research conducted by Simple Landlords Insurance has found that a third of landlords with just one buy-to-let property are planning to sell and give up on buy-to-let. Meanwhile, 38 per cent of landlords who own two or more properties say they are planning to buy at least one more in the coming year. Read more on the This is Money website.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-5633935/Government-plan-professionalise-buy-let-working.html

'We Could Raise Rents If We Lose Tax Breaks,' UK Landlords Warn Osborne

Landlords say they may be forced to hike rents if George Osborne sweeps away lucrative tax breaks. In an open letter to Mr Osborne, the National Landlords Association warned that costs in the private rental sector could rise by up to £2.6billion if mortgage interest payments for the buy-to-let sector are made non-deductible. NLA CEO Richard Lambert said that removing the tax perk would damage the economy, and work against first-time buyers by putting greater pressure on the cost of housing. Mr Lambert wrote: 'It has been suggested that private landlords receive too many "perks" or reliefs which give them an unfair advantage compared to owner-occupiers, but this ignores the fact that letting residential property for profit is a business. No business pays tax on their gross turnover alone so why should landlords be treated any differently?” Read more on the This is Money website.

Government Cuts Mortgage Support

The amount of money struggling homeowners can claim to help them meet monthly mortgage repayments is to fall in July, after the government cut the interest rate used to make the calculations. Currently homeowners entitled to support for mortgage interest (SMI) can get help with monthly payments on a mortgage worth up to £200,000 based on an interest rate of 3.63%. But following a sharp fall in high-street mortgage rates, the rate will be reduced to 3.12%. SMI is a means-tested benefit that can be claimed by people receiving income-based jobseekers allowance, employment and support allowance and pension credit. It is designed to cover a borrower’s interest payments to their bank or building society, but not the original capital they borrowed. It is currently claimed by 161,000 people. Read more on the This is Money website.

Homeowners Waiting Up To 28 Years between House Moves

The average period of time between home moves is as long as 28 years in some UK cities.  A 30 per cent drop in moves by homeowners with mortgages over the last decade is starving the market of housing supplies and driving prices upwards, Hometrack suggests. UK property prices increased by 9.6 per cent in the year to March 2015, up from 7.4 per cent recorded the previous month.

In the 1980s, the average house changed hands every 10 years. Between 2003 and 2007, the average time between moves increased to 14 years.  As prices rise, the time between house moves across all UK cities has risen to 21 years, and in some cities, like Liverpool, to 28 years. Read more on the This is Money website.

Home Buyers Down 22% since Start of the Year

Signs of a slowing housing market have continued with official Bank of England data showing yet another dip in mortgage lending.  Approvals of house purchase loans dropped for the fourth successive month to 59,426. This is the lowest level since June 2013 and a 22 per cent fall on the January peak of 76,574.The figures came as Britain's biggest building society Nationwide called on Chancellor George Osborne to ease the burden of stamp duty, which sets back ordinary families buying homes costing more than £250,000 at least £7,500. Read more on the This is Money website.