Month: February 2021

There’s plenty of properties available that, with a little TLC, have the potential to make wonderful homes. However, there are a few things to bear in mind before you pop the lid off the first tin of paint. Check out our top tips for renovating your rental!

Make sure you understand your target tenant

Depending on the type of property that you have purchased, you may be looking to renovate for very different target markets. For example, if you own a house within a catchment area of a great primary school, chances are you may get a lot of interest from families with young children. Tenants like this are likely to be looking for a property with a bath in the bathroom, rather than an all-singing-and-dancing power shower.

Before you start any work, making sure you do this research thoroughly could save all your hard work being in vain. Failing to hit the mark with your tenants could leave you with a perfectly polished property that nobody wants to rent, so it is important to get it right!

Prioritise work that will make the biggest difference

If you have a property which has a front garden space, but is on a road with bad parking availability, consider applying for a dropped kerb and creating parking space in the front of your property. Whilst garden space is great, parking is a huge priority for many!

Something that always hits the mark is a great looking kitchen and bathroom. Fresh and clean spaces, in neutral colours with great appliances are always popular with tenants, and can really add pounds value to your property’s rental rate.

Finally, clean and neutral décor is a good way to finish your project. Easy-to-clean flooring and a simple colour on the walls allows your prospective tenants to walk in to your property and envisage their lives translated onto your blank canvas. Bright colour schemes and punchy prints may be your preference at home, but in a rental property you have to appeal to as many people as possible, so keep the bold design choices for your own home!

Work out what you are prepared to do yourself

Undertaking a renovation project is a lot of work, and depending on the nature of the jobs that need completing, it can be a hefty workload to take on yourself.

Whilst decorating and simple gardening jobs can be tackled by a keen DIY-er, any skilled jobs are better managed by professionals. There’s nothing worse than attempting a job yourself only to not quite get it up to scratch and have to budget for more materials and a specialist to come in and put it right!

Also, make sure you take into account the time it takes to renovate a property. Whilst you may imagine that you can fit this project into evenings and weekends, it may be more cost effective to pay a professional to come in and get the job done quickly. The sooner it is complete, the sooner your property will be ready to let and start earning you a rental income. If you think you might take six weeks to oversee the project yourself, versus one week with a contractor getting the work done, consider how much potential rent you would lose with that five-week difference.

Make sure all work is compliant

Time and cost aside, no matter how competent your DIY skills, there are certain jobs that you should definitely call in the professionals for.

Also, as every landlord knows there is plenty of landlord legislation that you need to comply with, and renovating gives you perfect scope to make sure that your property is ticking every legal box.

If you are looking to install new gas or electrical elements in your property, you should make sure that these are fitted by a fully registered and compliant engineer, and that you have the fitting certificated. More details on your requirements regarding gas safety are available here.

Also, with renovations underway you could consider making upgrades to your property’s green credentials. There are plenty of changes you can make, from simple tweaks such as pipe lagging, to hefty switches such as new double glazing, that all count towards making your property more energy efficient. Of course, if you do make any changes, don’t forget to update your EPC to reflect the upgrades! Details of how to do this and why it’s so important are available here.

Be practical, not personal

Don’t forget that your property is a business, and whilst you want to make sure it looks as great as it can, you need to be savvy about the choices you make.

Expensive fixtures and fittings can be more of a curse than a blessing, with complex controls and fiddly features providing potential confusion for tenants, and high cost for you to replace should they go wrong. Whilst you want your new tenants have a great home to be proud of, bear in mind that you should replace any fixtures and fitting like for like should they go wrong, so don’t leave yourself open for hefty cost further down the line if and when a pricy item needs replacing.

Similarly, think carefully about big items like floor coverings. Whilst you want to be sure that your property is welcoming and stylish, with a rental property it does pay to think a little more about the practicalities than if you were looking at carpeting your own home. If you chose to fit fluffy white pure wool carpets throughout your home, you could insist on people removing shoes, and ban red wine from entering the building – however this isn’t an option as a landlord! A more forgiving option, that is easily cleanable, or replaceable without breaking the bank, might be a more sensible choice.

Find the perfect match

When your property is perfectly polished and ready to rent, the next step is making sure that it is on the market as quickly as possible. After all, you want to find the perfect tenant to appreciate all your hard work!

Here at Howsy, we understand the importance of finding the ideal match for your property. Schedule a call with one of our team today, to discuss how we can help match your pristine property, with a tenant who will love it as much as you do!

Schedule your call here today.

It’s an exciting day here at Howsy towers!

We are delighted to announce that we have acquired online letting agency Upad from liquidators, and are excited to be relaunching the much-loved brand.

The acquisition sees Howsy taking on a number of Upad’s assets, including the company name, contracts and operating platform.  

The news of Upad’s sudden closure at the end of last year came as a shock to everyone. The organisation was closed following founder James Davis suffering a health scare, and we were saddened to see such a vibrant business in our sector close its doors.

With such a strong reputation for excellent customer service and an industry leader in the online rental sector, we were keen to ensure that this did not signal the end for Upad, and began the process of acquiring the firm’s assets.

Why have Howsy bought Upad?

We are keen to build an unrivalled rental platform, utilising seamless technology, highly skilled staff and a bank of rental-know-how to offer bespoke solutions to landlords across the UK. Upad’s technology delivers some fantastic solutions, and their loyal customer base represents a cross-section of UK landlords who we hope we can continue to deliver a great service to.

What does it mean for Howsy customers?

Upad was one of the founders of the online letting agency model, alongside Urban.co.uk who we also acquired at the end of 2019. Working together with existing Howsy teams, these purchases allow us to offer a great tenant find option, tailored to suit the needs of today’s landlord.

We’re over the moon that a number of Upad and Urban.co.uk experts have joined the Howsy team and are providing us with the benefit of their knowledge in this particular sector of the rental market – what they don’t know about finding your perfect tenant just isn’t worth knowing!

Of course, this addition to the family doesn’t change the Howsy you know. We will still continue to provide end-to-end property management services, combining cutting edge technology with round-the-clock personal support to make sure that every element of your rental journey is taken care of.

What does this change mean for Upad customers?

Day-to-day, there will be no changes to the Upad that existing customers know and love. All of the technology and features you have come to expect will all still be in place, only to be backed up further by the round-the-clock teams here at Howsy.

All of the great features you look for when finding a new tenant are still available, with the option to seamlessly move onto a Howsy management plan if you are looking for a more end-to-end solution.

As a larger team, we hope that we will be able to continue Upad’s vision in driving innovation for landlords and tenants, and make a real change to the private rental sector.

Looking forwards

2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year, with lots of positive news to come.

We are always keen to hear any thoughts on how we can change things to make them work better for our landlords, and urge you to get in touch with any ideas. There’s no better feedback!

As we move into a new year, plenty of us make lots of resolutions. Gym memberships soar, healthy food fills our fridges and exciting new hobbies fill our time.

However, as a landlord starting a new decade, what are the key rental resolutions that you should be making, and making sure that you stick to in 2020 (and beyond)!

Property maintenance

The newly announced Renters Reform Bill focuses heavily on improving standards of accommodation for tenants, with large penalties for landlords who do not provide properties that are safe and healthy. Whilst the majority of landlords obviously would never consider providing sub-standard living accommodation, this legislation is designed to crunch down on the few rogues that give the industry a bad name.

Winter weather can wreak havoc on property maintenance, so to ensure that your property is maintained and ticking all the letting legislation boxes, there are a few vital points that you need to remember:

• Make sure all heating and hot water is well maintained and in full working order. The cold winter months are miserable enough without adding a boiler breakdown into the mix.  
• Everyone wants to come home to a warm toasty house at this time of year. If the radiators in your property need bleeding, they won’t be getting up to temperature, and your tenants will be feeling very chilly. A few minutes per radiator is all it takes to remove any air-blockages.  
• Damp in a property is one of the most common tenant complaints, and is often much worse in the winter when windows are kept shut against the chill. But managing ventilation in the property, with airbricks or extractor fans will help minimise the risk of damp and mould causing havoc in a home. You can read more top tips on how to manage mould here.
• Rain, wet leaves and damp, chilly nights are a recipe for disaster when it comes to blocked gutters, leaks and potential damp. Making sure the exterior of your property is maintained and kept clear of debris is a (damp and messy) but necessary winter maintenance job that can pay dividends.

Refresh your contracts

As we woke up on January first, plans to clear cupboards, refresh wardrobes and declutter the day-to-day started to form. But why should you stop at the physical? Now is a perfect time to have a long hard look at all the contracts that are overseeing your landlord life, and question whether they are still working well for you.

As your letting lifestyle changes, you may find that your current letting agent no longer delivers the requirements that you are looking for. You may have decided that you want to take a more active role in 2020, or even want to take more of a back seat, and be looking for an agent that allows you to do just that.

But can you make the decision to switch?

You are perfectly within your rights to make the decision to end the contract with your existing letting agent, should you decide that there is a better option for you elsewhere. The contract that you have in place is a legal agreement, so there are steps that you have to take in order to exit the contract correctly, however it absolutely can be done.

You can read more about how to make this change here, or speak to a member of the Howsy team, who will be happy to offer you advice on the process. Give us a call today on 0330 999 1234.  

Get your paperwork in order

In the land of lettings, a clean and concise paperwork trail is key. Making sure you have all the relevant documents in order is very important.

As part of your rental resolutions, going over all the documentation relating to your property, from gas safety certificates to right to rent forms and making sure they are all in date and nothing has slipped will stand you in good stead for the year ahead, and help you plan your key dates and ‘to-dos’ for the coming months.

Understand tax changes

2020 is a big year for tax changes, and some of them are likely to have a real impact on landlords. Whilst not exactly a resolution, identifying tax changes that could directly affect your bottom line is something that is important to understand.

Back in 2015, changes were announced surrounding tax relief on mortgage interest payments and fees, as well as fees and interest on any loans to buy furnishings for properties, with plans for the changes to be phased out over a five-year period.  These changes were introduced in the tax year 2017/2018, with claimable relief being reduced to 75%, then down to 50% in 2018/2019, 25% in 2019/2020. By the final stage of the change, tax year 2020/2021 (which starts in April), landlords will be unable to claim any tax relief on mortgage interest payments at all.  

From then, landlords will only be able to subtract a flat 20% tax credit on any interest payments from rental income when filing a tax return.

In addition to this change (which has been five years in the pipeline) there are significant changes to Private Residence Relief being introduced, which is bad news for any landlords looking to sell a rental property.

Currently, if a landlord wants to sell a rental property that was once their home, they are able to claim Private Residence Relief for all the time that they personally lived in the property before letting it to tenants, plus an additional 18 months after moving out. This means that landlords have the potential to claim up to around £40,000 in Capital Gains Tax relief upon the sale.

Come April, this final 18-month period will be reduced to just nine months – cutting the available period in half. The landlord also has to be able to prove that they were living in the property at point of sale to be eligible to claim.

Additionally, the period for payment of the Capital Gains Tax bill will change from January 31^st in the year after the sale, to just 30 days after completion.

Be environmentally aware

Many people have made new year’s resolutions to be more environmentally aware, and it’s certainly a great way to start a new decade.

For landlords, there is even more reason to be highly aware of the green routine, as any every residential property will be required to have an EPC rating of E or above from 1^st April 2020, including those with existing tenancies.

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) were introduced in March 2015, but came into force on April 1^st 2018, when in order to legally grant a new tenancy, renewal or extension to a tenancy, the property had to have an EPC rating of E or above. Landlords were encouraged to make relevant changes to their properties to boost their EPC rating to avoid a hefty fine, however there are a number of exemptions available should it be impossible to crack the rating ceiling in your property.

Full details of MEES, simple changes that you can make to your property to boost your rating, and a full list of exemptions can be found here.

Change your thinking around deposits

No matter whether it is 2020 or 3020, making sure your property is properly protected has got to be high on the list for most landlords.

Following the introduction of the Tenant Fees Act back in the summer of 2019, deposits are a hot topic. As part of the changes, come June 1^st 2020, landlords will only be able to take a security deposit equivalent to five weeks’ rent (or six weeks’ when the annual rent exceeds £50,000).

Landlords with existing deposits held with schemes will have to reduce the amount held by this date, and failure to do so can be a pricy mistake – with fines of anything from £5,000 to £30,000 expected.

There is no doubt that there is a lot to consider, and there is plenty to go wrong. With deposits being removed, returned, re-registered – it’s a recipe for disaster! However, there is another way…

Here at Howsy, we think it’s high time that deposits were turned on their head. Despite the five-week cap being introduced last year, the average deposit still sits at over £1,000 (£2,000 in the capital!) – a huge sum of money for tenants to stump up and often the barrier for great tenants to get their foot on the private rental ladder.

We’ve launched an innovative new system destined to change the way deposits work for everyone. Replacing the outdated lump sum payment with a small monthly fee paid by the tenant (or household), the insurance-based scheme guarantees a simple, stress-free system for the landlord, and a financially seamless option for the tenant.

You can read more about Howsy Club here.