Landlords Property Manager and Windows 7

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Today sees the launch of Windows version 7, Microsoft’s new operating system. Let’s hope that the release of this new operating is a much bigger success than Vista. One thing can be said for sure, at least it has been delivered on time.

Our website visitors and customers have been asking for a while whether our landlords software solutions will be ‘Windows 7’ compatible.

The answer is off course ‘Yes’.

Our development team have had access to the new Windows 7 operating system and have been making sure that our software runs smoothly on it.

To learn more about the technical requirements of our software, please refer to our technical specifications section.

Could Rent Guarantee Insurance help you out?

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Finally things are looking up for landlords as rental prices have gone up, taking cue from the recent RICS survey. However all is not good as some tenants face financial pressures leading to increased rents.

The UK’s leading representative body for private-residential landlords, the National Landlords Association (NLA), in their research found that nearly three quarters of landlords are experiencing rental arrears. A dismal 43 per cent of these occurred in the last 12 months.  

Luckily all’s not lost. The NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance allows a way for us to minimise the risk that occurs due to loss of rent. Legal expenses and a 24-hour advisory service are also provided if other problems arise. Landlords can now relax with the NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance as it gives some much needed piece of mind.

Redundancy and unemployment among some tenants is making them struggle with the payment of rents but nevertheless there is a need to safeguard rental income.

Even as the insurance has come as a ray of hope, as landlords we need to take full references and make checks at the outset of a tenancy. Keeping in touch with your tenants will enable them be upfront when they face difficulties and you can make arrangements before rental arrears become more serious.

Water Woes for Landlords

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Unpaid water bills worth £500m of tenants are now being passed on to the landlords causing them to unite in anger to protest against such a possible move.

The British Property Federation (BPF) and Residential Landlords Association (RLA) responded to the Walker Review of the government’s water charging calling it unfair.

Prohibition on cutting off or limiting supply makes debt collection harder for water companies.  Increased   metering  has   been  proposed  to  conserve  water  and  the
Government’s decision to pay housing benefit to social housing tenants instead of the landlords who usually pay the bills has escalated the problem. Having a lot of unpaid debt themselves, small landlords will be burdened further as we already have problems collecting money which is due to us.

Landlords are suggesting alternative solutions to help with the problem such as water companies working with landlords to identify when tenancies started and finished instead of issuing bills to ‘the occupier’. As landlords we must find it easy to give such notice and water companies must promptly act on the information received.

Authorising local authorities to pass council tax bills to landlords in case the tenant cannot be identified has also been proposed.

It seems as though landlords will fight this inequity tooth and nail for the gross injustice it represents.

Some Landlords Ignoring Laws

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It is a worrying fact, according to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) that a huge number of landlords are still ignoring the deposit legislation that requires them to put their tenant deposits with a Government registered body. It is true that the number of landlords choosing to ignore the law has halved over the past year but that still leaves an awful lot who are taking the risk of continuing to totally ignore it. According to the DPDS 30 percent of landlords openly admit to ignoring the law.

The result of this situation is that the DPS have now put their support behind the idea of a landlord register in the hopes that it will make forcing landlords to comply with the deposit laws easier.

Kevin Firth, director of the DPS, said “More needs to be done and ignorance is no excuse. We believe that the introduction of a national register would make landlords more accountable and offer tenants a greater level of protection. Mandatory registration and deposit protection would leave rogue landlords with nowhere to hide.”

Whatever you make think of this legal requirement, the fact that so many landlords continue to ignore it is great fodder for those who wish to make sure our industry is tightly controlled by Government. Perhaps it is time we all thought about doing the right thing as this demonstration that we are unable to self-regulate can only lead to trouble as far as I am concerned.

Buy To Let Market: A Time Bomb!

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Reports out this week indicate something most of us have known for a long time: the buy to let industry is in a crisis that is set to only get worse if banks continue to take the line they have recently adopted.
The crux of the matter is that enquiries regarding BTL properties have increased by fifty percent over the past year, while the number of deals available from banks has dropped by seventy percent. This is clearly causing major problems with supply and demand. Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, Moneysupermarket mortgage channel manager has this to say on the situation

“Our figures show nearly ten per cent of those looking for a mortgage are looking for a buy-to-let mortgage, but the number of products has fallen by over two-thirds compared to this time last year,” she says.

“With significantly less products left on the market and high interest rates attached to those available, we could potentially have a ticking buy-to-let time bomb on our hands. The need for rental housing is increasing, but there may not be enough landlords available to cater for this demand.”

This really does seem to be a recipe for housing disaster and we can only hope that something gives soon in the banks attitude to help us avoid this crisis.

A Third of Landlords Worried About Future

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It seems that despite the fact the economy is now in recovery, according to most experts, landlords are still very worried about where they will be in a couple of years time. This is probably not surprising considering the attitude of the banks which has been well documented on this blog over the last month or so.

I suppose that if you are in a position where you need to negotiate some or all of your mortgages in the near future, you have a real reason to be concerned. Considering the fact that so many landlords have struggled through the previous eighteen months, it is understandable that the way banks are acting is making them extremely edgy.
 
They are also concerned about the plight of tenants, many of whom are still finding it hard to make ends meet. Clearly this is an issue for landlords as it will inevitably be linked to some rent arrears, which in turn will make it difficult for landlords to meet their commitments.

While I think caution is called for at this stage of the recovery process, landlords should be careful not to worry themselves into a difficult position. For example, as I have said before, keeping up with insurance payments is vital.

Buy To Let Loans Harder And Harder To Get

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The news that landlords are finding it extremely hard to finance their ventures these days seems to still be the biggest news in the property sector at the moment. If you are a landlord with a sizable portfolio, the news is even worse as banks continue to show reluctance to lend to you.

Whatever the reason that you may be in talks with the bank, most of you are commenting that it is harder than it has ever been to get hold of the money you require. A full ninety percent of landlords have indicated to survey-takers that you found negotiations significantly more difficult this time than at any other.

When you take into account that products available to buy to let landlords fell by a truly mind boggling 95% over the last two years, this fact is hardly surprising but it is distinctly worrying. In an economy that is starting to show signs of recovery, it appears that buy to let landlords are getting a even more raw deal than anyone else, with residential loans being on completely the opposite track.

As people involved in the property rental sector, we can only hope that the banks wake up to themselves soon and give us a fair deal. Either that or that the Government intervenes to guide the banks in the right direction.

Banks Preventing Landlords Snapping Up Bargains

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The Times Online had a really interesting article on how banks are reducing even further the amount they are willing to lend to landlords. If you are in the market you should probably head over to their website and read the whole thing, but for those of you who are pushed for time or have only an academic interest I will give you a quick rundown.

The depressing news that Lloyds bank has halved the amount it is willing to lend from £6m on up to 18 properties, to £3m on a maximum of nine properties, is probably not a huge shock to anyone but it is certainly a worrying sign of the times, especially when you take into account that two years ago the same bank would have been willing to lend in the vicinity of £14m.

This has come at a very bad time for those property managers with an eye for a bargain. As David Hollingworth, at L&C, puts it: “This is the last thing the market needs. Lloyds’ decision leaves slimmer pickings for landlords hoping to make the most of low [interest] rates and property values.”

Landlords are chafing at the bit to get stuck into these opportunities and yet the banks are holding them back. I cannot help but think that this is counterproductive in an economy that is struggling to recover from a horrible financial downturn, especially when we hear so much about economic stimulation from our politicians.

Property Software Vs Property Management Company

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Lots of landlords start off with no need for any help at all with their property management. They have a very small portfolio and trick themselves into thinking that they are just as efficient with their hand records as any software or management firm. That is clearly a mistake, but the fact is that when the going gets tough and landlords finally face up to needing help, they often make another error. This one has the potential to cost them a lot of money. They choose property management firms over property management software.

When they start to struggle as their portfolio grows, many landlords panic and throw the whole lot into the hands of a property management firm. This can be a major mistake for a couple of reasons:
 
Of course, first there is the money. Most property management firms charge a substantial block of money every week. The alternative of buying and setting up decent landlord software does involve an initial cost but once that is paid the monthly outgoing is minimal, if anything at all. In contrast, a property management firm will cost a huge block of cash and it will charge increasingly more as your portfolio grows.

Landlord software does not work like that.

It does not care how big your portfolio gets, it just allows you to enter more into the system and does not hit you with a huge bill for the privilege.
Another thing that landlords do not anticipate about property management firms, is the sense of disempowerment they bring with them. Most people go into property in their own business to achieve a sense of being in control of their future and their finances. With a property management firm you lose all of this. They take over the whole thing and you have little say in how they run things. They may claim you will but when it all comes down to it they have their policies. On the other hand, property software dramatically reduces the hours you spend running the show but still allows you to be completely in control and in charge.

Property management software allows you to build your own reputation just with the help of a tool to make things a lot easier. When you hire a property management firm, you are placing your business reputation, the most vital thing of all, in the hand of strangers. Some of them are probably very good but no matter how good they are mistakes are made and it is a very frustrating feeling when those mistakes that harm your business are not even your own.
 
If you are getting to the point where your property portfolio is growing and becoming unwieldy, do not make the knee jerk decision to turn it all over to the property management firms. Not without at least giving property management software a try first. It will help you to reduce your hours and maintain control, so it really is the best of both worlds

Landlord Software Keeps Tenants Happy

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It is an unfortunate fact that landlords are often not terribly popular with their tenants. This is often not the fault of the landlord, it is just that they are the ones collecting rents and deposits and initiating cleaning inspections, making some tenants view them as the interfering authority figure, whether it is fair or not. Many tenants see landlords as focused solely on getting hold of their money with very little care for their needs.

It is for these reasons that the landlord/tenant relationship can sometimes be a little fraught. Tenants want to live in a clean and functioning environment with as little interference as possible, and landlords wish to protect their investment and make sure it is profitable for them. This causes tension and often a stressed out landlord. But there is a way to make the relationship that is so central to property management run more smoothly: landlord software!

This property management tool makes sure that landlords are better organized and more efficient in the running of their property. Sure, they could hire a property management firm to facilitate the relationship between them and their clients but that would mean paying out a substantial dividend every month to another client. That is money the landlord could be putting into their own pocket if they have invested wisely in the correct property management software.
The correct landlord software will enable the landlord to economically control his or her property empire while at the same time remaining in close communication with their tenants. Nothing is more frustrating for the tenant than when they want to speak to the top guy and it takes them three or four lower down people to finally reach them. Not a very clever start to the beginning of a new relationship.

As a landlord you have a responsibility to keep the lines of communication open and with a ratio of ten to one with your tenants in many cases, doing it all manually is a killer for some of us. Good property management software will allow you to do everything more efficiently and, therefore, free time for the vital one on one communication that many tenants demand.

Landlord software will allow you, as a property manager, to keep meticulous, exhaustive records. This fact alone can prevent tenants from trying to argue the point about lack of notice for an inspection or something similar. If they can see that the landlord is completely organised, they will know that that kind of dispute is not going to go their way. This often makes for smoother communications.

Property software definitely makes a landlord’s relationships with their tenants easier. This is because it makes excellent record keeping a snap. The tenants always know exactly where they stand because the landlord remains one hundred percent consistent, thus avoiding confusion. This most certainly gives the landlord the advantage.