The 20 best places in Britain to buy a property

Estate agent Knight Frank has conducted some research for The Sunday Times to identify the 20 most recession-proof towns in Britain.

By taking in account factors such as affordability, wages, employment growth, population growth, qualifications and employment rate, Knight Frank’s top 20 “fail-safe” investment towns in Britain are:

1. Cambridge
2. York
3. Oxford
4. Milton Keynes
5. Guilford
6. Reading
7. Edinburgh
8. Bristol
9. Bath
10. Crawley
11. Worthing
12. Southampton
13. Brighton
14. Chester
15. Bournemouth
16. Portsmouth
17. Swindon
18. Telford
19. Norwich
20. Warrington

Laurent Stadelmann
Managing Director - Chez-Vous HomeSearch

Property investors, landlords - are you claiming all your expenses?

Here are some tips that I published in my last newsletter that I thought may be useful.

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Some investors or landlords may not be aware of some of the expenses and allowances they can deduct from the taxable rental income. Ensuring that you offset all your legitimate costs will help minimise your tax bill.

Some of the expenses that can be offset against rental income are:

• Finance charges: any interest paid on the loan/mortgage taken out to purchase a rental or buy-to-let property is tax deductible, as is interest on any secured or unsecured loans taken out to obtain the property or to finance repairs.
  
  
• Legal & professional fees: if you use the services of accountants and letting agents, their fees are tax deductible.Legal expenses associated with preparing tenancy contracts and dealing with tenant disputes are also tax deductible. However legal expenses associated with purchasing property cannot be offset against rental income (these expenses are offset against your capital gains tax liability when you sell the property).
  
  
• Council Tax, electricity, water & gas: if all rooms are rented out, all the usual running costs are fully tax deductible, assuming that none of the tenants makes a contribution to the bills. If you let your property exclusive of all the bills, then you cannot claim.Between tenancies the landlord is responsible for paying council tax and utility charges, which are tax deductible.
  
  
• Insurance: buildings insurance, contents insurance, rental guarantee, as well as maintenance insurance policies for gas boilers, plumbing cover and white goods are also tax deductible.
  
  
• Ground rent & service charges: on a leasehold property there is usually a ground rent and a service charge to pay to the freeholder; these are deductible.
  
  
• Marketing and advertising costs: any costs associated with finding tenants or selling your property are tax deductible. Other tax deductible costs include expenses such as setting up a website or having some “to let” boards made up.
  
  
• Managing / letting agent fees: if you use agents to let and/or manage your property, their fees are tax deductible.
  
  
• Cleaning between tenancies
  
  
• Garden maintenance
  
  
• Wear and tear: if you let furnished accommodation, you can claim 10% of the gross rental income (minus rents, rates, council tax, water rates).
  
  
• Administration expenses: any stationary, office and administration expenses such as telephone, all paper and envelopes, printing, postage, office consumable and any other costs incurred in connection with running your property business are fully tax deductible.
  
  

I would like to clarify that I am not a tax expert. Please check with an accountant or Tax Office if there are issues that are particular to your personal and property circumstances.

Laurent Stadelmann
Managing Director - Chez-Vous HomeSearch

Tips to avoid house hunting communication overload!

Recently I arranged for one of my clients to view some new-build properties, which are being managed by an estate agent. Unfortunately, at the end of the viewing he felt pressured into giving not only his own mobile number but also his email address to the agent.

Within hours my client was being "bombarded" with emails from containing descriptions of unsuitable properties. These emails were followed by calls, sometimes within minutes, trying to convince him to arrange viewings.

Of course, the majority of estate agents communicate with buyers in a professional manner but, like any industry, there is an unprofessional, disreputable element. So here are some tips on how to manage the communication process when you are searching for property:

Tip 1 - Using a property finder
If you engage a property finder to help you search for your next home or investment property then they will handle all communication with agents and vendors and filter out unsuitable properties. So there is no need to give your own contact details to estate agents during a viewing. Tell the agent to liaise with your property finder.

Tip 2 - Set-up an alternative email address
If you are not using a property finder to manage your property search , rather than providing estate agents with your office or your regular personal email address, set-up a free internet email account, such as Hotmail or Yahoo, and give that instead. That way you keep emails relating to your house hunt separate and can read them when it suits you. You could even create an address which reinforces your brief , for example "lookingfor4bedwithgarage@hotmail.co.uk". (Address available at time of blog!)

Tip 3 - Manage telephone contact
If you have a mobile phone, then it's not necessary to give out your home telephone number. If you really don't want to be contacted by phone then request email or postal contact only. (Please note that not providing a contact phone number could prevent you from hearing about a new property instruction quickly.) If you give your mobile phone number and you don't want to be interrupted at work or at other unsuitable times, remember to switch it to silent mode or off . Ask the agent to contact you at a specific time of day that suits you.

Tip 4 - Give feedback
Help the agent to provide you with more targeted information by giving clear feedback on properties that you have viewed. The more regularly you initiate communication with estate agents, the more likely you are to find out about properties that meet your brief.


Laurent Stadelmann
Managing Director - Chez-Vous HomeSearch