TSI
Warning over use of photos in tenancy disputes
The use of technology in inventories appears to save time and money, but UK lettings agents and landlords are being warned that in reality it is not full proof. Often technology does not allow for the inclusion of sufficient detail to provide indisputable evidence of the original condition at the start of a tenancy, according to research by My Property Inventories. The perception of inventories by some lettings agents is that inventories can be very long, time consuming and somewhat of a laborious process. As a result, several landlords and management companies opt for the use of technology in inventories believing it will save them time and money. The use of technology in inventories claims to help landlords and management companies to complete inventories in a matter of minutes, with the ability to add large quantities of photographs, which can provide evidence in tenancy, dispute claims. But according to Danny Zane, director of My Property Inventories, in many tenancy dispute cases, the adjudicators are likely to reject some technology based inventories, as they cannot deliver the level of detail required which means that the landlord can lose hundreds of pounds in lost cases. ‘Many landlords and agents are using digital evidence to replace essential written descriptions in inventories, at check-in and check-out, leaving landlords exposed to potentially costly disputes over damage and other issues. The law clearly states that the deposit remains the tenant’s money and that they are entitled to get it back at the end of their stay, provided they have met the terms of the tenancy agreement, so the onus lies with the agent or landlord to provide proof of any proposed deductions,’ he said. ‘Without an accurate and properly detailed inventory, a landlord has no evidence to prove that the property has been damaged in any way during the tenancy and therefore will find it almost impossible to withhold any deposit money from the tenants. A glossy inventory that relies heavily on photographs will be of little use in a dispute. In fact, there is no point in producing a picture book for an inventory, with very little proper description and hundreds of photographs. Inventories like these just do not provide enough detail,’ he explained. ‘Photography and video are great for large areas of damage such as carpet burns, serious damage to worktops and interior décor etc. However, they are not so good for showing really fine detail of the sort of problems that occur most frequently on a check-out, such as small chips and scratches in sinks and baths, knife marks on worktops, scratches to halogen hobs. All of which will cause financial loss to the landlord if negligence can’t be proved,’ he added. The firm points out that inventory reports should contain a full description of a property and its contents, with detail on… Continue reading
US housing market set to see strong demand from first time buyers in 2015
The growing gap between housing's low and top tiers in the United States is expected to restore healthy demand for first time buyers and those moving up the housing ladder. 2015 has the promise of a transitional year where full buyer momentum in the low and mid tiers reinforce a strong housing recovery, according to the latest analysis report from Clear Capital. It says that sustained national price growth in the low tier segment, once driven by investor activity, is good news for first time buyers and also encouraging is the number of potential buyers locked into underwater mortgages has been steadily decreasing. The recent rise in home prices continue to bring more home owners out of negative equity and with more equity to play with, mid-tier home owners could move up, creating more opportunity and driving healthy demand in the low and mid tiers of the market. ‘While we are expecting price growth to moderate across all tiers in 2015, the top tier’s quarterly growth rate fell to 0.3% in the fourth quarter, where it had been holding steady at around 1% through the first three quarters of 2014,’ said Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital.. The report shows that year on year this tier experienced the lowest price growth rate of 3.6% among the three national tiers. At its current pace, continued moderation in the top tier could push quarterly price growth into negative territory in 2015. January data also reveals the low tier holding on to double digit gains year on year at 10.2% and healthy quarter on quarter gains of 1.5%. The firm believes that this divide between a healthy low tier and stalling top tier could kick off a domino effect. Stalling prices in the top tier of the market could create the perception of a good deal. This instils confidence in mid-tier home owners, motivating them to move up to the top tier. In turn, this opens up more opportunity for low tier home owners to move up to the mid-tier. Creating new opportunity in the low tier could entice potential first time buyers to enter the market. This domino effect could be the catalyst for balanced demand across all sectors of the market. Regionally, the Midwest continues to lead the growth and year on year held on to double digit gains in the low tier segment at 13.6%, while the top tier fell to 3.3%. This gap between growth in the low and top tiers was also recorded on a quarterly basis, with the low tier growing at 1.7% and relatively flat growth in the top tier at 0.5%. The Midwest led the nation in the all tier segment, with quarter on quarter growth at 0.9%, narrowly edging the West at 0.7%. The Midwest is the only region currently seeing price appreciation in the low and mid tiers, growing concurrently above 1%. The firm explained that a moderating top tier could incentivize… Continue reading
Land Registry extends its anti-fraud property scheme to companies in England and Wales
After a successful pilot scheme, the Land Registry for England and Wales has introduced an anti-fraud security measure for companies concerned property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage. Tenanted, unoccupied or mortgage free properties are known to be particularly vulnerable and property fraud can happen in many ways. For example, fraudsters may attempt to acquire ownership of a property either by using a forged document to transfer it into their own name, or by impersonating the registered owner. Once they have raised money by mortgaging the property without the owner’s knowledge, they disappear without making repayments leaving the owner to deal with the consequences. ‘Recorded incidents of forged transfers and charges are not restricted to individuals. Corporate owners such as landlords of residential and commercial properties are targeted too. Since September 2009, we have prevented frauds on over 160 applications representing properties valued in excess of £70 million,’ said Alasdair Lewis, director of legal services at the Land Registry. With fraud currently estimated to cost the economy £70 billion annually, he pointed out that it makes sense to try and deter fraudsters wherever possible. ‘Together with our top tips, our new restriction can easily be used by companies to help protect their property from being stolen,’ he added. A request by a company for a restriction can be made using Form RQ(Co). The restriction is designed to help safeguard against forgery by requiring conveyancers, for example a solicitor, to certify that they are satisfied the company transferring, leasing or mortgaging the property is the same company as the owner before any new sale, lease or mortgage is registered. They must also certify that they have taken reasonable steps to establish that anyone who executed the deed on behalf of the company held the stated office at the time of execution. There is no Land Registry fee for companies registering this restriction for up to three titles and the move follows the successful launch, three years ago, of a similar free restriction for private individuals who do not live in the property they wish to protect. Land Registry’s top tips to protect property from fraudsters include making sure the property is registered. Innocent victims of fraud who suffer a financial loss as a consequence, may be compensated once registered, so having up to date contact details on the title register is recommended. Property owners can also sign up for the multi award winning free Property Alert service which helps owners guard against property fraud on up to ten registered properties in England and Wales. Private owners and companies who feel their property might be at risk can have a restriction entered on their title register which is designed to help prevent forgery. An example is an application to register a fraudulent transfer of a tenanted property in Princes Risborough, Bucks was recently identified by the Land Registry who worked closely with Thames Valley police in their investigation of the crime. This led… Continue reading
