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Warning to UK home owners over invasive plant controls
Buyers and sellers in the UK are being advised to check for signs of the invasive Japanese knotweed plant in gardens, or else they could face criminal prosecution. The government has announced measures aimed at controlling the spread of non-native plants, including the invasive Japanese knotweed and those who fail to identify, destroy and remove these plants from their property could be fined up to £2,500 or be given an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO). According to Alison Wacey, a partner at Stratford on Avon firm Lodders Solicitors, both vendors and purchasers of residential property are now deemed to have a duty of care when it comes to selling and buying houses: ‘Checking for Japanese knotweed and other prolific, invasive plants should be regarded with similar importance as checking for signs of damp or a faulty roof at a property,’ she said. ‘When a valuer visits the property before sale, home owners should ask them to include investigating for evidence of these invasive plants. Similarly, once the purchaser’s surveyor is appointed, this is the buyer’s opportunity to have the property checked for evidence of these non-native plants,’ she explained. ‘Japanese Knotweed is very resilient, can even grow through tarmac and cause structural damage, and will grow vigorously after being cut down. One of the most effective ways of getting rid of it is to dig down up to three metres to ensure all the roots have been removed, a massive, but necessary undertaking,’ she added. She also pointed out that the removed plant is classed as ‘contaminative waste’ and there are controls on its disposal, which have to be adhered to and also carry an additional expense. ‘Not only do home owners run the risk of criminal proceedings for not identifying and removing the weed before sale of the property completes, but there could also be potential repercussions for them from their buyers if they should be hit with a hefty bill for removing the weed, for example, or perhaps damage from it to a neighbouring property, or even a criminal prosecution,’ said Wacey. ‘Additionally, home owners have to be just as vigilant with checks of the plant is found on neighbouring properties; if it is found in your own or a neighbours garden, the value of your home will be severely affected,’ she continued. ‘It’s a case of buyers, and vendors, beware of this knotty problem. Take proactive steps to avoid falling foul of the law and deal with it properly if you identify an invasion on your own or a neighbouring property,’ she concluded. Continue reading
Peer to peer lending set to change the UK mortgage industry, it is claimed
Peer to peer finance is set to revolutionise the UK mortgage industry, starting with secured lending to landlords, according to a new independent review of the buy to let mortgage industry. Population growth combined with a weak home building response mean the phenomenon of buy to let would survive a new recession similar to, or even worse than, that experienced in 2008, according to the research conducted by The Wriglesworth Consultancy and commissioned by peer to peer lender Landbay. However despite this, the research also reveals the higher price of buy to let finance, with average new mortgage rates one third more expensive for landlords than for owner occupiers. This leaves a gap for P2P mortgage lenders to disrupt the industry. In the first ever published stress tests for a peer to peer lender, the report also reveals that secured peer to peer lending against buy to let properties has a natural stability against economic shocks. This contrasts with severe uncertainty over other types of riskier peer to peer finance, such as unsecured personal loans to consumers, business credit, or other forms of direct peer to peer property ownership and development finance. Stress tests of Landbay’s loan book also indicate the importance of quality manual underwriting when lending to landlords. More attention to landlords’ personal finances makes loan books less prone to losses than historic examples of mass buy to let lending using automated underwriting systems to approve loans. ‘The mortgage world has changed. Now everyone has access to the sorts of markets that were once the preserve of large financial institutions,’ said John Goodall, chief executive officer of Landbay. ‘A new energy for more inclusive finance, combined with new technology, is revolutionising the world of saving and borrowing. This has only just begun, and over the long term the impact of these fundamental changes will be far greater than was at first envisioned,’ he explained. ‘All peer to peer finance is relatively new, but it would be an enormous mistake to assume that means this broad swathe of lending is in any way uniform. Combining P2P lending with the backstop of income producing property as security can create an entirely different class of investment while shaking up competition in the world of mortgage lending,’ he added. Continue reading
Intermediaries remain the most popular choice for buy to let investors
UK landlords sourcing buy to let finance from intermediaries has increased as they regard it as the best way to secure a good deal, new research suggests. There has been a 6% increase in landlords who prefer get property finance from intermediaries and large scale landlords more likely to make exclusive use of intermediaries, according to the latest report from specialist buy to let firm Paragon Mortgages. The Private Rented Sector Trends survey, which has been tracking landlord confidence and views on the buy to let market for 20 years, also shows that 60% of landlords agree intermediaries are valuable in finding the best buy to let deals. More than a third, 36%, of landlords in the fourth quarter of the year preferred to source buy to let finance exclusively via intermediaries, a 6% increase over the past three months, up from 30% of landlords in the third quarter. In comparison, 23% of landlords in the last quarter of 2014 preferred to source buy to let finance directly from lenders, and 23% sourced through a mix of intermediaries and lenders, which reduced from 28% in the third quarter. Large scale landlords, those with five or more properties, were more likely to prefer to source all their buy to let finance via intermediaries at 40% compared with 23% of small scale landlords. Small scale landlords on the other hand were almost twice as likely to source buy to let finance directly through a lender at 35% compared with 19% of large scale landlords. Some 60% of landlords agreed that intermediaries provide a valuable service in finding the best buy to let deals, in comparison with only 6% who disagreed. Additionally, 42% of landlords surveyed said that sourcing directly though a lender is only suitable for the simpler buy to let propositions. ‘Although the market has seen strong growth this year, many landlords remain cautious, particularly in view of interest rate expectations, the weaker conditions that we have seen in the housing market and the disruption we are likely to see around the general election in 2015,’ said John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages. ‘When combined with the positive benefits that professional mortgage advice can bring, it is no surprise to see landlords turning more to the intermediary sector in less certain times,’ he pointed out. ‘Landlords, especially those newer to the market, recognise the benefits of using a trusted, experienced and knowledgeable broker to help source their finance. Brokers have always been key to the buy to let mortgage market and will continue to be, going by this research, for as far ahead as we can see,’ he added. Continue reading
